Posted on by Reid Spencer

Thanks to a fast No. 11 Toyota, a feel for fuel economy and a first-ever application of traction compound to the asphalt at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin rediscovered the magic at the “Tricky Triangle” that marked his spectacular debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2006.

Leading a 1-2-3 finish by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers—none of whom, surprisingly, was Kyle Busch—Hamlin passed teammate and race runner-up Erik Jones on Lap 144 and saved enough fuel to last through an overtime that carried the event three laps beyond its scheduled distance of 160 circuits.

RELATED: Official results
SHOP: Hamlin gear

Hamlin won for the fifth time at the 2.5-mile triangular track after a nine-year absence from Victory Lane. The victory was Hamlin’s third of the season and the 34th of his career.

After losing a last-lap battle to Kevin Harvick last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hamlin made what turned out to be the winning pass on the outside of turn 3, where had the PJ1 traction compound had been applied.

“You just want to know that you’re a race winner,” said Hamlin, who turned heads in his 2006 rookie season with two wins from the pole at Pocono. “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.

“We really fought for it last week and came up short, so it feels really good to kind of redeem ourselves this week and have such a strong car. Once we got behind there, we were able to make up positions on the 19 (third-place finisher Martin Truex Jr.) and 20 (Jones).”

Hamlin last pitted for fuel under caution on Lap 115, after Ryan Preece clobbered the Turn 1 wall to bring out the fifth of seven yellows. All three of the JGR cars were saving gas during the final run.

“I was in fuel-save mode and still trying to get around those guys,” said Hamlin, who was running third behind his teammates after a restart on Lap 119. “When I got around them, I really went into conservation mode instead of stretching the lead out there.”

Hamlin passed Truex in traffic on Lap 142 to secure second place. Two laps later, he surged past Jones into the top spot.

“I got the opportunity on the outside of Turn 3,” Hamlin said. “Thank Pocono for the PJ1. Obviously, it could be hedged a little bit lower, but they at least gave us a second to race in today that we haven’t had before.”

RELATED: Updated 2019 stage points

Jones notched his runner-up finish after consecutive third-place runs at Kentucky and New Hampshire.

“Honestly, we started the race so far off today, I wasn’t sure how we were going to run,” said Jones, who moved up one position in the series standings to 13th and increased his cushion over 17th-place Jimmie Johnson to 39 points with five races left in the regular season. “We were able to turn it around halfway, get back in contention.

“There at the end, I wasn’t sure how it was all going to play out. It was nice to get some good restarts. Martin gave me a great push at the end (on the overtime restart after a wreck involving Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent the race to extra laps). We were there for a second, then the top got rolling. I couldn’t really do anything. Good to get another top-three run. We’ve just got to break through. Once we get that first (win), I think we can click a few off here.”

William Byron finished fourth after starting 31st because his qualifying time was disallowed for a post-qualifying inspection failure. Kyle Larson ran fifth after starting from the rear in a backup car, the result of a wreck in opening practice.

Harvick, Daniel Hemric, Brad Keselowski, Busch and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10. Harvick led a race-high 62 laps, and Busch was out front for 56, but inopportune cautions spoiled their respective race strategies and left them fighting through traffic to get the results they did.

Busch won the race’s first stage, and Johnson picked up his second career stage win in the second before finishing 15th.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | How to find NBCSN

Monday, July 29
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Monday,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., “Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon” (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
12 p.m., MRN Outloud

Tuesday, July 30
Midnight, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Gander RV 150 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., Glory Road: “NASCAR Goes Road Racing,” (re-air) NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Glory Road: “Blacker” featuring Jeff Gordon, Ray Evernham and Rick Hendrick (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live with Mike Bagley

Wednesday, July 31
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Motormouths,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series: All-Star Shootout, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., K&N Pro Series race: Iowa Speedway (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
12 p.m., NASCAR Coast to Coast

Thursday, Aug. 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Motorsports Hour,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., “Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon” (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Eldora, FS1/FOX Sports App
9 p.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
7 p.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby

