Hamlin Picks up Fifth Pocono Win

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the Gander RV 400 from Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. on the final restart, with fuel-mileage on everyone’s minds.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The final round of pit stops caused most of the front-runners to stretch it on fuel, but two cautions late in the race allowed everyone to make it.  With everyone worried about fuel-mileage, Hamlin challenged Jones and Truex, hoping he could push them to run out of fuel.

Hamlin said he was worried that his team wouldn’t be able to make it to the end on fuel.

“I was really worried,” Hamlin said.  “We just did a great job with the car.  Once we lost track position there to [Truex] and [Jones], we weren’t able to pass them.”

Pocono staff put PJ1, a substance that adds grip to different grooves on the track, on the track before the race.  Hamlin said he was able to use the substance to his advantage to get to the lead.

“Thanks Pocono for putting in this PJ1, because I was able to use it there and get around those guys,” Hamlin said. 

Jones’ second-place finish was his third-consecutive top 3 finish.  Jones said he believes his team can break through and get a win before the playoffs.

“It’s a bummer, we’re close every week,” Jones said.  “It would sure be nice just to knock a win out, and when we’re just so close it stings a little bit more when you get that close.”

“We just have to break through and once we get one, I think we can knock a couple off.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Erik Jones

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. William Byron

5. Kyle Larson

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Daniel Hemric

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Kyle Busch

10. Ryan Blaney

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Aric Almirola

13. Joey Logano

14. Ryan Newman

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Chris Buescher

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Paul Menard

19. Austin Dillon

20. Alex Bowman

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

22. Bubba Wallace

23. Matt Tifft

24. Daniel Suarez

25. Michael McDowell

26. Corey LaJoie

27. Kurt Busch

28. Landon Cassill

29. Ty Dillon

30. Ross Chastain

31. Quin Houff

32. Reed Sorenson

33. BJ McLeod

34. Austin Theriault

35. Josh Bilicki

36. David Ragan

37. Ryan Preece

38. Chase Elliott

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Harvick Ends Drought, Wins at New Hampshire

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Harvick used pit strategy late in the race to pick up his first win of the season.  When a caution came out with 30 laps to go, Harvick stayed out while most of the field behind him pitted.  After retaining the lead on the restart, Harvick had to hold off Denny Hamlin, who was coming with two fresher tires.

Courtesy NASCAR

Harvick said he didn’t think the call would turn out to be the winning move.

“I didn’t think we had the best chance to win staying out, but Rodney and those guys made a great call,” Harvick said.  “Stayed out there and ran a lot of good laps.”

Harvick was able to hold Hamlin off for most of the final run, but the two made contact while racing around lapped traffic on the final lap.

Harvick said he knew Hamlin would use the bumper on the final lap.

“He tried to move me out of the way there and I knew that was coming as close as he was,” Harvick said.  “He dove to the outside of me and I just put a wheel on him.”

Hamlin used his bumper to try and move Harvick on the last lap, but he wasn’t able to complete the pass after the two made contact coming out of the final corner.

Hamlin said he didn’t want to completely ruin Harvick’s race by putting him in the wall.

“I wanted to just tap him there, but didn’t want to completely screw him,” Hamlin said.  “I at least wanted to give him a fair shot.”

“He saw that I had a big run and just turned right…I would do the same thing.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Erik Jones

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Matt DiBenedetto

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Ryan Newman

8. Kyle Busch

9. Joey Logano

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Aric Almirola

12. William Byron

13. Paul Menard

14. Alex Bowman

15. Chris Buescher

16. Ty Dillon

17. Michael McDowell

18. Kurt Busch

19. Daniel Suarez

20. Clint Bowyer

21. Ryan Preece

22. Bubba Wallace

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Matt Tifft

25. Ross Chastain

26. Landon Cassill

27. Reed Sorenson

28. Andy Seuss

29. Chase Elliott

30. Jimmie Johnson

31. Quin Houff

32. Austin Dillon

33. Kyle Larson

34. David Ragan

35. Austin Theriault

36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

37. Daniel Hemric

Busch Brothers Duel in Kentucky

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kurt Busch won the Quaker State 400 from Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night,

Busch took the lead after the final restart of overtime, and he outran his younger brother Kyle to get to victory lane.

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Last weekend, Busch lost the lead during a lightning delay that ended the race at Daytona, and he said this race made up for the loss last weekend.

“When we got the yellow at the end, that put us back in it,” Busch said.  “Last week was whatever, because this week we got the trophy.”

