Posted on by Reid Spencer

LONG POND, Pa. — Taking charge of Sunday’s Pocono 400 by staying out under caution on Lap 140 of 160, reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, Martin Truex Jr. pulled away after a restart with seven laps left to win the race and inject himself emphatically into the title conversation.

The outcome was all about control. Five-time winner Kevin Harvick had it for most of the event, leading a race-high 89 laps. Four-time winner Kyle Busch had it late, winning the race off pit road on Lap 126 and leading Truex and Harvick until a debris caution slowed the action on Lap 139 and changed the course of the race.

Busch finished third and Harvick fourth, as Kyle Larson grabbed second place after a Lap 144 restart and held the rest of the way, finishing 2.496 seconds behind Truex. With the victory, the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota made sure NASCAR’s Dominant Duo of Harvick and Busch can rightfully now be renamed the Big Three.

RELATED: Race results | Stages recap
SHOP: Truex Jr. gear

The Mayetta, New Jersey, driver won for the second time at Pocono, the second time this season and the 17th time in his career. Collectively, Harvick, Busch and Truex have triumphed in 11 of the 14 Cup races this year.

Truex was running second to Busch when NASCAR called the debris caution on Lap 139, after a parade of cars ran over a shiny object in Turn 1. When crew chief Adam Stevens called Busch to pit road — and Truex, Harvick, Chase Elliott and Larson remained on the track, Truex had control of the race — and made the most of it.

“It’s been a really good weekend overall,” said Truex, who led 31 laps and overcame a slow pit stop that dropped him to 14th after he won the race’s first stage. “I feel like we’re getting back to where we were last year (when Truex won eight races).

“It’s always fun to win, but especially when you beat the best guys out there. These two guys (Busch and Harvick) were so fast today. Honestly, we were all really equal. It was a matter of who could get out front. The 4 (Harvick) and I stayed on tires. We felt like in practice we were really fast on scuffs. (Crew chief) Cole (Pearn) made a good call to stay out, and once I got in clean air, this thing was a rocket ship.”

WATCH: Truex on competing with Harvick, Busch

Busch lost last year’s spring race at Pocono when he stayed out on old tires. Stevens made the opposite call on Sunday, but fresh rubber didn’t produce the benefit he and Busch had expected.

“We decided to pit and put tires on again right there, because we had about 10 or 11 laps on tires,” Busch said. “And that’s where we got burned here in this race in that exact situation last year. So we didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

“But once I got back there, I just couldn’t pass those guys. I was just stuck where I was at. The four tires just didn’t do anything today. It was certainly all about being out front.”

Harvick held the lead when Derrike Cope spun off Larson’s front bumper on Lap 124, causing the third caution of the afternoon and the first for a racing incident. Harvick was blocked in his pits by pole winner Ryan Blaney and lost the lead to Busch. For Harvick, the die was cast from that point on.

WATCH: Larson sends Cope for a spin

“We had a good car all day,” Harvick said. “Just came down to really losing control of the race on the last pit stop. Really not pitting or pitting didn’t really seem to matter. We lost control to the 18 (Busch) and wound up losing a couple more spots on the restart starting on the inside, and that was the end of the day.

“Car was fast, and everybody did a great job. It just didn’t work out.”

Brad Keselowski ran fifth, followed by Blaney, Aric Almirola and Jimmie Johnson, who led his first two laps of the season during the first exchange of green-flag pit stops. Busch leads the series by 87 points over Harvick in second and 90 over Joey Logano (ninth Sunday) in third.

Larson acknowledged that his runner-up finish was serendipitous.

WATCH: Larson talks ‘Big Three’

“We weren’t quite as fast as what I thought we’d be after practice,” Larson said. “I ran probably sixth or seventh all day long and finished second. Was happy about that, because I felt like, obviously, we were at a little bit of a disadvantage on tires there, but the track position overcame that.

“But I felt like if I didn’t have a good restart on any one of those, I would have fell back outside the top five from those guys on fresher tires. Happy we finished second but needed a lot more to kind of compete with the three guys that ran up front all day.”

