Ty Gibbs hands in top-20 finish in Cup debut at Pocono

Posted on July 25, 2022July 29, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — Ty Gibbs left Pocono Raceway after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race lamenting his loss to Noah Gragson.

Just hours later, he was scrambling to prepare for his last-minute debut in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Gibbs replaced Kurt Busch in the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing Sunday at Pocono Raceway following Busch’s Saturday crash that left him with concussion-like symptoms. A standout in the Xfinity Series with plenty of discussion around his potential future, Gibbs was thrust into his much-anticipated premier series debut.

“Chaos for sure,” Gibbs said of the 19 hours between the Xfinity race’s end and Cup race’s start. “I didn’t know (about the Cup opportunity) until actually my best friend Drew Dollar’s here and we were parked on the side of the highway for like 45 minutes trying to figure out what I needed to do, where I needed to go. Do I need to go home? Do I need to stay? It was just chaos.”

Despite the rushed nature of his inaugural Cup appearance, Gibbs escaped with a 16th-place finish, earning an additional two spots after his Sunday co-owner Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch suffered disqualifications.

“I’ll take that,” Gibbs said. “I still wish I could have put it together a little bit quicker, but these are experiences for me in my life that I’ll just take hold of and always remember how it felt.”

To come away with a top-20 finish was a feat made far more impressive considering the 19-year-old had never sat in a Cup car before Sunday at 12:28 p.m. ET, just two and half hours before the command to start engines on Sunday. That’s after getting limited simulation time until 1 a.m. to hurriedly prepare for the event.

Coy Gibbs, Gibbs’ father and vice chairman and chief operating officer of Joe Gibbs Racing, told NASCAR.com the young competitor accomplished all anyone hoped for at Pocono.

“I think that, honestly, that was the goal,” Coy Gibbs said of the top-20 finish. “Get all the laps, don’t wreck the car and bring it home. So he was successful doing that. So we were all excited. Obviously, it was last minute. It was late last night. I feel bad for him. He probably only got like four hours of sleep. I missed the first plane. So I slept in a little bit. I wasn’t driving … but he did a good job. It was a good day.”

Billy Scott, crew chief of the No. 45 Toyota, was equally pleased with Gibbs’ debut.

“He did everything that was expected, right? Everything that was asked of him,” Scott said. “Did an awesome job. He kept it clean, he didn’t make any mistakes. And he actually raced the hell out of it there at the end on those last few restarts. So, you know, it was fun to see him get up there and challenge some of the veterans in the sport and like you said, to do it in his first attempt ever, at a track like this with so many of them pushing the edge there, it was fun to watch. And it was great for us and was proud to be part of it.”

There was plenty of coaching over Gibbs’ radio, with both Scott and spotter Jason Jarrett advising the eight-time Xfinity Series winner through his initial laps. Gibbs said it took the first two stages to feel more comfortable behind the wheel — evidenced by stage finishes of 29th and 27th, respectively — but later found a comfort level.

It was certainly different for Scott, who’s used to the 22-year veteran Busch behind the wheel as opposed to someone who hadn’t even sat in a Cup car previously.

“I think everybody was playing that role,” Scott said. “You know, he probably got more advice than he wanted at times throughout the last 15 hours or whatever it was. And you know, Kurt was a big part of that, though, just giving him some general advice and keeping him calm. And that was part of it was for him (Gibbs) to learn and continue to get better. And he did that.

“He was taking the feedback and it was fun to watch him make some improvements. We did have the car too tight at the end there, rightfully so just to make sure we were protecting a little bit, but I think he could have done even better had we chased the balance like he needed.”

Gibbs’ name continues to swirl as a potential Cup option for JGR, his grandfather’s team, while Kyle Busch’s contract situation remains unresolved.

WATCH: Joe Gibbs provides update on Busch’s contract

Coy Gibbs voiced pride in his son’s performance but hesitated to make any true evaluations after Gibbs’ debut.

