Kahne Steals Hamlin's Victory

Denny Hamlin led half of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, but a late-race pit road miscommunication sent him back in the pack, and he was never able to overcome it.  Kasey Kahne held off a late charge by the 11 car and fought some lapped traffic to win his second race of the season.

Kasey Kahne celebrates his win (Courtesy Getty Images)

Kyle Busch won the pole for the race, and he led the field to the green flag at New Hampshire.  Busch was able to get in front of Kasey Kahne heading into Turn 1 and he led lap one.  On lap nine, Denny Hamlin was able to get around Kahne for second place, and began working on Kyle Busch's back bumper.  On lap 28, Kasey was able to get back around Hamlin for second place.  While Kahne moved to second place, his teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were able to work their way through the Top 10 and get spots 4-6. 

On lap 64, Brad Keselowski hit pit road to begin the first round of green-flag pit stops.  Kyle Busch was the leader when he came in to make his pit stop, but after a horrendous stop he came out 21st.  Busch's pit crew had two lug nuts hang on the right-rear tire, and he also had a speeding penalty during his stop.  When the stops cycled around, Busch's teammate Denny Hamlin was the leader.  Hendrick Motorsports rounded out the top 5 following the pit stops.

Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (Courtesy Getty Images)

The first caution came out on lap 89 for debris in Turn 3.  Jeff Gordon stayed out while the rest of the field pitted, and he was the leader when the race went back green on lap 94.  Gordon restarted on the outside, but Hamlin was able to get around him on the inside to retake the lead.  On lap 101, Kyle Busch began working on Martin Truex Jr. for ninth place, and he had overcome his pit road penalty. 

On lap 145, Jeff Gordon pitted before anyone else.  He had not pitted under the caution and had to come in for fuel.  Martin Truex Jr. also came in because his team did not fill the car up with fuel.  Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch pitted on lap 148, and the leader came in on lap 155 to begin another round of green-flag pit stops.  When the stops cycled around, Jeff Gordon was following Denny Hamlin once again, but Kahne was able to get around the 24 car.  On lap 169, Johnson was able to get around his teammate for third. 

On lap 181, Brad Keselowski began to show just how good his car really was, when he drove around Earnhardt Jr. for fifth when Earnhardt's car got loose heading into Turn 1.  Just five laps later, Keselowski was able to get around Gordon for fourth place. 

Denny Hamlin leads Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer (Courtesy Getty Images)

On lap 189, the day's second caution came out for debris.  Kyle Busch moved to the lead when the rest of the leaders pitted for fuel and tires.  The race restarted on lap 197, and Busch chose to restart on the inside of Denny Hamlin.  Hamlin and Busch raced side-by-side for the lead for the first lap, but Hamlin was able to prevail and regain the lead. 

On lap 231, Kyle Busch hit pit road to make his stop, and he once again made a mistake.  He slid through his pit stall, costing himself precious seconds.  While Busch was on pit road, the caution came out for David Reutimann, who's engine let go and put oil down on the track.  The field pitted for what was to be their final pit stops of the day.  Hamlin's team had some miscommunication under the stop; they gave him four tires instead of two, and Hamlin went from leading the race to being 13th.

Kasey Kahne led his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the restart on lap 240.  Kahne was able to get ahead of Earnhardt, and so was Clint Bowyer, who shot down in front of Junior for second place.  By lap 272, Denny Hamlin was able to get around Earnhardt for third place on the track with 30 laps to go.  On lap 277, Hamlin got around Bowyer for second place, and set his sights on Kasey Kahne.  With 10 laps to go, Kahne began to run into some lapped traffic.  Hamlin was able to eat into Kahne's lead, but he ran out of time and could not catch him.  Coming to the White Flag, Hamlin charged hard into Turn 3, and his car went up the racetrack.  Kahne won his second race of the year, and all but locked himself into the Chase.

Kasey Kahne leads Clint Bowyer on the final restart (Courtesy Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin finished second after a dominating performance where he led 151 laps.  Clint Bowyer finished third, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fourth, and Brad Keselowski finished fifth.  Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson finished sixth and seventh, respectively.  Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top 10.  Martin Truex Jr. ran in the Top 10 most of the day, and he finished 11th.  Tony Stewart finished 12th after holding off Matt Kenseth for the final ten laps.  Brian Vickers, stepping into the No. 55 car this week, finished 15th.  Kyle Busch could not overcome his last pit road mistake, and he finished 16th.  Carl Edwards finished 18th, after another uneventful day. 

