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  • Eight collected in first lap melee at Pocono

    Eight collected in first lap melee at Pocono

    Eight drivers were officially collected in the Lap 1 multi-car wreck in Turn 3 of the Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson were racing for position entering Turn 3 when Kenseth got loose and spun out in front of the field. This caused a stack-up behind him with Aric Almirola slamming into the back of Michael McDowell, sending him spinning through the grass. Same thing happened to Austin Dillon, being rammed from behind by teammate Paul Menard and sent spinning into the left-rear corner of Chris Buescher.

    Matt DiBenedetto swerved into the grass to avoid the mess, only to clip the front-end of Almirola, bounce up in the air and dig his splitter into the grass.

    Danica Patrick also got turned by the melee, but it’s not clear what caused her to spin.

    Unofficially, Almirola is credited with a last-place finish.

    And his response to what happened out there, “I have no idea.”

    “Our Smithfield Ford Fusion was really good to start off there. I had passed about seven cars the first two corners,” Almirola said. “I was making a lot of progress and then we got to Turn 3 and everybody just stacked up. I saw some smoke. I saw some cars stopped. I got piled in from behind and just drove into the accident. I haven’t seen a replay and have no idea what caused the wreck. Sort of a bummer not to even make a whole lap. Not our day.”

    Except for Almirola and DiBenedetto, everyone collected in the wreck continued on in the race. Kenseth was the highest finisher of the eight, which could do wonders to preserving his 17-point margin over Clint Bowyer for the final spot in the playoffs.

  • Kyle Busch puts chrome bumper to Harvick to win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch puts chrome bumper to Harvick to win at Pocono

    It appeared Kyle Busch was out of it when he pitted with 25 laps to go. With 16 to go, however, he put the chrome bumper to Kevin Harvick and set sail to victory in the Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Martin Truex Jr. commanded the race on the final restart on Lap 106. Cars started hitting pit road for the final time with 37 to go, and Truex followed suit three laps later. Busch assumed the race lead, having yet to pit. He did so with 25 to go.

    Brad Keselowski led the next five circuits before making his final stop, cycling the lead to Denny Hamlin.

    With 17 to go, Harvick got to Hamlin’s inside and made the pass for the lead rounding Turn 1, but he didn’t hold it to the start/finish line as Busch bumped him out of the racing groove rounding Turn 3 and took the lead with 16 to go.

    The gap from him to Harvick widened further as the laps closed and he drove across the line to claim his 39th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in 447 career starts.

    “I never thought this day would happen. Such an awesome race car. Adam Stevens and all these guys on this No. 18 team, they never give up. They’ve been fighting all year long. We’ve all been fighting all year long. Just wasn’t sure why, you know, or what was next, but obviously this is a great day for us. Great day for all of our fans. Appreciate the fans here at Pocono. Thanks for coming out. This is something I’ve been waiting for for a long, long time.”

    Harvick finished second and Truex rounded out the podium.

    Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five.

    Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Busch led the field to the green flag at 3:20 p.m. He lost the lead during a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 22, but powered by Matt Kenseth going into Turn 1 to take it back and win the first stage. During the aforementioned pit cycle, Truex, Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kenseth all led.

    Kenseth regained the lead by opting not to pit under the stage break, only to lose it when Busch powered by him on the outside through Turn 3 on the Lap 56 restart. He held it until caution flew on Lap 70, debris from Kyle Larson’s car, saw him lose it to Hamlin exiting pit road. But because Hamlin didn’t maintain pace car speed, Race Director David Hoots bumped him from the lead and moved up Austin Dillon.

    His time up front didn’t last long, however, as Hamlin too it back on the restart, going into Turn 1.

    Truex returned to the lead on Lap 90, but opted to short-pit the second stage with three laps remaining in it. This handed the lead to Clint Bowyer, who won the stage and set up the run to the finish.

    CAUTION SUMMARY

    Caution flew for the first time on the first lap for a multi-car wreck in Turn 3. Jimmie Johnson brought out the third caution on Lap 57 when he made contact with teammate Kasey Kahne and spun out in Turn 3.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted two hours, 50 minutes and seven seconds at an average speed of 141.080 mph. There were six lead changes among nine different drivers and five cautions for 21 laps.

    Truex leaves with an 85-point lead over Larson.

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  • Kyle Busch takes pole position at Pocono

    Kyle Busch takes pole position at Pocono

    Kyle Busch conserved his tires through the first round of qualifying and it paid off in the final round with pole position for today’s Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the pole with a time of 50.175 and a speed of 179.372 mph.

