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Drivers not determined for NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship prep session 

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A Goodyear Tire test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, set for Aug. 26, has been rescheduled to Sept. 9, three days after the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field will be set at Richmond International Raceway.

No drivers or teams have been announced for the session. A NASCAR spokesman said a decision had not been made on the list of drivers who would participate.

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Goodyear Eagle Racing Radials for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship race, the Ford EcoBoost 400 (Sunday, Nov. 16, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN) will come from the company’s Group 2 venue grouping. Other tracks in that grouping include fellow Chase tracks, including the first race in the Chase, Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 14, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN); Kansas Speedway (Oct. 5, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN); Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 2, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Chicagoland test, scheduled for June 10-11, battled rain. It was attended by Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, both of whom have clinched Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spots. Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, a provisional Chase Grid driver, took part, too, as well as Paul Menard in the No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Other tracks in the Group 2 venue grouping include Darlington Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway.

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Veteran says ‘other people’s opinions don’t really mean much’

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LONG POND, Pa. — Carl Edwards, twice a winner this season and wrapping up his stay at Roush Fenway Racing, doesn’t care to be seen as the underdog going into this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The veteran, who is expected to land at Joe Gibbs Racing for 2015, enters today’s GoBowling.com 400 eighth in points, but with only one top-10 finish in his last eight starts.

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Damage to his No. 99 Ford during qualifying didn’t help matters, and Edwards rolls off 26th for today’s race.

"Other people’s opinions don’t really mean much in this sport as far as performance is concerned," Edwards said Saturday at Pocono Raceway. "Right now, we’re not competitive enough to win the championship, so talking about whether we are (a dark horse) or not really doesn’t matter.

"It’s simple to see every weekend from the results, so we have to do better and we know that."

Edwards’ victories came at Bristol and Sonoma this season. Teammates Greg Biffle (16th in points) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (27th) are winless through the season’s first 20 races.

"We’re still lacking a little bit of speed," Edwards said, "but we are more competitive. We talked about Indy (15th) being frustrating, but we’re making small gains.

"We moved up a little bit at Indy and I think we’re faster here … we just have to keep moving forward. That’s the name of the game and that’s the only thing that’s going to get us where we want to be."

Edwards is a former Pocono winner (2008). He finished 41st here in June.

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Points leader eclipses 24,000 laps led, becomes first to lead 1,000 at Pocono

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LONG POND, Pa. — In spite of yet another strong car, and on a day that saw him exceed the 24,000 laps led mark for his career, Jeff Gordon couldn’t overcome the short-pitting strategy of his rivals.
 
Instead of career win No. 91, Gordon finished sixth in Sunday’s GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the win, emerging on top after a tense battle with Kevin Harvick following the final restart of the 160-lap race.
 
Pit strategy helped keep Gordon out front for a race-leading 63 laps. But others chose differently in the closing segment of the race, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports driver playing catchup.

Career laps led in NASCAR premier series competition:
Richard Petty: 51,380
Cale Yarborough: 31,556
Bobby Allison: 27,551
Dale Earnhardt: 25,684
David Pearson: 25,294
Jeff Gordon: 24,012

"Those guys knew that they had to do the exact opposite strategy of us, but Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the team just did an amazing job today," Gordon said. "We had the dominant car, but you had to have track position and … there at the end we didn’t have it. I think if we had started outside lanes there at the end we would have had it."
 
Gordon gave up the lead for the final time at Lap 131 to pit for tires and fuel. He was seventh on a Lap 144 restart but only fifth when the caution flew for an incident involving Kurt Busch.
 
Earnhardt Jr., using a different strategy, needed only the briefest of stops for a splash of fuel, putting him out front of the No. 24 and within eyesight of leader Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing). He moved into the lead on Lap 147.
 
"I think if we had started outside … there at the end we would have had it," Gordon said. "My restarts weren’t terrible today, they weren’t bad when we were on the outside and we could make up some spots. Unfortunately on those last couple … we were on the inside.
 
"But with Dale getting out in front of us there through that pit sequence, there was nothing we could do. … Whoever got out front, him or me, was going to win the race."
 
