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Tag: Pocono Raceway

  • Ankrum, Burton round out top three finishers at Pocono

    Ankrum, Burton round out top three finishers at Pocono

    Coming off a big win at Kentucky a couple of weeks ago, DGR-Crosley driver Tyler Ankrum was hoping to carry that momentum to Pocono Raceway, a track he has never raced on before Friday.

    Ankrum qualified his No. 17 Truck in the ninth position after Friday’s qualifying session, giving him some decent track position. From there, all Ankrum and the DGR-Crosley team could do is hope to move forward and they did just that.

    After an eventful first couple of laps, the California native was able to miss all the drama that took place early. In fact, Ankrum avoided all the turmoil throughout the race, finishing 10th in Stage 1 and 21st in Stage 2 after pitting to gain track position for the third and final stage.

    Ankrum restarted on the front row alongside eventual race winner Ross Chastain. He was able to get close to Chastain with 13 to go, with the leader saving a little bit of fuel in case of a caution. But ultimately, Ankrum wound up finishing second. Still, it was an impressive performance at a track he had never raced on before.

    “I fought myself there at the beginning of the race,” Ankrum said to MRN Radio in his post-race interview. “I was just kind of stepping on my own toes, overdriving the racecar. That’s really easy to do here (at Pocono). You know, you don’t really feel over driving the truck, but the lap times show it. As soon as I could fix myself, it was smooth sailing from there. I burned my tires up trying to chase Ross (Chastain) down, couldn’t get close enough to him in the draft, but just kind of ping-ponged right there.”

    “You know, awesome Toyota Tundra, gotta thank Railblaza, DGR-Crosley and all the people who helped me get here.”

    With the second-place finish, it gave Ankrum his second top-five of the season.

    For Harrison Burton and company, it was a much-needed finish and a great points day for the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team who is facing the possibility of missing the Playoffs. (Photo by Kirk Schroll/SpeedwayMedia.com.)

    Burton came into Pocono sitting right outside the cutoff line and was hoping to have a good day, and he did indeed have just that.

    Burton finished third in Stage 1 and after staying out for Stage 2, he was able to win that stage by not pitting under the first stage break and gained some playoff points.

    For Stage 3, Burton restarted ninth and had to really work his way up to the front without any cautions. The No. 18 KBM driver was able to do so, finishing in the third position.

    “We had a really good truck, we were really fast,” Burton explained to MRN Radio. “It was fun, we had to charge through the field there. We started ninth on the last restart and just had to go. Just ran out of time there at the end, just frustrating. Those guys had good strategy and we were cutting it close there on fuel. I knew they were riding around a little bit, thinking I could get to them. Driving as hard as I could there at the end and driving my butt off at the end, just couldn’t come our way.”

    It was Burton’s seventh top five of the season.

  • Eckes and Moffitt content with top-five finish at Pocono

    Eckes and Moffitt content with top-five finish at Pocono

    After winning the ARCA race Friday afternoon at Pocono, Christian Eckes had to jump straight into the famed No.51 Kyle Busch Motorsports to compete in the Truck Series.

    With the ARCA Menards Series win, the nearby Middletown, New York native was hoping to take the sweep at “The Tricky Triangle.”

    Eckes started 13th at Pocono Raceway and eventually made his way up to the front. In Stage 1, he finished seventh while finishing outside the top-10 in Stage 2 after making a pit stop late in the stage to gain some track position in hopes of winning the race.

    After pitting, Eckes restarted fourth for the final stage after staying out under the stage break.

    It was clean and green for the rest of the way, and with fuel being somewhat of a concern for the race leaders, Eckes came home fourth.

    “You know, it was a pretty good weekend overall,” Eckes said to MRN in his post-race interview. “I wish we could have swept the weekend a little bit, but you know, as a whole, the race was pretty exciting. It was a great weekend and it’s something we can build on for the next two races at KBM.”

    Although Eckes was happy with his top-five finish, GMS Racing driver, Brett Moffitt was frustrated after finishing fifth.

    Photo by Kirk Schroll for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Moffitt was hoping to put the Kentucky race behind him after running out of gas on the last lap in hopes of taking the checkered flag at Pocono.

    The GMS Racing driver qualified his No. 24 Chevy in the fourth spot and placed fifth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2.

    He would restart seventh for the final stage but never could catch the lucky break or caution he needed in order to have a shot at the win. In the end, he finished fifth, earning his eighth top-five of the season.

    “Very uneventful day here at Pocono,” Moffitt said to MRN Radio. “It’s frustrating, it’s so spread out, the PJ1 didn’t really come into play at all which was unfortunate. I applaud NASCAR on trying something, but we need to do something to make the racing better here. It’s just all about track position, getting out front and staying out front.”

    “All in all, we had a pretty good No. 24 Chevy Accessories GMS Silverado. Jerry (Baxter, Crew Chief) and everyone did a great job working on what we had. It felt like we were fighting on some type of engine issue or driveline issue, where I couldn’t make runs on guys like they could get on me. It just plagued us all race on, I wasn’t able to be aggressive.”

  • Christian Eckes wins ARCA race at Pocono, earns essential points victory

    Christian Eckes wins ARCA race at Pocono, earns essential points victory

    After more than an hour delay and threatening skies around Pocono Raceway, the ARCA Menards Series drivers were able to get back on track for the FORTS USA 150 with nearby Middletown, New York native Christian Eckes grabbing the checkered flag.