    “I felt like I hit it pretty good. Gave up a couple things in a couple of spots, but overall, felt like it was a really good lap. [I] was gonna come over the radio and say, ‘Man, that’s close. You know, I think that’s right on target.’ But obviously it was way better. Just proud of these guys. The adjustments really worked us there through rounds and got us to where we needed to be in order to continually get faster each time out. You never really see that happen on re-run tires, cycled scuffs. Obviously, our M&M’s Caramel Camry is pretty fast. Looking forward to today’s race. It’s a great opportunity for us, starting up front, being able to be in clean air like we were last time. So hopefully, we can just do the right things and put ourselves in a better spot in the end.”

    It’s his 24th pole in 447 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    Martin Truex Jr. will start second after posting a time of 50.317 and a speed of 178.866 mph. Jamie McMurray will start third with a time of 50.552 and a speed of 178.034 mph. Denny Hamlin will start fourth with a time of 50.635 and a speed of 177.743 mph. Ryan Blaney will round out the top-five with a time of 50.682 and a speed of 177.578 mph.

    Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Joey Logano round out the top-10.

    Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne round out the 12 drivers that made the final round.

    No drivers failed to make the 38-car field.

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  • Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch fastest in final practice

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 50.898 and a speed of 176.824 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.163 and a speed of 175.908 mph. Jamie McMurray was third in his No. 1 Ganassi Chevrolet with a time of 51.239 and a speed of 175.647 mph. Denny Hamlin was fourth in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 51.307 and a speed of 175.415 mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 51.352 and a speed of 175.261 mph.

    Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10.

    Busch posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 173.058 mph.

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  • Kenseth fastest in first practice

    Kenseth fastest in first practice

    Matt Kenseth topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 51.114 and a speed of 176.077 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.149 and a speed of 175.957 mph. Erik Jones was third in his No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 51.307 and a speed of 175.415 mph. Kyle Busch was fourth in his No. 18 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 51.323 and a speed of 175.360 mph. Chris Buescher rounded out the top-five in his No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.495 and a speed of 174.774 mph.

    Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-10.

    Jamie McMurray, who clocked in the 14th fastest single-lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 172.280 mph.

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  • Wallace on Cup Debut – ‘I did okay, but I want to be better’

    Wallace on Cup Debut – ‘I did okay, but I want to be better’

    Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Pocono Raceway Sunday in the historic No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. There were a few bumps along the way but he characterized it as “a wonderful day for me, a wonderful day for the sport.”

    Wallace is filling in for Aric Almirola who was injured May 13 at Kansas Speedway, suffering a compression fracture that will sideline him for approximately two to three months.

    Although he said he was not nervous during the race, the emotions of the day caught up to him shortly after getting out of the car when he fainted during a media interview.

    “It’s happened three times now where I’m very hard on myself, Wallace said, “and I’m super pissed off at myself, and I’m just so mad I just pass out. Competitive.”

    Most of the day’s frustrations were a result of multiple penalties for speeding on pit road which put him a lap down. In preparation for his next race at Michigan International Speedway, the team will focus on practicing pit stops.

    “I’m so used to analog tachs and everything, and this digital stuff I’ve got to figure out.  I’ll say I’m not a fan of it right now,” he admitted. “It’s jumping around too much. You just don’t get a true feel of what you’re running down pit road. A lot of other guys say it’s fine, so I’ve just got to figure out what I’ve got to do better.”

    Wallace also realizes that it will take time to become accustomed to the feel and speed of the Cup cars.

    His goal is to become “more comfortable in these cars, having the raw speed. I was figuring some things out, figuring out which tire I could feel out there, and that was really cool, as opposed to the XFINITY car, I was talking to Blaney before, you’re kind of just sliding around, not really in the racetrack. Here you can feel each tire, so I was kind of pumped up about that, so some things to keep in the memory bank and talk at the debrief about to see how we can be better. At the end of the day, it was my first race.”

    “I did okay, but I want to be better.”

    It was not exactly the race he wanted to run but Wallace is having the time of his life.

    “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, being in the Cup Series, and now it’s here, and I made a name for myself. I thought I ran a pretty decent race, just kind of running there by myself, passed a couple people, tried not to make anybody too mad, and hopefully earned a lot of respect from those guys out there. I definitely had a blast.”

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

  • Wreck Ends Day for Johnson and McMurray at Pocono

    Wreck Ends Day for Johnson and McMurray at Pocono

    Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray saw their day end in a violent wreck within seconds of each other just prior to the end of the second stage of the Axalta Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Johnson was working his way down the frontstretch on lap 96 when he suffered brake failure. His car turned down the track, which he later admitted was an intentional move on his part to bleed off speed, and clipped the grass, before turning back up the track and slamming the Turn 1 wall twice.

    Johnson was asked if there were any issues with the brakes prior to the incident.