Friday, Aug. 2
4 a.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 a.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
2 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Saturday, Aug. 3
9:30 a.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
10:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
12:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green: Watkins Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at The Glen, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 1)
6 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show: Watkins Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)

On MRN:
10:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at The Glen
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying

Sunday, Aug. 4
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at The Glen (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
noon, NASCAR RaceDay, FS1/FOX Sports App
1 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Watkins Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 1, 4, 5)
5:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen

Posted on by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson earned the second stage win of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, taking the Stage 2 victory in Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Kyle Busch led with three laps remaining when the No. 18 team chose to hit pit road because the car lacked fuel to make it to the end of the 50-lap stage. Johnson took over the lead as the fourth caution of the race came out at the same time that Ryan Blaney spun in Turn 3. The stage ended under the yellow flag as a result.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

The second caution of the race came out with 23 laps remaining in Stage 2 when Chase Elliott slammed the outside retaining wall in Turn 3 due to a right-front tire deflation. Elliott was forced to retire after taking the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet directly to the garage with heavy right-side damage.

WATCH: Elliott sustains heavy damage

A light rain shower blanketed the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania triangle with nine laps to go, bringing out the third caution.

Finish Driver Team Points
1  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 10
2  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3  Joey Logano  Team Penske 8
4  Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6  Austin Dillon  Richard Childress Racing 5
7  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 3
9  Alex Bowman  Hendrick Motorsports 2
10  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 1


Stage 1

Kyle Busch used pit strategy to his advantage for the Stage 1 victory in Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Busch and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team elected to pit around the midway point of the stage, making up ground as other competitors chose to stop for service later. Pole sitter Kevin Harvick led the first 40 circuits of the 50-lap first stint, peeling off the 2.5-mile track with 10 laps remaining and relinquishing the lead to Busch.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Joey Logano finished second while Harvick battled back for third. Busch’s JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth and fifth respectively to round out the top five.

The biggest incident of the initial stage occurred when Brad Keselowski hit the wall on Lap 4, making an unscheduled stop with significant damage on the right side of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Keselowski finished 24th in the stage.

The stage win is Busch’s eighth of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Finish Driver Team Points
1  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2  Joey Logano  Team Penske 9
3  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8  Aric Almirola  Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9  Kurt Busch  Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 1
Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. — Ahead of Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competitors about restarts in the drivers’ meeting.

“We haven’t gone over these in a while so (we) thought this would be a good time to bring these back up,” Miller said. “We expect the leader to maintain constant speed once he brings the field into the restart zone. We expect the second-place car not to lay back on the leader more than the door numbers. And if the second row’s laying back trying to affect what’s going on the front row, that’s also going to be a violation.

“We need to make sure that we are closed up, all the way through the field, not laying back. If we do those things, I think we’ll have clean restarts. It’s what’s been going on for the last few years and was established with the group of drivers and a group from NASCAR. It’s been working well. We haven’t gone over it in a while so I thought this was a good time to bring it up.”

RELATED: Starting lineup at Pocono | Multiple cars fail inspection 

The reminder came a week after Aric Almirola was warned during a restart of New Hampshire’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 toward the end of Stage 2 in which Almirola ended up winning the stage. Drivers in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series were also given a similar reminder Saturday before the Gander RV 150 at Pocono.

NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell indicated earlier in the week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that restarts would be addressed going into Pocono.

“We chose not to make the call but we’ve got to go back and review it,” O’Donnell said. “Review the speeds and I think you’ll see us address restarts heading into Pocono and remind the drivers what we expect, as well.”

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its return to Pocono Raceway for the second of two races in 2019. Kyle Busch won the season’s first race at the “Tricky Triangle.” Busch, Kyle Larson and William Byron were the only drivers to reach double-digits in both laps led and fastest laps.

Notably, Larson wrecked his car in practice and despite qualifying in 29th, he will start at the rear of the field. Chase Elliott (crash, backup car) and Bubba Wallace (engine change) will also head to the rear after 23rd and 26th place qualifying efforts, respectively.

