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  • Pocono doubleheader to commence second half of NASCAR Cup regular season

    Pocono doubleheader to commence second half of NASCAR Cup regular season

    The first half of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series regular season has been like none other in recent years.

    It all started with a harrowing last lap accident in this year’s Daytona 500 that left Ryan Newman injured, but still standing on his feet. Not long after came the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that paused the on-track racing for nearly three months and shifted the racing attention from the track to online/virtual reality. Then came the suspension of prominent star Kyle Larson for his live use of a racial slur followed by his replacement, the return of former Cup champion Matt Kenseth. A month later, the racing resumed and expanded into midweek racing and quadruple-header weekends to make up for the loss time. Most recently, the sport paused for a moment of solidarity with Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone full-time African-American competitor, in the wake of a racist incident at Talladega and took a stance against racial inequality and anything representing it.

    Through all of the listed events above, there were also some thrilling moments that have occurred on the track. From the veterans dominating in recent weeks to the youngsters flexing their muscles and intimidating the sport’s elite to the drop of the checkered flag with tempers flaring and the competition brewing into late chaos. 

    Thus far, eight competitors have guaranteed themselves a spot in the Playoffs with a win. That leaves eight more positions in the standings vacant for more competitors to win or point their way into the top 16 in the regular-season standings through Daytona International Speedway on August 29, which will determine the 2020 Cup Playoff field.

    With 13 of the 26 regular-season scheduled races in the record books, the NASCAR Cup Series competitors set their sights towards the remaining 13 races of the 2020 season while continuing to push towards making the Playoffs and gain as much valuable points possible to elevate their stats and chances of contending for the title. If there is a race weekend for any competitor to gain a pair of advantages towards the Playoffs and desire a will to take risks against all odds, it is this weekend for the Pocono Raceway doubleheader that will commence the second half of the Cup’s regular season.

    For the second time in NASCAR’s modern era, one of NASCAR’s three major division series will compete in back-to-back races at the exact venue on the same weekend. This will, however, mark the first time where the Cup Series will compete in two consecutive races at the same track, this weekend being at Pocono dubbed the Tricky Triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, a track that has hosted NASCAR since 1971.

    The first race of the weekend at Pocono will occur on Saturday, June 27, for the Pocono Organics 325 spanning 130 laps. Based on a random draw, Aric Almirola will lead the field for the start on pole position. Once the race and the post-race inspection are complete, the competitors and the teams will duke it out in the second Pocono event on Sunday, June 28, spanning 140 laps, (350 miles). Sunday’s lineup will be based on the results from Saturday, where the top-20 finishers will be inverted and the remaining 20 will remain as finished for the start. All told, 40 competitors will run a combined 270 laps, (675 miles), with the exact car and engine.

    The two Cup races are part of an eventful race weekend at the Tricky Triangle, which starts with the ARCA Menards Series racing on Friday, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series returning for a 150-mile event on Saturday and the NASCAR Xfinity Series to race for 225 miles on Sunday. The Truck and Xfinity races will each occur prior to the Cup Series events on their respective dates.

    Heading into the Pocono doubleheader weekend, drivers that have won this season, (Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Alex Bowman), will utilize this weekend to earn more victories or bonus points and pad themselves with momentum for the Playoffs. This weekend presents a striking opportunity for drivers like Hamlin, Truex, Blaney, Keselowski and Logano to extend the recent dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske this season at a track where both teams have delivered success in past/recent years. For those like Harvick and Elliott, both of whom have never won at Pocono before, this weekend comes with a pair of opportunities to check off another track with a win column.

    For drivers like Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, William Byron and rookie Tyler Reddick, this weekend presents a pair of opportunities for them to break through their winless start to this season and receive an early ticket to the Playoffs with a win. For others like Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth, this weekend presents a pair of opportunities for them to gain ground on their deficits and spoil the competition by winning and leapfrogging their way to contend for this year’s title.

    For seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, this weekend presents a pair of opportunities for him, crew chief Cliff Daniels and the No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team to release the floodgates by returning to Victory Lane for the first time in over 100 races and gaining momentum towards making the Playoffs in Johnson’s swan song season as a full-time competitor.

    This weekend’s doubleheader at Pocono, aside from the battle to the Playoffs, also initiates NASCAR’s third installment of the 2020 race schedule announced on June 4 and spanning through August 2 amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the sport proceeds to salvage and complete the season as scheduled through November while ensuring the safety measures for all competitors and team members on the track. An announcement regarding the remainder of this year’s schedule is yet to be determined.

    The first NASCAR Cup Series Pocono race will run on June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the second will run on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also cover the scheduled events at the scheduled times.

  • Almirola to lead the field in first Cup Pocono race

    Almirola to lead the field in first Cup Pocono race

    For the fourth time in the last six NASCAR Cup Series races, Aric Almirola will start on the front row. Only this time, he will do so in the top-starting position and pace the field for the start on Saturday, June 27, at Pocono Raceway and as part of the first doubleheader weekend for the Cup Series at the same track.

    Following a random draw, Almirola and his No. 10 Smithfield/Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team were awarded the pole position for Saturday’s Pocono Organics 325 at the track dubbed the Tricky Triangle. This will mark the first time since February 2019 at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Almirola will lead the field to the start of a Cup race in first. In addition, Almirola became the fifth Cup driver this season to start on the pole based on a random draw and since NASCAR’s return in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His previous best starting position was second for three consecutive races, (Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and at Martinsville Speedway).