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was an uneventful race, and it was only stopped three times by cautions.  Once again, a race this season was finished in under three hours.  Kasey Kahne unofficially locked himself into the Chase by winning his second race of the season; two wins will most likely win him a wild card spot if he cannot make the Top 10 by Richmond.  Next week, the Sprint Cup Series has its last off-week of the season, and they will be back at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The race can be seen on July 29th at 12 p.m., only on ESPN. 

Courtesy Getty Images

Stewart Smokes the Field

Tony Stewart last won the Coke Zero 400 back in 2009, and he has always been strong at the restrictor-plate  track.  This weekend, Stewart was able to overcome strong Roush-Fenway Racing cars to win his fourth Daytona race.

Stewart takes the checkered flag ahead of Jeff Burton (Courtesy Getty Images)

The race didn't begin without a little controversy.  Before the race even began, the NASCAR community was stunned with the sudden suspension of AJ Allmendinger.  Allmendinger had a positive drug test, and violated NASCAR's substance abuse policy.  Sam Hornish Jr. was able to fly in and step into the No. 22 car for Allmendinger and Roger Penske.

When the race finally started, Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag after winning the pole for the Coke Zero 400.  He and his Roush-Fenway teammate Greg Biffle, who started fourth, were quickly able to get hooked up at the front.  No one was able to pass the Roush-Fenway duo, and they led until lap 40, when drivers began coming in for green-flag pit stops.

The last cars came in on lap 43, and when the stops cycled around, Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne found themselves the top two cars.  On lap 49, Kenseth pushed Biffle around on the outside to take the lead.  While they were pushing, Kenseth's car began to push water, but they were able to get to the front and Kenseth was able to get air to the engine to cool the car down. 

On lap 80, Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Paul Menard came in to make their second round of green-flag pit stops.  On lap 81, the night's first caution came out for Sam Hornish Jr., who had a left-rear tire go down.  When the tire came apart, it ripped the side of his car off.  The field came in to make pit stops, and the stops were not without incident.  While Ryan Newman pulled out of his pit, he was clipped by Jeff Gordon, which sent Newman's car across Kasey Kahne's nose, and into Brad Keselowski's car.  No pit crew members or NASCAR officials were hurt.

Ryan Newman sits backwards after getting spun on pit road (Courtesy Getty Images)

The green flag came back out on lap 86, and Roush-Fenway teammates Kenseth, Biffle, and Carl Edwards led the field.  They led until lap 91, when the night's second caution came out for a wreck with Kurt Busch, Trevor Bayne, and Bobby Labonte.  The wreck started when Kurt Busch tried to wedge his car in between Bayne and Newman, and his car made contact with Bayne's.

The race restarted on lap 96, and Kenseth led Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Biffle, and Edwards.  After some slight contact down the backstretch, Kenseth and Biffle once again found themselves in the first two spots.  On lap 125, a wreck erupted in the middle of the pack.  The wreck destroyed the car of Jimmie Johnson, and also included Jeff Gordon, Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Michael Waltrip, and Bill Elliott.

Johnson's car makes hard contact with the inside wall (Courtesy Getty Images)

The race restarted on lap 131, and Kyle Busch led, and was followed by Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Marcos Ambrose.  Stewart was able to get the lead on the restart, and began to protect his position.  On lap 144, the caution came back out again, for a spin by Brad Keselowski.  When he turned left coming out of Turn 2, his car just went around on him.

Tony Stewart led the field back to the green flag on lap 148.  With 9 laps to go, Biffle and Kenseth powered up to Stewart and passed him for the lead.  Heading into Turn 1, the "Big One" struck.  Hamlin tried to power around the 16, but he didn't have enough room, and he spun in front of the field.  The wreck collected Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Bayne, David Gilliland, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ambrose, Dave Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Casey Mears, Paul Menard, David Reutimann, and David Ragan.

The carnage of the "Big One" (Courtesy Getty Images)

The race restarted with two laps to go, and Kenseth led Stewart and Biffle to the green flag.  On the restart, Kasey Kahne gave Stewart a huge push to push them beside the Roush-Fenway duo of Kenseth and Biffle.  Stewart was able to get ahead of Biffle and Kenseth after some drivers made contact.  Coming through Turn 4, Biffle's car was clipped by Harvick and spun in front of the entire field, collecting most of the remaining cars.  The wreck allowed Stewart to pull away for his third win of the season.

