Justin Allgaier to replace Justin Haley in No. 77 for Cup Series race at Pocono

Posted on June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by Staff Report

After taking a hard hit in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway earlier in the day, Justin Haley will be replaced by Justin Allgaier for the NASCAR Cup Series race at the 2.5-mile track (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports Live, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series, will replace Haley in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. It’ll be Allgaier’s first Cup Series start since subbing for Jimmie Johnson at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020.

Haley took the big hit on Lap 24 when he lost control of the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at the exit of Turn 1, making heavy contact with the inside retaining wall. Haley was hit by Ryan Vargas as he slid back up the straightaway. Following the incident, Haley exited the race car under his own power and was checked and released from the infield care center.

Posted on June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by Reid Spencer

Austin Cindric held off a ferocious charge by part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs to win Sunday’s Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons.

Cindric, the reigning series champion, crossed the finish line at Pocono Raceway .331 seconds ahead of Gibbs to claim his fourth victory of the season, his first at Pocono and the 12th of his career.

“I went from a three-second lead to a half-a-second-lead,” Cindric said after climbing from his car on the frontstretch at the 2.5-mile triangular track. “We gave (Gibbs) a chance, didn’t we? We had to make it exciting, I guess. I didn’t want it, but I guess everybody else did. We’ll take it, and we’ll take the trophy for sure.

“This track was on our ‘kill’ list since last year. There’s a few more of those, so we’ll keep putting our heads down. We’ve got to keep getting better. We’ve got strong competition and a lot of racing left.”

RELATED: Race results

Cindric led a race-high 26 laps, including the final 16 after he cycled back into the top spot at the end of a long cycle of green-flag pit stops.

Gibbs was more than three seconds behind when Cindric inherited the lead, but he closed rapidly in the final laps when Cindric was slowed by lapped traffic.

“The lapped cars definitely helped me to my advantage,” said Gibbs, who led 11 laps, won the second stage and posted his seventh top-five finish in eight starts this season. “They were just in the way. Cindric got stacked up behind them.”

Accidents cost several contending cars the opportunities for strong finishes. Shortly after a restart on Lap 25, Sam Mayer stuck the nose of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet between Justin Haley’s Camaro and the outside wall.

When Haley moved up the track, contact between the cars turned Haley into the outside wall along the Long Pond straightaway. Haley careened across the track hard into the inside barrier and bounced back into traffic where Ryan Vargas’ Chevrolet T-bone Haley’s helpless machine.

With the wind knocked out of him, Haley climbed from his wrecked car and lay on the pavement outside the driver’s door before getting to his feet.

“I’m really thankful NASCAR builds such safe race cars,” Haley said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. “Obviously, that was one of the hardest hits I’ve ever taken.”

Nine laps later—after NASCAR red-flagged the race for cleanup from Haley’s wreck—polesitter and Stage 1 winner Harrison Burton spun underneath Justin Allgaier in Turn 1, backed into the outside wall and was eliminated from the race in the 37th position.

Burton said he thought he could clear Allgaier and slide up in front of him, but at the last second, he realized Allgaier was still to his outside.

“I’ve got to quit making mistakes, and we’ll put our car in Victory Lane before long,” Burton said.

On Lap 46, Riley Herbst spun into the Turn 2 wall and out of the race after contact with the No. 15 Chevrolet of Colby Howard.

“I thought you said ‘Clear,’” Herbst radioed to spotter Tim Fedewa after the crash.

“I did say ‘Clear,’” Fedewa replied. “He drove it back out there.”

JR Motorsports drivers Justin Allgaier ran fourth and fifth, respectively, with AJ Allmendinger completing the top five.

Cindric, the sixth different winner in six NASCAR Xfinity Series events at the “Tricky Triangle,” extended his series lead over second-place Allmendinger to 101 points.

Daniel Hemric led 18 laps and appeared to have a car capable of delivering his first NASCAR national series victory, but Hemric ruined his own chances with two pit-road speeding penalties before rallying to finish sixth.

Brandon Jones, Jeb Burton, Josh Berry and Myatt Snider finished seventh through tenth.

Note: Cindric was confirmed as the race winner following post-race inspection. Two cars — the No. 18 of Hemric and the No. 22 of Cindric — were found to have one lug nut not safe and secure.

Posted on June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by Staff Report

Kyle Larson is among the cars dropping to the rear ahead of Sunday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for moving to a backup car. Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was slated to line up 12th but his last-lap flat tire caused enough damage to warrant the team bringing out the backup for Sunday’s 140-lapper.

