By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
Post-race review and analysis from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Who Won?
Kyle Busch. He benefitted from the mistakes of Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team and held on through a late restart to claim his sixth victory of the season.
Who Claimed the Stages?
Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick. Elliott scored his second stage win in as many weeks with a triumph in Stage 1, while Harvick’s crew left him out to the end while others pitted to give the 2014 champ a comfortable victory in Stage 2.
Top Stories
A Career Milestone, A Championship Blow
Last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick used an old school bump-and-run to beat Kyle Busch to a victory that seemed like it could push the 2014 Cup champion ahead of Busch on the championship pecking order. But a few mistakes from Harvick and a textbook drive for Busch saw the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran jump back to the top of the heap with a win on the Tricky Triangle.
Busch secured his sixth win of the season to both extend his lead in the regular season championship and bump him up to a field-best 35 playoff points earned. That places the Nevadan two playoff points ahead of Harvick – despite the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s stage win earlier in the race – and nine bonus points ahead of third-place Martin Truex Jr.
The win also capped off a milestone trip to Pennsylvania for Busch, tying him with former competitor Tony Stewart for 13th on Cup’s all-time wins list with 49 victories on the same weekend that he tied Ron Hornaday Jr. for the all-time mark in the Camping World Truck Series with 51 triumphs.
“Tony’s (Stewart) a great friend of mine and it means a lot to tie him,” Busch said afterward. “He’s a legend in this sport and one of the ones that I looked up to and one of the ones that I was a fan of growing up too and it’s really neat to get to 49 and just think of where we’re going to be when it’s all said and done, hopefully I can get many, many more.”
Busch’s victory came in a race many thought his championship rival would win.
For much of the race it seemed like Harvick was the driver to beat. He rose into the top 10 in just nine laps and made his way to the lead on Lap 65, establishing himself as a favorite to bring home another victory. Harvick’s crew left him out at the end of Stage 2 to score a stage win, and afterward he continued to stay inside of the top 10.
Everything changed for Harvick on Lap 122, when he made contact with teammate Aric Almirola as both drivers were exiting pit road. The run-in left Harvick with damage that forced him to back to his No. 4 team or repairs, dropping him back to 30th when the race restarted on Lap 126 of the scheduled 160.
Harvick gave the final stint his best effort, but driving back through the field a second time in less than 40 laps proved impossible. The Californian ultimately slotted in fourth when the checkered flag flew – good enough to award Outback Steakhouse fans a Bloomin’ Monday, but well short of Busch for the ultimate prize.
“We made a good race out of it but it is hard to swallow on a day like that when our Mobil 1 Ford was the class of the field,” Harvick said. “You never know what is going to happen on these days. It is hard to put them together and you win some and lose some.”
With Busch bringing home the victory, the Big Three are up to 16 wins in 21 races, with a combined 2765 laps led thus far. Busch and Harvick lead the way with six wins – though one of Harvick’s was stripped of its benefits for a post-race inspection failure – while Truex has four victories in third.
So Close
Busch’s latest trip to victory lane came at the expense of JGR teammate Daniel Suarez, who put together his strongest Cup weekend to date only to fall just short of a playoff-clinching win.
Suarez started from the pole after a host of post-qualifying inspection failures led to qualifying disqualifications throughout the field. The Mexican then proceeded to put together the best drive of his young Cup career, leading a career-high 29 laps around the ‘Tricky Triangle’ and keeping himself in contention throughout the 400-mile event.
When a caution came out in the waning stages of the race to force NASCAR overtime, Suarez found himself on the inside of race leader Busch with a chance to steal the top spot on the final restart. But in the end the effort was for naught – Busch cleared Suarez and drove off to a 1.788-second victory.
The 2016 Xfinity Series champion followed in second, a career-best run for the sophomore. But it proved bittersweet knowing how close he was to becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup race.
“I felt like in the short run, we were actually the best car out there other than the 18 (Kyle Busch) at least and it’s a little disappointing,” Suarez said. “It hurts to be close.”
