NASCAR assessed L1-level penalties to both Petty GMS Racing cars in the Cup Series on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway. The No. 42 Chevrolet of Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet of Erik Jones were both found to be in violation of Sections 14.6.5.E of the NASCAR Rule Book (rocker box assemblies).
As a result, both teams lost 35 owner and 35 driver points and both crew chiefs (Jerame Donley and David Elenz) were ejected. Jones entered the day 154 points beneath the playoff cutline, and Dillon was 305 points back.
Jones qualified 34th for Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) while Dillon was set to line up 27th.
See where your favorite driver will pit for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway
(⏰ 3 p.m. ET | 📺 USA Network, NBC Sports App | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, the 21st regular-season event of the 2022 campaign.
Race-day info 📝
Where: Long Pond, Pennsylvania Approximate start time: 3 p.m. ET | Full weekend schedule TV/Radio: USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | Full TV schedule The purse: $6,828,051 Forecast: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. ET. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91 degrees, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker Race distance: 160 laps | 400 miles Stages: 30 | 95 | 160 Pit-road speed: 55 mph Caution car speed: 70 mph Pocono 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Where drivers will start
Pit stalls:Where drivers will pit
UPDATE: Kurt Busch out of Sunday’s race
Cars to the rear: Nos. 1, 24, 31, 43, 51 for unapproved adjustments; 45 for backup car.
Key things to watch 🔑
Big story line
Each of the last five winners at Pocono Raceway has led fewer than 50 laps, dating back to Kyle Busch’s 79-lap performance in 2019. This falls right in line with what we have seen so far in the inaugural Next Gen season. Rarely in races has a dominant driver gone on to win the checkered flag. In fact, 13 of the 20 races have seen a pass for the lead in the final 10 laps. Pocono races have most often been about strategy and timing to navigate the 2.5-mile track with precision. Tire strategy, fuel management and timing will be important for the expected long green-flag runs. | Analysis: Late-pass trend could continue at Pocono | Read more
Who’s hot? Who’s not?
For a driver who has proven his talent at almost every track, Pocono struggles have plagued 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott. Since posting a 10.9 average finish in his first seven starts at the track, the No. 9 team has limped their way to a 21.2 average in the last five — very uncharacteristic for a team that has proven consistency. Elliott finished 12th and 27th in last season’s doubleheader, leaving question marks about how he will perform this time around. Luckily, he is on fire heading into Sunday, bringing with him four straight top-two finishes and a pair of wins. Based on the No. 9 team’s speed and dominant form, expect Elliott to buck the recent trend and continue marching towards the regular-season title. | Cup Series standings
Is Sunday where Kyle Busch re-ignites his form in pursuit of a third championship? Over the last five races, Busch has zero top 10s and four finishes of 20th or worse — very uncharacteristic for the two-time champ. But his Pocono run-of-form tells another story. Busch has mastered the “Tricky Triangle,” picking up four wins and only one finish outside the top 10 in his last 11trips to the uniquely-shaped track. This included a runner up and impressive comeback win last season. Though he has a win, Busch and the No. 18 team have taken a back seat to some of the other title contenders — and rightfully so based on recent results. But as the season begins to wind down and his contract status remains unclear, Pocono is the perfect time for him to reassert his dominance.
Driving under the radar
Since his historic win at Sonoma Raceway, Daniel Suárez has surprisingly been flying back under the radar. But looking at the numbers, he is in one of his most impressive stretches of 2021. Since his win, Suárez has only one finish outside the top nine. His speed and consistency have been right up there with the best of them … well, maybe not Elliott’s incredible top-two streak, but you get the point. Not many drivers this season have put together as solid of a run as Suárez is putting together right now, but his biggest challenge continues at Pocono where he has five-straight finishes of 13th or worse.