In other words, Larson has work to do before the Big Three can become the Fabulous Four.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series head to Michigan International Speedway this weekend, while the Camping World Truck Series is at Texas Motor Speedway. Check out the full schedule below, subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

Sunday, June 10
ON TRACK: MICHIGAN
–Noon: Driver/Crew chief meeting
–1:20 pm.: Driver introductions
–1:58:30: Canadian National Anthem, MIS’s Lisa Bascom
–2:00:00: Presentation of the Colors: Michigan State Police
–2:00:20: Invocation, St. Francis de Sales High School, Father Geoff Rose
–2:01:00: National anthem, Lisa Bascom
–2:02:30: Fly-by: C-130H Hercules, 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown, Ohio Air Reserve Station
–2:07:30: “Drivers, start your engines” command by Trace Adkins, country music star
–2:26:30: Green flag, FireKeepers Casino 400 (200 laps, 400 miles), (Results) FOX  (Canada: TSN 1, TSN3)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
5 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

Saturday, June 9
ON TRACK: MICHIGAN
— 9:05 (when track is dry)-9:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN2)
— 10:05 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Pole Qualifying (Canceled)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS2 (joined in progress at noon ET) (Canceled) (Canada: TSN2)
— 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series LTi Printing 250, FS2 (Results) (Canada: TSN2)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
3:30 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Xfinity Series race

 

______

Thursday, June 7
ON TRACK: TEXAS
— 4:05-4:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series practice (Results)
— 6:05-6:55 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series final practice (Canceled)

Friday, June 8
ON TRACK: MICHIGAN
— 11:40 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS2 (Results) (Canada: TSN1)
— 1:05-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, FS2 (Results) (Canada: TSN GO)
— 3:05-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN GO)
— 4:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results) (Canada: TSN2)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
10:30 a.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
10:45 a.m.: Kyle Larson
11:15 a.m.: Austin Cindric, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Vinnie Miller
1 p.m.: Erik Jones
1:30 p.m.: Brad Keselowski
5 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

ON TRACK: TEXAS
— 5:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pole Qualifying, FS2 (Results)
— 9 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series PPG 400, FS1 (Results)

Posted on by Staff Report

Where should you tune in for NASCAR races this week? We have the answer for that and provide all 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, FS2 | Get Fox Sports GO | How to find NBCSN 

Monday, June 4
3 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400, FS1 (re-air)
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, June 5
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, June 6
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m.: NASCAR Wheelen Series: Seekonk Speedway, NBCSN

Thursday, June 7
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, June 8
11:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS2 (Canada: TSN  1)
12:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS2
1 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, FS2 (Canada: TSN GO)
2:30 p.m.: Race Hub Weekend Edition, FS1
3 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1 (CanadA: TSN GO)
4 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pole qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN2)
5:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pole qualifying, FS2
8 p.m: NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, FS1
9 p.m. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series PPG 400, FS1

Saturday, June 9
5:30 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Rattlesnake 400, FS1 (re-air)
8 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pole qualifying, FS1 (re-air)
9 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Canada: TSN2)
10 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Pole qualifying, FS1 (Canada: TSN GO) CANCELED (Re-airing Friday’s Xfinity Series final practice)
12 p.m. (joined in progress): Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS2 (Canada: TSN2) CANCELED (Re-airing Friday’s Monster Energy Series qualifying)
1 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Pre-Race Show, FOX
4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity LTi Printing 250, FS2 (Canada: TSN2)

Sunday, June 10
8 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series LTi Printing 250, FS1 (re-air)
1:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pre-Race Show, FOX
2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400, FOX (Canada: TSN1, 3) UNDERWAY AFTER DELAY
11:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400, FS1 (re-air)

Posted on by Staff Report

Stage 2

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick nabbed his series-leading seventh stage win of the season Sunday at Pocono Raceway, cruising to a substantial lead ahead of second-place Kyle Busch in the 50-lap stage.

Harvick started Sunday afternoon’s race on the front row alongside pole-sitter Ryan Blaney, and he’s led a race-high 63 laps.

RELATED: Full Stage 2 results

In addition to the 10 race points earned for winning Stage 2, the 2014 series champ adds a playoff point toward his growing postseason total as well.

Harvick’s SHR teammate Clint Bowyer and Stage 1 winner Martin Truex Jr. claimed third and fourth in Stage 2 with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott completing the top five.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2  Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing 7
5 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 6
6 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 4
8 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 3
9 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 1

 

Stage 1

Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. nabbed his third stage win of the season Sunday at Pocono Raceway, narrowly beating Kevin Harvick to the start/finish line after a thrilling final few circuits of the 50-lap stage.

Truex started Sunday afternoon’s race from the fourth position, and he nabbed the lead from the Stewart-Haas Racing driver with less than 10 laps to go. Harvick finished second after leading a race-high 23 laps.

