Posted on by Holly Cain

Kyle Busch’s victory Sunday at Pocono Raceway not only earned the former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion a series-best fourth win of 2019, but was also another milestone toward a certain NASCAR Hall of Fame distinction.

The 34-year-old Busch hoisted his 55th career Monster Energy Cup Series trophy, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace on the all-time wins list – the ninth most career wins in the sport’s storied history.

RELATED: Busch tames Pocono | Rusty Wallace through the years

In just the last 10 seasons, Busch has won 39 races – or 70.9 percent of his career total. And the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry has finished runner-up 34 times in that span – 25.1 percent of his top-five finishes.

“It’s pretty special,” Busch said of his milestone win mark. “We just keep doing what we’re supposed to do. It’s pretty cool to get with and eclipse many of these great names that helped build our sport to what it is today and have been icons, for that matter.”

The number 55 (wins) is certainly important, as is Busch’s ninth place on the all-time list. Perhaps, however, it’s the number 34 – Busch’s age – that drops jaws and sends the mind into high-speed calculation.

Wallace was 48 years old when he earned his 55th trophy.

Only three of the eight drivers ranked ahead of Busch on the all-time wins list were age 34 or younger when they won their 55th race. NASCAR’s original seven-time champion Richard Petty along with four-time champion Jeff Gordon were the youngest of all – both only 29 years old.

MORE: All of Kyle Busch’s premier-series wins

Petty won his 55th at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in 1967. It was part of an unmatched 27-win effort in a single (48-race) season.

Gordon, who was just inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, equaled Petty’s high achievement, earning the 55th of his 93 wins at the age of 29 – at Martinsville Speedway in 2001.

Another seven-timer, Jimmie Johnson was 33 years old when he won his 55th race – at Fontana, Calif. in 2009.

David Pearson – a 105-race winner was 34 years old, as is Busch – when he won his 55th race in 1969 at Bristol, Tenn.

Next up on the milestone victory list for Busch is the late, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, who has 76 wins.

It’s an interesting perspective to look at those drivers currently ranked ahead of Busch on the Monster Energy Series win list – every one of them a NASCAR Hall of Famer. Earnhardt was 42 years old when he won his 55th race in 1993 at Charlotte. Cale Yarborough, who is tied with Johnson at 83 wins, was 38 when he won his 55th race at Dover, Del.

Darrell Waltrip, who is tied with Bobby Allison at 84 victories each – won his 55th race at Bristol, Tenn., at the age of 36. Allison was 41 years old when he won his 55th race – in 1979 at Riverside, Calif. – the only member of this elite list to have scored his milestone 55th win on a road course.

Also noteworthy about these men, all but one of the eight drivers ranked ahead of Busch won championships beyond their 55-win milestone. Five of them won the title the same year they won their 55th trophy – Petty (1972), Pearson (1969), Earnhardt (1993), Gordon (2001) and Johnson (2010).

Petty won three more titles. Earnhardt won one more. And Johnson has won two more and counting.

Allison answered his 55-win mark in 1979 with a season championship in 1983. And Yarborough won all three of his consecutive titles – 1976-1977-1978 – after earning his 55th victory.

Waltrip, a three-time series champion, is the only driver with at least 55 race wins not to win a title afterward.

And while Richard Petty’s 200 series victories has long been considered an unreachable tally, Busch has valiantly set a different win threshold. He has 206 victories across NASCAR’s three national series – including 56 in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and 95 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in addition to his 55 Cup trophy haul.

“It’s amazing to watch him and all of us that are in the sport at the same time as he is, I think we will be thankful later that we got to watch him because he is fantastic and unquestionably one of the best that’s ever strapped into a stock car,” NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday morning.

Posted on by Staff Report

This story was originally published on Feb. 4, 2019.

Things just got a lot more exciting on the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series circuit.

As if that was possible.

Already considered one of the most intense and exciting series in auto racing, the Gander Outdoors Truck Series will get an additional jolt of adrenaline in 2019 thanks to the new Triple Truck Challenge, a three-race program that provides drivers in the Truck Series an opportunity to win up to $500,000 in bonus money.