    The lineup for Saturday’s Cup race will mark the only time where a random draw will determine the starting lineup this weekend. Following Saturday’s race, the starting lineup on Sunday for the second Cup Pocono race of the weekend, the Pocono 350, will be based off of the results from Saturday. The top-20 finishing positions will be inverted for Sunday while the bottom 20 positions will start as finished on Saturday. The race winner on Saturday will receive the first pit stall selection for Sunday. Sunday’s lineup at Pocono will mark the third time this season in the Cup Series where the starting lineup was based on inverting the top-20 competitors and leaving the bottom 20 as positioned from a previous race at the same track, (Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway). The NASCAR Xfinity Series also did the same thing between June 13-14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the series doubleheader weekend.

    Ryan Blaney, coming off his thrilling win last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, will start on the front row alongside Almirola followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, and Chase Elliott. Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman will start in the top 10 followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, a three-time Pocono winner who will make his final two starts this weekend at the Tricky Triangle.

    Starting in positions 13-26 are Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookie Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones, rookie John Hunter Nemechek, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Kenseth, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, rookie Cole Custer and Michael McDowell.

    Starting in positions 27-40 are rookie Brennan Poole, Joey Gase, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Garrett Smithley, rookie Quin Houff, JJ Yeley, Ty Dillon, James Davison, rookie Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Timmy Hill, BJ McLeod and Josh Bilicki.

    The Pocono Organics 325 will air on June 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the Pocono 350 will air on June 28 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Will Power wins rain-shortened race at Pocono

    Will Power wins rain-shortened race at Pocono

    After pitting from the lead on Lap 112, Will Power was able to come out ahead of Scott Dixon on the track after the pit stops. Power held on until Lap 128 when the race was red-flagged due to weather conditions including lightning in the area. With threatening skies and lightning around the track, NTT IndyCar officials declared the race official and Power as the winner of the ABC Supply 500.

    “If this cloud cover comes over and it doesn’t rain, it’s just not my year,” Power jokingly told NBC Sports. “I’m over the moon, had a few issues during the race and kept coming back. Full credit to the team, great car, kind of hung there and saved fuel, when it was time to go, I went. I was so determined, I really wanted to win. It’ll be my 13th year in a row winning races, I wasn’t thinking about that. I just simply wanted to win a race for Verizon.”

    “These guys worked their asses off all year and then, I just hadn’t had the results.”

    The ABC Supply 500 got off to a wild start. There was a big wreck in the tunnel turn as Takuma Sato’s car came down on Ryan Hunter-Reay. Alexander Rossi, James Hinchcliffe and Felix Rosenqvist were all involved. Rosenqvist’s car violently went up toward the catch fence while Sato went upside down.

    Miraculously, all drivers would be okay but were handed some additional penalties. Rossi, Hinchcliffe and Hunter-Reay each received a 10-lap penalty after working on their cars during the red flag, which is not allowed in IndyCar.

    “Takuma (Sato) just turned down on two cars and I was in it,” Rossi told IndyCar Radio. “I don’t know what the point of that was, what he was trying to accomplish. That’s what happened last year, I don’t know why people are making decisions like that. I didn’t get a good start, so it’s on me, I put us in that position. It’s just one of those instances, shouldn’t have been put in that situation, sucks that I did.”

    Sato gave his side of the incident.

    “Exit Turn 1, Ryan (Hunter-Reay) and I were racing together and the wheels, so Alex (Rossi) probably got something too. We overtook right and left, and there was one little issue. Once it caught them, it jumped on the car and were very crossed together, I kept on steering the wheel straight, but unfortunately, we tangled together.”

    Rosenqvist was later sent to a local trauma center for precautionary measures. Later in the broadcast, NBCSN reported that he was medically cleared after the incident.

    After a 45 minute red flag, the race resumed after repairs were completed in the Tunnel Turn. The next caution was not until Lap 40 in Turn 1 as Spencer Pigot was involved in an accident. The next caution occurred on Lap 74 for Colton Herta, as he was wrecked off the Tunnel Turn as well. On Lap 88, Rossi returned to the track to collect points.

    With the race off to a slow start, it was off to the long green-flag run that normally happens at Pocono. Dixon and Santino Ferrucci were pulling away from the field and the battle was on for the top spot with Power behind them. On Lap 106, green flag pit stops began to take place with Graham Rahal pitting, as well as Ferrucci.

    Dixon pitted one lap later on Lap 107, coming out ahead of Ferrucci. However, Power pitted on Lap 108 and came out second. He eventually passed Dixon for the lead on Lap 115. The IndyCar drivers got to race for 13 more laps before lightning was seen within a seven-mile radius.

    The cars were brought down pit road in case there was any potential to go back green. That was not the case, however, due to a band of storms approaching. IndyCar officials declared the race official and Power scored his first win of the 2019 season.

    Knowing that he was out of the championship hunt at this point in the season, Power was able to focus on winning instead of points racing.

    “Yeah, I kind of just let it go,” Power said to NBCSN regarding the championship. “It’s just not going to happen for me this year, just whatever. Still do my homework, we definitely had the car today, great stops, strategy was right. I worked harder this year than any other year. I was very determined, it just didn’t work for me.”