    “No, it went right to the floor and I saw a replay inside the medical center. The smoke, I think, is the brake fluid coming out of wherever failed and onto the rotors. I can only speculate that I got the brakes too hot and when I went to the brakes they just traveled straight to the floor,” Johnson said. “I didn’t even have a pedal to push on. At that point, I threw it in third gear and I was just trying to slow it down. I was heading to the grass and I was wondering why I didn’t turn right and get to the wall sooner, but I’m fine. Certainly, a big scare. I haven’t had a scare like that since 2000 at Watkins Glen. So, just want to let my wife and kids and my mom know that I’m okay and I will go change my underwear and get ready to go home.”

    He also addressed his move to catch the grass, saying he told himself “if this even happened again I would turn immediately into the outside wall and try to slow myself down, but my instincts, you are looking at the corner, you look at all that real estate to the inside and I pointed it down to the infield. Once I was in the grass, I was like, man, I’ve been here before, I should have just turned dead right into the wall and got to the wall right away. You have a split-second decision to make there. Fortunately, this one turned out well for me, just an exciting ride.”

    Seconds later, McMurray suffered brake failure and slammed the wall in Turn 1. His car continued down the track before catching fire on the Long Pond Straightaway. He exited the vehicle safe and sound though, and the fire was extinguished.

    “So, I didn’t really even see the No. 48 (Johnson) car wrecking until I just went down and I got on the brake pedal and my pedal started to go to the floor and I had a little bit that I could kind of pump it and I thought I was going to be okay,” McMurray said. “And then, I don’t know if I got into some oil or what happened, but I just started spinning and didn’t have any brakes. So, it was really weird that we kind of both had the same thing happen at the same point on the racetrack, but fortunately, we are both okay and yeah, move on.”

    Johnson leaves seventh in points, 163 behind Martin Truex Jr. McMurray leaves eighth, 166 back.

  • Blaney Gets Maiden Victory with Late Pass at Pocono

    Blaney Gets Maiden Victory with Late Pass at Pocono

    Ryan Blaney passed Kyle Busch in the closing laps of the Axalta Pocono 400 and held off Kevin Harvick for the rest of those closing laps to win for the first time in his career at Pocono Raceway.

    Busch, on older tires, got the superior restart over Brad Keselowski, on newer tires, with 13 laps to go. But while Keselowski posed no threat, Blaney took over second and challenged Busch’s claim to the lead. Blaney used the entire width of the frontstretch to go for the lead with 10 to go, but Busch blocked his advance. He got to Busch’s inside heading down the Long Pond Straightaway, but Busch drove him down to the apron to force him to back off going into Turn 2, which he did. Busch rounded the turn a lane off the bottom, giving it to Blaney exiting Turn 2, who used it to his advantage and passed Busch for the lead on the Short Chute.

    He spent the next nine laps holding off a hard-charging Harvick to score his first career victory in his 68th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.

    Harvick finished second and Erik Jones earned a career-best finish of third.

    Kurt Busch and Keselowski rounded out the top-five.

    Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10.

    Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 3:22 p.m. The first stage was uneventful, only broken up by a cycle of green flag stops around lap 14-19 and Joey Logano making an unscheduled stop for a flat left-rear tire on the sixth lap. It came to end on lap 50 when the first caution flew for the end of the stage, won by Busch.

    The start of the second stage offered a little more with Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffering an engine failure on lap 58 and Clint Bowyer tagging the wall in Turn 1 moments later, but it then settled into another long green run. The lead only changed during a cycle of green flag stops when Busch pitted on lap 91, followed by Denny Hamlin the next lap, giving the lead to Kyle Larson.

    Unlike the first stage, there was a caution during the stage to interrupt the flow. Four prior to the end of the second stage, Jimmie Johnson suffered a brake failure and slammed the wall in Turn 1.

    Johnson was asked if there was any braking issues before that.

    “No, it went right to the floor and I saw a replay inside the medical center. The smoke, I think, is the brake fluid coming out of wherever failed and onto the rotors. I can only speculate that I got the brakes too hot and when I went to the brakes they just traveled straight to the floor,” Johnson said. “I didn’t even have a pedal to push on. At that point, I threw it in third gear and I was just trying to slow it down. I was heading to the grass and I was wondering why I didn’t turn right and get to the wall sooner, but I’m fine. Certainly, a big scare. I haven’t had a scare like that since 2000 at Watkins Glen. So, just want to let my wife and kids and my mom know that I’m okay and I will go change my underwear and get ready to go home.”

    Jamie McMurray slammed the wall in Turn 1 seconds later after also suffering brake failure.

    After a 23-minute and 25-second red flag, NASCAR opted for a one-lap shootout to end the second stage, instead of running the laps out, and Larson won the stage.

    Busch regained the lead by staying out.

    Back to green with 55 to go, he made his final stop of the race with 36 to go. After Martin Truex Jr. pitted four laps later, the lead went to Keselowski, who held it for 11 laps before pitting with 20 to go. The lead cycled back to Busch.