Slated for consecutive stops at Texas Motor Speedway (June 7), Iowa Speedway (June 16) and Gateway Motorsports Park (June 22), the Triple Truck Challenge will award a $50,000 bonus to the race winner of any one of the three events; win two of the three races and pocket an additional $150,000; win all three and collect a cool half a million dollars.

MORE: Destiny Homes’ giveaway (cheer for Moffitt)

Similar to the current Dash 4 Cash in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the program is different enough to give the platform its own identity.

“It’s neat in the sense that it’s a little bit different,” said NASCAR’s Ben Kennedy, managing director of racing operations and international development. “There’s no qualifying ahead of time or any of that. It’s solely focused on the Truck Series drivers — you have to declare driver points in order to participate and then you’ve also got to win. It focuses on winning.”

Kennedy said there was much discussion internally as well as with series sponsor Gander Outdoors — “They were very involved in the process; they’ve really been involved a lot (transitioning) from Camping World to the Gander Outdoors brand. They’re really excited about the Truck Series and what we’re going to bring to the table this year.”

RELATED: Biffle wins first leg

A three-race program wasn’t the only idea considered, and the three specific tracks selected weren’t the only ones on the table. But Kennedy said after officials threw “a ton of ideas and concepts at the wall,” the Triple Truck Challenge at Texas, Iowa and Gateway made the most sense. Additionally, only drivers declared for points in the Truck Series will be eligible to enter these events.

As a former racer (he made 17 starts in the Xfinity Series, 73 in the Truck Series and 49 in K&N Pro Series competition), Kennedy knows how important finances are to teams in the series. The opportunity to win anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 is huge.

“Putting half a million dollars on the line is certainly a big number for any team,” he said, “let alone a Truck Series team. I think anytime you can shake it up, especially in the summer, and especially at stand-alone tracks, it’s big.

“We learned on the Xfinity side that running consecutively really helps build that energy and excitement. You don’t forget about it; it’s fresh on your mind.”

Johnny Sauter won last year’s spring Truck race at Texas while Brett Moffitt and Justin Haley were the respective winners at Iowa and Gateway.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

With three laps left in the second stage of Sunday’s Pocono 400, Chase Elliott tossed away 10 stage points and a playoff point.

But it wasn’t a mistake. Though Elliott held the lead at Pocono Raceway at the time, pitting was a big-picture decision, because it produced a significant gain in track position when most of the lead-lap cars came to pit road after the stage ended.

RELATED: Race results | Kyle Busch wins at Pocono

Elliott restarted fifth on Lap 106 and improved one spot by the time the race ended 55 laps later. Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, had the luxury to make that call, given that Elliott already had a race win at Talladega and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

“Playing the strategy game was really important,” Elliott said. “Pitting before the stages (ended) was giving up stage points doing that, but ultimately having track position in the back half (of the race) was where it was worth it. Luckily, Alan and our group saw that earlier in the race, and we kind of jumped on board with that strategy.

“It worked out for a top five. I’m proud of the effort. We’ve had some good NAPA Chevrolets the last couple of weeks. We’ve been good, just not great, and you have to be great to win these things. I’ll go to work and try to do a better job, and we’ll see what we can do next week.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota for driver Kyle Busch has passed post-race inspection at Pocono Raceway with no issues.

The No. 18 Toyota was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Sunday’s Pocono 400.

The No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by Daniel Suarez to an eighth-place finish was found with one lug nut not safely secured, a violation that would result in a fine for his crew chief according to the rule book’s guidelines. The SHR No. 14 Ford that Clint Bowyer drove to fifth place will go to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina for evaluation.

RELATED: Race results | Kyle Busch holds on at Pocono

With the post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR R&D Center.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” according to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutiny. The new post-race inspection process was also designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. — The quickest way to forget about a bad weekend is to rebound with a really good weekend. That adage played to form for Erik Jones and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team in Sunday’s Pocono 400.

Coming off a 40th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600, Jones used a combination of speed and strategy to score a third-place finish at Pocono for his third top five in five starts at the 2.5-mile track. The result was also his third top-six finish in the last four races.