    The rain-shortened win was Power’s first victory of the season. It was also the 13th consecutive year that the Team Penske driver has scored a win each season, dating back to his first start in 2008.

    Power led once for 31 laps to earn his 34th career win, his third win at Pocono.

    There were four cautions for 23 laps, with 12 lead changes among four leaders.

    In the penalty summary, Takuma Sato was awarded a post-race penalty for avoidable contact. James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay received a 10-lap penalty for working on their cars during the red flag and Colton Herta also received a post-race fine for a pit safety infraction.

    Josef Newgarden continues to lead the points standings over Alexander Rossi by 35 points with three races remaining.

    Official Results

    1. Will Power, led 31 laps
    2. Scott Dixon, led 32 laps
    3. Simon Pagenaud, led 64 laps
    4. Santino Ferrucci
    5. Josef Newgarden, led one lap
    6. Ed Carpenter
    7. Sebastien Bourdais
    8. Tony Kanaan
    9. Graham Rahal
    10. Charlie Kimball
    11. Conor Daly
    12. Marcus Ericsson
    13. Zach Veach, One lap down
    14. Matheus Leist, One lap down
    15. Marco Andretti, Two laps down
    16. Colton Herta, OUT, Crash
    17. Spencer Pigot, OUT, Crash
    18. Alexander Rossi, 89 laps down
    19. Ryan Hunter-Reay, OUT
    20. James Hinchclifee, OUT
    21. Takuma Sato, OUT
    22. Felix Rosenqvist, OUT

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series heads back to the Midwest on Saturday night August 24 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania this past weekend. Some might say it was an exciting race in regards to track position while others think that it might have been the least exciting race of the season. Despite that, a few drivers who don’t run the series full time earned great finishes, quite possibly their career-best for some.

    This week the Truck Series heads to the famous Eldora Speedway on Thursday where the regulars will compete with the dirt track invaders, who normally have a good shot at winning, thanks to their dirt racing backgrounds. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves for the Thursday night Truck Series race.

    Here are four takeaways from the Gander RV 150 at Pocono.

    1. Ross Chastain Championship Favorite – Chastain picked up his third win of the 2019 season this past Saturday, collecting another popular win among the fans. He has quickly become a rising star over the past year. For those fans who don’t have a favorite driver in the series, Chastain is someone that those fans can cheer for. After doing a burnout, the Florida native got out of his truck and grabbed an inflatable watermelon, tossing it to the fans in the stands, showing his appreciation for them. Chastain is also a championship favorite now with three wins in the series. It will be interesting to see if he can continue this momentum into the playoffs.

    2. Too Short Of A Race – I’ve said this again and I’ll state it again, it was too short of a race. Sixty laps does not give the drivers much time to get to the front in order to make something happen. It’s especially true when you have short stages of only 15 laps each for the first two stages, even when the first stage saw only seven green flag laps. That’s not much action for the fans to see. Stage 2 was a little better as we saw no cautions, but still, defending series champion Brett Moffitt noted that it was difficult to pass and it was all about track position. The PJ1 never really was a factor either. Hopefully, with the new schedule announcement this past weekend and the newly adjusted amount of laps, it will give next year’s race more action.

    3. TV Coverage – I’m normally not one to complain about the TV coverage, but Saturday’s race broadcast was not the best. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful we have someone covering the whole Truck Series season in what is quite possibly the most exciting series in NASCAR right now. However, the telecast from this past weekend was somewhat disappointing. Whenever there is a race on FOX, it helps give these guys the exposure they need and attracts fans as well, such as those who don’t normally get Fox Sports 1. Unfortunately, we were flooded with commercials, especially late in the going and even missed two restarts. I’m not saying Saturday’s telecast was unwatchable, but there is room for improvement.

    4. ThorSport Racing Salvages A Great Day – In what looked liked it was going to be a disastrous day for ThorSport Racing, they were able to turn it around by the time the checkered flag flew. Johnny Sauter had some damage after his contact with Bayley Currey on a restart and had to pit to repair it. Sauter made the best of his situation to finish eighth after starting 16th. Matt Crafton was the highest finisher out of the group, finishing sixth despite at one point running as high as third and having a shot to snap his long winless streak. Ben Rhodes started 15th could only finish fourth in Stage 2, before winding up ninth in his sporty No. 99 Havoline Ford. Regular series points leader Grant Enfinger finished sixth and third in both stages, respectively only to come home to finish 10th. Not the best day for the Ohio based group, but they were still able to make the most out of it.
  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Pocono

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Pocono

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series came to Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon for their 14th race of the 2019 season with just three races remaining until the Playoffs begin at Bristol Motor Speedway in a few weeks.

    Drivers like Harrison Burton, Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, Sheldon Creed, Tyler Dippel, Spencer Boyd, Jordan Anderson and Stewart Friesen were hoping to have a good points day or perhaps grab a win at “The Tricky Triangle” to solidify their spot in the Playoffs.

    It was action-packed from the start, as we saw most of Stage 1 run under yellow with two cautions. There was even an accident between Friesen and Anthony Alfredo on the first lap. Friesen was unfortunately done for the day after the incident and finished last.

    After those two incidents, it was clean and green for the remainder of the race barring the two stage cautions that took place. Fan-favorite Ross Chastain was able to take home the win after completely dominating the race.