Saturday sessions
Pre-qualifying inspection was not kind to a handful of drivers in the field, with five teams losing a crew member and pit-stall selection this weekend. In practice, it was all Trackhouse Racing, with Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez finishing in the top three. Chevrolet took seven out of the 10 spots on the lone practice leaderboard. Denny Hamlin took charge in the most meaningful session of the day — qualifying. The No. 11 car sprinted out to the fastest lap time in both rounds of qualifying, earning the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s race. Reigning Pocono winner Kyle Busch slotted in second before Chase Elliott, continuing his incredible form, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five. Qualifying went pretty smoothly, save for Kurt Busch’s hard wreck on his lap. They will move to a backup car. | Full qualifying and practice recap | UPDATE: Kurt Busch out of Sunday’s race; Ty Gibbs to fill in
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Race-day staples ✅
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Paint Scheme Preview: Pristine schemes for Pocono | Pick a favorite • NASCAR betting: Odds for Sunday’s race at Pocono | Underdogs, value bets • Fantasy Fastlane: Unknowns heading into Pocono | Top plays, sleepers • Bubble Watch: Where drivers closest to the cutline stand | Read more
Catch the pack 💨
Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• L-1 penalties: Petty GMS Motorsports penalized at Pocono | Full story
• Windy City: Chicago street race on tap for 2023 season | Read more | Scenes from iRacing • Analysis: Late-pass trend could continue at Pocono | Read more • Penalty report: Fine issued to No. 2 Team Penske crew for loose wheel | Read more
• Retirement?: Kurt Busch hits at possibly finishing career after 2023 | Read more
• Extension: Chase Elliott, NAPA secure long-term deal | Read more
• Another contract: Toyota issues update on Kyle Busch situation | Read more
• Best driver: Kyle Larson wins ESPY Award | Full story
• Summer Family Fun: Kid-friendly meals to make at the track | Read more
• Mark Martin: Driver talks about old feud with Earnhardt | Watch video
• eNASCAR: College iRacing Series back with four-race slate | Read more
• Truck Series: Bodine slated to make 800th national series start | Read more
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• The Action Network: How to bet Kevin Harvick vs. Christopher Bell | Expert insight
• PickUp props: Make your Pocono picks, enter to win prizes | More details
• Fantasy insight: Avoid a Chastain start at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ | Full video • Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
• Going all the way: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
Time to get tricky ⚠️
Get to know all the NASCAR Cup Series history at the “Tricky Triangle.”
• In the lead: Top 10 lap leaders at Pocono | See the list • Do you remember?: Memorable moments at Pocono | Pick a favorite • Last race at Pocono: Kyle Busch overcomes transmission issue, wins at Pocono | Full recap • Race Rewind: Busch battles rollercoaster day to earn victory | Watch highlights
Fast facts ⏩
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• The longest top-10 finish streak by a driver this year is six races by Ross Chastain, who has an active six-race top-10 streak. • Chase Elliott won three of the last 10 races and finished top two in each of the last four. • Five drivers without a win in 2022 have won at Pocono in the past. • Four crew chiefs got their first Cup win in 2022: Randall Burnett, Travis Mack, Sam McAulay and Phil Surgen. • The pass for the win came in the final 10 laps in 13 of the 20 races in 2022.
Say what? 🎙
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
• “When I started, that was just what you did at Pocono. You downshifted and it was just part of the process of Pocono. But that kind of went away as the teams kind of decided it was too expensive. So we went to spec transmissions and couldn’t shift, and then it went back to, ‘OK, you can shift,’ and now we’re going to shift in every corner. So, it’s definitely just kind of a piece of the puzzle that’s come with this new car, and at Pocono, I think we’re going to shift in every corner.” — Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
• “I think the track just fits my driving style and it’s a place I picked up on right from the first time there in my rookie season. It’s a great race track, very challenging and it’s tough to get your car balanced for all three turns. Obviously, I have been very fortunate to work with some great teams and crew chiefs throughout my career as well. That gives me a lot of confidence every time I go to Pocono. This week especially, it’s unlike anywhere we have been so far this season, but I feel like our team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota have been working very hard and making gains throughout the year. I’m looking forward to getting on track Saturday and seeing where we stack up because I feel like it’s a place that we can take advantage of and hopefully pick up some more playoff points.” — Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
• “None of this is possible without NAPA. I’m so thankful for their commitment to our team and their passion for what we do every weekend. I’ve been lucky to meet a lot of great folks from across the country who work for NAPA. All of us are really proud to represent a company that takes care of its employees and its customers and is driven to be successful in every aspect. I’m looking forward to what’s to come and celebrating more wins together.” — Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, on his extension with NAPA (Hendrick Motorsports.com)
For the third time in 2022, Denny Hamlin will lead the Cup Series field to green as he won the pole at Pocono Raceway on Saturday afternoon with a 169.991 mph lap.