RELATED: Race results | Kyle Busch prevails at Pocono

“Anytime you have a bad week you want to come back and rebound well and the only way you can rebound much better than we did is winning,” Jones said. “I feel like our year has been just a weird year. We’ve had probably some of the fastest cars I’ve had any year and we just haven’t been able to capitalize. Weird things happen. Things not going our way.

“We need days like today and to keep that momentum going. Running in the top five, wins are going to fall your way eventually. We just need to keep putting ourselves up there.”

The day was nearly much more for Jones, who lined up next to eventual race winner and teammate Kyle Busch for the final restart on Lap 152. Restarts had been wild all day at Pocono and the need for a good push was crucial at that late stage of the race.

“I was just hoping we were going to get a good push,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, the 14 got split there and put three wide and from then it’s kind of like I’m on my own. The 18 was getting a shove. You’re just trying to maintain. A lot of scenarios go through your head about how you’re going to the lead. It just didn’t play out.”

Even with a good push, though, Jones wasn’t sure it would have been enough to beat Busch. In the final round of pit stops, Jones took two tires in what he said was doing what was needed “to get track position” while the 2015 champion came for four fresh Goodyears.

“I don’t know that we really had anything for Kyle at the end,” Jones said. “We were on two tires and he was on four. I mean you put us both on four, put me out front, we probably hold him off. Put him out front, he probably holds us off again.”

RELATED: Scenes from the weekend at Pocono

Crew chief Chris Gayle told NASCAR.com that he had one item he wished he had a mulligan on that could have set Jones up for greater success.

“Looking back at the end of the race, I wish I would have taken two tires on the competition caution (on Lap 20),” Gayle said. “Then I would have had all those guys that had right-side tires and had a buffer to anybody with four. Tires didn’t matter today and it was totally track position — being able to hold someone off so that could have put us in position to be further up at the end.”

All in all, the podium finish coming off a race where the team ran just 22 of 400 laps was a welcome one for the third-year Cup crew chief.

“It helped get back some of the points we gifted everyone last week,” Gayle said. “It’s big — I feel like we just needed to have a clean race. That’s what we had today.”

The third-place finish is Jones’ fourth top five of the season and leaves him 15th in the point standings, one point ahead of Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson, who are tied for the final spot that would provisionally make the playoffs. But Jones isn’t worried about the playoff picture just yet — the lone JGR driver without a win believes that the victory is coming.

“We’re still confident we can get a win,” Jones said. “We’re not in that mode yet (of looking at the playoff picture). We know as long as we can run well, points come with that. We’ve had some unfortunate circumstances this year and as long as we can keep running well we’ll be fine. Ask me in a month and if we’re still in a bad spot, then I’ll probably say yes (to looking at the playoff picture).”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

With a dominating performance at a track he has learned to love, Kyle Busch cruised to his fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in Sunday’s Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Busch led a race-high 79 of 160 laps — including the final 21 after a cycle of green-flag pit stops — in collecting his second straight win at the 2.5-mile triangular track and his third overall, all three of which have come in the last four events after years of frustration at the Tricky Triangle.

RELATED: Race results | Full schedule for Michigan, Texas
SHOP: Busch gear

With his 55th victory in the series, Busch tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for ninth on the career win list. Next above him is the late Dale Earnhardt, who won 76 races. It was the ninth triumph in 14 races this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, equaling the organization’s total from 2018.

“I just can’t say enough about everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said in Victory Lane. “Everybody that works there works so hard to build these awesome Camrys. … We’ve had an amazing roll this year here so far. We’ve been doing well.

“We feel like we’ve kind of given away a couple of wins that we thought we had a shot for, but overall, it’s been awesome to get back to Victory Lane here. Pocono’s been a struggle, but it’s a lot better now.”

Not even a late caution on Lap 147, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pounded the outside wall in the Tunnel Turn, could interrupt the flow of Busch’s race. After the subsequent restart on Lap 152, the No. 18 JGR Toyota gradually pulled away from Brad Keselowski, who shot past Erik Jones into the runner-up position on the restart.