    It was Eckes second career ARCA Menards Series win of the season, his first since Nashville in May and the fourth career victory of his young racing career.

    After starting on the outside pole and with a little bit of luck, Venturini Motorsports driver Christian Eckes took the win at Pocono by 13 seconds over Todd Gilliland.

    “Once they told me what happened to the 18 (Gilliland) it was all about keeping our heads down and not making any mistakes,” Eckes said. “We knew there was a long way to go and we needed to be perfect to close it out.”

    Gilliland qualified on the pole earlier in the afternoon before the weather started to threaten Pocono Raceway as the race start time got closer. Lightning was detected within the eight-mile radius when the race was supposed to start, adding another 30 minutes to the delay.

    Finally, after a little over an hour, the ARCA Menards Series drivers were able to take the green flag after 5 p.m. ET and it was all Todd Gilliland, well, almost all Todd Gilliland.

    It was an eventful start as Michael Self and Chandler Smith made slight contact with each other. Gilliland put on a dominating performance leading the first 30 laps before making his scheduled pit stop.

    Unfortunately, the No. 18 driver got caught with a penalty for going above the blend line before coming back on track safely. Smith was also penalized for speeding on pit road. While that happened, Christian Eckes, who pitted before Gilliland, was able to take the lead on Lap 34 as pit stops cycled out. Willie Mullins, driving his family-owned No. 3 machine, received a penalty as well for the same issue Gilliland faced, and he had to make a drive-through.

    Gilliland got set back to the second position, but was well over 15 seconds behind Eckes. The Sherrils Ford, North Carolina native would need a lot of help from the leader, Eckes, or a lucky caution to give him one more shot at the win.

    However, Gilliland was unlucky to catch the break he needed and Eckes went on to score the hometown win for the second time this season.

    “We need to be perfect from here on out,” Eckes said. “Without missing the race at Salem, we’d be 150 points ahead. Without the last lap at Elko, we’d be within 50 points or so. We were perfect here today and we need to be perfect every week from here on out. I’ve won at three of the five tracks and my crew chief Kevin Reed has won at all five of them so I am confident we can make a run at it.”

    Gilliland was able to rebound for a second-place finish after the blend line violation during his round of pit stops.

    “The blend line rule is different in Trucks and ARCA,” he said. “In the truck, we can go above the line with the right side tires as long as we keep the left side tires below it. In ARCA they want you to keep all four tires below it until you’re between Turns 1 and 2. It wouldn’t have been a problem for me at all to keep them below the line. I should have known it but I didn’t.”

    Championship points leader Michael Self came home in the third spot after giving up a top-five position earlier in the race for a right rear tire that was going down.

    “We had a right rear tire go down and we had to pit early,” Self said. “Once the field cycled through and we didn’t get a caution it evened out for us. We weren’t close to second place and we were way ahead of fourth so we were just trying to make sure we didn’t do anything to give it away at the end.”

    There were no cautions during the FORTS USA 150 at Pocono, which saw four lead changes among five drivers. Just four cars finished on the lead lap.

    1. Christian Eckes
    2. Todd Gilliland
    3. Michael Self
    4. Corey Heim
    5. Raphael Lessard, One Lap Down
    6. Austin Wayne Self, One Lap Down
    7. Bret Holmes, One Lap Down
    8. Chandler Smith, One Lap Down
    9. Travis Braden, One Lap Down
    10. Joe Graf Jr, Two Laps Down
    11. Thad Moffitt, Three Laps Down
    12. Bobby Gerhart, Four Laps Down
    13. Ed Pompa, Five Laps Down
    14. Willie Mullins, Seven Laps Down
    15. Tim Richmond, 10 laps Down
    16. Brad Smith, Did Not Finish, Handling
    17. Tommy Vigh Jr., Did Not Finish, Electrical
    18. Dick Doheny, Did Not Finish, Vibration
    19. Mike Basham, Did Not Finish, Brakes
    20. Don Thompson, Did Not Start

  • ARCA Menards Series Preview-Pocono II

    ARCA Menards Series Preview-Pocono II

    The summer stretch continues for the 2019 ARCA Menards Series season as they head east to “The Tricky Triangle” known as Pocono Raceway, located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

    It will be the 15th race of the season when the ARCA drivers hit the track Friday afternoon for the FORTS USA 150. And with six races remaining, the championship points race heats up between the top five drivers including Michael Self, Bret Holmes, Christian Eckes, Travis Braden and Joe Graf Jr., who all still have a realistic shot at winning the title. But some will need extra help in order to have a chance at the championship.

    Last week’s winner and breakout star, Chandler Smith, will look to carry that momentum over to the 2.5-mile racetrack. While Smith has no starts at Pocono, the 17-year-old did compete in last month’s open test.

    “This biggest thing I learned in the test is discipline,” he said. “The main thing is going to be passing. We were extremely strong when we went there. We all felt like if we raced, we were going to whoop the field. The main thing is being able to race around the aero and getting used to that much side force.”