Biffle and Harvick make contact, which started the massive pile-up at the end (Courtesy Getty Images)

Jeff Burton finished second, and Matt Kenseth was able to come home third.  Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, and Carl Edwards were able to avoid the wreck and finished fourth-sixth, respectively.  Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Michael Waltrip, and Bobby Labonte rounded out the Top 10.  Jeff Gordon finished 12th.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved in the last-lap wreck and finished 15th.  Greg Biffle, who ran up front all night, finished 21st after starting the final wreck.  Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch finished 23rd and 24th, respectively.  Jimmie Johnson finished 36th; it was Johnson's third DNF out of the season's three restrictor-plate races. 

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series returns to racing on a Sunday afternoon, when the cars hit the track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301.  The race will be TNT's final race of the season, and can be seen at 12 noon.

Courtesy Getty Images

Allmendinger Fails Drug Test, Suspended

 
AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 22 Dodge for Roger Penske, was suspended temporarily before the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday for failing NASCAR's drug test.  Allmendinger took the random drug test last weekend at Kentucky.  Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing operations, said Allmendinger's 'A' sample from the test was positive.

Photo Courtesy Getty Images

Allmendinger now has 72 hours hours to request that his 'B' sample be tested.  According to NASCAR's rule book, if he declines to have that sample tested, or the test is positive, his suspension will become indefinite.

Penske Racing was notified of Allmendinger's suspension by NASCAR on Saturday afternoon.  Penske said in a team statement, "NASCAR has a strict drug testing program that Penske Racing fully supports.  Penske Racing will work with NASCAR through this process and its next steps.  Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 22 car in tonight's Coke Zero 400."

Hornish, who had returned to Charlotte, NC after Friday's Nationwide race at Daytona, was rushed back to the track for the race.  He landed in Daytona, and was escorted to the track by police, and made it in enough time to get in the car.

Allmendinger is the first high-profile driver to fail a drug test since Jeremy Mayfield failed a drug test in 2009.  Instead of doing NASCAR's path to reinstatement, however, Mayfield brought a suit against the sanctioning body, beginning a long, drawn-out legal battle that ended when the case was dismissed earlier this year. 

Allmendinger is in his first year at Penske Racing, and was 23rd in points going into the Coke Zero 400.  He took over for Kurt Busch, who was let go at the end of last season after a major blowup with Dr. Jerry Punch from ESPN.  Hornish had a rocky Sprint Cup career before he moved to the Nationwide series.  He is currently fourth in the standings.

Keselowski Cruises to Victory in Kentucky

Brad Keselowski finished seventh in his first trip to Kentucky Speedway, a strong outing for the new event last year.  Keselowski ran all three races this weekend: he finished second in the Truck Series race and seventh in the Nationwide Series race.  After learning all he could learn in both events, Keselowski was able to put his knowledge to good use when he ran away from the field to win at Kentucky Speedway.

Brad Keselowski celebrates his first win at Kentucky (Courtesy Getty Images)

Jimmie Johnson won his first pole since 2010, and led the field to the green flag.  He started on the high side, but he got a bad start that bunched up the front of the field, and Kyle Busch was able to pass him for the lead.  Coming out of Turn 4, Busch's teammate Denny Hamlin was able to pass Johnson for second.  On lap 27, Brad Keselowski drove around Hamlin for second place, but they were both still a second behind Kyle Busch.

On the same lap, Tony Stewart's car began to slow with a mechanical problem.  He came in to pit, and the team tried to fill it up with gas and wanted to see if he could run a lap.  When Stewart dropped the clutch, his car wouldn't move, and his team went under the hood.  The team took his car to the garage, to try and fix what they believed was a throttle body issue

Keselowski made short work of Busch's 1-second lead, and, on lap 35, took the lead.  On lap 42, the first caution flag flew for debris.  Under the caution, Tony Stewart came back out of the garage, but his stay didn't last long; he came back into the garage two laps later and got out of the car.

Kyle Busch leads Brad Keselowski (Courtesy Getty Images)

On the lap 48 restart, Kyle Busch led Johnson, Hamlin, Keselowski, and Clint Bowyer.  This time, Busch started on the outside and he was able to clear Johnson to stay in the lead.  Keselowski quickly got around Hamlin and Johnson to move up to second place.  On lap 53, Kasey Kahne pulled off the track to make an unscheduled four-tire pit stop. 