Busch crossed the finish line 2.224 seconds ahead of Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Jones held the third position, followed by Chase Elliott, who recorded his fifth consecutive top-five result. Clint Bowyer completed the top five.

On an earlier restart on Lap 73, Bowyer charged past Busch into the lead, but two laps later, Busch surprised the Stewart-Haas driver with a pass to the outside in Turn 3. That move was emblematic of the superiority of Busch’s car throughout the race.

“I passed one guy on the outside of Turn 3, and that was the only guy I needed to pass, I guess,” Busch said. “It was hard otherwise. We kind of got stuck back in traffic a little bit earlier in the race, like in fifth or sixth, and couldn’t really do anything.”

The stellar work of Busch’s over-the-wall crew, however, gained positions on pit road.

“Overall, my guys on pit road were awesome and picked up some spots there,” Busch said. “(Crew chief) Adam Stevens and some of his race calls got us up closer to the front. Cool to get a win at Pocono again.”

It also helped that Busch’s closest competition, Kevin Harvick, had to serve a pass-through penalty for a tire violation, after the right front that came off the car rolled out of the No. 4 Ford’s pit stall during a two-tire stop on Lap 123. A broken steering box compounded Harvick’s problems and relegated him to a 22nd-place finish.

WATCH: Harvick penalized on pit road

Keselowski got the best possible finish out of a car that wasn’t the equal of Busch’s.

“We didn’t have speed enough to pass guys, but we could run with them,” Keselowski said. “We wanted a little bit more to be able to pass everybody, but you had to be so much faster that you just try to execute the best you can and hope things fall the right way.

“They fell decent, just not good enough to win today.”

Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, pole winner William Byron and Aric Almirola completed the top 10. Kyle Larson won the first two stages but cut across the nose of Bowyer’s Ford and bounced off the wall near the exit from Turn 1 late in the race. Larson finished 26th, one lap down.

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, June 3
3 a.m.,  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Pocono 400 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m.,  Classic NASCAR 1994 Coca-Cola 600, FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, June 4
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Presents Davey Lives On (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Wednesday, June 5
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Motormouths,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, East Memphis 150, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series, Jersey Shore 150, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
Noon: NASCAR Coast to Coast

Thursday, June 6
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “The Motorsports Hour,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, June 7
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Practice at Michigan International Speedway, FS2/FOX Sports App (tape delay) (Canada: TSN App)
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Final Practice at Michigan International Speedway, FS2/FOX Sports App (tape delay) (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice at Michigan International Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App (tape delay) (Canada: TSN App)
8 p.m., RaceDay: NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, FS1/FOX Sports App
9 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Speedycash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
1 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series first practice at Michigan International Speedway
4 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series final practice at Michigan International Speedway
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway, (Canada: TSN App)
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Speedycash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway

Saturday, June 8
3:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Speedycash.com 400 at Texas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
9:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice at Michigan International Speedway (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Michigan International Speedway, FS2/FOX Sports App, (Canada: TSN App)
Noon: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Michigan International Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App, (Canada: TSN2)
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity, FS1/FOXSports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series LTI Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series LTI Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

On MRN
Noon: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Michigan International Speedway
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series LTI Printing250 at Michigan International Speedway

Sunday June 9
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1/FOX Sports App
2 p.m. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers CASINO 400, FS1/FOX Sports App, (Canada: TSN2) POSTPONED

On MRN
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers CASINO 400

Monday, June 10
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, FireKeepers Casino 400, FS1/FOX Sports App (Canada: TSN2)
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

On MRN
5 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400

Posted on by Staff Report

Martin Truex Jr.’s hopes for a Pocono 400 repeat win fizzled in smoke Sunday afternoon with a mechanical issue at Pocono Raceway.

RELATED: Race results

Truex indicated over the radio to his Joe Gibbs Racing crew that his No. 19 Toyota had begun to falter just before the conclusion of Stage 2. He pulled his car to pit road and the team retired to the garage after 91 of a scheduled 160 laps.

