RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings
Breaking down the full field for the Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono Raceway:
1. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. With John Klausmeier atop the pit box while crew chief Tony Gibson served a one-race suspension, Busch brilliantly saved enough fuel over the final 32 laps to win his first race of the season. Busch said prerace his season had been an A-. It wasn’t Monday. Grade: A+
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Junior couldn’t hold off Kurt Busch – or track him down – after the final restart and settled for his season-leading fourth second-place finish. Grade: A
3. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Despite running afoul of NASCAR for an unapproved body modification that resulted in two penalties (an NHL-approved hip check by the jackman to the right side of the car during an early pit stop), Keselowski improved his average finish over the past five races to 5.0, second only to Kurt Busch’s 4.6. Grade: A
4. Chase Elliott, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The rookie standout led a career-high 51 laps, but it wasn’t enough to get his first Cup victory. It will be soon. Grade: A
5. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. On the restart on Lap 27, Logano got into Ryan Newman, who wasted no time delivering several “love taps” as payback that damaged the No. 22 and sent it drifting back in the field. Logano’s pit crew fixed the left rear, and Logano did the rest for his first top-five finish in two months (since Texas). Grade: A
6. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne was too fast entering pit road on the competition caution on Lap 19 and had to restart at the back of the field. He didn’t spend much time there en route to his second top 10 in three weeks. Grade: A
7. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth led a career-best 31 laps at Pocono for his third-straight top 10 at the track. Grade: A
8. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards overcame contact with Kurt Busch that damaged his right front in the first half of the race to register his first top 10 since back-to-back wins at Bristol and Richmond in April. Grade: A
9. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick was running seventh when he was penalized for entering pit road too fast on the competition caution. The No. 4 team tried to use pit strategy to compensate – and it almost worked – but the fourth caution submarined that. On the flip side, Harvick restarted 20th after the final caution and worked his way back into the top 10. Grade: B
10. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Blaney scored a top 10 on his first trip to Pocono. Well done. Grade: A
11. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson’s team was one of the first to play the fuel-strategy game. It didn’t work, but he still crafted his fourth-best finish of the season. Grade: B
12. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman’s eventful day included a battle with Joey Logano and getting loose and drifting into Kyle Busch, sending the No. 18 into the wall. In the race for the Chase, Newman is 16th in the standings, four points ahead of AJ Allmendinger. Grade: B
13. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. A two-tire call on the second-to-last caution enabled Bayne to improve 17 positions for the restart. That was the difference in his day. Grade: B
14. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin finished where he pretty much ran throughout the day. Grade: B
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse continued his stranglehold of finishes in the teens. Grade: B
16. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger was never a factor, but he did lead two laps during a caution, his second and third laps led of the season. Grade: C
17. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray’s average finish this season is 16.6, and he was spot on. Grade: C
18. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Bowyer spent 10 laps in the top 15, the fewest among drivers in the top 20. Grade: C
19. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota, Furniture Row Racing. Truex experienced none of the good fortune that washed over the No. 78 team in last week’s record-setting win at Charlotte. First, his car was damaged after taking a big hit from Matt DiBenedetto on pit road during the competition caution. Then, with 41 laps to go, the No. 78 came off pit road first, improving 15 positions on a two-tire call. But the right rear tire was damaged and went flat before the race returned to green. So much for track position down the stretch. Grade: C
20. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola never raced higher than 12th, one of only three drivers who never sniffed the top 10 Monday. Grade: C
21. Ty Dillon, No. 95 Chevrolet, Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. Dillon was the race leader for the first time in his young Cup career (three laps, including two under caution) and made it 13-for-13 starts of running at the finish. Grade: B
22. Regan Smith, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Smith posted his best finish since coming home eighth in the Daytona 500. Grade: B
23. David Ragan, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Another driver runs to form: In 19 Cup starts at Pocono, Ragan’s average finish is 23.2. Grade: B-
24. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. With 41 laps to go, the No. 13 had a gas-only pit stop and came off pit road second, improving 19 positions. Unfortunately for Mears, the No. 13 was collected in Jimmie Johnson‘s wreck soon after the restart. Grade: B-
25. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. The No. 34 team did the same as the No. 13 team, with its gas-only stop enabling Buescher to roll off pit road fourth, improving 20 positions. Grade: B-
26. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. The No. 16 team couldn’t build on last week’s 11th-place finish at Charlotte, its best finish of the season. Grade: D
27. Josh Wise, No. 30 Chevrolet, The Motorsports Group. Wise posted his best finish of the season, topping his 33rd at Bristol. Grade: B
28. Reed Sorenson, No. 98 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Ditto Sorenson, who registered his best finish since coming home 24th at Homestead in 2014. Grade: B
29. Jeb Burton, No. 32 Ford, Go Fas Racing. This was Burton’s first Cup start of the season. His best finish in 28 starts last season as a rookie: 27th last fall at Martinsville. Grade: B
30. Cole Whitt, No. 55 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. A rear gear issue saddled Whitt with his fourth DNF this season in 12 starts, although he did complete all but five laps. Grade: D
31. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. This is almost word-for-word from last week, which is not good: Busch was battling for 10th with less than 50 laps to go when Ryan Newman got loose and ran the No. 18 into the wall. Instead, Busch posted his third-straight finish in the 30s. Grade: B-
32. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. After the restart for the fifth caution on Lap 93, Tony Stewart got loose in front of Patrick and turned into wall, leaving Patrick with nowhere to go except into the right side of his No. 14. After repairs, Patrick returned to the track and finished 15 laps down. Grade: C-
33. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. A broken rotor was the cause of his third-worst finish of the season. Grade: F
34. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. See Danica Patrick above. Stewart also returned to the track but didn’t pick up enough points to hold his spot in the driver standings. He dropped to 36th and is 71 points behind 30th-place David Ragan. Grade: F
35. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson brought out the 10th and final caution when he got loose, collected Casey Mears‘ car and hit the inside wall. Said Johnson on Twitter: “Up front all day and then to have it end like that.” He got that right. Grade: D
36. Landon Cassill, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. After the restart following the fifth caution, Cassill was collected in the Tony Stewart–Danica Patrick wreck. He returned to the track and finished a season-high 39 laps back. Grade: D
37. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon was running 24th on Lap 118 when his No. 3 Chevrolet broke a rotor and smacked the wall, causing major damage. Grade: F
38. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett crashed with 58 laps to go, his third DNF for a crash in the past five races. Grade: F
39. Brian Scott, No. 44 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Scott was running at the finish but completed only 81 laps after spinning out on Lap 22 in Turn 1 and tagging the wall. Grade: F
40. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. Not a good day. His spin on the fourth lap brought out the first caution, he collided with Martin Truex Jr. in the pits during the competition caution and he was towed from the track after crashing on Lap 60. Grade: F