Starting from 19th place Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Mini’s Toyota won the 48th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, his 59th win in 589 NASCAR Cup Series races. This is his 2nd win & 11th Top 10 finish in 2021. This is his 4th win & 17th Top 10 finish in 34 races at Pocono Raceway. This win was down to fuel strategy as he had to be pushed to victory lane after the race & came through adversity to keep going. The win today was Joe Gibbs Racing’s 16th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono Raceway – Denny Hamlin (six wins), Kyle Busch (four), Bobby Labonte (three), Joey Logano (one), Tony Stewart (one) and Matt Kenseth (one). 2nd Place Car 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, started from 12th place posted his 7th Top 10 finish in 14 races at Pocono Raceway. It is his 13th Top 10 finish in 2021. 3rd Place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Detroit Engines Ford, started from 11th place posted his 14th Top 10 finish in 24 races at Pocono Raceway.
4th Place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford, started from 13th place followed by 5th place Car 23 Bubba Wallace DraftKings Toyota, started from 7th place. 6th Place Car 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Duracell Ford, started from 16th place followed by 7th place Car 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet, started from 20th place. 8th Place Car 37 * Ryan Preece Thomas’/Kroger Chevrolet, started from 23rd place followed by 9th place Car 8 Tyler Reddick Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Chevrolet, started from 10th place. Lastly in the Top 10 Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford, in 10th place, started from 14th place. Chase Briscoe (21st) was the highest finishing rookie. 23XI Racing and Bubba Wallace scored their first top-five finish of the 2021 season and first for the organization in the series.
The race had 4 Cautions for 15 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 3 for #38 Crash in Turn 2. 2nd Caution on lap 32 for Stage 1 Conclusion. 3rd Caution on lap 87 for Stage 2 Conclusion. 4th Caution on lap 94 for Debris.
The race had 12 Lead Changes among 10 drivers; C. Buescher 1-6; M. McDowell 7-13; M. Truex Jr. 14-32; B. Keselowski 33-45; K. Busch 46-73; B. Wallace 74-76; W. Byron 77-93; C. Bell 94-96; A. Bowman 97-114; B. Keselowski 115-132; W. Byron 133-137; D. Hamlin 138; K. Busch 139-140.
Stages:
Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 10, 2, 12, 23, 34, 47, 8, 99, 22
Stage 2 Top 10: 24, 11, 2, 20, 9, 19, 18, 5, 10, 42
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 19
Race Results for the 48th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 – Sunday, June 27, 2021. Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA – 2.5 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 140 Laps – 350. Miles
Finish Start Car Team Laps Status
1. 19. Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Mini’s Toyota 140 Running |
2. 12. Car 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 140 Running |
3. 11. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Detroit Engines Ford 140 Running |
4. 13. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 140 Running |
5. 7. Car 23 Bubba Wallace DraftKings Toyota 140 Running |
6. 16. Car 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Duracell Ford 140 Running |
7. 20. Car 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 140 Running |
8. 23. Car 37 * Ryan Preece Thomas’/Kroger Chevrolet 140 Running |
9. 10. Car 8 Tyler Reddick Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Chevrolet 140 Running |
10. 14. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 140 Running |
11. 3. Car 19 Martin Truex Jr. Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota 140 Running |
12. 18. Car 24 William Byron Axalta Color of the Year Chevrolet 140 Running |
13. 21. Car 3 Austin Dillon Workrise Chevrolet 140 Running |
14. 17. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 140 Running |
15. 8. Car 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 140 Running |
16. 5. Car 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 140 Running |
17. 2. Car 34 Michael McDowell ARRMA Ford 140 Running |
18. 32. Car 21 Matt DiBenedetto Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 140 Running |
19. 1. Car 17 Chris Buescher Acronis Ford 140 Running |
20. 15. Car 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 140 Running |
21. 24. Car 14 Chase Briscoe # HighPoint.com/Webex by Cisco Ford 140 Running |
22. 37. Car 6 Ryan Newman Guaranteed Rate Ford 140 Running |
23. 36. Car 7 Corey LaJoie Nations Guard Chevrolet 139 Running |
24. 38. Car 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 139 Running |
25. 27. Car 77 Justin Allgaier(i) Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet 139 Running |
26. 33. Car 42 Ross Chastain McDonald’s Chevrolet 139 Running |
27. 9. Car 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 139 Running |
28. 25. Car 51 Cody Ware(i) Nurtec ODT Chevrolet 139 Running |
29. 30. Car 78 BJ McLeod(i) American Brain Tumor Association Ford 138 Running |
30. 28. Car 15 James Davison Go FMX Chevrolet 137 Running |
31. 22. Car 43 Erik Jones Medallion Bank Chevrolet 136 Running |
32. 4. Car 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 135 Running |
33. 31. Car 00 Quin Houff Mane ‘n Tail/Spirit Unlimited Chevrolet 135 Running |
34. 26. Car 38 Anthony Alfredo # Death Wish Coffee Ford 134 Running |
35. 34. Car 52 Josh Bilicki Jacob Companies Ford 132 Running |
36. 29. Car 53 Garrett Smithley(i) RichMar Florists Chevrolet 122 Engine |
37. 35. Car 66 * Timmy Hill(i) M&M Mechanical Toyota 113 Handling |
38. 6. Car 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Scott Brand Chevrolet 111 Engine |
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: No. 77 (driver change) and Nos. 41, 6, 5, 37, 42, 7, 38 (backup cars). Failed to Qualify: None. Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 26 Mins, 49 Secs. Average Speed: 143.036 MPH. Margin of Victory: 8.654 Seconds. Caution Flags: 4 for 15 laps. Lead Changes: 12 among 10 drivers. Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Chase Briscoe, #14.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: July 4, 2021 – Road America
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