RELATED: Full Stage 1 results

In addition to the 10 race points earned for winning Stage 1, the defending series champion adds a playoff point toward his growing postseason total as well.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and SHR’s Clint Bowyer claimed third and fourth in Stage 1 with JGR’s Denny Hamlin taking fifth.

Ryan Blaney led 11 laps from the pole, but faded to seventh.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 10
2  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4 Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 7
5 Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Chase Elliott  Hendrick Motorsports 5
7 Ryan Blaney  Team Penske 4
8 Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 1
Posted on by @nascarcasm

Yes, that’s right – we’re gonna follow along with each episode of Renovation Realities: Dale Jr. & Amy on the DIY Network — the network that makes home renovation projects look really easy on TV and then you try them at home and wind up cutting your own thumb off.

They’re renovating a really old house in Key West, Florida, which is a wonderful place to visit despite being just an “a” and an “n” from being “Kanye West” but let’s not get sidetracked here. Why are we blogging a TV show? Because that’s what the Internet does. There are like 800 people out there who live-blog “The Bachelorette” and if that many people are interested in this poor woman having to pick her next ex-fiancé from this Curve cologne-scented dork pageant, then HOT DAMN we’re gonna blog this.

First off, let’s hope that with Amy’s interior-decorating skills, this fixer-upper goes way better than Dale Jr.’s previous attempt at a fixer-upper.

2018 June 3 Dale Car

I’m hoping her input trumps Dale’s. There, I said it. Because she’s a professional interior decorator, and he is … not that. She’ll be trying to find a tasteful fabric for the curtains, while he’s filling the koi pond with mayonnaise and fighting with the Key West town council that forbids him throwing wrecked race cars into the ocean as artificial reefs.

Second, why not “Dale & Amy: RENOV88TION”? I mean I’m probably gonna enjoy the show but this golden opportunity at branding is now gone. Whatever. I’m over it.

OK, let’s get watching. Very excited to be at home on a Saturday night watching a home renovation show because it features Dale and Amy, and not for the usual reason, because I’m 40 now and this is sadly what I’ve become.

SHOW INTRO

  • Good little montage introducing Dale and Amy. She’s clearly way better at this than he is. This is gonna be like shifting at Pocono Raceway for him. Oh no.

FIRST SEGMENT

  • Good introduction of Key West. It truly is a cool place to visit. I’ve been there several times and apparently I had a great time. I also got married there, no joke. Looks like they’re buying an old, run-down, beat-up, dilapidated, cat and termite-infested home there. Which in Key West means it was probably $20 million, as-is.
The dilapidated house that Dale Jr. and Amy Earnhardt renovated.
Courtesy DIY Network / Rocky Gonet (AP Images)
  • Looks like Dale had to go in front of the town council or something to approve the project. That’s like the Key West version of getting called to the hauler. 
  • OH thank God, there’s someone helping them. Sort of like a crew chief. Oh Lord please, people, let’s appreciate this guy and not run him out of town like Lance McGrew.
  • Apparently there’s a lot of cat pee everywhere. I don’t own a cat so I am not familiar with the aroma but Dale used to go in his fire suit on a weekly basis so, hey, go easy on the cats, OK? 
  • Oh man, there are bees. Be gentle. Those things, like my tweets, are dying at an alarming rate. 
  • Oooo they’re gonna put in a lanai, sweet. (Googles ‘lanai.’) 
  • Dale tries to operate a skid steer and almost backs it into a truck. We literally almost had a caution in a home renovation show. Holy s—. This is gold. 
  • So they have to stabilize the foundation by placing jacks underneath the house. They rock-paper-scissors and Dale wins which means he sends his pregnant wife to belly crawl through the vermin and garbage under the house because, you know, chivalry. Generally one wouldn’t tell his pregnant wife, “Hey, I know you’re with child and all, but could you Army crawl through maybe snakes and insects underneath this house?” but the rules of rock-paper-scissors are ironclad.

SECOND SEGMENT

  • Dale just tried to take a sledgehammer to one of the home’s old concrete footings. Let’s just say the footing made it through unharmed. They gave him a jackhammer instead.
Dale Jr. and Amy Earnhardt work on a house in Key West.
Courtesy DIY Network / Emilee Ramsier
  • Amy and Dale seem to really be working well as a team on this project. Usually any sort of home-improvement project is one-sided at my house. My wife and I say we’re gonna work together but shocker, only one of us winds up doing the sawing, the sanding, the nail pounding, etc. But rest assured, I thank her for it. 
  • OH huge beehive. Honey dripping everywhere. Shocked Dale didn’t conjure up his next weird sandwich. Honey-and-sawdust, or something. 
  • “Putting up all the siding is uh, pretty ex … citing,” says Dale. Working on the dad jokes before he’s actually a dad. Always work ahead.