Every week I build a statistical model for the race. Traditionally, these metrics are the most predictive of Pocono race results during the Gen-6 era (2013-present):

  • Pocono driver rating (last eight races)
  • Flat track quality pass percentage (last eight races)
  • Year-to-date quality pass percentage
  • Practice times
  • Qualifying position

Using these data points, I’ve found three value bets to win today’s Gander Outdoors 400.

*All odds as of 11:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. A quick explainer on the odds below: A $100 wager on +1200 would profit $1200.

Joey Logano +1200

Logano ranks third in my model behind co-favorites Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, but is currently listed as the sixth-most likely driver to win at the Westgate and seventh-most likely at Caesars properties. Logano’s price is likely dampened by the fact that his track history isn’t stellar, but if we take a deeper dive, he actually has some very strong track history points in his favor.

In the first Pocono race this year, Logano had the fifth-best quality pass percentage, the sixth-best percentage running in the top 15 and finished seventh.

Back in 2014, when the aerodynamic package was most similar to this year’s package, Logano had a third-place finish in the second Pocono race, and had the third-best quality pass percentage and was running up front most of the race until his engine let go on lap 150.

Logano was inside the top five in both five- and 10-lap average in final practice, less than 0.3 mph off the leaders in both metrics. Starting from the second position, Logano should have the all-important track position and a premium pit stall.

Additionally, Logano has two wins in the bag which means his strategy will simply be to race for the win, instead of worrying about accumulating stage points.

There is value on Logano as long as you can get him at +1000 or longer.

Denny Hamlin +1500

MGM is notably slow to adjust its NASCAR odds after practice and qualifying, and they haven’t adjusted Hamlin’s odds from his 15-1 opener despite an incredibly strong showing this weekend. Hamlin was fourth in five-lap average, and second in 10-lap average in final practice.

In the first Pocono race just eight weeks ago, Hamlin had the third-fastest average green-flag speed, behind only Kyle Busch and Erik Jones, before finishing sixth. He also finished fourth and ninth in 2014 under a similar aerodynamic package.

Importantly, Hamlin won at Pocono four times prior to the track’s repave in 2011, including a sweep of the 2006 races when the track surface was in its 12th year after its 1995 repave. The track surface is now nine years old.

To see how egregious the MGM line is, just look at the Westgate SuperBook, where Hamlin is listed at +800. However, seven drivers have shorter odds than Hamlin at MGM.

Between the aerodynamic package, the practice times and the track age, Hamlin shakes out fourth in my statistical model among all drivers. I’d bet him down to +1200.

Kyle Larson +5000

Earlier in the week I bet Larson at +2200 on the heels of his strong showing at the “Tricky Triangle” earlier this year. Larson also finished fifth in the first Pocono race during his rookie campaign in 2014.

However, a crash in practice relegated him to his backup car and only 10 total laps in final practice, pushing his odds down to +5000 at William Hill. He was only 24th in practice, and qualified only 29th, creating the impetus for his plummeting odds.

Since he’s starting in the rear, look for his team to make some strategic moves to get him track position. Strategy plays come with a wider range of outcomes, but since we’re only concerned about the win on this bet, we can discount the additional downside in favor of potential upside from a strategic call.

This is definitely a long-shot bet on an extremely talented driver, but I like a small play here. Larson has won five times in 203 career Cup races, about one in 40. However, Pocono is in the top-third of his tracks if you compare his driver rating year-by-year at each track to his season-long performance.

As such, I like betting him down to +4000.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. — Kevin Harvick is on the pole for the Gander RV 400 on Sunday at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does the 2014 champion — who has yet to win at Pocono — merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration. Remember that inspection Sunday morning made the starting lineup official.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Pocono:
1. Joey Logano
2. Aric Almirola
3. Erik Jones
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Daniel Suarez
Garage: William Byron

UPDATE: Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Johnson’s No. 48 and Austin Dillon’s No. 3 were among nine cars that failed pre-race inspection.

RELATED: Odds for New Hampshire | 10-lap averages | Weekend preview

Analysis: Two of my original lineup — Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — pulled out backup cars before opening practice was finished on Saturday. With both of those drivers going to the rear, I needed to make some changes.