“You don’t know with any of them,” Coy Gibbs said. “You bring the young ones up and you figure it’s a long, cold winter for 70, 75 races. That’s kind of traditionally what it’s been. And then hopefully at the end of two and a half, three years, you got something. And that’s the hard part because it’s a tough, tough deal up here. These guys are so fast. So you’ve just got to look at a longer term period to see what you got. You can’t judge it off one day.

“Now if he went and fenced it Lap 1, then it’d be a different story.”

Ty Gibbs, meanwhile, understands he likely has little say in what his Cup future holds.

“I think it definitely helps but I’m not in control of all that,” he said. “So I just do what I can do. And just even being interviewed by all you guys, it’s super cool. I never thought I’d ever be able to be at this level no matter what anybody says or where I’ve came from. I feel like it’s just super cool.

“The future hits fast, I guess. I’m already making my Cup Series debut and I graduated high school last year, and I was in fourth grade about I feel like two months ago. All this is just crazy.”

Posted on July 25, 2022July 25, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR announced on Monday that Joe Gibbs Racing will not appeal the disqualifications of the Nos. 11 and 18 cars at Pocono Raceway. Therefore, the results from Sunday will stand with Chase Elliott as the winner of the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch initially finished first and second, respectively, in Sunday’s race, but were both disqualified when NASCAR found issues with the cars in post-race inspection. The DQs bumped third-place finisher Chase Elliott up to first place, giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver his fourth victory of the 2022 season.

RELATED: Full results from Pocono

On Sunday night, NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran said the front fascia, or front nose, on both JGR entries was the source of the issues leading to the disqualifications. As a result, Hamlin and Busch were given credit for finishes of 35th and 36th, respectively.

Appearing on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday, NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Scott Miller followed up about the post-race inspection findings and said it was extra layers of vinyl that were found in the lower fascia, which he described as the bottom part of the nose that attaches to the splitter.

“It was on the lower fascia and it was extra layers of vinyl that in effect deviated the part from the approved CAD files,” Miller said. “It’s standard procedure for post-race inspection to peel vinyl off parts of the car that we feel are critical. We had no inclination prior that there was anything there and were very surprised at what we found.”

Later on Monday, JGR competition director Wally Brown released the following statement:

“In our review of the post-race infractions on the 11 and 18 cars at Pocono, it was discovered that a single piece of clear tape was positioned over each of the lower corners of the front fascia ahead of the left-front and right-front wheel openings on both those cars. The added pieces were 2 inches wide and 5 ½ inches long with a thickness of 0.012 inches and installed under the wrap. This change in our build process was not properly vetted within our organization and we recognize it is against NASCAR’s rules. We apologize to everyone for this mistake, and we have made changes to our processes to ensure that it does not happen again.”

Both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers are still within the 16-driver playoff field in the standings after Pocono. Hamlin has two victories this season (Richmond and Charlotte) and Busch has one (Bristol Dirt).

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Cara Cooper

One piece of advice about racing will always stick with Johnathan Haburcsak.

Haburcsak, an 18-year-old competing in the Somerset Trust Fast N’ Furious 4’s at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway, never finished better than fourth in his first season of racing last year. One day he was talking with Jennerstown late model driver Garry Wiltrout, who told Haburcsak, “The first one is always hard to get, but the rest of them are easy.”

It took a full year, but Haburcsak was able to get that first one on June 25, when he visited Victory Lane at Jennerstown in the ninth race of the season.

“I did it. It was amazing,” Haburcsak said of the first win. “I just kept saying, ‘I did it, I really did do it.’”

Wiltrout’s advice seems to have had some truth to it. Jennerstown – a NASCAR-sanctioned half-mile oval track in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania – hosted a doubleheader on July 2-3. Haburcsak finished sixth on July 2 and won on July 3.

He picked up his third victory of the season July 16.

“It hasn’t sunk in,” Haburcsak said. “I still can’t believe it.

“From a driver’s standpoint, no they were not easy to win, but I kind of see what he meant though, once I got my first one.”

Getting that first win helped get the monkey off of Haburcsak’s back, and now he’s working towards his other goal this season. He came into the year hoping to finish in the top-three in Jennerstown’s Somerset Trust Fast N’ Furious 4’s division points standings. As of July 16, he’s in first by 29 points.