THIRD SEGMENT

  • OH MY GOD THEY’RE PREGNANT AGAI …wait, this was recorded some time ago. 
  • They’re putting Dale in the excavator – the most effective dirt-removing device aside from the splitter. Dale will love that joke.
Dalejrsaws
Courtesy DIY Network / Emilee Ramsier
  • He yanked the waterline out of the meter. Popped it right off like it was a steering wheel at Talladega. Oh sweet molasses. Other than that, he’s doing well. I dig it. HAAAAAAA OK, if he can make that crappy dad joke earlier than let’s not pretend I just ruined everything. 
  • Them brick pavers is dope. Like a miniature Brickyard. I also like how they’re using some of them on the wall in the restroom. Like, an actual brick wall. Dale can then talk to said wall. It’ll remind Dale of when he used to ride in the truck at driver intros with Paul Menard. 
  • That’s a lot of work they did. House looking pretty swell for just 30 minutes of work.
Posted on by Staff Report

Ruben Garcia Jr., a member of the Drive for Diversity Class of 2018 and a NASCAR Next alum, earned his first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East win Saturday night in the Memphis 150.

The 2015 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series champion drove the No. 6 Rev Racing Toyota to Victory Lane at Memphis International Raceway.

Garcia became the seventh different driver from the NASCAR Drive For Diversity Driver Development Program to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race and gave Rev Racing, which has fielded the competition team for the program since 2010, its 18th win.

Garcia is in his third full season in the K&N Pro Series. After finishing 10th in points as a rookie 2016, the NASCAR Next alum improved to fifth last year. He finished second at Bristol Motor Speedway and led a race-high 79 laps in the finale at Dover International Speedway in 2017, but was still in search of that elusive breakthrough win.

He is the fourth Mexican-born driver to win in the series, following Ruben Pardo (2006), Rogelio Lopez (2007) and three-time series race winner Daniel Suarez (most recently 2014).

Garcia also led a Rev Racing contingent that also finished fourth (Chase Cabre) and seventh (Ryan Vargas).

Ronnie Bassett Jr. finished fifth, followed by his brother Dillon. After Vargas, Colin Garrett, Anthony Alfredo and Marcos Gomes rounded out the top 10.

Posted on by Staff Report

LONG POND, Pa. — The race-winning No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series Toyota failed post-race inspection height measurements following the Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons.

Kyle Busch drove the No. 18 car to his first Xfinity Series win of the season, leading 64 laps on the day en route to the victory. The win was the second for the No. 18 car in the Xfinity Series with Ryan Preece earning a win at Bristol in April.

The car was too high in the left front, according to a NASCAR spokesperson. Last week, the No. 20 JGR team of Christopher Bell was assessed a L1-level penalty for failing post-race height measurements that resulted in a one-race suspension for crew chief Jason Ratcliff, a $10,000 fine and a loss of 10 driver and owner points.

RELATED: Race results | Race recap

Any potential penalties will be announced next week by the sanctioning body.

 

Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. – In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Cole Custer is quietly and unassumingly emerging as a championship contender. He may not have a race win yet in 2018, but the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is coming on strong following a fifth-place finish in the Pocono Green 250 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons. 

Custer started the day on the right note by earning his third pole position of the season and led the first two laps before Kyle Busch took over the lead on Lap 3. Busch would go on to win the race.

RELATED: Complete race results | Xfinity standings | Schedule

The No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team made a strategy play at the end of Stage 1 that paid off in a big way. Custer pitted from fourth-place on Lap 22 to be up front at the start of Stage 2.

“We pitted early just trying to get some track position there,” crew chief Jeff Meendering told NASCAR.com after the race. “We knew we could make it to the end of the second stage really easy and then the last stage, we had to pit at that one so we could make it to the end of the race on fuel.”

The move put Custer out front for 21 more laps and he was nearly able to grab his first stage win of 2018. However, Paul Menard got past him with two laps to go to deny Custer the playoff point. From there, Custer spent a good portion of the final stage running as high as second before ending the day in fifth.

“We just didn’t have really good long-run speed,” Custer said on pit road after the race. “That was our biggest problem. We just got too tight at the end of a run. It was interesting to run the package and try to learn it throughout the day. I just think we needed a little more there.”