The finish was Gordon’s 15th top-10 and kept him atop the points standings. He leads Earnhardt Jr. by 17 after 21 of this season’s 36 points races.
 
Contending for wins on a regular basis has a familiar feel.
 
"It’s incredible. I was actually leading (the) race going ‘yeah, I remember what this feels like,’" he said. "It’s been a long time but the way the cars are performing, the way the team is performing it’s very reminiscent of old school 24. It’s a lot of fun.
 
"… We’re going through the motions in practice and qualifying and we don’t always look like we’re the fastest car but when they drop the green … It was just a dominant day, just unfortunate it didn’t finish the way we wanted it to."
 
Gordon has now led 24,012 laps for his career. He also became the first driver to lead 1,000 laps at Pocono Raceway.

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Thirteen vehicles involved in incident

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LONG POND, Pa. — None of those collected seemed to know exactly what happened. But most agreed there was no place to go when Denny Hamlin spun, setting off a 13-car accident in Sunday’s GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.

"All I know is the 11 (of Hamlin) got loose out the outside nearly two rows in front of me, and the next thing I know, the 55 (of Brian Vickers) got turned in front of me," said Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard after exiting the infield care center.

"And then there was nowhere to go."

Aric Almirola was likewise unsure of what set off the multicar crash, saying he "watched the replay to see."

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"I saw smoke and I saw one car make a hard right into the fence and I knew they were wrecking," the Richard Petty Motorsports driver said. "I just tried to aim for the middle and hoped for the best."

The car of three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart eventually stopped while perched on top of Menard’s No. 27 Chevrolet.

"It started far enough ahead of us that we couldn’t see it," Stewart said. We were just coming off of (Turn) 2 there and somebody got sideways and started wrecking … and we got caught up in it.

"I ended up on top of Paul Menard’s hood so it wasn’t where we wanted to end up by any means."

The race, stop No. 21 for the series this season, had already had its share of unexpected twists — Kyle Busch had retired early with engine issues while six-time champion Jimmie Johnson was in the garage after smacking the wall hard with his No. 48 Chevrolet.

The green flag had just reappeared following the caution for Johnson’s troubles when Jamie McMurray sped past Hamlin on the low side in Turn 1. As Clint Bowyer moved past on the outside, Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota spun.

Vickers went to the high side to avoid contact, but collected Hamlin’s teammate, Matt Kenseth. The cars of Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Michael Annett, AJ Allmendinger, Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards also were caught up in the incident.

Hamlin said it was an instance of getting caught in the middle of the three-wide racing.

"Just … guys getting runs and guys that can accelerate much faster than what we can, and so that put me three-wide in the middle," he said.

"The 15 (Bowyer) was right on my door and is sucked me around and I was just hanging on at that point. I think it was mayhem from everyone checking up from behind. … I just got sucked around."

Hamlin escaped with little to no damage done, eventually finishing ninth. Few others were as fortunate although no drivers were injured.

"We’re all just fighting for positions on restarts because we can’t pass after you get three laps on your tires," he said. "These cars put such a big wake in the air you just can’t overcome it."

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Roush Fenway Racing improving, but still looking for speed as Chase looms

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LONG POND, Pa. — On Friday, Greg Biffle said he had the best car that he had driven in a year, but his optimism waned, as did his speed, in Sunday’s GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. It cost him a shot at a win and a spot in his sixth Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in seven years.

A fuel-strategy gamble by crew chief Matt Puccia gave the #3MThrowback Ford Fusion the lead from Kevin Harvick with 25 laps to go. Carrying his sponsor’s 1942 logo on board, Biffle ran out front, and it looked like another throwback to August of 2010 when he won at the Tricky Triangle. 

When AJ Allmendinger had an accident at Lap 140, Biffle was only able to hold off a charging Dale Earnhardt Jr. for three laps after the ensuing restart. He lost the lead to the eventual winner with 14 laps left.

"We had a 20th-place car and got track position and drove our butt off. We did everything we could. We had a good strategy there and we might have been able to sneak one out.