    Drivers who were coming into the Gander RV 150 on the bubble, still find themselves on the outside looking in. Now the series heads to one of its most popular races of the year, Eldora Speedway, Thursday night.

    Before we get there, however, it’s time to take a look at this week’s power rankings following Pocono.

    1. Ross Chastain – No surprise here with Chastain taking home the win for the third time this season. The Florida native put a butt whopping on the field leading twice for 54 of the 60 laps. The only time he was never out front was Stage 2, where Chastain made a pit stop in that stage in order to restart out front for the final stage. He is more than likely locked in at this point but the team is searching for some additional sponsorship for the rest of the year. However, Chastain also stated they are good for the Playoffs and just need some help.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second

    2. Harrison Burton – Burton was able to grab a much-needed points day at Pocono, facing possible elimination for the Playoffs. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver qualified sixth on Friday afternoon. From there, Burton finished third in Stage 1 and won Stage 2. He was able to lead six laps before finishing third. Burton will face some challenges this week as he heads to Eldora for the first time since 2017, where he finished 15th.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third

    3. Brett Moffitt – While disappointed with his fifth-place finish Saturday afternoon, Moffitt was able to up his finish from his disappointing outing at Kentucky a few weeks back. The Grimes, Iowa native started fourth, finished fifth and second in both stages, respectively. Still, Moffitt was frustrated with not being able to pass. It was his sixth top-five of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth

    4. Tyler Ankrum – The Kentucky winner followed up with a second-place finish and was close to winning again. Ankrum finished 10th in Stage 1 while not earning any stage points in Stage 2. While the race was winding down, Ankrum found himself chasing down race leader Chastain with less than 15 to go. Chastain started to save a little bit of fuel, which allowed the DGR-Crosley driver to close in. Ankrum then had to save fuel and back off until he was clear to chase after Chastain. Despite his efforts, Ankrum fell one second short of the win. It was Ankrum’s third top-five of the season.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    5. Matt Crafton – Speaking of much-needed points day, Crafton finished sixth in his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 after running as high as third late. The California native qualified eighth, finished 11th in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2. With help of track position, Crafton was close to taking the lead of the race. However, he’ll have to wait until Eldora on Thursday night for another chance, where it will mark one year since his last win in the series.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked

      Fell Out

      1. Stewart Friesen – Tough day for Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team who didn’t even make a lap in the race. It all started on Lap 1 when Friesen got loose and went crashing up the hill, receiving major damage to his truck. The damage was too extensive to repair and he finished last, not even being able to complete one lap. Friesen will have to hope his dirt racing background pays off in Thursday’s night race at Eldora.

      Previous Week Ranking- First

      2. Austin Wayne Self – There is not much to be said for the Texan coming out of this race. Wayne Self competed in the ARCA race Friday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s Truck race. He qualified 18th, finished 10th in Stage 2 and then wound up with a disappointing 15th place outing.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

      Honorable Mention

      1. Christian Eckes – Eckes won the ARCA race Friday afternoon, dominating the event. Shortly after, he jumped straight into a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck to qualify 13th. The nearby New York native finished seventh in Stage 1 and 22nd in Stage 2 after making a pit stop in the stage. In the end, Eckes wound up fourth.

      2. Tony Mrakovich – Looking down the running order, Truck Series fans will see the Pennsylvania native finishing 12th for NEMCO Motorsports. It was just the second Truck Series race of the year for the young 20-year-old and his best finish yet. Mrakovich competed in his family-owned team at Martinsville and Dover earlier this season but failed to qualify. His only other finish was 26th at Fort Worth.

      3. Tyler Dippel – Dippel came close to earning his second career top-10 finish Saturday afternoon. He finished ninth in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2. Ultimately, the Youngs Motorsports driver came home 11th, just one spot short of the top-10. Dippel is one of the drivers that will have to win in the next two races in order to make the Playoffs.
  • Jones and Truex Round Out Top Three Finishers

    Jones and Truex Round Out Top Three Finishers

    Erik Jones and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team were facing the possibility of not making the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as they headed into the weekend at Pocono Raceway.

    But Jones was able to improve his chances with a much needed strong run Sunday afternoon after using various pit strategy throughout the Gander RV 400. The Michigan native qualified fourth giving him great track position for Sunday’s race and was able to capture a second-place finish.

    However, it was almost a disastrous day for the No. 20 JGR driver. It all started in the first stage during the pit stops when Jones pitted from the top five in order to gain track position for Stage 2 and the wrench broke during the stop. In what could have been a prominent problem for Jones, he caught a lucky break when the wrench did not become an issue. Jones went on to finish seventh in Stage 1.

    For Stage 2, Jones would wind up restarting back in the pack and would have to work his way back up through the field once more. With a few lucky cautions and pitting again during the second stage, he would once again finish seventh in the second stage.

    Things got a bit more interesting in the final stage when fuel became a concern among the drivers, including Jones, who was in the top three. He was told by his crew that he was two laps short with 33 to go. From there, Jones was trying all he could do to save what he needed in case the race went green the rest of the way.

    Jones, who was leading the race, was passed by eventual race winner and teammate Denny Hamlin with 17 to go, then he was passed by Truex a couple of laps later. The No. 20 team caught a timely caution with eight to go, allowing Jones to save fuel under the caution period.

