Larson Blows Tire on Last Lap, Bowman Steals Wins

Saturday’s Cup event at Pocono Raceway was the first of two races in the scheduled 675-mile weekend. The second-annual doubleheader spectacle was highly anticipated by both fans and drivers after it was announced the grandstands and infield were sold out. The energy was palpable and helped to produce one of the best races at Pocono in recent years.

LAP 1: Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron made up the front row and led the field to green. Larson pulled ahead after crossing the start line, but Byron stayed close behind.

CAUTION – LAP 9: The yellow flag waved for debris in Turn 2. NASCAR deemed it as the competition caution as well, which was initially scheduled for Lap 12. The leaders stayed out while several other cars further back in the field pitted. On the restart, Byron passed Larson for the lead.

CAUTION – LAP 14: The caution came out again when the #2 of Brad Keselowski turned the #41 of Cole Custer into the wall on the straightaway. When the race restarted, Kyle Busch took the lead away from William Byron.

STAGE 1 END – LAP 25: Kyle Busch won the stage and picked up the playoff point. Behind him, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick completed the top 5 at the end of the segment. While under caution, several cars pitted, including Busch, and made a variety of different strategy calls, which put Joey Logano in the lead to start the second stage.

CAUTION – LAP 54: Ryan Newman in the #6 Ford brought out the caution when he spun by himself in Turn 1. Logano opted to pit for 4 fresh tires and fuel, leaving the top spot to Kyle Busch in the #18.

CAUTION – LAP 61: Three laps after the restart, with the field still in close proximity, the #7 of Corey Lajoie slid up the track on the exit of Turn 3 and across the nose of the #38 of Anthony Alfredo. Lajoie went into the wall and sustained significant damage to the left rear.

CAUTION – LAP 74: The #42 of Ross Chastain spun and slammed into the wall in Turn 2. On his way to pit road, he spun again which brought out the caution. The race restarted with only 2 laps to go with Kurt Busch in the lead.

STAGE 2 END – LAP 78: Kurt Busch held on to claim the stage win and the playoff point. Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the Top 5 at the end of the segment. Busch and several other cars pitted during the stage break, which put Larson back in the lead to start the final stage.

CAUTION – LAP 108: With only 22 laps to go, the final yellow flag of the race came out for debris on the track in Turn 2. After pitting the lead went to Alex Bowman, with Larson in hot pursuit.

LAP 127: After hunting Bowman down, Larson finally made the move to take P1 away from his teammate. It looked as though Larson would drive away to claim his 4th victory in a row.

CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 130: As Kyle Larson entered Turn 3, his left-front tire blew, causing him to lose control and hit the wall. Bowman drove under him to take the lead coming to the checkered flag. This was Bowman’s 3rd win of the season.

RESULTS:

1. Alex Bowman
2. Kyle Busch
3. William Byron
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Kurt Busch
7. Joey Logano
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Kyle Larson
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Tyler Reddick
12. Chase Elliott
13. Daniel Suarez
14. Bubba Wallace
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
16. Aric Almirola
17. Christopher Bell
18. Martin Truex Jr
19. Michael McDowell
20. Chris Buescher
21. Austin Dillon
22. Erik Jones
23. Ryan Preece
24. Chase Briscoe
25. Cody Ware
26. Anthony Alfredo
27. Justin Haley
28. James Davison
29. Garrett Smithley
30. BJ McLeod
31. Quin Houff
32. Matt DiBenedetto
33. Ross Chastain
34. Josh Bilciki
35. Timmy Hill
36. Corey LaJoie
37. Ryan Newman
38. Cole Custer