Suarez entered Sunday’s race in need of a victory to revitalize his playoff pursuit. He claimed at the end of June that his No. 19 team would find a way to make the postseason, But in the four starts after that claim Suarez failed to score a top 10, averaging a finish of 20.75 and dropping 94 points out of the playoff field in 20th.
Based on that, Sunday’s result was one he was happy to take – albeit with a grain of salt.
“Definitely helps a lot to have this kind of performance from my race team because as you know, we’ve been struggling lately – the last couple months or so – but very proud of my guys,” Suarez said. “Second place is good, but I didn’t care if we were second, third or fifth, I really wanted to win. We needed that win, but, you know, that’s part of racing. We will get it one day.”
If there’s any consolation that Suarez can take from the run, it’s that he’s heading to the site of his best rookie performance with a fresh wave of momentum. Last season Suarez scored his first-career stage win at Watkins Glen International en route to a third-place finish.
It’ll likely take a result two positions higher for Suarez to steal a spot in the playoff field. But if Sunday was any indication of the No. 19 team’s potential, then the 26-year-old Suarez may well be up to the task.
Chevrolet Shows Pace
Could there finally be hope for the Bowtie Brigade?
If Sunday’s race at Pocono is any indication, then the answer may truly be yes.
Harvick (in a Ford) and Busch (in a Toyota) were still the dominant drivers on the day, but behind the top duo Chevrolet proved every bit capable of contending for best in class.
Alex Bowman earned a career-best result in third to lead the way for the bowties, increasing his advantage on the playoff bubble in the process. Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron followed with a career-best run of his own in sixth. Elliott claimed a stage win before finishing seventh, and even Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman found his way into the top 10 with an eighth-place run.
The group’s strong run came as a surprise to the manufacturer’s best performer.
“We really struggled all weekend until today,” Bowman admitted. “Then the boss showed up, so maybe Mr. Hendrick just needs to come to every single race and we will all run better. It’s kind of some light at the end of the tunnel.
“We didn’t have the raw speed it looked like the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) did. We were a little off, but anytime all four of us are running better is a good week for us.”
Bowman’s comments indicated that there were still issues throughout the weekend, but the raw speed displayed by the Chevys offered a glimmer of hope for the OEM’s longtime fans, particularly considering that it came just one week after three bowtie drivers finished in the top 10 at New Hampshire.
“There are a lot of big positives,” Byron said. “I feel there are a couple of things we could have worked on and we’ll keep working on those things. Our cars are just getting faster.
“Now we have the speed to run in the Top 10, which makes it a lot easier to do things and allows us to be more aggressive and allows me to drive the car the way I know how to drive it. I feel like our speed is just starting to get us in a position to be more aggressive, which is really good.”
Top 10s aren’t the end goal for Chevy’s top teams, victories are. But the fact that the manufacturer is slowly placing more drivers near the front is a positive sign after one of their worst opens to a Cup season ever. They have 15 races remaining in the season to place a second winner alongside Austin Dillon’s Datona 500 victory on their 2018 win list.
Other Notes
- Bowman’s run wasn’t just good for his confidence and Chevrolet, it also helped his playoff push. He now sits 56 points clear of both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Paul Menard for the final playoff spot on points, with just five regular season races remaining. It’s safe to assume that Bowman will be one of the drivers hoping that the field gets through the upcoming wildcard weekend at Watkins Glen without a surprise winner.
- Almirola has had a couple close calls with victory lane in his debut season with SHR, but the Floridian could do with a bit more consistency overall. He’s the only driver inside of the 16 with just one top five, and his nine top 10s thus far are the fewest of anyone in the top 12.
- After a difficult first half of the year, Newman is slowly returning to his consistent regular season form. The Hoosier has scored top 10s in three of the last four races, and hasn’t had a DNF since Kansas Speedway in May. Unfortunately for the ‘Rocket Man,’ the run might have come too late – he still trails Bowman by 88 points for the final playoff spot.