Busch has had a strong car on 1.5 mile tracks throughout the season, but was winless coming into Saturday’s race. 

The victory was the first for Busch with the new team, and he said the victory was a first for many on the team.

“A lot of first wins with this group of guys,” Busch said.  “The way that we got together and had speed, we just weren’t competing…now we’re all winners.”

Kyle Busch said he was disappointing in finishing second in a close finish to his older brother.

“It was a thriller, just unfortunate that we were on the wrong end of the deal,” Busch said.  “It’s obviously cool to put on great races and great finishes.  Been a part of a lot of them…in fact none with my brother.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Kyle Busch

3. Erik Jones

4. Kyle Larson

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Joey Logano

8. Daniel Suarez

9. Ryan Newman

10. Chris Buescher

11. Paul Menard

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Ryan Blaney

14. Aric Almirola

15. Chase Elliott

16. Matt DiBenedetto

17. Alex Bowman

18. William Byron

19. Martin Truex Jr.

20. Brad Keselowski

21. Ryan Preece

22. Kevin Harvick

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Daniel Hemric

25. Michael McDowell

26. Ty Dillon

27. Matt Tifft

28. Corey LaJoie

29. David Ragan

30. Jimmie Johnson

31. Ross Chastain

32. Landon Cassill

33. Bayley Currey

34. Quin Houff

35. Austin Dillon

36. BJ McLoed

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Logano Dominates in Michigan

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Monday afternoon.

The race was delayed from Sunday due to rain, but Logano dominated from the drop of the green flag.  After starting on the pole, Logano led 163 of 203 laps on Monday.

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After a caution came out to send the race into overtime, Logano had to hold off Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch to get to victory lane.

Logano said he used his experience on previous restarts to hold off Busch over the final two laps.

“You race this whole race, and you keep building that notebook up,” Logano said.  “Great execution day; our racecar was obviously very fast, and our pit crew’s amazing.”

Busch finished second, and is still looking for his first win on the season.

After getting into the wall earlier in the race, Busch said the light damage his car had affected his ability to get to the lead late in the race.

“That’s more than I was hoping to see for damage, but I had a blast,” Busch said.  “This gives us reason to smile and be happy; we ran up front and we were strong.”

“We got enough stage points today that I was like, ‘hell with it, we don’t need to get anything but the win.’”

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Kurt Busch

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Daniel Suarez

5. Kyle Busch

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Ryan Newman

9. Ryan Blaney

10. Alex Bowman

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Daniel Hemric

13. Paul Menard

14. Kyle Larson

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Chris Buescher

17. Aric Almirola

18. William Byron

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Chase Elliott

21. Matt DiBenedetto

22. Ty Dillon

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Matt Tifft

25. Ryan Preece

26. Austin Dillon

27. Michael McDowell

28. Bubba Wallace

29. Landon Cassill

30. Garrett Smithley

31. Erik Jones

32. Quin Houff

33. Josh Bilicki

34. David Ragan

35. Clint Bowyer

36. Kyle Weatherman

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Kyle Larson Wins All-Star Race

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Larson won the Monster Energy All-Star Race from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Larson did not have an easy trip to the main event on Saturday, as he had to race his way in from the Monster Energy Open.  The Open is a “last chance” race for all the drivers not already qualified for the All-Star Race.  Larson won the final stage in the Open to secure his spot in the All-Star Race.

Larson said his crew had to work hard before the All-Star Race to get the car ready after winning the Open.

“This whole day was up and down,” Larson said.  “From the B-Main we were in, to getting a little bit of damage we had to repair.”

Larson took the lead on the final restart, and was able to hold off Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch over the final 10-lap run to win the race and $1 Million.

Larson said he used a push from Harvick on the final restart to clear the leaders.

“Harvick gave me a heck of a push to get to the lead from the third row, and that was huge,” Larson said.  “To get by the 18 [of Busch] that final restart…just had to guess what he was going to do behind me and try to take his air away.”

Harvick had the fastest car throughout the race, but miscues on pit road forced him to restart back in the pack late in the race.

Harvick said he was disappointed he couldn’t come up with the victory on Saturday.

“It was just unfortunate the way that pit road went tonight, because it wasn’t even close to anybody having a good car like we had tonight,” Harvick said.  “Just a great night for performance; just a bad night for pit road.”