In the latest NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division V National standings, Haburcsak is in third place.

“I think it’s going pretty good,” Haburcsak said of his season. “It’s definitely more than what I expected out of this season… I’m doing pretty good for what I have.”

Now in his second season of racing, Haburcsak said he’s gotten much more familiar with the car and how it drives at his home track.

“I feel a lot more knowledgeable, a lot more mature in my car than I was my old car,” he said. “Keeping a line and sticking to it, not being all over the race track and staying consistent… Just knowing how to keep a steady wheel.”

Haburcsak’s dad, John, also raced, and helped other drivers when his son was younger. Haburcsak said he learned from his dad, “Definitely just how to stay calm and don’t drive over your head,” he said.

“Be a chaser. Don’t let everyone chase you or you’ll mess up,” he added of advice from his dad.

Racing is a full family event for the Haburcsaks. The young driver also receives help from his mom and girlfriend, and other friends and racing families he’s grown up with.

“It’s an honor, really,” he said. “I’m really blessed to have all of them.”

He races with sponsors Oshea’s Candies, Tony’s Subs, Shane Shaffer Heating and Air, The Wicked Googly, Down Home Kitchen, Glade’s Pike Winery, Habits Beer and Tobacco, GJCTC, and Roman’s Pizzeria.

“It’s really nice. If it wasn’t for them we definitely wouldn’t be able to race this year,” he said.

He also races in honor his cousin, Sgt. Bryan Haas, who died while serving in Afghanistan, and Libby, a 3-year-old cancer survivor and friend to the Haburcsak family.

Since Haburcsak has been able to find success this season, his goals have grown slightly. He started the year hoping for one win. Now midway through the year, he said, “I’m going to try and get five wins now,” while making sure to keep the top-three – or better – in the Jennerstown championship in reach.

Jennerstown Speedway, which became a NASCAR-sanctioned track again this year, took the $50,000 prize as the winner of the Advance Auto Parts Advance My Track Challenge earlier this summer. NASCAR racing will return to Jennerstown on July 30, with Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Street Stocks, Chargers, Fast 4s and Enduros.

Posted on July 25, 2022July 28, 2022 by Staff Report

With 18 laps to go at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain got together during a restart while battling for the lead. The contact between the two caused Chastain to hit the outside wall, leading him to spin and crash down the backstretch.

It’s neither the first time Hamlin and Chastain have been involved in an incident nor is it a secret that the two can’t get along on the race track following events that took place at World Wide Technology Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Eventual Pocono winner Chase Elliott had a clear view of their contact in Turn 1.

“I honestly thought Denny was pretty nice about it,” Elliott said Monday morning in a Zoom teleconference. “He did run him up the track a little bit but he still left him some room there on exit after it was all said and done. I thought all things considered, he [Hamlin] was pretty kind about what went on there.”

Back at Gateway in June, Elliott was spun by Chastain coming off Turn 4, leading to both Hamlin and Elliott giving Chastain issues as he tried to get by them later on in the race.

RELATED: Race Results

Chastain wound up with a 32nd-place finish at Pocono while Elliott was awarded the win after crossing the line third following disqualifications of Hamlin and Kyle Busch due to failing post-race inspection.