    While Smith doesn’t have the experience at Pocono, his teammate Michael Self does. And overall, his experience has been alright for the most part but he wants to do better. He has two starts at Pocono with a best finish of third in 2017 when Self did not compete with Venturini Motorsports. Self’s only start with Venturini came last month where he started third and finished 11th.

    Self hopes to have a better outcome this time around.

    “Our first race here a few weeks ago was definitely frustrating,” Self says. “We struggled with balance throughout practice but felt like we made progress on it and had an idea of which direction we needed to go during the race. Then, as soon as we rolled off the grid, we started losing power due to the alternator going bad. It kind of just went downhill from there as we had an axle issue around halfway, and then we completely lost power with about five laps to go when it was looking like we might’ve still been able to manage a top-10. I’m definitely wanting to put all that in the rearview mirror this weekend and put together a clean day at a track that I really enjoy going to.”

    Self competed in the open test last month but noted that it did not go as well as he hoped.

    “On test day I was overdriving it really bad,” he said. “I watched the Dartfish video and decided that I was going to calm down and we went out and finished third that day.”

    Christian Eckes will have twice the track time when he visits Pocono Raceway Friday afternoon. Eckes will be competing in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports truck and will have plenty of practice time to get the handle of the track.

    “Pocono has always been a place I’ve enjoyed going to,” said Eckes. “It’s pretty flat, and for whatever reason, I’ve always been good at places like that. We have a little bit of momentum coming in and we’re really excited to get back to the track. It hasn’t been an easy year by any means, but I’m confident our JBL Team can get us back on track at Pocono this weekend.”

    Eckes has three starts dating back to his first race in June of 2018, all for Venturini Motorsports. His best finish came recently in last month’s race, where the New York native finished third after starting ninth.

    It will be hard to stop the Venturini Motorsports powerhouse team, as Smith won the race at Iowa with Eckes finishing second and Self in third.

    With a disappointing couple of weeks and races, Joe Graf Jr. finally earned a top-10 finish at Iowa last weekend, placing ninth. Sitting fifth in the championship points standings, Graf hopes that top-10 finish will be the spark that he needs to go on a tear for the last six races of the season.

    “Hopefully, we can have a good finish on Friday afternoon, we desperately need it,” said Graf who sits fifth in the championship standings. “We’ve been OK this year – definitely not the performances or finishes we would be ecstatic with, but everyone at Chad Bryant Racing continues to work hard knowing we’re capable of contending for race wins.”

    Even though Graf earned a top-10 finish last week, the Chad Bryant Racing driver is hungry for a win heading into Pocono.

    “I’m ready to win, I go to the race track every weekend wanting to win,” he added. “Pocono would be a great place to do it. To sweep the season for Chad Bryant Racing and to get my second career ARCA Menards Series win at a place where I’ll have a lot of friends and family cheering me on, that’s a big deal.”

    “It’s not going to be that easy though – just driving to the front and staying there. It’s a competitive field and there hasn’t been a lot of falloff between those running in the top-10. At the same time, that can be frustrating but it’s also like motivation.”

    Graf has three starts at Pocono, earning two top-10 finishes with a best finish of seventh in his first outing in June of 2018. In last month’s race, he finished eighth after starting sixth.

    While Graf has a little bit of experience at Pocono, his teammate Corey Heim will be making his speedway debut this weekend at “The Tricky Triangle.” Despite not having any racing starts at Pocono, Heim competed in the open test last month. The Chad Bryant Racing driver is excited about his debut and will take the time he needs in order to get up to speed.

    “Very excited about my speedway debut in ARCA,” said Heim who finished sixth in the series’ most recent race at Iowa Speedway. “I’m very fortunate that Chad Bryant Racing and my crew chief Paul (Andrews) continue to give me fast race cars and I know sooner or later – it will be time to shine in Victory Lane.”

    This is the biggest race track I’ve ever competed on in my racing career, so while that’s exciting, it can also be a little bit intimidating too. Luckily, I have a lot of good people around me that can help.”

    “It’s important to make sure we get our No. 22 Speedway Children’s Charities Ford Fusion dialed in during practice, qualify up front and then see what happens in 60 laps. It will be a quick race and I think strategy will be crucial for the winning move.”

    With Ty Majeski making all six starts and being quite successful in most of them, Heim will be in the car for the rest of the season until the season finale at Kansas in October.

    Making a return to the ARCA Series after a short hiatus is Willie Mullins as his family-owned No.3 team returns to the track. It’ll be the first time since Charlotte in May where we will see the Virginia native on track. When Mullins gets on track Friday, it will almost like a homecoming race for his team.

    “A lot of our crew live in the Pocono area, so it’s a homecoming for them to get to run their local track,” Mullins explained. “Kevin Belmont, our spotter, is from up there. George Kerner and all of those guys, that is where their home is. It’s kind of a homecoming for them and I’m glad we can run their local track.”

    Mullins goal and mindset is simple; finish the race and leave the track without any major incident.

    “We want to come out of there and not tear up a race car,” Mullins said. “We’ve raced two times this year and we’ve left the track with torn up cars two times this year. We’re expecting a top-15 finish; we just need to go out there and not tear up the car.”

    After starting 19th in last week’s race at Iowa, Bret Holmes and the family-owned No. 23 team finished eighth. Coming into Pocono, Holmes has five starts and recently earned his best career track finish of fifth in last month’s race.