It’s the 36th career pole award for the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
A balanced field will make up the first three rows for Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as two Toyotas, two Chevrolets and two Fords make up the top six positions.
Kyle Busch will join Hamlin on the front row after completing a 169.498 mph lap.
Cup Series champions and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson locked out Row 2 while Chris Buescher and Ryan Blaney will start in Row 3.
Toyota landed all cars inside the top 11 with five cars inside the top 10, but not all is golden for the manufacturer as Kurt Busch spun and crashed coming off Turn 3 and suffered heavy damage that will force him to a backup car for Sunday’s race.
Busch’s 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace earned his second-straight start inside the top 10 while Martin Truex Jr. will start eighth.
LONG POND, Pa. — It came down to the final race of the regular season, but Matt Crafton is officially in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.
Crafton was the last driver into the 10-driver postseason grid. On the other side of that cutline sits Derek Kraus, who misses the playoffs by 17 points.
Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Toyota for ThorSport Racing, was cool, calm and collected heading into Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway. That veteran experience paid off in the form of a playoff berth after finishing 15th.
“Just go execute and do what we know we can do and do what we’ve always done,” Crafton, the three-time series champion, said of his pre-race mindset. “Just put ourselves in position, get stage points we got today. … We had a lot, a lot better truck than what we what we ended up with to be honest. I just couldn’t be as aggressive as I needed to be on the starts. And I just had to be super ultra cautious. And all the kids were throwing caution to the wind.”
“I couldn’t because I couldn’t take that chance. It would just take one deal where somebody got loose under me and took me out. And that knocks us out for the big picture. So had to be really, really patient and try to ride it there at the end.”
Of course, as a past champion, Crafton is far from satisfied by just making the playoffs.
“Hell no. We know what we need to,” Crafton said, who’s searching for his first win since Kansas Speedway in July 2020. “We figured out our problems the first 10, 12 races, whatever it was, and we were gonna see improvement on the 88 truck.”
This coincided with a crew-chief change after the 10th race of the year, with Jeff Hensley heading to GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger and Bud Haefele, ThorSport’s shop foreman, stepping in atop the box.
“You got a good group of guys that will go back to what the 88 used to do and how the 88 used to run,” Crafton said. “And as you know, when it came playoff time, we were always there when it counted.”
While Crafton plans his next steps to chase a championship, Kraus is left to wonder what could have been.
Kraus came away with a top-10 finish, placing his No. 19 Chevrolet ninth at the checkered flag. But late mechanical issues — and different strategy plays — thwarted his chances to make this year’s playoffs.
“Just something that you’ve got to deal with,” Kraus said. “I mean I wish we were in the playoffs, but there’s a couple of races that we didn’t capitalize on what we needed to. And overall, today was a decent day. We ran out of power steering there at the end, but it’s part of it. There’s parts failures all the time, and we’ll move on and try to be the best that we can these next 10 races.”
Kraus didn’t spend much time lamenting his ousting from postseason contention. While the disappointment was palpable, the 20-year-old also knew there’s no way to change the outcome.