Posted on July 25, 2022July 29, 2022 by Staff Report

Clash at Claremont 150

Claremont Motorsports Park

Entry list

Car No.	Driver	Car owner	Crew chief	Chassis Mfg	Sponsor
01	Melissa Fifield	Kenneth Fifield	Jake Marosz	FURY Race Cars	Pine Knoll Auto Sales
3	Jake Johnson	Jan Boehler	Greg Fournier	Boehler Racing	Propane Plus – Lin’s Propane Trucks
06	Sam Rameau	Sam Rameau	Russ Hersey Jr	LFR	Dennison Lubricants, Powells Stone & Gravel
7	Doug Coby	Tommy Baldwin	Tommy Baldwin	Troyer	Mayhew Tools
12	Todd Patnode	Cory Plummer	Cory Plummer	SPAFCO Race Chassis	APEX Racing/Swanzey Oil
16	Ron Silk	Tyler Haydt	Philip Moran	FURY Race Cars	Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes
18	Ken Heagy	Robert Pollifrone	Greg Gorman	FURY Race Cars	Buoy One Seafood Market and Restaurant
19	Anthony Sesely	Tommy Wanick	Thomas Wanick	Troyer	Wanick Construction Inc.
22	Kyle Bonsignore	Kyle Bonsignore	Cam McDermott	FURY Race Cars	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto
26	Gary McDonald	Sean McDonald	Chad Mcdonald	Troyer	Lakeland Landscape Supply
34	J.B. Fortin	Nicole Fortin	Kenneth Lechner	FURY Race Cars	Red Camel Racing, Johns Fuel, John Tree Removal, Golden Jalapenos
36	David Sapienza	Judy Thilberg	Tommy Grasso	LFR	Sapienza Enterprises
51	Justin Bonsignore	Kenneth Massa	Ryan Stone	FURY Race Cars	Phoenix Communications, Inc.
54	Tommy Catalano	David Catalano	David Catalano	FURY Race Cars	FX Caprara
58	Eric Goodale	Edgar Goodale	Jason Shepphard	FURY Race Cars	GAF Roofing
60	Matt Hirschman	Roy Hall	Anthony Hirschman III	Troyer	PeeDee Motorsports
64	Austin Beers	Mike Murphy	Ron Yuhas Jr	LFR	Dell Electric, Lumiere Electrical, Andrew James Interiors, AP Marquadt & Sons
78	Walter Sutcliffe Jr.	Steven Sutcliffe	Kevin Anderson	Troyer	Last Minute Racing
79	Jon McKennedy	Tim Lepine	Dale Hedquist	LFR	Middlesex Interiors
82	Craig Lutz	Danny Watts, Jr.	Scott Tocci	LFR	Horton Ave Materials
92	Anthony Nocella	Anthony Nocella	Chris Burdell	Chevrolet	Nocella Paving/K&D Associates/Airgas
125	Brian Robie	Kayleigh Eastman	TBA	Troyer	Maurice Enterprises
176	Matthew Kimball	Jerel J Gomarlo	Bill Kimball Jr.	Troyer	Kimball Trucking & Firewood/Gomarlos Supermarket

Posted on July 24, 2022July 25, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — The Nos. 11 and 18 cars of Joe Gibbs Racing, which had finished first and second hours earlier, were disqualified following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.

RELATED: Official race results

Initially, Denny Hamlin had sailed to victory from the pole position for his third win of the year, with Kyle Busch right behind him finishing second in the No. 18. The ruling after post-race inspection, though, meant Chase Elliott was declared the official winner of the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 after initially finishing third. Tyler Reddick moved up to second, Daniel Suárez third, Christopher Bell fourth and Kyle Larson fifth.

Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon made up the top 10 finishing order.

NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran announced the front fascia on both JGR entries was the source of the issues leading to their disqualification.

“There was some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia,” Moran explained Sunday. “And there really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere that it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ.”

Moran confirmed both vehicles were loaded into a NASCAR hauler and will be taken back to the sanctioning body’s R&D center for further evaluation.

Joe Gibbs Racing will have the opportunity to appeal the penalty by noon on Monday, July 25.

“We were shocked to learn of the infraction that caused our two cars to fail NASCAR’s post-race technical inspection,” team owner Joe Gibbs said in a statement. “We plan to review every part of the process that led to this situation.”

Moran said Sunday’s discoveries in post-race inspection do not currently warrant any further penalties to the infracting teams.

“We saw enough that the DQ was warranted and we are bringing the vehicles back for further evaluation,” Moran said. “So we will look much closer at both vehicles, but as of right now, no, we are hopefully not going to find anything else. But we are going to inspect them further when we get back to the R&D Center.”

Sunday’s finding is the first instance of a race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series being disqualified since 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (NC) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank. Joe Weatherly declared winner of that race.