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"That’s all you can do (is gamble). We had the balls to do it, and we did it and it didn’t work."

It was his third top-five finish of the season and first since May at Talladega, and the leader of Roush Fenway Racing going forward with the departure of Carl Edwards in 2015 was best in class for his organization.

But winning is all that matters to Biffle, and speed, along with a positive attitude, is what he needs to get to Victory Lane.

"We just keep working at it," Biffle said. "I’m not going to give up. That’s not the way to win races. We’ll keep working hard and try and find some speed for next week."

Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen, and Biffle expects to gamble again at a road course where he has his worst average finish (23.1) of any track. Then the team heads to Michigan International Speedway, where Jack Roush has more wins than any other team (13), but the team struggled in June with Biffle finishing 20th.

Before the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, Biffle and his RFR teammates tested at Michigan, and the team found some of the speed that has been missing for much of the season. So far, that test knowledge hasn’t translated to the track, but Biffle is glad that the team got some time under its belt at the facility. 

"The speed (from the Michigan test) hasn’t panned out yet for here and other tracks, but we feel good that we did do the test at that track," Biffle said.

Biffle can take some solace in having the biggest jump of any driver in the points standings, up three spots to 13th and a provisional spot in the Chase Grid. He would be seeded 16th, one point ahead of fellow winless driver Kasey Kahne.

Biffle was also surprised and pleased that he outran Jeff Gordon, who led the most laps (63) before finishing sixth.

"We beat the 24 car, which I’m not sure how we did that. They were definitely the fastest car, but we feel good about it. We’ve got to keep working on our car and trying to find the rest of that speed."

 

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Catch up quickly before Sunday’s running of the GoBowling.com 400

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What: GoBowling.com 400

Where: Pocono Raceway

When: Sunday, Aug. 3
Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV/Radio: ESPN (Coverage begins at noon ET), MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Distance: 160 laps, 400 miles

Pit road speed: 55 mph

Caution speed: 70 mph

Fuel window: 32-35 laps
Avg. time of race: 3 hours, 22 minutes

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On the front row (See the full lineup here)
1. Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (183.438 mph*)

2. Joey Logano, Team Penske (183.408 mph)
*15th track record of the season in Coors Light Pole Qualifying

Failed to qualify:

None

Defending race champion:
Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet

Driver rating (based on data from the past nine years):
Denny Hamlin, 109.0
Jimmie Johnson, 108.7

Fastest in practice:

First practice: Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet (180.353 mph)


Second practice: Busch (178.859 mph)

Third practice: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske No. 2 Ford (178.547 mph)

Hendrick stronghold:
Four different Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won the last four races at the Tricky Triangle, padding Rick Hendrick’s all-time wins lead at the track with 16. The next closest owners are Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske with nine victories apiece. With three of its four team drivers locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, defending race winner Kahne is on the outside looking in after losing a late-race lead to teammate Jeff Gordon last week at Indianapolis.

Lookin’ for a broom:
Pocono 400 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit the ground running on Friday, tweeting he was "lookin’ for a broom" to complete the season sweep in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Dale Jr. would become the sixth driver to complete the feat, joining NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison (1982), former premier series champions Bill Elliott (1985), Bobby Labonte (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2004) as well as Tim Richmond (1986) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

Sticking with it:
Before the June race, Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing team gave him Camaro to learn how to drive a stick and shift, a skill necessary for success at Pocono. Larson won the ARCA race that weekend and finished fifth in the Pocono 400 Sprint Cup race. Two months later, Larson appears to have mastered it, becoming the first NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver to win a Coors Light Pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Chase-clinching scenarios:
Six drivers with multiple wins and who cannot fall out of the top 30 in points have clinched spots in the season-ending playoffs: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. On Sunday four more drivers have a chance to clinch: Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola. Harvick’s two wins mean he needs only to clinch a top-30 spot. Busch has clinched a top-30 spot, but needs another win to clinch. Hamlin has yet to clinch a top-30 spot. He would clinch with a win and some help. Almirola would need to win this weekend to clinch and get some help to also lock up a top-30 spot.