In addition to Larson and as confirmed by NASCAR following Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the following drivers have been approved to go to a backup car for the 140-lap race:
— Ryan Preece, No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet (was starting 23rd)
— Anthony Alfredo, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford (was starting 26th)
— Ross Chastain, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (was starting 33rd)
— Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (was starting 36th)
— Ryan Newman, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (was starting 37th)
— Cole Custer, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (was starting 38th)

Justin Allgaier will also go to the rear after a driver change in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Allgaier is subbing for Justin Haley who was supposed to drive the car but is sitting out following a wreck he was involved in during the Xfinity Series race earlier on Sunday. Haley was checked and released from the infield care center. The No. 77 Chevrolet was set to start 27th.

Posted on June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by @nascarcasm and Steve Luvender

Steve Luvender and @nascarcasm love two things – the roar of the engines at a NASCAR race, and bingo. They’re BIG bingo guys.

Well wouldn’t you know it, today is National Bingo Day. In honor of this splendid occasion, They’ve worked up a NASCAR bingo game, and you, the reader, can play along!

Create your board below, and play along by clicking the boxes on your device, or do it the old-fashioned way and just print it out. Mark the boxes as the race goes on, and if you do get a bingo, Tweet us and let us know! Winners will likely receive nothing but that’s TBD.

Anyways, that’s enough yapping – players, start your bingo boards!

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit for the NASCAR Cup Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — race two of the weekend doubleheader.

Posted on June 26, 2021June 27, 2021 by Staff Report

Chris Buescher will start on the pole Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 at Pocono Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The top-20 finishing drivers from Saturday’s Pocono Organics CBD 325 were inverted in order to determine Sunday’s lineup. Buescher finished 20th in Saturday’s race at the 2.5-mile track, which determined his front-row starting position, while race winner Alex Bowman will start 20th.

RELATED: Saturday’s race results

See the full starting lineup below.

*Note: Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain have been approved to go to backup cars and will fall to the rear for Sunday’s race.

^Note: Justin Allgaier will be subbing for Justin Haley in Sunday’s race, according to NBCSN.

Start pos.	Driver	Car #	Team
1	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Racing
2	Michael McDowell	34	Front Row Motorsports
3	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Joe Gibbs Racing
4	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing
5	Aric Almirola	10	Stewart-Haas Racing
6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing
7	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing
8	Daniel Suarez	99	Trackhouse Racing
9	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports
10	Tyler Reddick	8	Richard Childress Racing
11	Brad Keselowski	2	Team Penske
12	Kyle Larson*	5	Hendrick Motorsports
13	Kevin Harvick	4	Stewart-Haas Racing
14	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske
15	Kurt Busch	1	Chip Ganassi Racing
16	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske
17	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing
18	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports
19	Kyle Busch	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
20	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports
21	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing
22	Erik Jones	43	Richard Petty Motorsports
23	Ryan Preece*	37	JTG Daugherty Racing
24	Chase Briscoe	14	Stewart-Haas Racing
25	Cody Ware	51	Petty Ware Racing
26	Anthony Alfredo*	38	Front Row Motorsports
27	Justin Haley^	77	Spire Motorsports
28	James Davison	15	Rick Ware Racing
29	Garrett Smithley	53	Rick Ware Racing
30	BJ McLeod	78	Live Fast Motorsports
31	Quin Houff	00	StarCom Racing
32	Matt DiBenedetto	21	Wood Brothers Racing
33	Ross Chastain*	42	Chip Ganassi Racing
34	Josh Bilicki	52	Rick Ware Racing
35	Timmy Hill	66	Motorsports Business Management
36	Corey LaJoie*	7	Spire Motorsports
37	Ryan Newman*	6	Roush Fenway Racing
38	Cole Custer*	41	Stewart-Haas Racing

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by Zack Albert

The twin unraveling was as dramatic as it was shocking for Kyle Larson, as both a stellar win streak and a front tire came apart with less than half a lap remaining Saturday at Pocono Raceway. The climactic end foiled a bid for his fourth straight victory in NASCAR Cup Series points races.

Larson was in the lead with a seemingly comfortable margin over teammate Alex Bowman during the white-flag lap when his tire misfortune entering the third and final turn knocked his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from contention. Bowman drove by him for his third Cup Series win of the season; Larson nursed his scraped-up car across the finish line in ninth place.

“I guess disbelief still. I don’t know, a little bit laughable just because I can’t believe it,” said Larson, who had prevailed for four straight Cup Series weekends, including the non-points All-Star Race. “Hate that we didn’t get another win. Would have been cool to win five in a row. Just wasn’t meant to be I guess today.

“Yeah, I felt something like right in the middle of the tunnel. Wasn’t quite sure what it was yet. It finally kind of shredded halfway through the short chute there. Couldn’t turn.”