There have been three winners whose cars were disqualified post-race since 2019, when NASCAR implemented harsher post-race inspection penalties: Kyle Busch in 2020 at Texas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Austin Cindric was declared the winner); Denny Hamlin in 2019 at Darlington in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (Cole Custer was declared the winner); and Ross Chastain in 2019 at Iowa Speedway in the Truck Series (Brett Moffitt was declared the winner).

Moran believes this Sunday’s DQ was, in part, the result of a tighter rule book with the series’ move to the Next Gen vehicle.

“It’s unfortunate. We don’t want to be here talking about this,” Moran said. “We just saw a great race. The last thing we want to do is meet here afterwards and talk about this problem. But the teams and the owners and everybody is well aware that this new car was going to be kept with some pretty tight tolerances, and there’s some areas that all the teams are well aware that we cannot be going down the path that we had in the past with the other car.

“So it is partly to do with the new car and the rules have tightened up. Everyone has to abide by our new rules, which everybody’s well aware of.”

Hamlin led 21 of the 160 laps in total, including the final 18 circuits around the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track. Busch led a race-high 63 laps. They were relegated to the last two spots on the 36-driver results sheet.

Staff contributed to this report.

Posted on July 24, 2022July 27, 2022 by Staff Report

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

Note: All times are ET.

Monday, July 25
12:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
4:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire Delivers 200 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock

Tuesday, July 26
12:02 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: V-Day Do-Over (re-air), USA Network
12:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
12:32 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Daddy Daycare (re-air), USA Network
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.,m., ARCA Menards Series: Tire Delivers 200 at Pocono Raceway (re-air).FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Presents: Beyond the Wheel (re-air), FS1

Wednesday, July 27
11 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock
8 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 1994 Brickyard 400 (re-air), FS1

Thursday, July 28
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
9:31 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Counting Cards and Cars, USA Network
10:03 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Start Your Engines — Supersized, USA Network

Friday, July 29
12:34 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Counting Cards and Cars (re-air), USA Network
4 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, USA Network
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, FS1
4:30 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Counting Cards and Cars (re-air), USA Network
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at IRP, FS1
9 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, FS1

On MRN:
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park

Saturday, July 30
2:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceHub Best of Features: 2022 Season (re-air), FS1
3 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Counting Cards and Cars (re-air), USA Network
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, USA Network
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS1
3 p.m., Countdown to Green, NBC
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard, NBC (simulcast on Peacock)

On PRN and IMS Radio:
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard

Sunday, July 31
12:32 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane: Counting Cards and Cars (re-air), USA Network
9 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (re-air), FS2
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: NCS at Indianapolis, FS1
2 p.m., Countdown to Green, NBC
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, NBC

On PRN and IMS Radio:
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard

Posted on July 24, 2022July 25, 2022 by Holly Cain

Chase Elliott was declared the winner at Pocono Raceway on Sunday after the cars of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch — who initially crossed the start/finish line first and second, respectively — were disqualified following post-race inspection.

The disqualifications also mean Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick will nab a second-place result, and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez is third. JGR driver Christopher Bell (fourth) and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson (fifth) complete the new top five.

Hamlin was involved in another high-profile incident on a restart with 18 laps remaining, colliding with season rival Ross Chastain while vying side-by-side for the race lead. And even then, Hamlin’s crew chief Chris Gabehart kept reminding him of a tenuous fuel situation in the closing laps. But Hamlin kept the field at bay on the ensuing restart with 13 laps remaining and crossed first before his car failed post-race tech.

As for the incident with Chastain, Hamlin did not hesitate to answer. The two drivers have been involved in several high-profile run-ins during races this season.

“What did you want me to do? What did you expect me to do?” Hamlin said. “I got position on him, and he just ran out of race track.”

Asked if it was now over between the two and if the feud was essentially settled now, Hamlin smiled and said, “We’re gonna just keep racing hard until we get the respect back from these guys. And it’s not just that. We’ve been wrecked four times, twice while leading in the last 10 months and I’m at the end of it.”