“I don’t know. We just lost an engine there – dropped a cylinder down the backstretch and figured I might as well pit,” said Truex, who finished 35th in the 37-car field. “I thought maybe it was a possibility we were out of gas, but it started smoking out of the pipes and shut off. Tough day. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) does a great job of building engines and obviously they’re fast. Probably a fluke deal. I’m not sure, but we’ll go back to look at it. Frustrating day.”

Truex is a two-time winner at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track who scored his most recent Pocono victory last June. Truex is already a three-time winner this season, including last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.

Truex failed to finish for just the second time this year, the first instance since the season-opening Daytona 500.

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Dillon made an early exit midway through the first stage of Sunday’s Pocono 400, clanking the outside retaining wall after contact from Paul Menard’s No. 21 Ford at Pocono Raceway.

RELATED: Race results

Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet sustained severe damage after the nudge from Menard’s car. He exited the Monster Energy Series event after completing just 28 laps and finished last in the 37-car field.

“Yeah, he did. That’s disappointing,” Dillon told FOX Sports, when asked if contact between the two cars had occurred. “We had a pretty decent car, and the car’s killed, and 21 hit us. You can see everybody’s piled up in there, and he drove in too deep, missed the corner, hit me in in the back, took me out of the race.”

WATCH: Dillon exits race early

Dillon was unhurt, checked and released from the infield care center. When told by reporters that Menard had accepted blame over his team’s in-car communications, Dillon said it was little consolation.

“Well, it takes me out of the race, kills us in the points,” he said. “I know he’s close in points, too, and it’s all where it’s at. It’s disappointing. That’s all I’ve got to say about it. There’s nothing nice I have to say about him right now.”

For his part, Menard reiterated taking full responsibility for the incident in a post-race interview and said he planned to chat with Dillon as soon as possible — moments after exiting his race car with an 18th-place finish.

“I had the 11 (Denny Hamlin) coming on the inside of me,” Menard said. “Somebody got all jammed up — they checked up earlier than I thought and I (expletive) up.”

When asked if he would reach out to Dillon, Menard said, “I’m going to go talk to him.”

The two drivers were former teammates at Richard Childress Racing, with Menard’s tenure running from 2011-17 and Dillon joining the premier series full-time with RCR in 2014. The veteran Menard is in his second year driving for Wood Brothers Racing.

“Paul Menard’s been doing this for a long time,” Dillon said. “Was a teammate with him at some point. Just, I don’t know — he still hasn’t figured it out, I guess.”

Contributing: RJ Kraft at Pocono

Posted on by Staff Report

It was a sweep for Kyle Larson in Sunday’s Pocono 400 as he earned both of the first two stage victories at Pocono Raceway.

Kyle Busch led 37 of the 50 circuits that comprised Stage 2, but the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team gave up the lead to hit pit road in the closing laps. He was one of many drivers who stopped for tires and fuel rather than collect stage points.

Larson led the final three laps of the stage for his third stage win of the season.

RELATED: Truex Jr. exits early | Stage 2 results

Smoke billowed from Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota just before the end of Stage 2, and his No. 19 team took his car behind the wall with mechanical issues.

It’s the third time Larson has swept both stages in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 10
2 Joey Logano Team Penske 9
3 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 7
5 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing 6
6 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports 4
8 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing 3
9 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing 2
10 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 1

Stage 1

Kyle Larson earned his second stage victory of the season, winning Stage 1 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Larson took the lead following a round of pit stops that followed the Lap 20 competition caution, taking two tires to gain the track position and leading the final 27 circuits of the stage.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Austin Dillon’s day ended on Lap 28 after contact from Paul Menard sent the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet hard in to the outside wall at the entrance of Turn 3. Dillon drove the car back to pit road but exited his machine on pit road after the crew confirmed damages were too severe to continue.

WATCH: Dillon says Menard took him out

Several drivers elected to pit before pit road closed with two laps remaining in the first stage, including Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin; they sacrificed coveted stage points to head the field in Stage 2.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 10
2 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 8
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 6
6 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 5
7 Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Joey Logano Team Penske 3
9 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 2
10 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing 1