Kevin Harvick pitted on lap 90 to begin a round of green-flag pit stops.  Though he stopped about six laps early, everyone began to make their pit stops as well.  By lap 102, the round of pit stops had cycled around, and Busch remained the leader, and was followed by Keselowski, Johnson, Hamlin, and Bowyer.

On lap 125, the night's second caution came out for debris on the front stretch.  The leaders pitted, and the race restarted on lap 129, with Kyle Busch leading Hamlin, Johnson, Keselowski, and Bowyer.  On the restart, Hamlin was able to get around his teammate for the lead.  On lap 133, Johnson was able to get around Busch for second place. 

Denny Hamlin leads Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski (Courtesy Getty Images)

The third caution came out for a blown engine by Dave Blaney on lap 149.  The leaders pitted, and the race restarted on lap 155.  Hamlin led Johnson, Busch, Keselowski, and Martin Truex Jr. on the restart.  On lap 189, Johnson was able to drive under Hamlin for the lead.  On lap 192, Kyle Busch, who dominated early, radioed in to his crew chief, "Something's broke in the back.  I don't know what it is, but something's broke."  Busch's car was bouncing, and he was beginning to lose spots. 

On lap 201, everyone began to make what was to be their final green-flag pit stops.  During the round of pit stops, Keselowski and Busch ran out of fuel, but they were able to get around to pit road to make their stops.  On lap 210, Ryan Newman ran into some oil, and he lost control of his car and slammed into the outside wall.  Behind Newman, Regan Smith also hit the wall after getting into some of the oil. 

Keselowski led Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Johnson on the lap 220 restart.  Keselowski shot out to an early lead, while Edwards got around Hamlin for second.  On the restart, Jimmie Johnson began complaining of a loose car, and he wasn't sure if he had a flat tire, a loose wheel, or if he had just gotten some speedy-dry on his tires.  At the same time, Hamlin was able to get back around Edwards for second place. 

Courtesy Getty Images

With about 10 laps to go, Kasey Kahne's car came alive, and he blew around Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, and Hamlin to move up to second place.  Though he was flying, he just didn't have enough time to catch Keselowski, and Brad won his third race of the 2012 season. 

Denny Hamlin finished third, and he was followed by the Hendrick Motorsports trio of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson.  Points-leader Matt Kenseth finished sixth, Martin Truex Jr. was eighth, and AJ Allmendinger finished ninth. Kyle Busch finished tenth after dominating for the first part of the race.  Carl Edwards finished 20th after having to pit with four laps to go to get fuel.  Edwards' teammate Greg Biffle finished 21st.  Michael Waltrip, stepping in to the No. 55 Toyota in his home state of Kentucky, finished 30th.  Tony Stewart finished 32nd after his early problems. 

The Quaker State 400 wasn't a very eventful race, but it was a quick one; the race was run in just 2 hours and 46 minutes.  Brad Keselowski unofficially locked himself into the Chase by winning his third race of the season.  Next week, the Sprint Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400.  The race will be Saturday night at 6:30 p.m., with TNT's "Wide Open Coverage."

Bowyer, MWR Break Through

Michael Waltrip Racing has been very strong all season long, with very promising runs from Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., and Brian Vickers.  While they had been strong, many didn't believe the team would be very good at Sonoma.  MWR proved them wrong; the entire team ran inside the Top 10 all day, and Clint Bowyer broke through to win his first race of 2012 and his first as a driver of Michael Waltrip Racing.

Clint Bowyer celebrates his first road course win (Courtesy Getty Images)

Marcos Ambrose led the field to the green flag, and when they got to the top of the hill, Ambrose had pulled ahead of Jeff Gordon to take the lead.  Right from the start, Travis Kvapil's left-front tire was locked up, but he was able to get back to pit road.  On lap 12, Marcos Ambrose locked up the right-front tire and Gordon was able to get around him for the lead, after stalking Ambrose since the beginning of the race.  Ambrose hadn't run a long green-flag run in practice, and his team was worried about how the car would handle on long green-flag runs.  By lap 17, Ambrose had fallen all the way to fifth as the handling on the car began going away from him.  On lap 19, Ryan Newman spun in Turn 11, but the race continued on without a caution.