“There’s definitely races that you can look back on and circle and be like, if we had this one back, we could have been better,” he said. “But at the end of it, that’s all in the past, we can’t really do much about it. So we just focused on today and did the best we could today. And it just wasn’t enough.”
Kraus earned six stage points in the first stage and aimed for more stage points in the second stage. But Crafton’s on-track positioning forced a different call in stage two that negated Kraus’ initial plan.
“I thought we did really good with points but he (Crafton) got a couple too,” Kraus said. “So that definitely didn’t help because then just the second stage where we were on the race track, and wherever he was, we had to make the call to come in under green. So we did and then we had to race for the win really and that’s what we did.”
The field shifts to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, July 29 for the TSport 200 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The Nos. 11 of Denny Hamlin, 42 of Ty Dillon, 17 of Chris Buescher, 77 of Josh Bilicki and 7 of Corey LaJoie each had two failures but passed on the third time. Due to the failures, each team listed will have a crew member ejected and lose pit-stall selection this weekend.
Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is crucial for playoff hopes with only six races remaining before the Round of 16. Four of the five penalized teams are currently on the outside looking in. Denny Hamlin has two wins.
Chandler Smith picked up his second win of the season after holding off a hard-charging Ryan Preece on the final restart.
Matt Crafton held on to the final playoff spot by 17 points over Derek Kraus.
The Round of 10 begins July 29 with the Truck Series’ return to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for the first time since 2011. The opening round continues at Richmond Raceway (Aug. 13) and Kansas Speedway (Sept. 9), where two drivers will be eliminated. The Round of 8 will consist of Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 15), Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 1) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 22) and will see four drivers eliminated.
The championship race will be held at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 4.
The 10 drivers listed below make up the playoff field. The field includes two former champions, Ben Rhodes (defending champion) and Matt Crafton.
Chandler Smith earned his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, taking the trophy in the CRC Brakleen 150 regular-season finale at Pocono Raceway Saturday afternoon while another Smith — Zane — coolly collected his first Regular Season Championship.
It marked the seventh race win for a Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team in the last eight Pocono races with Smith leading a commanding 49 of the 60 laps in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra. The 20-year-old Georgia native had to hold off a final-lap charge from Ryan Preece, however, and did so by a close 0.262 seconds to hoist his fourth career trophy.
“We’ve been going through a little bit of a struggle here recently, but just when we needed to shine and we started shining,” Chandler Smith said of the victory — his first since a win in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith finished a distant 13th in his No. 38 Ford F-150 dealing with throttle issues early in the race. But with the regular-season title in hand, the series-best three-race winner will start the playoffs with the all-important 15 bonus playoff points. He’s hoping to become the first Regular Season Champion to win the season title since 2017.
“Man, today was a major struggle,” Zane Smith said. “Started out from the green flag to pretty much the end of Stage 2 our throttle was sticking and everything we were doing wasn’t fixing it. So, little worried at times because I knew I just had to have a couple points.
“Long day, once we did get it right still fought a really, really tight truck, but there’s no giving up,” Smith added. “Glad we’re on to the playoffs and ready to get this postseason started.”
The other end of the playoff drama, veteran Matt Crafton was able to hold onto the 10th and final playoff transfer position — finishing 15th in the race, but with a 17-point edge on 19-year-old Derek Kraus, who finished ninth. Crafton, a three-time series champion, has qualified for the series playoffs every season since its inception into the series in 2016.
“These guys did everything they were supposed to and worked their rear ends off with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and worked on the simulator, working on getting our setups better and we were really good on the short runs. We had a way better truck than where we finished,” Crafton said.
“Take your gloves off and do whatever it takes,” he said of the racing for his fourth title now.
Last year’s Regular Season Champion John Hunter Nemechek was third, followed by rookie Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar.
Austin Hill, Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.
Former two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine finished 36th in his 800th and final NASCAR national series start. He was collected in an accident on Lap 13.
“I’ve been so blessed to be able to do what I love for 800 times,” said Bodine, who now works as a race broadcaster for FOX Sports. “Pretty blessed life to have.”