    Despite having one more shot at the win, the JGR driver had to settle for a second-place finish, finishing .341 seconds behind his teammate and race winner Denny Hamlin.

    “It was hard racing at the end,” Jones exclaimed to MRN Radio. “This package, the late restarts make for an exciting finish and today was no exception. I wish we could have gotten up there to challenge Denny (Hamlin). Martin (Truex) gave us a good push on the restart. The bottom doesn’t have what the top has on a restart. So we did all we could.”

    “We overcame a lot in this Reser’s Camry. We were pretty far off at the start of the race and we got way better. Had a chance to win and had things worked out a little better, things would have been a bit different. Can’t ask for a lot more for doing burnouts, but we’re getting close every week. It’s going to turn our way one of these times.”

    With the second-place finish, Jones earned his seventh top five of the season.

    Despite finishing third after having a shot at the win and not leading any laps, Truex was fairly happy with the outcome.

    “It was a good day overall for our Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Camry,” Truex told MRN Radio in his post-race interview. “We were trying to save fuel there on that long run. We ran second to the 20 (Jones) and thought we were in better shape than him on fuel, he started to save more, and I did as well.”

    “I started thinking, man. I probably should try to pass him here and we got into lap traffic, then the 11 (Hamlin) got by me. Then I got by the 20 and it’s like the 11 had control of the race after that. When the caution came out, he got to lead the restart and I got on the bottom. You just can’t do anything on the front row on the bottom. We got in a sucker hole there and were lucky to come back third.”

    Truex qualified his No. 19 machine eighth in Saturday’s qualifying session. And while he did not lead any laps, the New Jersey native finished fifth and fourth in both stages, respectively. Truex was only able to run as high as second in the race before earning his eighth top-five of the season.

    The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team sits second in the playoff points standings with four wins.

  • Kyle Larson rebounds to top-five finish after tough start

    Kyle Larson rebounds to top-five finish after tough start

    What a weekend it was for the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team. It all started during the Saturday morning practice session when Kyle Larson wrecked his primary car and had to go to a backup car for the race.

    Despite qualifying 23rd, he had to go the back for the start of the race. However, it didn’t take Larson long to get the front with pit stops taking place. By the time Stage 1 ended, the California native finished sixth in the first stage. In Stage 2, Larson fell back just a little bit to finish 10th, only earning one playoff point.

    It was a quiet day for Larson and his No. 42 team until the last stage when he became a factor. More so on the final restart, when he was trying to make things happen behind the leaders. However, Larson fell short, but still finished fifth after what could have been a weekend gone bad.

    “I was pretty surprised on how fast our car was,” Larson explained to MRN Radio. “The last run there, I didn’t get into the wall but it was close. I kind of bailed out of the throttle and lost the momentum, so fell back to seventh. I was able to get to fifth there, happy about our finish, good points day. It was nice to have a good run with a fast back up car there. That’s two weeks in a row, we’ve been really fast in a backup car.”

    “Just shows what we would really be capable of in our primary car if I just would stop crashing in practice. Got to work on that, but happy where our team has been lately. It’s a good time of the season to start running well. We definitely have the speed, I just have to clean up my mistakes.”

    With the fifth-place finish, Larson scored his fourth top-five of the season and he currently sits 14th in the playoff standings, +37 above the cut line.

  • Hamlin saves enough fuel to earn fifth career win at Pocono

    Hamlin saves enough fuel to earn fifth career win at Pocono

    Coming off last week’s loss at New Hampshire Denny Hamlin had hopes of winning at Pocono Raceway, a track where he has been so successful over the years. Despite fuel concerns and one NASCAR Overtime, Hamlin was able to hold off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. for his third win of the 2019 season and his first since Texas back in March.

    “He (Chris Gabehart, Crew Chief) said we were good to the checkers, but not the green-white-checkered,” Hamlin said in his post-race interview with MRN Radio. “He said, we were going to have to have a different conversation if it went into overtime, but I knew with all of those caution laps with about six or seven to go, I knew we were good to go. It helped us out, honestly, I did everything I could to save fuel there when I got out front. If it was going to be not enough, it was going to be not enough.”

    “Proud of the whole team putting me on great strategy there. This is a perfect team effort this weekend. We really identified our weakness from the first race and we went to work, as a driver and a team, therefore we’re better for it.”

    Kevin Harvick sat on the pole after Saturday afternoon qualifying with Joey Logano on the outside pole. Several cars failed prerace inspection on Sunday morning. Those included Austin Dillon who failed twice for a rear toe issue, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Corey Lajoie, Ross Chastain and Reed Sorenson. Everyone who failed the pre-race inspection had to go to the back when the race started.

    Also going to the back were Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, who wrecked during Saturday morning practice sessions and had to go a backup car.

    Stages were broken up into 50/50/60 laps to make up the 160-lap race.

    Stage 1: Lap 1-Lap 50

    The green flag for the Monster Energy NASCAR Gander RV 400 was moved to 3:08 p.m. ET Sunday due to the potential threat of rain showers. The PJ1 traction compound was also reapplied to the track on Sunday morning.

    It was all Kevin Harvick from the get-go but there were a few minor incidents. Brad Keselowski who had been struggling all weekend hit the wall on the front stretch and had a right rear tire go down on Lap 5.