    “Even though we had a top-five finish last time at Pocono Raceway, we’re still working hard to improve on that run. Before that race, I felt like Pocono was my worst track. After that top-five run, it gave me a lot more confidence heading into this race. I think there’s still some things I need to work on and figure out. There are only a few races left in the season, so we’re putting in as much work as possible to come out with the best finishes we can. Every position matters at this point when it’s so close in the point standings.”

    Since 1983, Pocono Raceway has seen a grand total of 69 ARCA races with a wins list that has seen multiple winners with ARCA legends and future NASCAR superstars who all made their mark by winning at Pocono. Former ARCA Series competitor and legend Tim Steele has the most wins with nine victories.

    Other drivers on the entry list include Bobby Gerhart, J.J. Pack, Don Thompson, Ed Pompa, Tommy Vigh Jr., Dick Doheny, Todd Gilliland, Travis Braden, Raphael Lessard, Austin Wayne Self, Sean Corr, Thad Moffitt, Brad Smith, Mike Basham and Tim Richmond.

    It will be a one day show for the ARCA Menards Series drivers with the only practice session scheduled for Friday morning at 9 a.m. ET on arcaracing.com and General Tire pole qualifying at 1:35 p.m. ET, also live on arcaracing.com.

    The FORTS USA 150 is slated to get underway a little after 4 p.m. ET with a 60 lap dash live on Fox Sports 1.




  • Weekend schedule for Pocono-2 and Iowa-2

    Weekend schedule for Pocono-2 and Iowa-2

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series travel to Pocono Raceway this weekend while the Xfinity Series heads to Iowa Speedway.

    Kyle Busch is the defending Cup Series race winner and has won three of the last four races at the 2.5-mile triangular track, including this season’s June race. Another victory would put him in an elite group that includes Hall of Famer Bobby Allison (1982-83) and Tim Richmond (1986-87), the only drivers to win three consecutive races at Pocono.

    Christopher Bell returns to defend his Xfinity win. Busch also won the 2018 Truck Series event.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 26th

    Pocono:
    10:35 a.m.–11:25 a.m.: Truck Series First Practice – No TV
    12:35 p.m.–1:25 p.m.: Truck Series Final Practice – No TV
    6:05 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – Impound/Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – FS1

    Iowa:
    5:05 p.m.-5:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBCSN
    7 p.m.-7:50 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App

    Saturday, July 27th

    Pocono:
    9:05 a.m.–9:55 a.m.: Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN/MRN
    11:05 a.m.–11:55 a.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN/MRN
    1 p.m.: Truck Series Gander RV 150 – Stages 15/30/60 Laps – FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    4:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Impound/Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions -NBCSN/MRN

    Iowa:
    12:05 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying – Impound/Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions -NBCSN
    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series US Cellular 250 – Stages 60/120/250 – NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, July 28th

    Pocono:
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Gander RV 400 – Stages 50/100/160 Laps – NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

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

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview- Pocono

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Preview- Pocono

    The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series gets back on track this weekend for a rare Saturday afternoon race at Pocono Raceway.

    The Truck Series last raced at Kentucky a couple of weeks ago, where we saw a first-time winner, Tyler Ankrum, get DGR-Crosley their first-ever Truck Series win. Doing so clinched Ankrum a playoff spot and made things much more interesting regarding the playoff cut line.

    With Ankrum’s win, he jumped up to fifth in the playoff points standings. Also moving up in the standings is fan-favorite Ross Chastain who moved up to second in the playoffs and has clinched a spot.

    This has created some interesting battles with just three races left in the 2019 Truck Series season. Drivers like Harrison Burton, Ben Rhodes and Todd Gilliland are sitting outside the cut line while seasoned veterans like Matt Crafton and Stewart Friesen sit barely above the cutline.

    Brett Moffitt, Ross Chastain, Johnny Sauter and Austin Hill have won this season taking up five spots, leaving only three spots left for drivers like Gilliland, Rhodes, Burton, Crafton and Friesen. Grant Enfinger will likely remain safe. If he continues to be the points leader when the playoffs start, he’ll be locked in due to being the regular-season champion.

    With that said, drivers will be pushing the limit in Saturday’s Gander RV 150 at Pocono Raceway. The race is 50 laps, which is the Truck Series’ shortest race of the season.

    Here are five drivers that might get it done in Saturday’s race.

    Currently, there are 31 Trucks entered on the preliminary entry list

    1. Stewart Friesen – Someone looking to lock themselves into the playoffs Saturday afternoon is the No. 52 Halmar Racing driver Stewart Friesen. After having a wild day at the track a few weeks back in Kentucky and finishing second, Friesen is looking forward to upping that finish one more spot. In the past four races this season, he has finished second, third twice and fifth. At Pocono, Friesen has two starts with a best finish of fourth in last year’s race and leading four laps, and won Stage 2 after playing some pit strategy. The Canadian will look to clinch himself into the playoffs Saturday and Pocono could be the place to do it with an average finish of 8.0.