- Could Erik Jones be a dark horse to claim a spot on the Championship 4? The sophomore has hit his stride as of late, finishing seventh or better in five of his last six starts. The Michigander’s win at Daytona International Speedway was important for his career, but the consistency could well elevate him into fringe title consideration if he can maintain his performance through the playoffs.
- Lost in the shuffle was a stout 16th-place run for Michael McDowell. The result was his best since a 14th-place run at Texas Motor Speedway in April, and the accompanying 19th-place result for David Ragan meant that Front Row Motorsports placed both of their entries inside of the top 20 for the second time this season.
- Between Darrell Wallace Jr.’s crash and the post-race confrontation between Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto, the end of Sunday’s race brought more drama than most races on the tour. Not much more is likely to come of it, though. Wallace wasn’t severely injured, and the feuding pair of drivers don’t race around each other enough for their Pocono anger to have many opportunities to translate to additional incidents.
Bearden Breakdown: Gander Outdoors 400
By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
Post-race review and analysis from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Who Won?
Kyle Busch. He benefitted from the mistakes of Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team and held on through a late restart to claim his sixth victory of the season.
Who Claimed the Stages?
Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick. Elliott scored his second stage win in as many weeks with a triumph in Stage 1, while Harvick’s crew left him out to the end while others pitted to give the 2014 champ a comfortable victory in Stage 2.
Top Stories
A Career Milestone, A Championship Blow
Last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick used an old school bump-and-run to beat Kyle Busch to a victory that seemed like it could push the 2014 Cup champion ahead of Busch on the championship pecking order. But a few mistakes from Harvick and a textbook drive for Busch saw the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran jump back to the top of the heap with a win on the Tricky Triangle.
Busch secured his sixth win of the season to both extend his lead in the regular season championship and bump him up to a field-best 35 playoff points earned. That places the Nevadan two playoff points ahead of Harvick – despite the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s stage win earlier in the race – and nine bonus points ahead of third-place Martin Truex Jr.
The win also capped off a milestone trip to Pennsylvania for Busch, tying him with former competitor Tony Stewart for 13th on Cup’s all-time wins list with 49 victories on the same weekend that he tied Ron Hornaday Jr. for the all-time mark in the Camping World Truck Series with 51 triumphs.
“Tony’s (Stewart) a great friend of mine and it means a lot to tie him,” Busch said afterward. “He’s a legend in this sport and one of the ones that I looked up to and one of the ones that I was a fan of growing up too and it’s really neat to get to 49 and just think of where we’re going to be when it’s all said and done, hopefully I can get many, many more.”
Busch’s victory came in a race many thought his championship rival would win.
For much of the race it seemed like Harvick was the driver to beat. He rose into the top 10 in just nine laps and made his way to the lead on Lap 65, establishing himself as a favorite to bring home another victory. Harvick’s crew left him out at the end of Stage 2 to score a stage win, and afterward he continued to stay inside of the top 10.
Everything changed for Harvick on Lap 122, when he made contact with teammate Aric Almirola as both drivers were exiting pit road. The run-in left Harvick with damage that forced him to back to his No. 4 team or repairs, dropping him back to 30th when the race restarted on Lap 126 of the scheduled 160.
Harvick gave the final stint his best effort, but driving back through the field a second time in less than 40 laps proved impossible. The Californian ultimately slotted in fourth when the checkered flag flew – good enough to award Outback Steakhouse fans a Bloomin’ Monday, but well short of Busch for the ultimate prize.
“We made a good race out of it but it is hard to swallow on a day like that when our Mobil 1 Ford was the class of the field,” Harvick said. “You never know what is going to happen on these days. It is hard to put them together and you win some and lose some.”
With Busch bringing home the victory, the Big Three are up to 16 wins in 21 races, with a combined 2765 laps led thus far. Busch and Harvick lead the way with six wins – though one of Harvick’s was stripped of its benefits for a post-race inspection failure – while Truex has four victories in third.
