Hamlin Heads JGR 1-2-3 Finish at Pocono
After a less than competitive Pocono race last month, the track known as the "Tricky Triangle" became the first non-Speedway Motorsports, Inc. facility to coat its corners with the sticky substance known as either VHT or PJ1. The extra adhesion did play a bit of a factor, but fuel mileage and pit strategy also helped Denny Hamlin score his third win of the year. |
| Denny Hamlin celebrates his fifth Pocono win (Google Images) |
Chase Elliott's recent bad luck continued at the start of Stage Two, when the four-time cup series winner blew a right front tire in turn three on lap 85, destroying the right side of his NAPA Chevy and ending his day very early. Elliott's Hendrick Motorsports team would finish last on the day; an uncharacteristically bad run for a driver that many thought would contend for the title after a strong end to their 2018 season.
Following a brief caution for some light rain showers, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney made contact off the Tunnel Turn that resulted in Blaney slowly backing his Mustang into the turn three wall and Suarez having to pit for a severe right rear tire rub.
The other side effect of this yellow flag was that, as most of the leaders pitted for fuel and tires, Jimmie Johnson stayed out on track to win his first stage of the year. Surprisingly, this is also just the seven-time champion's second stage victory since NASCAR began stage racing in 2017.
As Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, and Erik Jones began to assert their dominance in Stage Three, Ryan Preece tried to test the rigidity of the turn one wall on lap 115. His No. 47 Camaro got loose on entry and slid into the wall, demolishing his Kroger machine and relegating the rookie to a 37th place finish.
The trio of Gibbs drivers would swap the lead back and forth as the final stage went on, all the while trying to draft off each other and save fuel. As Jones was leading late in the race, it looked as though Truex and Hamlin were content to follow and wait until the closing laps to make a move. That is, until Hamlin made a move around both his teammates to grab the lead for good on lap 144.
 |
| Kurt Busch (1) and Michael McDowell (34) were wrecked late in the race (Google Images) |
“You just want to know that you’re a race winner,” said Hamlin. “You just want to know that you can contend for wins. Yeah, you’re looking for momentum, but you’re just looking for wins week-in and week-out."
Two of Hamlin's JGR teammates finished right behind him, with Jones and Truex grabbing second and third respectively. sophomore William Byron finished an impressive fourth-place, and Kyle Larson grabbed fifth. Harvick finished in sixth, rookie Daniel Hemric finished a very respectable seventh, Brad Keselowski came home eighth, Kyle Busch's offbeat pit strategy netted him ninth place, and Blaney rebounded from his early spin to finish tenth.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will now head to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York and the always unpredictable road course at Watkins Glen International. The Go Bowling at the Glen will be run on Sunday, August 4 at 3:00 p.m. ET, and will be carried live on NBCSN, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Briscoe Breaks Through for Iowa Win
So far in 2019, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, and Christopher Bell have established themselves as frontrunners for the Xfinity Series title. In fact, save for Michael Annett and Ross Chastatin winning both Daytona events and Kyle Busch's three victories, the so-called "big three" have been the only other drivers to visit victory lane this year. That is until this weekend's race at Iowa Speedway, where a strategy call by Chase Briscoe and crew chief Richard Boswell allowed the Indiana native to run down Bell and score his first win of the year.
"It was a fun race first off," Briscoe said in victory lane. "I just cant believe it ... once we got that caution when I was gonna restart fourth I knew we were in good shape. Christopher was way better than I thought he was gonna be on those tires though. It was fun we were throwing sliders on each other and everything else."
Bell established himself as the car to beat early on, passing Jeremy Clements on a restart following an incident between Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson to score the win in Stage One.
On lap 74, Bell's teammate Riley Herbst spun out, collecting Clements and forcing another restart. However, the 2017 Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion proved to be up to the task once again, winning the US Celluar 250's second stage.
During the race's final stage, things finally got interesting, as Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Briscoe and Custer were sent to the rear of the field for pit road violations with less than 100 laps to go. However, something would break on Custer's Mustang, sending him into the wall in turn three on lap 162. As the field rolled onto pit road under the caution for Custer's wreck, Dillon Bassett seemed to get lost in a cloud of speedy dry, causing him to drive into the back of a sweeper truck ending his day. Both Bassett and the sweeper driver were uninjured in the crash.
With 22 laps to go, the race went back green and Briscoe, who's crew had put scuffed tires on their car late in the race in favor of a fresh set, had run down Bell for the lead and passed him with just six laps to go. The move helped Briscoe claim his second career Xfinity win and relegated Bell to second place after leading 234 of the race's 250 laps.
John Hunter Nemechek finished third, Gragson rebounded to finish fourth, and Reddick came home fifth. Justin Allgaier finished sixth, Shane Lee got seventh, Justin Hayley finished eighth, just one week removed from the unexpected passing of his crew chief Nick Harrison, Zane Smith finished ninth, and Annett rounded out the top-ten.
The Xfinity Series will join their Cup Series counterparts in New York wine country this weekend, as they attempt to tackle the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. The race will be run on Saturday, August 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
 |
| Chase Briscoe celebrates his first win of 2019 (Google Images) |
Bell established himself as the car to beat early on, passing Jeremy Clements on a restart following an incident between Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson to score the win in Stage One.