As for the early ending, “That’s racing,” Bodine said managing a smile. “I’ve been here before. I’ve been wrecked before. That’s part of the game.”
After adjusting the standings according to playoff positions, the 10 drivers to advance to the upcoming seven-race Camping World Truck Series Playoffs include (in points order): Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, defending series champion Ben Rhodes, Nemechek, Friesen, Eckes, Majeski, Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Crafton.
The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs begin next week with Friday’s TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The series last raced at the formerly named “Indianapolis Raceway Park” back in 2011 with Timothy Peters winning the race. There are no former winners currently competing full-time in the series.
LONG POND, Pa. — No one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is having a season quite like Zane Smith.
With three wins in his pocket, the third-year Truck racer leads the series in victories and is the only full-time competitor with multiple triumphs.
Smith, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports entry, holds a 58-point lead over both John Hunter Nemechek and Stewart Friesen and is eyeing his first regular-season championship, which he could clinch from the pole at Pocono Raceway on Saturday (12 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
And while Smith is having a career year — his three wins and nine top fives are career-bests and his 13 top 10s are one shy of his career-best total (14, 2021) — it’s the extracurricular work he did in early June that he feels impacted his Truck season the most.
Smith filled in for Chris Buescher in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway on June 5, making his series debut in the No. 17 Ford for RFK Racing and finishing 17th while Buescher was out due to COVID-19 protocols. That opportunity, Smith believes, changed his season.
“I felt like it taught me a lot in the areas where you need to be good at the little things,” Smith said Friday at Pocono. “Because those little things are what equal race wins. And so I feel like since then, I’ve been able to be probably more consistent, and I feel like putting together those four weeks of really good consistency of — I think my worst finish is third. I feel like that’s what has gotten me in this position and the points-wise for the regular season.”
He’s right: Since finishing ninth in the Truck race at Gateway, he’s finished second (Sonoma Raceway), third (Knoxville Raceway), second (Nashville Superspeedway) and second (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course).
“I feel like I’m just a way better driver of what I learned in that one race,” Smith said. “Just, if you think you’re decent on pit road, no you’re not. If you think you’re good on restarts, not even close. The Cup level is just a little bit different. A lot a bit different with just everything. First through last, everyone is really good.”
A 17th-place finish doesn’t necessarily jump off the sheet for most people. For Smith, he was elated as his goals changed throughout the course of the weekend.
“Starting out in the race, I was just getting everyone telling me, ‘Man, if you finish all laps, that’s huge with how hard these Cup cars are to drive,'” Smith said. “And obviously, it was even my seat or anything in it. So that was my main goal. ”
Eventually, that goal grew to a top 25, then to a top 20. Racing for 15th during the second stage, Smith just hoped he would finish the race. He crossed the line 17th, notching that top-20 finish but almost eager for more.
“I feel like honestly, as excited as I sound for a 17th-place finish, I felt like we could have ended up a lot better,” Smith said. “I felt like our car was pretty good there at the end of the race.”
A key factor for Smith that weekend was sound mentorship from that day’s teammate and co-owner, Brad Keselowski.
“What Brad had told me going into the weekend is, ‘You don’t have anything to prove. You already proved it with me calling you,'” Smith said. “And so I felt like that went a really long way with me because I am probably the type of (guy that’s like), man, this is my opportunity. I want to go try to do something or make something out of it. But him saying that I felt like went a long way.”
This weekend, Smith sits on the brink of a regular-season championship and could come away with a series-best fourth win in the 60-lap contest. Perhaps his cushion wouldn’t be as comfortable without that Cup performance.
“I think it’s definitely just helped all around. That was just a huge opportunity,” Smith said. “I feel like obviously getting that call is showing that they (Cup owners) are paying attention and my stock is up. And I feel like that that just is huge for any driver.”
The race to lock in a playoff spot continues this weekend at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Before the action, try your hand at some props.