Chastain, a two-race winner in his first season driving for Trackhouse Racing, emerged from the Infield Care Center and acknowledged the situation wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“That’s something that’s been coming to me for a few months now,” Chastain said of expecting retribution. “I’m proud of the effort by Trackhouse. To keep bringing fast cars like that is a testament to GM and Chevrolet. It was a really fast one and we’ll be back at Indy.”

Asked if he thought the score was now settled Chastain just smiled.

“I’ve been owed that and probably some more for a few months now.”

Busch, who started on the front row with Hamlin, had led a race-best 63 of the 160 laps.

It was a significant day for 19-year-old Ty Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs. Gibbs was tabbed only a couple of hours before the race to fill in for 23XI Racing driver Kurt Busch, who was involved in an accident during qualifying on Saturday and not cleared medically to compete on Sunday.

Gibbs, who finished 16th in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, was all smiles and gratitude after the race, even taking a moment to thank team co-owner, NBA legend Michael Jordan for the opportunity.

“I had a great time and Michael if you’re watching, I want to say, ‘thank you,'” Gibbs said. “I had a great time, and I learned a lot.”

With five regular-season races remaining, Elliott still leads the points standings with a 100-point advantage on Chastain and a 108-point edge on Ryan Blaney, who was involved in a late-race accident.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A.J. Allmendinger is the defending race winner.

NOTE: After concluding its post-race inspection, NASCAR disqualified the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch. Both cars, along with the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Michael McDowell and No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet, will be brought back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on July 24, 2022July 24, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — The final caution of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway was brewing well before the green flag ever waved.

And if you ask Ross Chastain, it had been brewing for at least a month.

Denny Hamlin lined up to Chastain’s left on a Lap 143 restart, both on the front row approaching the likely final restart of the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. Their heated recent history reached a boiling point at the exit of Turn 1, where Hamlin — a victim of prior Chastain contact — washed high and squeezed Chastain into the outside wall.

Chastain then spun down the Long Pond Straightaway, collecting Kevin Harvick, who sustained heavy damage to the front of his car.

The Hamlin-Chastain rivalry gained temperature most notably at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in June, where Chastain sent Hamlin into the outside wall. Four races later at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chastain spun Hamlin exiting Turn 4.

Battling for the lead Sunday at Pocono, Chastain was far from surprised he ended the race in the infield care center.

“No, I had that one coming,” Chastain said. “And if I would have raced smarter two months ago, I probably would have had plenty of room off Turn 1. I’ve realized that for the last month or two, and it’s just too late for that so he paid it back and go onto Indy.”

Chastain was self-deprecating in his post-race race interview at Gateway and offered the same tone Sunday afternoon.

“He’s easily a future Hall-of-Famer in this sport,” Chastain said of Hamlin, “and actions speak louder than words. I think we all knew what was owed to me and today he cashed that in.

“I know that my actions bear consequences, so for a month or two, I’ve known that I’ve stepped over the line and wrecked him so he decided to return it today.”

Hamlin, meanwhile, crossed the finish line first but was disqualified following post-race inspection. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota was not interested in discussing the driver with which he collided.

“Who?” Hamlin asked.

The same could be said for Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart.

“The what car? Which one?” Gabehart asked. “What contact? What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about that.”

Following post-race inspection, Chastain was credited with a 32nd-place finish while Hamlin was relegated to 35th.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on July 24, 2022July 24, 2022 by Staff Report

LONG POND, Pa. — Ty Gibbs will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Pocono Raceway behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Gibbs, the highly touted championship contender for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, replaces 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, who crashed his 23XI Racing machine during the final round of Saturday’s qualifying session.

Busch was re-evaluated Sunday morning and was not cleared to race by NASCAR. Busch revealed he’s having “concussion-like symptoms.”

Gibbs, the grandson of JGR owner Joe Gibbs, leads the Xfinity Series with four victories this season. He also won four races in 18 starts in 2021, including his series debut at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

Gibbs’ name has risen as a Cup Series prospect as Kyle Busch’s contract situation remains unsettled at Joe Gibbs Racing. Team president Dave Alpern noted on July 7 that Gibbs returning to Xfinity in 2023 is “Plan A.”

The 19-year-old makes his Cup debut Sunday.

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media