    2. Grant Enfinger – Another driver looking to put a miserable Kentucky in his rearview mirror is the Alabama native Grant Enfinger. Enfinger was taken out in an incident while battling for the lead and was left with a disappointing finish. However, it’s a new week and a new race for the No. 98 ThorSport team who more than likely are even hungrier for a win at this point in the season with the playoffs on the horizon. Enfinger has only two starts at Pocono and for the most part, he has averaged decent results. His best finish came in 2018 when he finished sixth after starting fifth. Enfinger finished fifth and second in both stages, respectively, in last year’s version. Like Friesen, Enfinger could very well get it done Saturday afternoon and finally lock himself into the playoffs.

    3. Johnny Sauter – Pocono might be the place where Sauter and his No. 13 team get back on track for the 2019 season after having a few difficult races. Sauter has not won since Dover earlier this year and has had up and down finishes since. He finished 22nd at Kansas, 17th at Charlotte, 13th at Texas, 27th at Iowa and 18th at Chicago. After a few difficult races, the Wisconsin native finally earned a top-10 finish, his first since Martinsville in March. In Pocono, Sauter has nine starts with a best finish of second in 2014. Since then, he has finishes of eighth, fifth, eighth and sixth. Sauter has led 16 laps and collected three top fives and six top-10 finishes. The last time he had led any laps was two years ago in the 2017 race. So while Pocono might be “The Tricky Triangle” to Sauter and his No. 13 ThorSport team, he might surprise the field on Saturday by getting win No. 2 of the season.


    4. Todd Gilliland – Gilliland has one start that came in 2018 when he started second and finished seventh after leading seven laps. With the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports driver being on the playoff bubble, Gilliland just might pull out a last-minute desperation move and lock himself in by winning Saturday’s race. Gilliland is also competing in Friday’s ARCA race competing in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota. With the extra track time, it could make the difference for Gilliland who needs to win. To note, he won Stage 1 in the 2018 race.

    5. Ross Chastain – A sleeper in Saturday’s race could be Niece Motorsports driver Ross Chastain. Chastain hasn’t competed here since 2013 driving for Brad Keselowski. In two starts, the Florida native has finishes of fifth and 10th and led nine laps in his last outing in 2013. While it won’t be shocking, considering Chastain has won already this season and has finished in the top-10 consistently, you could very well consider his Niece Motorsports team a sleeper pick.


      Outside The Playoffs

      1. Harrison Burton – Burton has no Truck starts at Pocono, but does have three ARCA starts with finishes of sixth and fourth with one win last year.

      2. Ben Rhodes – Rhodes has three starts with a best finish of second in 2017 after starting on the pole. Other finishes include 11th in his two other starts but he has not led any laps.

      3. Sheldon Creed – Creed will have a new crew chief this week, as he will be back with his former crew chief who won the ARCA championship last year. The GMS Racing driver has had so-so finishes this year with a best finish of sixth three times. Creed was able to win Stage 1 at Kentucky after starting on the outside pole.

      4. Tyler Dippel – Dippel is 11th in regular-season points, but will more than likely need a win in the next three races. He has no starts at Pocono. In 2019, Dippel’s best finish was eighth at Texas in March. He’ll have to get a lucky break in order to be in the playoffs this year.

      5. Spencer Boyd – Like his teammate Dippel, Boyd will also have to win at this point in the season as he is currently sitting 14th in the regular-season standings. While Boyd doesn’t have any Truck Series start at Pocono, he does have two Xfinity Series starts earning a best finish of 28th in last year’s race.


      Other drivers on the entry list include the No. 0 of Daniel Sasnett for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, the No. 8 of Tony Mrakovich for Joe Nemechek, Anthony Alfredo in the No. 15 for DGR-Crosley, Bryan Dauzat in the No. 28 for Jim Rosenblum, Bryant Barnhill in the No. 32 for Josh Reaume, Bayley Currey in the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports, Ray Ciccarelli back on track in his own No. 49 machine, Christian Eckes returns in the famed No. 51 and Joe Nemechek in the No. 87.

      Pocono Raceway has hosted nine races since its inception in 2010. Only Kyle Busch has won more than once, in 2015 and 2018. Other winners include Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick, Joey Coulter, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, William Byron and Christopher Bell.

      Most of those winners have come inside the top five, happening eight times with one winner coming from the top-10 just once, in 2013.

      A race winner has come from the pole four times, set by Sadler in 2010, Harvick in 2011, Bryon in 2016 and Busch in 2018. Blaney came from the sixth position to win, the lowest a race winner has ever started at Pocono.

      Chevrolet and Toyota are tied with the most wins by a manufacturer with four wins apiece. Ford has only won once in the nine-race stretch.

      The Truck Series racers will get on track Friday morning at 10:35 a.m. ET for the first practice, with final practice at 12:35 p.m. ET, both lasting an hour. There will be no live TV coverage.

      Qualifying will be seen later in the day after the ARCA race concludes at 6:05 p.m. ET. Truck Series drivers will only get one lap for a position. Qualifying will be live on Fox Sports 1.

      The Gander RV 150 is set for Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m ET live on regular FOX and MRN Radio for radio coverage. Stages will be broken up into 15/30/60 laps to make up 150 miles.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch started second at Pocono and led 79 laps on his way to the win in the Pocono 400. It was Busch’s fourth win of the season.