    The following lap, Kasey Kahne suffered brake failure going into Turn 1 and slammed the wall, bringing out the fourth caution and setting up the 13-lap run to the finish.

    “Yeah, I was going down the front stretch about halfway and the right front popped,” Kahne said. “I had been fighting serious brake problems for a while. So, I’m guessing it had something to do with that. But, it happened in the middle of the front stretch so I just kind of rode the wall, blew my brakes off, rode the wall to the backstretch, which was actually was a very easy ride for where it happened. Just disappointed that happened, that is three weeks in a row we have had issues. Been in the care center and man, haven’t done anything wrong yet, just keep having issues. That is a struggle.”

    The race lasted two hours, 48 minutes and 40 seconds at an average speed of 142.292 mph. There were 13 lead changes among nine different drivers and four cautions for 18 laps.

    Truex leaves Pocono with a one-point lead over Larson.

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  • Keselowski Swipes Pocono XFINITY Victory

    Keselowski Swipes Pocono XFINITY Victory

    By Reid Spencer | NASCAR.com

    LONG POND, Pa. — With a dramatic last-lap pass — the first of the season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series — Brad Keselowski won Saturday’s Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway, ending a 46-race drought for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    Keselowski swept the stages in the 100-lap event but couldn’t get past leader Kyle Larson until he reached the Long Pond straightaway on the final circuit. Keselowski powered off the first turn, down-shifted and blew past Larson before the cars reached the Tunnel Turn.

    Justin Allgaier followed Keselowski past Larson and finished second, .615 seconds behind the race winner. Larson came home third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Daniel Suarez.

    Keselowski’s victory didn’t come without a fight. On a restart with 16 laps left, after a caution for Brandon Jones’ blown left rear tire and a frontstetch wreck on Lap 78, Keselowski was on the inside of the front row, taking the green flag beside race leader Cole Custer.

    A push from Elliott Sadler got Keselowski to the front, but Sadler continued the shove into Turn 1. Keselowski sailed high in the corner, narrowly keeping the no. 22 Mustang off the wall.

    “I got a good push, but the push didn’t stop, and I found myself in the third lane in Turn 1, which is somewhere you don’t want to be,” said Keselowski, who fell back to 13th in the running order. “I got down there and my rear tires were off the ground and went straight, trying not to back it into the wall. With fewer than 16 laps to get back to the front, Keselowski began to bully his way through the field. He split the two cars of Brendan Gaughan and polesitter Kyle Benjamin, bouncing off both in the process.

    By Lap 97 he had reeled in Allgaier, and when the No. 7 Chevrolet slipped slightly, Keselowski charged past and took off after Larson. Then came the winning pass in Turn 1.

    “I drove by a bunch of cars and just pushed as hard as I could,” Keselowski said of his closing. “It looked like Kyle’s car was struggling just a little bit and he was getting tight in the middle, loose off. He was doing a really good job holding it low so I couldn’t get a run. Just on the last lap, I got on his bumper and got him loose.

    “He was trying to do the side draft thing down the backstretch and all the way down the apron. That had to look pretty cool. Hell of a race. Really happy for the 22 team. It’s been a while.”

    When Keselowski dropped back on the final restart, Larson found himself in a surprising position.

    “I was not expecting to get the lead on that restart,” Larson said. “Elliott gave Brad too good a push in Turn 1, and then Elliott overshot the Tunnel Turn.”

    After charging past Sadler on the restart lap, Larson protected his position until the first corner of the last lap.

    “I couldn’t get back to the gas as quick as I wanted to — my car was just plowing — and Brad got a great run off the corner,” Larson said.

    Allgaier was disappointed with second place, but he had the consolation of assuming the series lead by one point over Sadler. Those two drivers are light years ahead of their JR Motorsports teammate, William Byron, who stands third, 62 points behind Allgaier.

    On the eve of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. finished 11th in his last scheduled ride in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Mustang.

    Wallace finishes his stint with RFR fourth in the series standings, 88 points behind the leader.

    Benjamin led 28 laps in his second NASCAR XFINITY Series race – one fewer than Keselowski’s 29 – but fell back to 16th at the finish after the late contact with the eventual race winner.

     Race results | Series standings

  • Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Practice at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Fastest in Final Practice at Pocono

    Kyle Busch topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 51.305 and a speed of 175.421 mph. Brad Keselowski was second in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 51.345 and a speed of 175.285 mph. Kyle Larson was third in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 51.367 and a speed of 175.210 mph. Chase Elliott was fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 51.406 and a speed of 175.077 mph. Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 51.414 and a speed of 175.050 mph.

    Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano rounded out the top-10.

    Harvick posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 172.442 mph.

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