On lap 24, Martin Truex Jr. became the first driver to pull off the track and pit for green-flag pit stops.  On lap 25, Clint Bowyer ran down Jeff Gordon and made a pass for the lead.  By lap 37, the green-flag pit stops had cycled around, and Martin Truex Jr. was the new leader.  Truex had pitted about ten laps before everyone else and inherited the lead when his MWR Teammate Clint Bowyer pitted. 

On lap 49, Truex Jr. gave up the lead to Clint Bowyer to make his second pit stop of the day.  Truex and AJ Allmendinger were one of the few on a three-pit stop race strategy, while most of the field was only going to have to make two pit stops.  On lap 69, Carl Edwards hit pit road to begin another round of green-flag pit stops.  While everyone was pitting, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon ran out of gas before they could make it to pit road. 

Marcos Ambrose leads Jeff Gordon (Courtesy Getty Images)

Martin Truex Jr., who had already made two pit stops during the day, gave up the lead to come to pit road on lap 73.  When the stops cycled around, Clint Bowyer found himself back in the lead.  With 30 laps to go, Bowyer got caught behind Harvick and that allowed Kurt Busch to close in to within one second of Bowyer.  On lap 82, the first caution of the day came out for Tomy Drissi, who spun and hit the wall.

On lap 87, Clint Bowyer led Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. on the restart.  Clint Bowyer was able to stay ahead of Kurt Busch following the restart.  On lap 88, Jamie McMurray spun, but was able to keep going without a caution.  On lap 94, Denny Hamlin was spun by his teammate Joey Logano.

With 14 laps to go, Kurt Busch was able to close up to the back bumper of Clint Bowyer's car.  Busch continued to stay right behind Bowyer, bumping him every time they went through Turn 11.  With seven laps to go, Bowyer began to pull away from Busch.  At the same time, Tony Stewart was able to get around Jimmie Johnson for third place. 

Bowyer leads Kurt Busch (51) late in the race (Courtesy Getty Images)

With four laps to go, Kyle Busch got loose under breaking and got into the back of Paul Menard, spinning them both out.  The race was pushed to a green-white-checkered finish, and Clint Bowyer led Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Brian Vickers on the restart.  Busch got a good restart, but Bowyer was able to stay ahead of him.  On the restart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was spun around, and was drilled by Aric Almirola and Regan Smith.  Going into Turn 6 on the final lap, Tony Stewart drove it into the corner deep to pick up second place.  Heading into Turn 11, Stewart tried to close up as much as he could to Bowyer, but it wasn't enough, and Clint Bowyer won his first race of 2012.

Tony Stewart didn't have enough time to catch Bowyer, and he had to settle for second.  Kurt Busch finished third after breaking something in the rear of the car.  Brian Vickers, who stepped in for Mark Martin this weekend, finished fourth.  Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished fifth and sixth, respectively.  Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, and Joey Logano rounded out the Top 10.  Brad Keselowski finished 12th, and Kyle Busch finished 17th following his wreck that brought out the last caution.  Carl Edwards finished 21st after a tough day.  Martin Truex Jr., who led early, was spun on the last lap and finished 22nd.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. got into a wreck with two laps to go and finished 23rd.  Juan Pablo Montoya, who many though would fight for the victory, finished 34th, five laps down.

Clint Bowyer won Michael Waltrip Racing's first race of the season at Sonoma.  The race wasn't very exciting for the majority of the race, but two cautions at the end tightened up the racing and made for an exciting finish.  Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Kentucky Speedway, for the track's second Sprint Cup Series race.  The Quaker State 400 will be Saturday night at 6:30, only on TNT.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

The Dark Knight Rises

On June 15, 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Michigan International Speedway for his first win at Hendrick Motorsports.  Four years later, he was still looking for his second win as a member of the Hendrick team.  After 143-races without a win, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally broke through to win at Michigan International Speedway. 

Dale Jr. celebrates his first win in four years (Courtesy Getty Images)

The teams were welcomed to the track this morning by a rain storm, and the start of the race was delayed.  After a wait that lasted nearly two hours, Marcos Ambrose led the field to the green flag.  Ambrose was able to jump out to the lead, while Kevin Harvick, who started second, got a horrible start.  He dropped back to fifth place after one lap.  On lap two, the first caution came out for a spin by Kurt Busch.  Busch was up high in Turn 2 and the car got away from him.

The race restarted on lap five, with Ambrose leading Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, and Kevin Harvick.  Biffle drove his car above Ambrose, and tried to take the lead.  However, he was too high and had to give Ambrose the lead.  One lap later, Ambrose got very loose coming out of two and Greg Biffle took over the race lead.  On lap ten, Josh Wise's engine blew up, bringing out the day's second caution. 