    “That was my 55th Cup win,” Busch said. “That ties me with Rusty Wallace for ninth on the all-time list. Rusty is a NASCAR legend. Anytime I’m on any list alongside Rusty Wallace, I’m thrilled unless that list is Ryan Newman’s ‘S’ list.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished seventh at Pocono as Penske Racing placed two cars in the top 10.

    “Penske Racing is still riding high from Josef Newgarden’s win in the Indianapolis 500 on May 26th,” Logano said. “Unfortunately, as the last two races suggest, Joe Gibbs Racing has been drinking our milk.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took second at Pocono, posting his sixth top five of the season.

    “There was no catching Kyle Busch,” Keselowski said. “I was on his bumper one second; the next second, he was gone. Usually, when I say ‘Kyle Busch is out of my life,’ it brings me immense joy. Not so in this case.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s engine expired on Lap 91, ending his day at Pocono. He finished 35th and is seventh in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “What’s something that blew up at Pocono?” Truex said. “My engine. What’s something that didn’t blow up at Pocono? Television ratings for the race.”

    5. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fourth at Pocono, posting his fifth consecutive top-five finish, the longest streak of his career.

    “Hendrick Motorsports still only has one win all season,” Elliott said. “Sure, it doesn’t stack up to Joe Gibbs Racing’s nine wins, or Penske Racing’s four, but Rick Hendrick told us not to be discouraged, and to look for motivation in the ‘small victories.’”

    6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished sixth at Pocono as Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones finished first and third, respectively.

    “I ended a streak of four consecutive finishes of 15th or worse,” Hamlin said. “I’m happy because the last thing I want to be is the low man on the totem pole at JGR. To avoid that, I simply have to keep up with the ‘Jones’s.’”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 11th at Pocono.

    “My little brother Kyle won the race,” Busch said, “in a car sponsored by ‘Hazelnut Spread M&M’s.’ That’s amazing. I think there are now more types of M&M’s than there were passes for the lead on Sunday.”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was in contention late at Pocono before a penalty for an uncontrolled tire ruined his day. Things got even worse when mechanical problems arose soon after the penalty.

    “I was driving the Busch beer ‘Millennial’ car,” Harvick said. “Any rational observer would have thought Kyle Busch was driving the ‘Millennial’ car, what with the ‘Hazelnut Spread M&M’s’ logo splashed across it.”

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer came home fifth in the Pocono 400, scoring his fifth top five of the season.

    “I’m pleased with our result,” Bowyer said. “The only person I wanted to punch after this race was the NASCAR official who implemented this rules package.”

    10. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 15th at Pocono and is now 11th in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “My Hendrick teammate William Byron won his second consecutive pole,” Bowman said. “That gives Hendrick a series-best six poles. So, our history of qualifying is sterling, but our history of winning is checkered.”

  • Kyle Busch is victorious on the Tricky Triangle in the Pocono 400

    Kyle Busch is victorious on the Tricky Triangle in the Pocono 400

    Despite the field seeking out more speed and track position with various pit strategies, Kyle Busch led 79 laps to win his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in the Pocono 500, tying Rusty Wallace on the all-time win list.

    “I just can’t say enough about everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “Everybody that works there works so hard to build these awesome Camrys. We’ve had an amazing roll this year here so far. We’ve been doing well.

    “We feel like we’ve kind of given away a couple of wins that we thought we had a shot for, but overall, it’s been awesome to get back to Victory Lane here. Pocono’s been a struggle, but it’s a lot better now.”

    Busch’s fourth win of the season came after beating Brad Keselowski by 2.224 seconds. He led a few laps during pit cycles, but was able to fight his way up after the final restart to get close to Busch. His No. 2 Penske Ford wasn’t quite as strong.

    “We didn’t have speed enough to pass guys, but we could run with them,” Keselowski said. “We wanted a little bit more to be able to pass everybody, but you had to be so much faster that you just try to execute the best you can and hope things fall the right way. “They fell decent, just not good enough to win today.”

    Erik Jones finished in the third position, followed by Talladega winner Chase Elliott. Clint Bowyer completed the top five.

    “I feel like if Kyle [Busch] and I had been on four tires, we would’ve been pretty even,” Jones said with a positive outlook with his third place effort after a dead last finish in last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. “Good day overall, it would have had to really be a perfect scenario for us to win today, but we had a good car. The Dewalt Camry was fast, and it was fast all weekend.”

    “We’ve been good, but not great,” Elliott shared with FOX Sports after the race when evaluating their current overall situation.

    Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, pole winner William Byron and Aric Almirola rounded out the top 10.

    Three front runners had struggles in the race. First, Kevin Harvick was in contention for the win, but a late race pit-road penalty changed their outcome. On Lap 124, they were caught with an uncontrolled tire and were forced to serve a pass-through penalty. Harvick dropped off the lead lap and finished his day at Pocono in the 22nd spot.

    Last week’s winner Martin Truex Jr. was victorious in three of the last five points-paying races. However, his attempt for his fourth win of the season fell short after 91 laps into the race when his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota went behind the wall with an engine issue. His team finished 35th for the day.

    The third driver who was a strong contender early in the race was Kyle Larson. The Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet driver led 35 laps and won the race’s first two stages. On a late race restart, Larson slapped the outside wall after contact with Clint Bowyer. He was forced to pit with damage to the right rear and at risk of blowing a tire. He finished one lap down in the 26th position.