    Just a few laps later, pit strategy came into play with Alex Bowman pitting on Lap 14 in hopes of splitting the stage up. More drivers started to come down between Laps 21-39. Kyle Busch and Jones pitted from the top five at the beginning of the green-flag pit stops. During the pit stop, Jones had an issue with the wrench breaking off which was a potential concern, but it never really became a problem for the No. 20 team.

    On Lap 39, Harvick finally pitted from the lead along with Hamlin, from the top two spots. Both would have to stop two more times during the race. On the same lap, we would see Kyle Busch cycle out of the pit stops as the race leader. Busch would hang on to for the rest of the stage and win Stage 1.

    Joey Logano, Harvick, Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Jones, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-10 finishers of Stage 1.

    Stage 2: Lap 54-Lap 100

    Harvick would recycle as the leader after staying out under the stage break. On Lap 61, Blaney made contact with the wall and had to pit for extensive damage. Four laps later, Kyle Busch made his pit stop. Jimmie Johnson also had issues under his pit stop, catching a jack.

    A battle for the lead started began to heat up between Busch and Harvick as the weather started to threaten the area. Busch was able to take the top spot on Lap 72, with Harvick pitting on Lap 78. A caution flew on Lap 83 for Chase Elliott, who blew a right-front tire and came to a stop on the frontstretch. Elliott wound up with a disappointing last-place finish.

    Kyle Busch stayed out, while a few others like Larson, Logano, Truex, Keselowski, Bowyer, Daniel Hemric, Bubba Wallace, Jones, Austin Dillon and Almirola, pitted.

    As the restart came on Lap 87, rain hit the racetrack bringing out the caution again on Lap 91. However, it was a short-lived rain shower and the race resumed with five to go in Stage 2.

    Race leader Busch pitted with three to go, as he had fuel concerns. However, an unlucky caution occurred one lap later when Daniel Suarez and Blaney made contact with each other with two to go in the second stage, and sent Blaney spinning, bringing out another yellow.

    The Stage would end under caution with Johnson winning the stage, his first stage win since 2017. Harvick followed in second as Logano, Truex, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Jones, Keselowski, Bowman and Larson all finished inside the top-10. Busch finished a disappointing 25th after leading at one point.

    Stage 3: Lap 103-Lap 163

    In what would be an exciting third and final stage, Hamlin took the lead after the restart. Busch was back inside the top-10 on Lap 113. Another caution flag was flown, however, on Lap 115, for Ryan Preece who slammed into the Turn 1 wall. Preece wound up 37th after the incident.

    From there, it became a fuel mileage race to the finish. Jones reported that he was two laps short with 33 to go. Many other drivers also had concerns about saving fuel, including Hamlin. Anticipating that the leaders could run out of fuel, Busch pitted with 26 to go. Hamlin would wind up passing Jones for the lead with 17 to go and Truex moved up to second a few laps later.

    Pole sitter Kevin Harvick also started to close in on the race leaders and was told that he was good to go on fuel to the checkers, barring any yellows. While it looked as though Hamlin would run away with the win, a caution came out with eight laps to go for the No. 53 of Josh Bilicki who stalled on the backstretch.

    There was a broad range of different strategies with Bowman, Kurt Busch, Logano, DiBenedetto, Stenhouse and Blaney, among others, pitting, while the top leaders including Harvick, Hamlin and Jones, among others, opting to stay out.

    A restart came with four to go, but another caution occurred almost immediately as Kurt Busch accidentally came up and made contact with Stenhouse, causing him to hit the wall off Turn 1. Stenhouse retaliated by wrecking Busch, which also collected Michael McDowell. Also, Suarez was penalized for laying back on the restart.

    The incident set up a NASCAR Overtime finish with two laps to go. Despite having some fuel concerns for potential multiple overtimes, Hamlin was able to hang on to tie NASCAR legend Fireball Roberts on the all-time wins list with 34 career wins.

    “The lap traffic was a benefit for me,” Hamlin added. “It kind of slowed down the 20 (Jones) and I saw he was letting off early on entry and that allowed me to dive-bomb on the outside into the PJ1 in Turn 1. With the 19 (Truex) he had to go low to pass a lap car. I just decided to take the middle lane in Turns (3 and 4). Once again, I had an extra lane that wasn’t there in the past and I was able to get around him. Just once you get behind, it’s so hard to pass but we were able to get it done.”

    Hamlin led twice for 53 laps to earn his third win of the 2019 season. There were seven cautions for 24 laps along with nine lead changes among five drivers.