The restart came on lap 16, and Biffle led Ambrose, Logano, Kahne, and Kenseth to the green flag.  Biffle was able to pull ahead of Ambrose on the restart to hold onto the lead.  Biffle was able to hold off Ambrose until the first competition caution came out on lap 26.  The field came in to pit for fuel for the first time during the race.  Marcos Ambrose got the lead in the pits, and he led the field to the green flag on lap 31.  He was followed by Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, and Kyle Busch.  Ambrose was able to stay in the lead until lap 32, when Kenseth was able to get around Ambrose to take the lead.  On lap 49, Kenseth and Ambrose ran into some lap traffic, and when Kenseth went around the lapped car on the outside, Ambrose dove to the inside and took the lead.  The second competition caution came out on lap 51.  The field came in for pit stops, and Greg Biffle gained the lead. 

Greg Biffle leads Marcos Ambrose (Courtesy Getty Images)

The race restarted on lap 56, and Greg Biffle led Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose, and AJ Allmendinger.  Biffle jumped out to a quick lead, and Ambrose was able to get around Martin to take second place.  On lap 71, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead away from Biffle and began to pull away from the field.  The caution came out on lap 82 for debris, just as some of the mid-pack cars began coming in for green flag pit stops.  The field came in to make pit stops under caution, and Earnhardt was able to stay in the lead.  Under the caution, Kyle Busch had an engine issue for the third week in a row, and took his car to the garage. 

On lap 87, Dale Jr. led Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Biffle to the green flag.  When the cars got to Turn 1, Stewart drove the car into the corner and was able to take the lead away from Earnhardt.  On lap 104, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to get back up to Stewart and take the lead away from the Office Depot Chevrolet.  On lap 114, Brad Keselowski pitted for a blistered right-rear tire.  Two laps later, the rest of the field began to come in to start a round of green flag pit stops.  On lap 121, while Juan Pablo Montoya was the leader, Kurt Busch spun to bring out another caution. 

Kurt Busch's damaged car sits on pit road (Courtesy Getty Images)

Jeff Gordon was the leader when the race restarted on lap 126, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Carl Edwards.  Earnhardt was able to jump out to the lead after restarting on the high side.  The same lap, Joey Logano spun himself out off of  David Gilliland's bumper, and the wreck collected Kasey Kahne as well. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart to the green flag on lap 133.  For second straight restart, the caution came out on the same lap as the green flag, this time for a spin by Denny Hamlin.  Hamlin got spun around by Ryan Newman, and he spun and hit the grass, which ripped the left side off the car.  As he was driving down pit road, the car erupted in flames, and he quickly came to a stop, got out of the car, and got the fire extinguished. 

Denny Hamlin's car catches fire on pit road (Courtesy Getty Images)

The race restarted on lap 141, and Dale Jr. led Gordon, Bowyer, Stewart, and Biffle to the green flag.  Junior grabbed the lead on the restart, and Tony Stewart was able to get around Gordon for second.  With about 40 laps to go, the final round of green flag pit stops began.  With about 30 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. cycled around to become the leader once again.  He began to pull away from the rest of the field, and he cruised to his first victory in four years.  Tony Stewart finished second, followed by Roush-Fenway teammates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle.  Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished fifth and sixth, respectively.  Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Top 10.  Carl Edwards finished 11th, and Brad Keselowski finished 13th.  Mark Martin had engine troubles with five laps to go, and finished 29th after running in the Top 10 most of the day.  This will be Mark Martin's last race until the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis on July 29th.  Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano finished 32nd-35th.

The streak is over.  After four years and 143 races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally returned to Victory Lane with a win in the Quicken Loans 400 from Michigan International Speedway.  Next week, the Sprint Cup Series will head out west to Sonoma for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.  The race can be seen live at 2 p.m., only on TNT.

The streak is over. (Courtesy Getty Images)

Joey Logano Wins Exciting Pocono Race

Joey Logano's first and only win came in a rain-shortened race at New Hampshire in June 2009.  While his teammates have won almost 30 races since then, Logano has failed to find Victory Lane.  Now, Logano finds himself racing for his job; his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing expires at the end of the season, and he will most likely lose his ride unless he begins to perform.  He may have helped save his seat after he won the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR.