Who’s the next winner?:

With only six races to go until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, there are only six more chances for drivers to win their way into the playoffs. Based on best average finish of drivers with more than five starts at the track, Tony Stewart (11.0), Ryan Newman (11.5), Clint Bowyer (14.8), Martin Truex Jr. (14.9) and Matt Kenseth (15.3) are the top five to watch. Among drivers without wins, Stewart has the best average driver rating (98.9). In his quest for a third Pocono win in June, Stewart led 24 laps but a speeding penalty on pit road at Lap 119 cost him a chance at a breakthrough victory.

Filling in on the No. 11:
Following a penalty at Indianapolis, NASCAR suspended No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill. Race engineer Mike Wheeler will call the shots for Denny Hamlin, and former car chief Chris "Spider" Gillin, who came off the road at the end of 2013, is back with the team at Pocono. 

Doing the double:
Brad Keselowski defended his U.S. Cellular 250 presented by New Holland NASCAR Nationwide Series title on Saturday night at Iowa Speedway. Landon Cassill joined Keselowski on the Iowa-Pocono plan and scored a 13th-place finish.

Former Pocono winners in the field:

Jeff Gordon (6); Denny Hamlin (4); Jimmie Johnson (3); Kasey Kahne (2); Carl Edwards (2); Tony Stewart (2); Kurt Busch (2); Brad Keselowski (1); Ryan Newman (1); Greg Biffle (1); Joey Logano (1); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1)

Fantasy sleeper, presented by Rotowire
:
Jamie McMurray. Things appear to be lining up for a very successful weekend at Pocono for Chip Ganassi Racing. Not only does the No. 42 team have a good look heading to the three-turn oval, but the No. 1 team of McMurray could be a steady performer as well. McMurray owns finishes of 10th-, 17th-, 13th-, 16th- and 10th-place in his last five trips to Long Pond, Pennsylvania. His 10th-place finish here in June was no fluke. It was his fifth-career Top-10 finish at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. There seems to be a lot of indicators pointing toward a top-15 finish for the CGR veteran at Pocono.

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Plan your NASCAR weekend with these on-track, live interview times

All times ET

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This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series head to Watkins Glen International.

SUNDAY, AUG. 10:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
— 11:00:00 a.m.: NSCS Driver/Crew Chief Meeting
— 12:30:00 p.m.: NSCS Driver Introductions
— 12:58:45 p.m.: Intro Canadian National Anthem
— 12:58:55 p.m.: Canadian National Anthem: Trina Vargas
— 1:00:30 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: The United States Marine Corps Color Guard from Recruiting Station Buffalo (Located on Stage), Navy Recruiting District of Pittsburgh Color Guard (Located in Turn 11), New York State Troopers (located in Turn 1), United States Air Force, (located in Turn 2), New Jersey ROTC (located in Turn 4) and Army National Guard (located Turn 11 side of JHE Stage)       
— 1:00:40 p.m.: Invocation by: Reverend David Fife, Bentley Creek Wesleyan Church
— 1:01:05 p.m.: Intro National Anthem
— 1:01:15 p.m.: National Anthem by: Home Free Vocal Band (unfurl large US Flag in Turn 1)
— 1:03:00 p.m.: Flyover TOT by: United States Coast Guard, Air Station Cape Cod (HC-144 Ocean Sentry) (Turn 7 to Turn 1)
— 1:08:00 p.m.: "Drivers, Start Your Engines" by:  Home Free Vocal Band
— 1:19:00 p.m.: Start of the Cheez-It 355 (90 Laps, 220.5 Miles)

ON TRACK
— 1 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (90 laps, 220.5 miles), ESPN (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10:15 a.m.: Stewart-Hass Racing
— 4 p.m. (approximately): NSCS Post Race Press Conference

FRIDAY, AUG. 8:

ON TRACK
— 9:30-10:50 a.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 12:30-2 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 2:10-3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice
, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 4:30-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