    Playoff Watch

    1. Kyle Busch
    2. Martin Truex Jr
    3. Denny Hamlin
    4. Brad Keselowski
    5. Joey Logano
    6. Kevin Harvick
    7. Kurt Busch
    8. Chase Elliott
    9. Alex Bowman
    10. Aric Almirola, +94
    11. Ryan Blaney, +79
    12. William Byron, +62
    13. Erik Jones, +39
    14. Kyle Larson, +37
    15. Clint Bowyer, +12
    16. Ryan Newman, +12

      Below The Cut Line
    17. Jimmie Johnson, -12
    18. Daniel Suarez, -31
    19. Paul Menard, -68
    20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, -88

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race Number 21
    Race Results for the 46th Annual Gander RV 400 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
    Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA – 2.5 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 163 Laps – 407.5 Miles

    Fin Str No Driver Team Laps S1Pos S2Pos S3Pos Pts Status
    1 9 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 163 4 5 0 53 Running
    2 4 20 Erik Jones Reser’s Main St Bistro Toyota 163 7 7 0 43 Running
    3 8 19 Martin Truex Jr Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Toyota 163 5 4 0 47 Running
    4 31 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 163 0 0 0 33 Running
    5 23 42 Kyle Larson Credit One Bank Chevrolet 163 6 10 0 38 Running
    6 1 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Beer Gen X Ford 163 3 2 0 48 Running
    7 17 8 Daniel Hemric # Caterpillar Chevrolet 163 0 0 0 30 Running
    8 11 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford 163 0 8 0 32 Running
    9 5 18 Kyle Busch Skittles Toyota 163 1 0 0 38 Running
    10 30 12 Ryan Blaney MoneyLion Ford 163 0 0 0 27 Running
    11 13 14 Clint Bowyer Toco Warranty/Haas Automation Ford 163 10 0 0 27 Running
    12 3 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 163 8 0 0 28 Running
    13 2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 163 2 3 0 41 Running
    14 19 6 Ryan Newman Performance Plus Ford 163 0 0 0 23 Running
    15 32 48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet 163 0 1 0 32 Running
    16 33 37 Chris Buescher Kroger Fast Start Chevrolet 163 0 0 0 21 Running
    17 10 95 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota 163 0 0 0 20 Running
    18 16 21 Paul Menard Menards/Duracel Optimum Ford 163 0 0 0 19 Running
    19 34 3 Austin Dillon Freightliner Chevrolet 163 0 6 0 23 Running
    20 12 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Chevrolet 163 0 9 0 19 Running
    21 14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Performance Ford 163 0 0 0 16 Running
    22 21 43 Bubba Wallace Victory Junction Chevrolet 163 0 0 0 15 Running
    23 22 36 Matt Tifft # Surface Sunscreen Ford 163 0 0 0 14 Running
    24 7 41 Daniel Suarez Haas Automation Ford 163 0 0 0 13 Running
    25 35 34 Michael McDowell Long John Silver’s Ford 163 0 0 0 12 Running
    26 36 32 Corey LaJoie Adirondack Tree Surgeons Ford 162 0 0 0 11 Running
    27 6 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 162 9 0 0 12 Running
    28 24 0 Landon Cassill(i) Mane N Tail Chevrolet 159 0 0 0 0 Running
    29 25 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Military Chevrolet 159 0 0 0 8 Running
    30 37 15 Ross Chastain(i) Chevrolet 159 0 0 0 0 Running
    31 28 77 Quin Houff Rapid City Rush Chevrolet 158 0 0 0 6 Running
    32 38 27 * Reed Sorenson Lehigh Valley Phantoms Chevrolet 158 0 0 0 5 Running
    33 27 51 BJ McLeod(i) JACOB COMPANIES/Pocono Organics Ford 158 0 0 0 0 Running
    34 29 52 Austin Theriault Trick Shot/Bangor Savings Bank Ford 157 0 0 0 3 Running
    35 26 53 * Josh Bilicki(i) Token 4 Token Chevrolet 146 0 0 0 0 Driveshaft
    36 15 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford 123 0 0 0 1 Accident
    37 20 47 Ryan Preece # Kroger Chevrolet 114 0 0 0 1 Accident
    38 18 9 Chase Elliott NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet 83 0 0 0 1 Accident
  • Kevin Harvick scores his first Busch Pole Award at Pocono

    Kevin Harvick scores his first Busch Pole Award at Pocono

    Kevin Harvick claimed the Busch Pole Award at Pocono Raceway Saturday afternoon, leading the way in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a 174.058 mph lap in 51.707 seconds.

    It was his fourth pole of the season and his first at the 2-5-mile track. Harvick has 12 top fives and 17 top 10s at the “Tricky Triangle” but is still searching for that elusive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono.

    The qualifying order is unofficial until the final inspection which will take place Sunday morning before the Gander RV 400.

    Harvick is hoping to carry the momentum from his victory last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and capture his first Pocono checkered flag.

    “It has been a really good track for me and my guys and really the whole company knows that we’d love to cross this one off – one of the last two of tracks that we haven’t won at,” Harvick said. 

    “it’s been a successful race track and the first race this year we had a great car and the right strategy and jacked it up and the steering box broke. It’s just kind of been one thing after another like that and tomorrow it’s gonna take a fast car, but it’s also gonna take everything falling your way so that you can get the strategy right. It’s restarts and pit strategy and all the normal Pocono things that you have to battle are still going to be the things you have to overcome.”

    Current points leader Joey Logano will start on the outside pole after a qualifying lap at 173.377 mph followed by Aric Almirola in third (173.164 mph).

    Almirola was happy with his lap but thought he could have done more.

    “I might have left a little bit on the table, but I felt good about our lap,” he explained. “We made a lot of changes to our race car after practice. We weren’t really happy with our race car in final practice, so we made a lot of changes going into qualifying for the impound race procedure, so I wasn’t really sure what we were gonna have there and it kind of surprised me. I’m really happy with that. Our Smithfield Ford Mustang has got a lot of speed and now we’ve got to go race for 400 miles. Track position is really, really important here.”