That lack of turn in Pocono’s sweeping third corner meant a less-than-sweeping arc into the outside retaining wall, allowing his pursuers to drive past before the checkered flag.

Larson had started from the pole position and led three times for 15 laps — taking the top spot a final time on Lap 127 of the 130 in the Pocono Organics CBD 325. That rise came after repeated challenges of Bowman down the stretch. Once by, he padded his lead until his late-race catastrophe. Larson said his last-lap trouble wasn’t a result of abusing his tires during his heated contest for the lead, but he suspected, “I must have just ran something over, I guess.”

The streak, remarkable as it was, is over. Larson followed up a streak of three straight runner-up finishes (Darlington, Dover, COTA) with three consecutive victories (Charlotte, Sonoma, Nashville). During that stretch, Hendrick Motorsports entries have won six in a row and Larson has chopped into Denny Hamlin’s once-commanding hold on the series’ lead in the standings, now just eight points back.

His peril at Pocono scotched that near-historic run, but as his Hendrick Motorsports crew set about preparing his backup No. 5 Chevy, Larson’s attention turned to starting a new streak. The unique weekend Cup Series doubleheader schedule won’t allow him time to dwell on Saturday’s stunning defeat. He’ll have work to do from the back of the field for Sunday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I guess that’s one thing that’s probably keeping me excited and not depressed, is that we get to go back again (Sunday),” Larson said. “I’m sure our backup car will be just as good as that one. Feel like we learned a lot about our car today. The track came to us a lot. I think we should be good tomorrow.”

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by Reid Spencer

After an intense, nail-biting battle over the last 29 laps at Pocono Raceway, Alex Bowman won Saturday’s Pocono Organics CBD 325 when his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson blew a left-front tire while leading within one corner of the finish line.

Bowman’s victory ended a streak of three straight wins for Larson, who passed Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet on Lap 127 of 130 and appeared destined to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four straight NASCAR Cup Series races.

Choosing the inside lane for a restart on Lap 112, Bowman surged into the lead, having gained track position with a two-tire call on his final pit stop. Larson spent the next 15 laps harrying his teammate and made what appeared to be the winning pass as the cars entered the Tunnel Turn on Lap 127.

But three laps later, on the short straightaway between Turns 2 and 3, Larson’s left-front went flat, and the No. 5 Chevrolet rocketed into the outside wall in Turn 3. Larson came home ninth in his damaged Camaro, his first finish outside the top two in seven races.

Bowman, who announced a contract extension with Hendrick last weekend at Nashville, won for the third time this season, the first time at Pocono and the fifth time in his career. The victory was the sixth straight for Hendrick Motorsports, matching a string of six combined wins by Johnson and Jeff Gordon in 2007.

“Yeah, I hate to win one that way, but hell, yeah, I’ll take it,” a shocked Bowman said after climbing from his car. “Super proud of this Ally 48 team. Man, we kind of gave the lead away. We were on two tires, just got super tight. Tried to hold (Larson) off as long as I could.

“(Crew chief) Greg (Ives) and all the guys did a really good job. We didn’t run that good all day, so I’m kind of in shock. I don’t know what to say to you guys. Hell, yeah, so cool to see all the fans out here. Always like to come to ‘PA.’ It’s a cool place, beautiful weather, great day for a race. Heck, yeah, I’ll take it.”

Larson was just as shocked at the loss as Bowman was at his victory. Larson had won three straight points-paying races — a streak that stood at four consecutive if the non-points All-Star Race win is included.

“I guess disbelief still,” Larson said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. “I don’t know, a little bit laughable, just because I can’t believe it.

“Hate that we didn’t get another win. Would have been cool to win five in a row. Just wasn’t meant to be I guess today. I felt something like right in the middle of the Tunnel (Turn). Wasn’t quite sure what it was yet. It finally kind of shredded halfway through the short chute there. Couldn’t turn.

“Hate that we didn’t get the win. Cool that Alex still did, a Hendrick car with another win. Cool to keep Mr. H’s (team owner Rick Hendrick’s) streak going. Yeah, hate we didn’t get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane, but we’ll try to start another streak (on Sunday).”

MORE: Larson win streak unravels

Larson will have to start Sunday’s race from the rear of the field in a backup car. Bowman will start 20th after an inversion of the top 20 finishing positions from Saturday’s race.

In an event that featured a hodgepodge of pit strategies before it distilled into the closing Bowman-Larson battle, Kyle Busch led a race-high 30 laps and finished second, .683 seconds behind Bowman. William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney completed the top five.

“We were a tick — just a little bit — slower than Larson, and we were able to hold him off,” Busch said of the green-flag run before the final caution for debris on Lap 107. “The 48 (Bowman) held him off forever and finally the 5 (Larson) got by and got away by 20 lengths or so.