“That’s how you take the fastest car and don’t win the race with it; you spot them the whole field.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Kyle Busch

4. Joey Logano

5. Bubba Wallace

6. Aric Almirola

7. Austin Dillon

8. Alex Bowman

9. William Byron

10. Martin Truex Jr.

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Ryan Newman

14. Chase Elliott

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Ryan Blaney

17. Kurt Busch

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Erik Jones

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Truex Wins at Dover

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Gander RV 400 from Dover International Speedway on Monday afternoon.

Originally scheduled for Sunday, the race was postponed due to rain after cars began their pace laps on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Truex started in the back after failing pre-race inspection, but he was able to work his way through the field on a track that is notoriously hard to pass.

Truex said his team brought a new setup that allowed them to work his way through traffic.

“We came here with a new setup this time, because we had kind of an older setup that we won with in 2016,” Truex said.  “We’ve been good but not good enough.”

Truex switched teams in the offseason, and he believes they are finally getting comfortable with each other, leading to two wins in the last three races.

“So thankful for this team…it feels incredible,” Truex said.  “Without Talladega, we’d have two in a row.”

Alex Bowman was also penalized and started in the rear, and had a fast enough to drive up to the front during the race.  Bowman picked up his second-consecutive runner-up finish on Monday.

Bowman said his team has started to turn a corner and seems to be headed in the right direction.

“We had a miserable start to the season; we did a really good job resetting over the off-week, and we’ve been strong since then,” Bowman said.  “It’d be better if we had a trophy, but we needed this for sure.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Alex Bowman

3. Kyle Larson

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Chase Elliott

6. Erik Jones

7. Joey Logano

8. William Byron

9. Clint Bowyer

10. Kyle Busch

11. Daniel Suarez

12. Brad Keselowski

13. Kurt Busch

14. Jimmie Johnson

15. Ryan Blaney

16. Aric Almirola

17. Paul Menard

18. Ryan Newman

19. Austin Dillon

20. Matt DiBenedetto

21. Denny Hamlin

22. Ty Dillon

23. Chris Buescher

24. Michael McDowell

25. Daniel Hemric

26. David Ragan

27. Bubba Wallace

28. Ryan Preece

29. Corey LaJoie

30. Ross Chastain

31. Landon Cassill

32. Matt Tifft

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

34. Cody Ware

35. Reed Sorenson

36. Quin Houff

37. BJ McLeod

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Elliott Wins at Talladega with Help from Teammates

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the Geico 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his fourth career victory.

Elliott ran up front for most of the race, and he was able to work his way around Joey Logano for the lead following a late restart with four laps remaining.  Elliott was in the lead when a caution for a wreck in the back of the pack ended the race.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Elliott said the victory was a testament to the teamwork all the Chevrolet drivers had throughout the race.

“We just had a plan and executed it really well,” Elliott said.  “Obviously could have gone both ways, but fortunately everyone stayed together there and stayed the course.”

Before the race, all the Chevrolet drivers were sat down and told to work together, much like the Ford and Toyota drivers have done to success in past races at Daytona and Talladega.  The drivers formulated a game plan that was successfully implemented, as Chevrolet drivers from Hendrick Motorsports, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing and Richard Childress Racing ran up front for most of the day.

Elliott said he was appreciative of the teamwork that helped him get to victory lane.

“Just a huge thanks to…Chevrolet,” Elliott said.  “Obviously a lot of teamwork done today.”

Alex Bowman was running second behind his teammate when the caution came out, but said he would have made a move to try and get around Elliott had the race gone green to the end.

“There was no plan coming off turn 4, but unfortunately we didn’t get there before the caution came out,” Bowman said.  “I was pretty confident I could get to his quarter-panel through the trioval, and who knows who’s going to get to the line first at that point.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Alex Bowman

3. Ryan Preece

4. Joey Logano

5. Daniel Hemric

6. Kurt Busch

7. Ryan Newman

8. Brendan Gaughan

9. Aric Almirola

10. Kyle Busch

11. Corey LaJoie

12. Daniel Suarez

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Austin Dillon

15. Ryan Blaney

16. Paul Menard

17. Ty Dillon

18. Reed Sorenson

19. Erik Jones

20. Martin Truex Jr.

21. William Byron

22. Jeffrey Earnhardt

23. David Ragan

24. Kyle Larson

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

26. Ross Chastain

27. Parker Kligerman

28. Cody Ware

29. Clint Bowyer

30. Chris Buescher

31. Matt DiBenedetto

32. Justin Haley

33. Jimmie Johnson

34. Landon Cassill

35. Stanton Barrett

36. Denny Hamlin

37. Matt Tifft

38. Kevin Harvick

39. Bubba Wallace

40. Michael McDowell

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images