Pocono Raceway Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Kyle Larson left Kentucky Speedway last Saturday night with a runner-up finish and the points lead in hand, but on Wednesday afternoon, a penalty from NASCAR wiped all of that away as his team was hammered for a Level 1 violation found in post-race inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center. Larson failed to make a qualifying run for last weekend’s race, causing him to have to start the race from the back of the pack, but he was able to rebound all the way upRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway provided one of the more memorable races at the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track in recent memory, with Ryan Blaney scoring his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win for the legendary Wood Brothers. To go along with Blaney’s win, here are five of the top storylines leaving the Tricky Triangle. The Young Guns are Taking Over 2017 has been the year of the young gun. Though drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, and Martin Truex, Jr. haveRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Dogged by Kevin Harvick for the final eight laps of Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400, Ryan Blaney held off the 2014 series champion in a breathtaking battle to claim the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of his career. After a restart on Lap 148 of 160, Blaney grabbed the lead from polesitter Kyle Busch on Lap 151, with Busch on older tires, doing everything he could to block Blaney’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Racing sideRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last two weeks have been dismal for former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski. At both Charlotte and Dover, he crashed out early. As the series headed to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400, Keselowski was looking to turn his luck around. In the first practice, Keselowski showed speed in his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion, placing himself sixth on the speed charts. The Team Penske driver also qualified sixth. Crew chief Paul Wolfe worked on the car, improving Keselowski toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor So close, yet so far for Kevin Harvick. Still looking for his first win of the 2017 season, Harvick entered Pocono looking to not only score his first win at the 2.5 mile triangle-shaped track, but to finally get in the winner’s column this year. Unfortunately for the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, his visit to victory lane will have to wait after coming up just short on Sunday afternoon, as he finished second on the day behind winner Ryan Blaney. Starting theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Even without crew chief Adam Stevens on top of the pit box at Pocono, Kyle Busch looked to be well on his way to his first win of the season, but with an interim crew chief at the helm, it would be a late race pit call that would be the downfall of the No. 18 team on Sunday. Starting on pole after a blistering qualifying run on Friday afternoon, Busch and his team showed they weren’t going to let Stevens four-race suspension hinder theirRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway was relatively quiet for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five official ROTY contenders, both BK Racing drivers, Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding, have no experience at the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle.’ Erik Jones started 15th in his No. 77 GameStop / Cars 3 – Driven to Win Toyota Camry. Jones’ Furniture Row Racing team elected to pit late in the stage, allowing Jones to lead 17 laps.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the low downforce package for 2017 leading to higher corner entry speeds this season, drivers have been having to use more brake than ever to be able to slow their cars down to be able to make the corner and on Sunday at Pocono, brake issues came to the forefront early and often. As speeds at the end of Pocono’s long frontstretch were in the 205 mph range, the brakes were getting a big workout as drivers had to slow down nearly 40 mphRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service 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 theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer In recent weeks, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Tifft has been more consistent in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway marked Tifft’s first career NASCAR start at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ In the first practice, Tifft placed his No. 19 Tunity Toyota Camry 17th. In the final practice, he was 18th on the speed charts. In qualifying, Tifft had a decent run going until he had to slow for Casey Mears who had just completed his qualifying run. This proved costly forRead More