Pocono Raceway Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since Kurt Busch has been on the sidelines recovering from concussion-like symptoms, he has had a medical waiver from NASCAR to remain eligible for the Playoffs should he be back behind the wheel when the postseason starts. However, as the weeks have gone on since his saga started after a crash during qualifying at Pocono, Busch’s status for the 16-driver chase for a championship has been up in the air. On Thursday, ahead of the regular season finale at Daytona, 23XI Racing provided some clarity onRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the second week in a row, Kurt Busch will be watching from the sidelines as he continues to recover from concussion like symptoms sustained in a qualifying crash last weekend at Pocono. Busch was reevaluated this week leading into Sunday’s Verizon 200 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, but was not cleared to race, paving the way for Ty Gibbs to once again climb behind the wheel of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. With his win at Kansas earlier this season, Busch hasRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A day removed from Sunday’s controversial M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono, Joe Gibbs Racing announced they won’t appeal the double disqualification involving Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. After their drivers crossed the line 1-2, NASCAR found issues on the front facia of both Toyota Camrys. It affected the aerodynamics which led the sanctioning body no choice but strip Hamlin and Busch from their top-two results. Wally Brown, the team’s Director of Competition, issued the following statement regarding why they won’t appeal NASCAR’s decision: “In ourRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Chase Elliott has been declared the winner of Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway after first and second place finishers, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified following post-race technical inspection. It’s a series-best fourth race victory for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who now leads the championship standings by 105-points over Ross Chastain and 111-points over Ryan Blaney. It is the first time this season a race winner has been disqualified. “Yeah,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Two of the most determined, talented, young drivers in NASCAR put on a show for the ages in the closing laps of Saturday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway with 24-year-old Noah Gragson ultimately holding off Ty Gibbs, 19, by the blink of an eye to take the victory. Gragson’s No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line at the storied 2.5-mile track by a mere .281-seconds ahead of Gibb’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – the last 15Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin earned the pole position for Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) turning in a blazing fast lap of 169.498 mph around the iconic 2.5-mile oval – easily out-qualifying the field by .15-seconds to earn his third pole position of the season. It will be an all-Joe Gibbs Racing front row with Hamlin starting his No. 11 Toyota alongside teammate Kyle Busch, who was secondRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Chandler Smith earned his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, taking the trophy in the CRC Brakleen 150 regular season finale at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway Saturday afternoon while another Smith – Zane – coolly collected his first Regular Season Championship. It marked the seventh race win for a Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team in the last eight Pocono races with Smith leading a commanding 49 of the 60 laps in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra. The 20-year-old Georgia nativeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After hosting two races annually since the early 1980’s, Pocono Raceway downsized to just one race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this season – Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. With only three turns, instead of the four turns at all other ovals on the circuit, Pocono is definitely one of the most unique tracks on the schedule. The three turns all have differing banking with Turn 1 and its 14-degree banking modeled after the now-defunct Trenton Speedway, Turn 2 and its nine-degree banking modeled afterRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to the Last Great Coliseum after visiting one of the first great coliseums for the first time. The series will make its first trip to the shores of the Mississippi under the shadow of the Gateway Arch. And the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will have a new look, with Homestead-Miami Speedway moving back into the postseason and each round featuring a shakeup of the participating tracks. For the first time in its history, the Clash, theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Bubba Wallace finally brought 23XI Racing its strongest result to date in the NASCAR Cup Series. Thanks to an all-around team effort, Wallace brought his No. 23 DraftKings Toyota Camry home fifth in Sunday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 350. Wallace had a solid machine throughout the 140-lap race. But with fuel being a concern for everybody, team chemistry was vital to their result. As several contenders were unable to stretch their fuel to the finish, Wallace was among those who made it. That’s something that cameRead More