Joey Logano celebrates his second career victory (Courtesy Getty Images)

Joey Logano led the field to the green flag, and it wasn't long until the first caution came out; Landon Cassill, Martin Truex Jr., and AJ Allmendinger got together in Turn 3 to bring out the first caution of the day.  Carl Edwards used the caution to pit after he and Denny Hamlin made contact at the start of the race.  On lap six, Joey Logano restarted in first, followed by Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose, Jamie McMurray, and Regan Smith.  The race's second caution came out on lap 13, when J.J. Yeley, Reed Sorenson, and Tony Raines wrecked in Turn 3.  The leaders hit pit road on lap 17, which NASCAR decided would be the competition caution that was scheduled for lap 20.

Landon Cassill's torn-up car after his lap one accident (Courtesy Getty Images)

Jamie McMurray led the field back to green on lap 21, followed by Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.  On lap 23, Hamlin was able to get around McMurray for the race lead.  On lap 33, Hamlin and Keselowski came in to pit after they didn't pit under the caution.  Keselowski was caught for speeding on pit road for the first of many pit road speeding penalties.  One lap later, McMurray hit the pits and relinquished the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Jeff Gordon hit pit road on lap 42 to start a round of green-flag stops.  The stops cycled around by lap 50, and Denny Hamlin was the leader of the race.  During the pit stops, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and David Ragan were hit with speeding penalties.  On lap 60, Dale Earnhardt Jr. grabbed the lead from Denny Hamlin heading into Turn 1.  On lap 65, Hamlin ran out of gas and had to coast to the pits.  But on lap later, the third caution of the day came out for AJ Allmendinger, who pounded the wall in Turn 2. 

On lap 72, Jamie McMurray led Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the green flag.  Two laps later, on lap 74, the caution flew again for debris.  Under the caution, Kyle Busch's engine let go, and he took it to the garage.  The green flag came back out on lap 83, and Greg Biffle led Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, and Matt Kenseth.  On lap 93, Matt Kenseth was able to get around his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle for the lead.  On lap 103, a group of cars came down to begin another round of green-flag pit stops.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to grab the lead when the stops cycled around. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. races with Dave Blaney (Courtesy Getty Images)

On lap 115, Greg Biffle radioed in that he had lost a cylinder.  On lap 124, his engine finally let go to bring out the fifth caution of the race.  The green flag came back out on lap 129.  It stayed green until lap 136, when Kasey Kahne found the wall coming off the tunnel turn to bring out the sixth caution of the day.  Under the caution, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon came in to top off on fuel as they were about three laps short. 

The race restarted on lap 143, and Joey Logano led Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth to the lead.  Martin stayed beside Logano through Turn 1, and Stewart dive-bombed underneath them both looking for the lead, but coming out of Turn 3, Martin got back into second place.  On lap 149, the caution came out again for debris in Turn 2. 

Mark Martin leads a group of cars (Courtesy Getty Images)

The race restarted on lap 152, and Mark Martin was able to pull in front of Joey Logano, and Martin started to pull away from Logano.  With five laps to go, Mark Martin hopped the curb in Turn 3, and Joey Logano was able to pull up to his back bumper.  Going into Turn 1, Logano gave Martin the bump-and-run, and he was able to take the lead.  Logano was able to pull away to win his first race since the rain-shortened race at New Hampshire in June 2009. 

Mark Martin finished second after watching the victory slip through his fingers with five laps to go.  It was his seventh second-place finish at Pocono Raceway; Martin has never won at Pocono.  Tony Stewart finished third.  Jimmie Johnson had to serve two pit road speeding penalties, but he was able to come back to finish fourth.  Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer finished fifth and sixth, respectively.  Matt Kenseth finished seventh, and he was able to take the points lead away form his teammate Greg Biffle.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to come back to finish eighth.  Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top ten.  Carl Edwards was able to finish 11th after his lap-one skirmish with Denny Hamlin.  Brad Keselowski finished 18th after he had to serve multiple pit road speeding penalties.  Jeff Gordon finished 19th.  Greg Biffle's engine let go, and he finished 24th.  Kasey Kahne finished 29th, and Kyle Busch finished 30th after blowing an engine about halfway through the race.

The Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR was one of the most exciting races at Pocono in recent years.  I should know; Pocono is my favorite track and I try to get out to at least one race every year.  Next week, NASCAR heads to the Irish Hills to Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400.  The race will be at 12 noon, only on TNT.

Courtesy Getty Images