GARAGECAM PRESENTED BY MOBIL 1
— Noon.: Sprint Cup Series (Watch live)
— 1:40 p.m.: Nationwide Series (Watch live)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 10:30 a.m.: Ander Vilarino and Frederic Gabillon (Drivers in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East)
— 10:45 a.m.: AJ Allmendinger
— 11:15 a.m.: Marcos Ambrose
— 11:30 a.m.: Regan Smith
— 11:45 a.m.: Kyle Busch

SATURDAY, AUG. 9:

ON TRACK
— 9:40 a.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, ESPN2 (Get results)
— 11:40 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, ESPN2 (Get results)
— 2:15 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at The Glen (82 laps, 200.9 miles), ABC (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 1 p.m. (approximately): NSCS Post Qualifying Press Conference
— 5 p.m. (approximately): NNS Post Race Press Conference

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Holds off charge by Michael McDowell on late restart at Iowa Speedway

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NEWTON, Iowa — The well-worn script read something like this: Brad Keselowski swoops in from the sky.
 
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion snares a second straight win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway, then hops a jet back to Pocono Raceway and competes in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
 
Simple. Neat. Expected — except part-timer Michael McDowell nearly spoiled the big-timer’s happy, if nerve-wracking Saturday night ending.
 
"I had my shot at it," said McDowell, who led briefly on Lap 247 before the always-fast Keselowski swept high and surged to his third win in four U.S. Cellular 250 starts.
 
That he did — thanks to another driver’s misfortune.

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James Buescher‘s crash on Lap 242 set up a madcap dash to the finish that allowed McDowell to challenge for the upset.
 
"A really good battle," said Keselowski, who led 146 laps and has finished no worse than third in seven Nationwide starts this season. "He had me there for a minute. Somehow I slid back by him. I’m not really sure how it worked out. These wins aren’t easy to come by and I’m really proud of the effort everyone put into it."
 
Keselowski’s stated goal entering the Nationwide portion of his weekend was to aid Team Penske in a tight race at the top of the owner point standings.
 
He accomplished that, narrowing Joe Gibbs Racing‘s lead from eight points to one (804 to 803).
 
"This isn’t a race that Penske circles and says we want to send a Cup driver to," Keselowski said. "It’s just the way it works right now, (with) development drivers running in the (Camping World) Trucks series. The race is a conflict and it just kind of schedules out the way it does for me to be here. But I’ve enjoyed the success I’ve had here and it’s important for me personally to see those (developmental) drivers get opportunities in races like that."
 
JGR drivers Sam Hornish Jr. and Elliott Sadler finished fourth and 10th, respectively.
 
Hornish — one of a handful to choose four tires on the last pit stop — led 65 laps and notched his fourth straight top-four finish at Iowa.
 
Trevor Bayne led the first 31 laps and settled for third with a $100,000 silver lining.
 
Bayne locked up the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash prize, earning another $100,000 for fan James Dennis of Henry, Ill.
 
"It hasn’t sunk in entirely yet," Dennis said.
 
It has for Bayne.
 
"Hopefully we can build on this," said Bayne, who moved up to fifth in points with 673. "I feel like we did everything but go to Victory Lane this weekend."
 
Chase Elliott finished eighth and maintains a narrow lead of 714 points to 712 over Regan Smith, who placed sixth.
 
McDowell matched his career-best finish in just his second start of the season.
 
"This is a great finish," McDowell said. "When you’re that close to getting the victory, it’s definitely a tough one. Brad definitely had the best car tonight, but on those restarts everybody’s got a shot."
 
Especially at Iowa, where grooves abound.
 
"The cool thing about Iowa is the top and the bottom is about even on the restarts," said Keselowski’s crew chief, Jeremy Bullins. "So Michael was able to get a good run and get the lead and Brad was able to get it back. I think a lot of places you go, there’s a definitive — there’s no question you’re taking the top or there’s no question you’re taking the bottom. Here, I think you look back, it’s probably closer to 50-50 as far as who gets the lead."
 
His driver, as usual, held it here at the end.
 
"Thankful that it came together," Keselowski said.