The race saw the Xfinity Series use the same aero package that was used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last season. The package featured a bigger splitter and spoiler, specially-designed aero ducts and restrictor plates. The package will be used again next weekend at Michigan International Speedway and in September at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“We are getting better and better and we are starting to hit our stride now,” Custer said. “We’ve always had fast cars and now we are starting to get the finishes. We need just a little bit more and just the fine details, but I think we’re pretty close right now.”

RELATED: Race recap of Pocono Green 250 | Custer’s career stats

Custer and his team have found their rhythm with back-to-back top-five finishes. He also has nine top 10s in the past 10 races in 2018. Dating back to last August at Bristol, the California native has 19 top 10s in his last 24 races and a dominating victory in last season’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He now holds a one-point edge on second place in the standings over Daniel Hemric, with Tyler Reddick two points back of Custer in fourth place.

“We are set up pretty good to make the playoffs,” Meendering said of his driver and team. “But to win the championship, we need to keep stepping it up. Keep getting better every week and we’re heading in that direction.”

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

LONG POND, Pa. — A new high-downforce, restrictor-plate competition package at Pocono Raceway brought a familiar result on Saturday — at least where the NASCAR Xfinity Series is concerned.

Overcoming a pit road speeding penalty that sent him to the back of the field for the start of the second 25-lap stage in the Pocono Green 250, Kyle Busch clawed his way through the field to win the 92nd race of his career.

RELATED: No. 18 car fails post-race inspection | Complete race results

What wasn’t familiar was Busch’s victory at Pocono. It was his first, in his second start at the 2.5-mile triangular track. And it was Busch’s first Xfinity victory of the season in his fourth start of the year.

Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the clear class of the field. Only the penalty put the outcome in doubt. Busch grabbed the lead from pole winner Cole Custer on Lap 3 of 100 and held it through the end of Stage 1, winning that leg by 7.171 seconds over teammate Christopher Bell.

But both Busch and Bell were too fast on pit road during stops and Lap 28, and the teammates restarted 21st and 22nd on Lap 31. By the end of Stage 2, won by Paul Menard, Busch had climbed to sixth, and from there it was a matter of time before he returned to the top spot.

That happened when he stayed out under caution after Bell and Justin Allgaier, two of the top contenders, wrecked on the Long Pond straightaway on Lap 60 and exited the race. Busch held the lead from the restart on Lap 66 to the finish and crossed the stripe 2.521 seconds ahead of runner-up Chase Elliott, who was subbing for suspended Spencer Gallagher.

“The car was on rails this week,” Busch said. “It was last week, too (in an eighth-place finish at Charlotte), but we were just able to over the deficit we had this weekend (from the penalty) and bring it back to the front.”

WATCH: Allgaier, Lupton trigger wreck

Busch’s only worry was getting through heavy race traffic in his charge from the back to the front after the start of the second stage.

“You’re always worried about something crazy or an unpredictable situation happening,” Busch said. “We just kind of had to bide our time and be patient a little bit, kind of make moves when we could make moves…

“All in all, though, we knew we had speed in our race car, and it was really fast out front, once we got to those top five, top six cars.”

Daniel Hemric ran third, followed by Austin Cindric, Custer and series leader Elliott Sadler.

Busch got 48 laps out of his last tank of fuel. Elliott, who passed Hemric for second with one lap left, was hoping Busch’s Camry would sputter before he reached the finish line.

“We came in to top off (on Lap 58),” Elliott said. “We wanted to be on the good side of fuel, and I was hoping these guys would push it a little too close.  … But it was a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Bell and Allgaier were victims of the Lap 60 crash that started with Sadler pushing Allgaier up the straightaway between Turns 1 and 2 in close quarters with the No. 28 Ford of Dylan Lupton. Contact between the cars of Lupton and Allgaier turned Allgaier’s Chevrolet toward the wall, where he collected Bell’s Toyota in the process. Both cars were damaged too severely to continue.

“I just made a mistake there whenever I followed Kyle (Busch) to Pit Road at the end of the first stage, Bell said. “He was going really fast, and I thought I could, too. And I just ended up speeding.

“There was nothing I could have done there with Justin, for that matter. We were just victims of Pocono restarts. It just got really hairy. It was exciting. That’s why sometimes we love it and sometimes we hate it.”

Sadler retained the series lead by 62 points over Custer in second and 63 over Hemric in third.