So Close
Busch’s latest trip to victory lane came at the expense of JGR teammate Daniel Suarez, who put together his strongest Cup weekend to date only to fall just short of a playoff-clinching win.
Suarez started from the pole after a host of post-qualifying inspection failures led to qualifying disqualifications throughout the field. The Mexican then proceeded to put together the best drive of his young Cup career, leading a career-high 29 laps around the ‘Tricky Triangle’ and keeping himself in contention throughout the 400-mile event.
When a caution came out in the waning stages of the race to force NASCAR overtime, Suarez found himself on the inside of race leader Busch with a chance to steal the top spot on the final restart. But in the end the effort was for naught – Busch cleared Suarez and drove off to a 1.788-second victory.
The 2016 Xfinity Series champion followed in second, a career-best run for the sophomore. But it proved bittersweet knowing how close he was to becoming the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup race.
“I felt like in the short run, we were actually the best car out there other than the 18 (Kyle Busch) at least and it’s a little disappointing,” Suarez said. “It hurts to be close.”
Suarez entered Sunday’s race in need of a victory to revitalize his playoff pursuit. He claimed at the end of June that his No. 19 team would find a way to make the postseason, But in the four starts after that claim Suarez failed to score a top 10, averaging a finish of 20.75 and dropping 94 points out of the playoff field in 20th.
Based on that, Sunday’s result was one he was happy to take – albeit with a grain of salt.
“Definitely helps a lot to have this kind of performance from my race team because as you know, we’ve been struggling lately – the last couple months or so – but very proud of my guys,” Suarez said. “Second place is good, but I didn’t care if we were second, third or fifth, I really wanted to win. We needed that win, but, you know, that’s part of racing. We will get it one day.”
If there’s any consolation that Suarez can take from the run, it’s that he’s heading to the site of his best rookie performance with a fresh wave of momentum. Last season Suarez scored his first-career stage win at Watkins Glen International en route to a third-place finish.
It’ll likely take a result two positions higher for Suarez to steal a spot in the playoff field. But if Sunday was any indication of the No. 19 team’s potential, then the 26-year-old Suarez may well be up to the task.
Chevrolet Shows Pace
Could there finally be hope for the Bowtie Brigade?
If Sunday’s race at Pocono is any indication, then the answer may truly be yes.
Harvick (in a Ford) and Busch (in a Toyota) were still the dominant drivers on the day, but behind the top duo Chevrolet proved every bit capable of contending for best in class.
Alex Bowman earned a career-best result in third to lead the way for the bowties, increasing his advantage on the playoff bubble in the process. Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron followed with a career-best run of his own in sixth. Elliott claimed a stage win before finishing seventh, and even Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman found his way into the top 10 with an eighth-place run.
The group’s strong run came as a surprise to the manufacturer’s best performer.
“We really struggled all weekend until today,” Bowman admitted. “Then the boss showed up, so maybe Mr. Hendrick just needs to come to every single race and we will all run better. It’s kind of some light at the end of the tunnel.
“We didn’t have the raw speed it looked like the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) did. We were a little off, but anytime all four of us are running better is a good week for us.”
Bowman’s comments indicated that there were still issues throughout the weekend, but the raw speed displayed by the Chevys offered a glimmer of hope for the OEM’s longtime fans, particularly considering that it came just one week after three bowtie drivers finished in the top 10 at New Hampshire.
“There are a lot of big positives,” Byron said. “I feel there are a couple of things we could have worked on and we’ll keep working on those things. Our cars are just getting faster.
“Now we have the speed to run in the Top 10, which makes it a lot easier to do things and allows us to be more aggressive and allows me to drive the car the way I know how to drive it. I feel like our speed is just starting to get us in a position to be more aggressive, which is really good.”
Top 10s aren’t the end goal for Chevy’s top teams, victories are. But the fact that the manufacturer is slowly placing more drivers near the front is a positive sign after one of their worst opens to a Cup season ever. They have 15 races remaining in the season to place a second winner alongside Austin Dillon’s Datona 500 victory on their 2018 win list.
Other Notes