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Driver holds off field in green-white-checkered finish

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LONG POND, Pa.—Austin Dillon had to work hard in the final 10 laps, then work overtime to claim his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season.
 
Dillon, 24, took the lead from Clint Bowyer on a restart with eight laps remaining, then maintained his advantage on two more restarts to triumph in a green-white-checkered finish in Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono Raceway.
 
Driving his No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Dillon relaxed Toyota’s stranglehold in the 2014 NCWTS. Toyota drivers had won the previous 10 races this season and 12 in a row dating back to last season.
 
When Bowyer struggled on the final restart, Dillon used a push from eventual runner-up Johnny Sauter to pull away from the field for his sixth career victory in 60 truck starts.

Dillon’s victory reinforced the excellence of the drivers involved in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle. Dillon currently sits 13th in the Cup Series points standings, one spot behind Kyle Larson, who not only earned the pole for Sunday’s GoBowling.com 400 Sprint Cup race, but captured Saturday’s pole in his second truck start of the season.
 
And Larson appeared to have the dominant truck early on Saturday. His Chevrolet led the first 18 laps from the pole but dealt with a sputtering engine late in the race and finished 18th.
 
"Kyle is a great race car driver but I think I’m just as good or better," Dillon said. "We’re going to race him every week hard and figure out a way to be there at the end for Rookie of the Year."
 
Dillon’s grandfather, Richard Childress, expressed concern when the No. 3 truck was two seconds off the pace on its first practice laps of the weekend but was glowing after crew chief Nick Harrison whipped it into shape. Childress has enjoyed a good week with his other grandson, Ty, winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Indianapolis last Saturday.
 
"Last week kind of rejuvenated all of us," Childress said. "To (win) those restarts like Austin did today – four times in a row with a Cup driver on the inside – says a lot about his desire to win."
 
Sauter enjoyed a good points day, pulling to within seven points of series leader Ryan Blaney, who retained first place with his fifth-place finish in the No. 29 Ford.
 
"I gave the No. 3 (Dillon) the best push I could and finally pushed him too far for me to have a run at him at the end," Sauter said. "My mentality on restarts here is I don’t care what’s going on behind me. I’m not looking in the mirror. I’m going to keep pushing until I can’t push no more, and that’s basically what we did there with the No. 3 truck."
 
Joey Coulter rallied from sixth on the final restart to finish third with Bowyer fourth.
 
The late-race drama unfolded thanks to a pair of incidents involving Tyler Reddick and German Quiroga Jr. – action that ultimately led to NASCAR parking Reddick for rough driving.
 
Battling hard for sixth place, the first incident created a restart with four laps to go. Then, with the race nearing conclusion, Reddick bounced off contact with Tyler Young and rammed the rear quarter of Quiroga for a second time, leading to his summons and forcing the race into overtime.
 
Dillon’s power combined with the advantage of the outside line proved no match for Bowyer or anyone else on the final restart.
 
"Honestly, we had a third-place truck," said Bowyer, who led 10 laps. "The 32 (Larson) having problems kind of gave Austin and I an opportunity at (winning) it."
 
Bowyer drove the No. 5 Toyota, replacing John Wes Townley, who was hospitalized after a crash in Friday’s ARCA race practice. Townley, who said he felt a "pop" in his neck returned to the track Saturday but was not medically cleared to race.

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Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit at Iowa on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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By winning the Coors Light Pole Award at Iowa Speedway, Trevor Bayne got his choice of pit stalls for the U.S. Cellular 250 presented by New Holland. Bayne chose the pit stall closest to the pit road exit.

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Bayne won his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season and is looking for his first Nationwide Series win of 2014. Bayne will have the benefit of having no one in front of him on pit road.

Joining Bayne on the front row will be defending race winner Brad Keselowski, who will also have an opening in front of him on pit road.

Brian Scott (starting fourth), Chris Buescher (starting ninth), Ryan Reed (starting 11th) and Dakoda Armstrong (starting 17th) will also enjoy the same benefit on pit road as Keselowski and Bayne. Brendan Gaughan has the first pit stall at the entrance of pit road.

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