On lap 74, Bell's teammate Riley Herbst spun out, collecting Clements and forcing another restart. However, the 2017 Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion proved to be up to the task once again, winning the US Celluar 250's second stage.
During the race's final stage, things finally got interesting, as Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Briscoe and Custer were sent to the rear of the field for pit road violations with less than 100 laps to go. However, something would break on Custer's Mustang, sending him into the wall in turn three on lap 162. As the field rolled onto pit road under the caution for Custer's wreck, Dillon Bassett seemed to get lost in a cloud of speedy dry, causing him to drive into the back of a sweeper truck ending his day. Both Bassett and the sweeper driver were uninjured in the crash.
 |
| Dillon Bassett's car after hitting a track sweeper truck (Google Images) |
John Hunter Nemechek finished third, Gragson rebounded to finish fourth, and Reddick came home fifth. Justin Allgaier finished sixth, Shane Lee got seventh, Justin Hayley finished eighth, just one week removed from the unexpected passing of his crew chief Nick Harrison, Zane Smith finished ninth, and Annett rounded out the top-ten.
The Xfinity Series will join their Cup Series counterparts in New York wine country this weekend, as they attempt to tackle the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. The race will be run on Saturday, August 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Chastain Scores Convincing Pocono Victory
Ross Chastain's career trajectory has been unconventional, and incredibly difficult to keep on track. But at Pocono Raceway, he made things look oh so simple, as he cruised to his third win of the season in the Gander RV 250.
Stewart Friesen, who is on the bubble to make the Gander Outdoors Truck Series playoff field, started the race with a bang - literally. On lap one of the race, the dirt track ace spun his truck around in turn one, making an aggressive three-wide move to the inside of Sheldon Creed. Friesen slid up the track and into Anthony Alfredo's No. 15 truck. The wreck relegated Friesen to a last place finish, making a good run at Eldora Speedway critical to making a playoff run that is hanging by a thread.
Chastain, who started second, set sail once the race went green again. The Florida native led twice for 54 laps, with truck series newcomer Harrison Burton leading the other six circuits.
Late in Stage Two, Chastain pitted from the lead on lap 33, but regained the top spot not long after to beat Kentucky winner Tyler Ankrum by just over a second. In victory lane, Chastain and his Niece Motorsports team dedicated their victory to Nick Harrison, the crew chief of Kaulig Racing's No. 11 car, who passed away unexpectedly following last week's Xfinity race at New Hampshire.
“I know we were a little mad because we lost Nick Harrison,” Chastain said. “We realize that everybody goes when it’s their time, but, man, we miss that big boy. These boys (on the Niece Motorsports team), a lot of them worked with him.
“I got to work with him at Kaulig Racing this year. Man, we miss him.”
Ankrum came home second, while Stage Two winner Burton came home third. While he didn't win, the 18-year old rookie did have an excellent points day. Sitting just one spot outside of the eight-team playoff field, Burton is now just 13 points behind Friesen thanks to his first-lap fowl-up with just two races left until the cutoff.
Burton's Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, Christian Eckes, came home fourth after winning Friday's ARCA race, and defending truck champ Brett Moffitt finished fifth. Matt Crafton got sixth, Todd Gilliland netted seventh, Johnny Sauter finished eighth, Ben Rhodes got ninth, and Grant Enfinger completed the ThorSport trifecta by rounding out the top-ten.
The next race on the schedule for NASCAR's truckers is tomorrow night's Eldora Dirt Derby from Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Coverage of this bit of appointment television will begin with heat races at 7:00 p.m. ET on August 1. The broadcast will be carried on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
 |
| Ross Chastain celebrates another sweet truck win (Google Images) |
Chastain, who started second, set sail once the race went green again. The Florida native led twice for 54 laps, with truck series newcomer Harrison Burton leading the other six circuits.
Late in Stage Two, Chastain pitted from the lead on lap 33, but regained the top spot not long after to beat Kentucky winner Tyler Ankrum by just over a second. In victory lane, Chastain and his Niece Motorsports team dedicated their victory to Nick Harrison, the crew chief of Kaulig Racing's No. 11 car, who passed away unexpectedly following last week's Xfinity race at New Hampshire.
“I know we were a little mad because we lost Nick Harrison,” Chastain said. “We realize that everybody goes when it’s their time, but, man, we miss that big boy. These boys (on the Niece Motorsports team), a lot of them worked with him.
“I got to work with him at Kaulig Racing this year. Man, we miss him.”
Ankrum came home second, while Stage Two winner Burton came home third. While he didn't win, the 18-year old rookie did have an excellent points day. Sitting just one spot outside of the eight-team playoff field, Burton is now just 13 points behind Friesen thanks to his first-lap fowl-up with just two races left until the cutoff.
Burton's Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate, Christian Eckes, came home fourth after winning Friday's ARCA race, and defending truck champ Brett Moffitt finished fifth. Matt Crafton got sixth, Todd Gilliland netted seventh, Johnny Sauter finished eighth, Ben Rhodes got ninth, and Grant Enfinger completed the ThorSport trifecta by rounding out the top-ten.
The next race on the schedule for NASCAR's truckers is tomorrow night's Eldora Dirt Derby from Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Coverage of this bit of appointment television will begin with heat races at 7:00 p.m. ET on August 1. The broadcast will be carried on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
No comments:
Post a Comment