Logano, Jones and Byron stay in the lineup. The reigning series champion has shown speed this weekend, and I wanted to have one Penske car in the lineup. Jones has a solid history at Pocono with three top fives in five starts. Byron topped the 10-lap board and while he is going to the rear, remember this: He scored stage points from starting at the back at New Hampshire and finished sixth in this race last summer after starting 38th.

Stage points are part of what drove me to the Almirola play. He’s in the best spot among drivers without a win, but the 10 camp showed at New Hampshire they are willing to play for a big points day over the race win. I have been reluctant to trust Suarez in my lineup over the past two months, but I like the qualifying spot (seventh) and the fact that he should be all-in on scoring stage points. Plus, he has a favorable history at Pocono. I am putting Truex in my lineup because I like the lap times he had in practice and I have the uses to take the plunge. Denny Hamlin was also a consideration for me, but I’d prefer to have one extra driver without a win that could be a heavy hitter for stage points. Hamlin will factor into one of my bonus picks though. I wanted to use Brad Keselowski here based on his Pocono record, but the 2 team seemed really off in practice. Would it surprise me if they grabbed a top 10? No, but I want top fives when I use the 2012 champion.

For the bonus picks, I am taking Jones to win Stage 1, Hamlin in Stage 2 and Harvick for the race win.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Need Props help? The Action Network has you covered | Play the Props Challenge today

1. O/U 3.5 drivers will score 10.5 stage points. In the June race, four drivers scored over 10.5 stage points — two drivers that have yet to win and two that already had wins on the season. With four winless drivers slated to start in the top 10, I expect those drivers to be on the hunt for stage points so I am taking the OVER on this one.

2. Kurt Busch leads all active drivers with 14 top-five finishes at Pocono. Does he finish in the top five on Sunday? Busch had the 12th-best 10-lap average in final practice, but he was second in final practice on the single-lap board. His last top five at Pocono came in the spring race in 2017. Throw in that his lone top five in the past month was the Kentucky win and I believe the trends say he will NOT finish in the top five.

Posted on by Staff Report

Nine cars failed pre-race technical inspection ahead of Sunday’s Gander RV 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Pocono Raceway, most notably the No. 3 of Austin Dillon, the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson and the No. 24 of William Byron. Dillon’s No. 3 failed twice, and engineer Ryan Sparks has been ejected from his team.

The full list of inspection failures includes: The Nos. 3, 12, 15, 24, 27, 34, 32, 37 and 48 of Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Reed Sorenson, Michael McDowell, Corey LaJoie, Chris Buescher and Jimmie Johnson, respectively.

The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing entry failed when NASCAR Officials found the right rear of the car to be too low. Dillon’s qualifying time was disallowed, meaning he will have to forfeit his fifth-place starting spot and move to the rear of the field before the green flag.

RELATED: Unofficial starting lineup

Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports entry also failed in the OSS inspection station. The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion’s sixth-place qualifying time has been disallowed. Meanwhile, Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car will lose its original eighth-place starting spot.

The No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Blaney also failed and will give up the 20th starting spot, while McDowell will lose 17th after the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford failed. The No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet of Buescher will forfeit the 28th starting spot, and the No. 32 GoFas Racing Ford of Corey LaJoie gives up the 30th starting place. Ross Chastain’s No. 15 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet and Reed Sorenson’s No. 27 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet forfeit the 35th and 36th starting spots, respectively.

Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford passed pre-race inspection and he will start on the pole to lead the field to the green.

This story will be updated.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

NEWTON, Iowa — Chase Briscoe has been chasing wins all season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

They proved bitterly elusive — until Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway.

The driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Ford shrugged off frustration and instead churned up smoke with a jubilant, long-awaited series of burnouts that preceded his first trip to Victory Lane this season.

RELATED: Complete Iowa results

Briscoe’s sweeping slide job past longtime race leader Christopher Bell, who paced the field for a dominant 235 laps, ensured the physical, caution-marred race would end in a raucous celebration, not head-shaking and second-guessing.