    The weekend was a rough start for Erik Jones and Chris Buescher as they failed pre-qualifying inspection on Saturday. Since cars were impounded after Busch Pole Qualifying, the inspection also served as pre-race inspection. This resulted in the car chief for both teams being ejected for the race weekend, Jason Overstreet (No. 20) and Doug Powers (No. 37). Both drivers have been coming from strong recent finishes, with Jones finishing in the top-six in two of the last three races and Buescher with two consecutive top-10 results.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races next weekend at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 9.

    Monster Energy Cup Series Race Number 14
    Race Results for the 38th Annual Pocono 400 – Sunday, June 2, 2019
    Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA – 2.5 – Mile Paved
    Total Race Length – 160 Laps – 400. Miles

    Fin Str No Driver Team Laps S1Pos S2Pos Pts Status
    1 2 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Hazelnut Toyota 160 0 0 40 Running
    2 5 2 Brad Keselowski Wabash National Ford 160 3 4 50 Running
    3 4 20 Erik Jones DeWalt Toyota 160 0 0 34 Running
    4 12 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 160 0 0 33 Running
    5 3 14 Clint Bowyer Haas Automation Ford 160 0 0 32 Running
    6 6 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 160 0 0 31 Running
    7 16 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 160 8 2 42 Running
    8 9 41 Daniel Suarez Haas Automation Demo Days Ford 160 7 10 34 Running
    9 1 24 William Byron Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 160 2 3 45 Running
    10 13 10 Aric Almirola Valley Technical Academy Ford 160 5 0 33 Running
    11 21 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 160 0 6 31 Running
    12 17 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Libman Ford 160 6 0 30 Running
    13 23 8 Daniel Hemric # Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet 160 0 9 26 Running
    14 24 37 Chris Buescher Kroger Thrill of the Grill Chevrolet 160 0 8 26 Running
    15 15 88 Alex Bowman Axalta Chevrolet 160 0 0 22 Running
    16 19 6 Ryan Newman Wyndham Rewards Ford 160 0 5 27 Running
    17 22 95 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota 160 0 0 20 Running
    18 14 21 Paul Menard Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 160 10 0 20 Running
    19 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet 160 0 0 18 Running
    20 28 34 Michael McDowell Dockside Logistics Ford 160 0 0 17 Running
    21 26 43 Bubba Wallace Victory Junction Chevrolet 160 0 7 20 Running
    22 11 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Father’s Day Ford 159 4 0 22 Running
    23 29 47 Ryan Preece # Kroger Chevrolet 159 0 0 14 Running
    24 32 15 Ross Chastain(i) Low T Center Chevrolet 159 0 0 0 Running
    25 34 51 Bayley Currey(i) Jacob Companies P-40 Warhawk Ford 159 0 0 0 Running
    26 7 42 Kyle Larson Credit One Bank Chevrolet 159 1 1 31 Running
    27 25 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet 158 0 0 10 Running
    28 35 27 * Reed Sorenson VIPRacingExperience.com Chevrolet 157 0 0 9 Running
    29 36 77 Quin Houff Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 157 0 0 8 Running
    30 27 38 David Ragan ExploriaResorts.com Ford 156 0 0 7 Running
    31 31 0 Landon Cassill(i) Madison Group Chevrolet 154 0 0 0 Running
    32 18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 146 0 0 5 Accident
    33 30 36 Matt Tifft # Surface Sunscreen Ford 128 0 0 4 Running
    34 37 52 JJ Yeley Steakhouse Elite Chevrolet 110 0 0 3 Running
    35 20 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 91 9 0 4 Engine
    36 33 32 Corey LaJoie VisoneRV Ford 68 0 0 1 Accident
    37 10 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 28 0 0 1 Accident
  • Pocono Green 250 validates Xfinity visit to the Poconos

    Pocono Green 250 validates Xfinity visit to the Poconos

    It’s easy to shout this from the rooftops. The NASCAR Xfinity Series needs, needs, needs, more standalone events. There’s Iowa, Road America, Mid-Ohio…and that’s really all.

    Every other event is a companion event to a Cup Series event and although that’s been a given since the inception of the series, it’s nice to see a division keep its own identity like the Gander Outdoor Truck Series or the K&N Pro Series. Not every event needs a companion event, even if the times are changing.

    That said, those words were eaten Saturday when Cole Custer made it past Tyler Reddick for the win in the Pocono Green 250. For the first time since the event began in 2016, a series regular won the event and in a dramatic fashion, no less. Although Custer started from the pole and led the most laps, it was until the last corner of the last lap when leader Reddick slipped up and allowed Custer to steal his third win of the season, tying him with Christopher Bell for most wins in 2019.

    The race also highlighted what is now looking like the Big Three of the division for 2019, which is Bell, Reddick, and Custer. All three are regulars with multiple wins this season and all look like serious threats for the title. There’s Bell, a regular threat who is good everywhere and happens to be an 11-time race winner and ahead of him in points is Reddick, who is in the midst of a nine-race streak of top-four finishes. Then there is Custer, who has also won at Fontana and Richmond. Besides those three, there are no clear-cut favorites for the title at this point in time.