    Erik Jones (173.110 mph) will start fourth as Austin Dillon (172.659 mph) rounds out the top five.

    “We have had good speed,” Jones said. “I thought with that lap we would have it. That’s kind of frustrating. We have a fast car and I thought we had a shot at the pole. It’s kind of frustrating, but we are starting up front, either way, so we will make a good day of it.”

    Jimmie Johnson qualified sixth while defending race winner, Kyle Busch, will start sixth. William Byron, Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.

    The Gander RV 400 is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday and will be broadcast live on NBCSN with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Ross Chastain puts on clinic at Pocono, takes home popular win

    Ross Chastain puts on clinic at Pocono, takes home popular win

    With fuel no longer a concern when it came to crunch time, fan-favorite Ross Chastain was able to take home his third checkered flag of the 2019 season and becomes more of a threat for the championship.

    “This thing was “Haulin Ballz” all day. Nick Harrison, I miss that guy,” Chastain said in his post-race interview. “These guys brought a flawless truck. The only time we didn’t lead laps was when we pitted to keep our track position. Flawless day, flawless weekend. These guys set up the fastest truck, they get to drive home because we’re not on the budget today. We came and we won, so it’s a dream come true.”

    Austin Hill won the pole during qualifying Friday afternoon with Ross Chastain on the outside pole.

    Stage 1 Lap 1- Lap 15

    The Gander RV 150 got off to an eventful start on the first lap, as Stewart Friesen’s truck snapped loose, wrecking and hit the Turn 1 wall. Friesen would wind up in last place.

    Friesen commented added, “Not really sure (regarding the incident), spun around and made contact with the wall. We had a lot of family out here today and we are really disappointed. I’m usually optimistic, but not really sure right now.”

    Just as soon as the race restarted on Lap 5, another caution flag flew for the No. 28 of Bryan Dauzat who spun in Turn 1. Bayley Currey also spun around after the Lap 8 restart but no caution was flown as the race remained green. Johnny Sauter would have to make a pit stop due to contact with Currey after the restart.

    These were the only three incidents that took place in the first stage. Stage 1 eventually saw Florida native Ross Chastain take the stage win.

    Stage 2 Lap 19- Lap 30

    With some pit strategy, Harrison Burton stayed out along with Chastain, Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Christian Eckes and Todd Gilliland.

    The second stage was not as eventful as Stage 1 but still had some notable incidents. Right after the green flag dropped for Stage 2, Creed hit the wall on the backstretch after slight contact with Eckes and Creed had to make a pit stop for right front damage.

    Pole sitter Austin Hill also had his own issues, as clutch problems would eventually take him out of the race on Lap 22. More strategy broke out just a few laps later, that saw Chastain pitting from the lead along with Eckes and Tyler Ankrum.

    By staying out, Burton collected a much-needed Stage win in hopes of making it into the playoffs, earning 10 playoff points.

    Stage 3 Lap 34- Lap 60

    Chastain was able to recycle as the race leader when the race went back green, as other drivers pitted under the Stage break. From that point on, even with saving a little bit of fuel in case of a green-white-checkered overtime, the Niece Motorsports driver had enough in the tank to take home his third checkered flag of the season, his first since Gateway.

    “It all starts with the top of our team,” Chastain added in his post-race interview with MRN Radio describing the victory. “Al Niece (Team Owner), his motto is “Press The Attack”, he is a marine vet. He has done more in his life than I ever could imagine. This whole country could never thank a guy like him enough. But that’s what he instills in us. After everything happened in Iowa, we came back mad and won again. We were mad this week, losing Nick Harrison. Honestly, it’s not fair. Everyone goes to the lord when it’s their time.”

    “But man it feels good (to win), yes it’s hard. I’ve had dominant trucks and not won, so to put it all together, it’s so tough. I’m just living my dream.”

    With this win, Chastain earned the third victory of his Truck Series career. Chastain led twice for 54 laps and earned six playoff points.

    1. Ross Chastain
    2. Tyler Ankrum
    3. Harrison Burton
    4. Christian Eckes
    5. Brett Moffitt
    6. Matt Crafton
    7. Todd Gilliland
    8. Johnny Sauter
    9. Ben Rhodes
    10. Grant Enfinger
    11. Tyler Dippel
    12. Tony Mrakovich
    13. Jordan Anderson
    14. Gus Dean
    15. Austin Wayne Self
    16. Natalie Decker
    17. Mason Massey IV
    18. Spencer Boyd
    19. Ray Ciccarelli, One Lap Down
    20. Josh Reaume, One Lap Down
    21. Jennifer Jo Cobb, One Lap Down
    22. Norm Benning, Two Laps Down
    23. Bayley Currey, Two Laps Down
    24. Bryan Dauzat, Two Laps Down
    25. Sheldon Creed, Four Laps Down
    26. TJ Bell, 27 Laps Down
    27. Bryant Barnhill, 34 Laps Down
    28. Joe Nemechek, 36 Laps Down
    29. Daniel Sasnett, 39 Laps Down
    30. Austin Hill, 39 Laps Down, OUT
    31. Anthony Alfredo OUT
    32. Stewart Friesen OUT

    Up Next: The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series inches closer to the start of their Playoffs by heading to one of their most famous races of the year, The Eldora Dirt Derby on Thursday, August 1.