And maybe a run toward the top of the standings, which has been dominated by points leader Tyler Reddick, Bell and Cole Custer — the so-called “Big Three.”

“It’s nice, for sure, to kind of silence everybody,” said Briscoe, who ended Bell’s two-race win streak at Iowa while notching his first win on the racy 0.875-mile track. “We definitely are still not near where we need to be, but I feel like we’ve been way closer, these last couple weeks especially. So we’ve still got to get better if we’re gonna beat the ‘Big Three,’ but I feel like we’re slowly getting into that conversation of being that fourth guy.”

For most of Saturday’s race, Bell appeared headed for another breezy victory at Iowa, but worn-out tires doomed him down the stretch as Briscoe’s grip and gumption took over.

“He did a good job and did everything he needed to win the race,” a dejected Bell told MRN Radio.

RELATED: Updated points standings

Bell cruised to wins in the first two 60-lap stages and has now led more laps at Iowa than any other series driver (668) despite only having five starts at the track.

“I felt like we were a second-place car all day,” said Briscoe, who stayed out when Bell pitted with 100 laps to go, allowing him to pit later and run on fresher tires down the stretch. “The 20 was the class of the field.”

Briscoe, who started alongside Bell on the front row, overcame an early pit road penalty to earn his first win at Iowa and snare his third straight top-six effort after a 35th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Briscoe, who notched his second career series win and remains seventh in the point standings. “We were definitely racing real hard. That was beating and banging — and that’s about as good as it gets.”

John Hunter Nemechek finished third and led six laps while battling in the top five most of the day.

“To finish third and say you’re disappointed is pretty good I guess,” Nemechek said. “We needed this run after the last few weeks we’ve had.”

Briscoe’s banner day contrasted sharply with one of the Big Three’s series of misfortunes.

RELATED: Trouble for Custer

Custer ran in the top five for a majority of the race until a penalty for speeding on pit road dropped him to the rear of the field. He then hit the wall on Lap 160, prompting a trip to the garage that ended his day. He finished 29th and remains third in points, behind Bell and Reddick, who finished fifth Saturday.

“I was mad at myself for getting a speeding penalty and putting us back there,” Custer told MRN after being evaluated at the infield care center. “Frustrating.”

Saturday proved anything but for Briscoe, who had battled Bell at Iowa many times — but mainly online, not on the track.

“We’ve been racing online against each other for probably 10 years,” Briscoe said. “We used to run Iowa all the time in the Xfinity car and have battles like that, so it was fun to do it for real this time.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

To hear Kevin Harvick tell it, the undisguised animosity he once felt for Kyle Busch has mellowed over the years.

“Oh, man, I wanted to rip Kyle Busch’s head off for a long time, and now I enjoy being around Kyle and racing with Kyle,” Harvick said on Saturday morning at Pocono Raceway. “And the reason I think that is, for me, there’s a respect that comes with what he does on the race track, so I enjoy beating Kyle.

“I know Kyle enjoys beating me, and I enjoy racing Kyle, but I also understand that when it’s all said and done, he’s going to be one of the greatest that goes through the sport.”

RELATED: Unofficial Pocono starting lineup

Busch believes the turnaround started in 2014 when Harvick moved to Stewart-Haas Racing and when Harvick’s son, Keelan, was born. Busch also thinks the surge in social media has had an effect on quelling rivalries in the sport, rather than enhancing them.

“Now you have people on their computers, on their cell phones, on whatever all day long talking about it or whatever with not just one, two, three people at their job site, but hundreds and thousands on their social media platform and the voice just gets louder and becomes more annoying,” Busch said.

“Got to mind your p’s and q’s a little bit more and kind of let it die quietly at the race track. When it picks up, because you run into someone else, and then it picks up again, it starts all over. You try to squash it, I guess.”

In Harvick’s current view, it’s perhaps best not to make enemies in the first place. His prime example? Jimmie Johnson.

“Did Jimmie Johnson have a beef with anybody?” Harvick asked rhetorically. “I don’t think so. That’s probably why he won seven championships. He had this grudge thing figured out long before I did, so it’s a different world.”