    Pocono set those storylines in stone because for once at Pocono, it was all about the series regulars. The Xfinity Series was actually maintaining its own identity Saturday, which is something that it hasn’t done in a while. It was about the Big Three, but it was also about the JR Motorsports drivers. It was also Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, who along with Bell, found themselves in a few spots of trouble as Brandon Jones crashed and finished last while Jeffrey Earnhardt spun along with the No. 22 of Cindric.

    It wasn’t about Kyle Larson, or Brad Keselowski, or Kyle Busch, the previous three Pocono Green 250 winners. There was actual racing without the certain dread that another Cup driver was going to score another dull, drab win. It was a race that fans could actually watch and observe actual rising talent. It was almost like the old days when there was actually time invested in watching the up-and-comers of NASCAR. It was almost like a standalone event.

    This is the kind of thing the Xfinity Series needs to have more often; racing among regulars. It’s been pointed out and proven many, many times that when the field is left to its own devices and its own regulars, the racing can be phenomenal. At this point, it isn’t about the track, it’s about the quality of the field.

    That’s not a knock on the Xfinity Series. It’s already known that a lot of the drivers aren’t as good as the Cup Series, but they’re learning. They are hungry. NASCAR needs to cultivate that aspect of the Xfinity Series. They are hungry and they will actually race to get that glory. That’s what the Xfinity Series should be about. It isn’t about the sport’s current leaders; that’s the Monster Energy Cup Series’s concern. The Xfinity Series should instead be concerned with cultivating the Custers, Reddicks, and Bells.

    They actually accomplished that Saturday when it wasn’t about the venue for once, but the personalities in the division. The sport needs to and can grow on this.

  • Five drivers to watch heading into the Pocono 400

    Five drivers to watch heading into the Pocono 400

    With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season halfway through, the drivers who are making an impact on the way to the Playoffs have either emerged or are about to. With Chevy drivers finally starting to hit their strides such as Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, it’s a safe bet to go with the Bowtie Brigade heading into Sunday.

    1. Alex Bowman

    Bowman is easily the hottest commodity in the Cup Series right now. With four consecutive top-10s including three straight runner-up finishes, he finally seems to be knocking on the door to Victory Lane. He came close at Kansas, leading 63 laps before losing the lead to Brad Keselowski, but with the series heading into Pocono, this may be the weekend for Bowman. He finished third there in last year’s Gander Outdoors 400, and with Chevy teams starting to show up at the front more often this season, the odds are in Bowman’s, Crew Chief Greg Ives’ and the No. 88 team’s favor.

    2. Kurt Busch

    Busch is obviously having fun in 2019, and it’s easy to tell. He wrapped up final practice for Sunday’s race with a 172.712 lap, which was the quickest of the session. The three-time Pocono winner is making his first trip to the Tricky Triangle with his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing team, for which he has already scored three top-fives and eight top-10s and sits eighth in the points heading into Sunday. What plays into Busch’s favor is that for the most part, despite his troubles (however few they have been this season), he has been at or near the front in almost every race in 2019.

    Busch and Matt McCall have melded quite well and it shows, with runs such as a fifth at Las Vegas and a third at Atlanta, that the team isn’t lacking in speed, and considering that Pocono is a big, fast, 2.5-mile racetrack, Busch is a strong bet to be in contention on Sunday.

    3. Daniel Suarez

    Although the Stewart-Haas Racing Fords haven’t had a victory yet in 2019, they’ve been consistent finishers who have been at or near the front, including Suarez. And with Pocono being one of Suarez’s strongest tracks, he could be a safe bet to be a contender on Sunday. Suarez, the 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 pole-sitter and runner-up, topped Friday morning’s first practice with a 171.798 lap. He also has an average start of 10.2 and an average finish of 12.0 in four starts, which although isn’t impressive, it is solid.

    The SHR Fords aren’t without speed, and with Billy Scott on top of the pit box, Suarez is sure to have another solid day at Pocono.

    4. Martin Truex Jr.

    There is hardly a place where Truex won’t contend or win at, and that includes Pocono, where he won in 2015 and 2018. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won three times with Crew Chief Cole Pearn this season, including the most recent event at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. The No. 19 Toyota has won early and often in 2019, with the team really hitting its stride in April and showing no signs of slowing.

    Truex holds five top-fives and 10 top-10s in 26 starts, including those two wins, and considering he’s at the beginning of a hot streak it’d be foolish not to bet on the No. 19 JGR Toyota to be at the front at some point during Sunday’s race.

    5. Chase Elliott

    Once again, with Chevy performance on the rise it’d only make sense to also bet on the one Chevy driver to win so far in 2019. Elliott has been quietly consistent in six Pocono starts, having earned five top-10s including a fourth in his first start there in 2016. The one race where he finished outside of the top-10 was later that year, where he crashed while battling Joey Logano for the lead. He finished 33rd that day, and although his average finish there is 12.0, had it not been for that crash it would have been much higher.

    Elliott has made it a point to master almost every type of track, and he has managed to put himself in contention almost everywhere. His relationship with Crew Chief Alan Gustafson has finally yielded the expected results, and with the confidence that this No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports crew has week in and week out, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Elliott continues to build on his winning ways Sunday in the Pocono 400.

    The Pocono 400 is Sunday on FS1, starting at 2 p.m. ET.