“I was just dying tight behind those guys. I just could not do anything in traffic. We were just struggling in traffic. We don’t have what we need to slice through traffic. Everybody’s hindered, but it seems like us a little bit more.”

Kurt Busch won the second stage and finished sixth, leap-frogging past Chris Buescher into the final Playoff-eligible position in the series standings. Busch leads Buescher by four points entering Sunday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 at the 2.5-mile triangular track in eastern Pennsylvania (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

By finishing 20th on Saturday, however, Buescher earned the pole position for Sunday’s race.

Cole Custer was Saturday’s first retiree, his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford sustaining significant damage after contact with Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford. After the nudge, Custer bounced off the outside retaining wall on the frontstretch, caroming into the inside wall before coming to rest. Last season’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year was unhurt, but finished last in the 38-car field. He’ll also start last Sunday.

Notes: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage area was completed without major issue. Four cars were found with one unsecured lug nut each — No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (driver Kevin Harvick), No. 12 Team Penske Ford (Ryan Blaney), No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Kyle Busch), No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota (Bubba Wallace). … Seven Cup Series teams were approved to use reserve cars in Sunday’s second half of the Pocono weekend doubleheader: Nos. 5, 6, 7, 37, 38, 41, and 42.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by Reid Spencer

John Hunter Nemechek passed team owner Kyle Busch on a restart with six laps left and pulled away to win Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway.

Nemechek crossed the finish line at the 2.5-mile triangular track 1.337 seconds ahead of Busch, who had led 20 straight laps after pitting three laps before the conclusion of Stage 2.

The victory was Nemechek’s series-best fifth of the season and his third in head-to-head competition against his Kyle Busch Motorsports boss.

RELATED: Race results

“These guys just work so hard,” Nemechek said of his team. “We never gave up. We weren’t very good the first stage. Without this opportunity—without Kyle and Toyota, I wouldn’t have had it. Five wins this year and beat Kyle—three for five against Kyle is pretty good odds.”

Busch had a lead of nearly 1.5 seconds over Sheldon Creed when Stewart Friesen’s hard crash into the Turn 1 wall brought out the fourth caution on Lap 51 of 60. Busch chose the top lane for the subsequent restart on Lap 55, with Creed behind him and Nemechek on the inside of the front row.

With a strong push from Todd Gilliland, Nemechek’s No. 4 Toyota barely cleared Busch’s No. 51 in Turn 1 and slid up in front of the team owner.

“The 38 (Gilliland) gave me a big push,” acknowledged Nemechek, who picked up his first victory at Pocono and the 11th of his career. “I got a great restart… and I kind of cleared myself there. (Spotter Tony) Hirschman was still saying ‘Outside, outside’ in the middle of (Turn 1).

“I thought I was clear in my mirror and slid up and took the air away from Kyle. After that, we set sail.”

Busch stayed close to his protégé until Creed powered to the inside of Busch’s Toyota with three laps left. Contact between the trucks ended Busch’s winning chances.

“The Cessna Tundra was pretty good,” said Busch who posted two wins and three runner-up finishes to Nemechek in five Truck Series starts this season. “We were up front there leading, and the caution came out and bunched us all back together.

“We got… not a great restart, but a decent restart. We were all even getting into (Turn) 1, and John Hunter just slid me and got the lead. I was trying to figure out what I could do to fight back and get the lead back, and I got drilled in the left rear. That basically handed the win to the 4 truck.”

Creed ran third, followed by Tyler Ankrum and Austin Hill. Matt Crafton, Gilliland, Zane Smith, Ryan Preece and Derek Kraus completed the top 10. Hill’s top-five finish today scored him enough points to be the first driver to clinch a spot in the Playoffs on points.

Johnny Sauter’s quest to make the postseason suffered a serious below as the field took the green flag to start the race. Jack Wood’s Chevrolet spun out of control after contact from Chandler Smith’s Toyota and knocked Sauter into the outside wall near the start/finish line.

Sauter finished 35th, five laps down and fell 31 points behind Smith in the race for the final Playoff spot with two regular-season races left. Nemechek increased his series lead to 86 points over second-place Ben Rhodes, who came home 17th Saturday after a late pit road speeding penalty.

Note: Post-race inspection confirmed Nemechek as the winner. No issues were found.

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by Staff Report

The No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Cole Custer will start at the rear of the field for Saturday’s Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) following two pre-race inspection failures.

Custer was set to line up 26th in the 130-lap race on Saturday afternoon. The second-year Cup driver enters the race 27th in points, a year after he made the NASCAR Playoffs as a rookie following a win at Kentucky Speedway.

No other cars will drop to the rear ahead of Saturday’s race.