The Cup Series caps off a triple header weekend with he Great American Getaway 400 from the Tricky Triangle of Pocono Raceway.
Thirty-seven teams have brought cars to Pocono for the race.
The drivers have been divided into two groups. After each group has had a practice session, they will each make qualifying runs. The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.
Kyle Busch is reporting an issue with the power steering, calling it “floaty” and “sticky”.
A seven time winner, Denny Hamlin is the winningest Pocono winner.
Kyle Larson spins out but keeps it off the wall. He said, “we’re good, I didn’t hit anything!”
Tyler Reddick spins out; he reported no contact. There are bumps in the tunnel turn (turn 2) that are causing an issue for the drivers..
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is AJ Allmendinger who posted a time of 53.760 seconds.
With the track two and a half miles around, NASCAR is putting two cars at a time – 15 to 20 seconds apart – to speed up the qualifying process.
Corey LaJoie gets loose and brushes the wall on his qualifying run.
There are 3,700 camp sites at Pocono Raceway; all of them are sold for this weekend!
Alex Bowman broke the 53 second mark with a time of 52.896 seconds.
Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Alex Bowman will be moving on to round two of qualifying from Group A.
The first driver on the track from Group B is Cody ware who posted a time of 54.192 seconds.
JJ Yeley will not make a qualifying run.
Bubba Wallace bottomed out and got very loose on his qualifying run but saved the car.
Josh Berry, Martin Truex Jr, Zane Smith, Ty Gibbs, and Tyler Reddick will all be moving on from Group B to round two of qualifying.
Joey Logano is the first driver in the top 10 to make a run and posts a time of 53.542 seconds.
With a time of 52.929 seconds, Ty Gibbs puts his number 54 car on the pole with William Byron starting alongside.
The starting lineup for the Great American Getaway 400:
Ty Gibbs
William Byron
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
Josh Berry
Alex Bowman
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Zane Smith
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Brad Keselowski
Carson Hocevar
Daniel Suarez
Austin Dillon
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
Harrison Burton
Erik Jones
Kyle Busch
Noah Gragson
AJ Allmendinger
Daniel Hemric
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Corey LaJoie
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
John Hunter Nemechek
Todd Gilliland
Justin Haley
Cody Ware
Ryan Preece
JJ Yeley
Kyle Busch’s car has been pushed back to the garage with an oil leak issue. Car owner Richard Childress said that it was going to be close to make the repair but they would make it. Busch will have to start the race from the back of the field.
Corey La Joie’s crew had to make some last minute repairs to the car and LaJoie will also have to start the race from the back of the field.
Stage one is just 30 laps but stages two and three are 65 laps each for a total of 160 laps around the 2.5 mile track.
Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with William Byron alongside. Drivers stay two by two going into turn one. Leaders are side by side. Ty Gibbs gets out in front for the lead.
Lap two, Ty Gibbs leads the race with William Byron in second; Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap three, Ty Gibbs has pulled out to a lead of over a second on William Byron; Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap five, Ty Gibbs has increased his lead to over a second and a half on William Byron; Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap seven, Ty Gibbs continues to pull away from the field and is now over two seconds out in front of William Byron.
Lap 12, Ty Gibbs has a lead of nearly four seconds on William Byron; Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick continue to round out the top five.
Joey Logano reports that he is bottoming out.
Lap 14, Ty Gibbs continues to increase his lead and is now over four seconds out in front of the field.
Noah Gragson brings out the first caution flag of the race on lap 14 when he gets into the wall.
Some of the drivers come down pit road for service but he leaders stay out on the track.
Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 18 with William Byron alongside. Drivers spread out across the track. Martin Truex Jr takes the lead. Josh Berry is off the pace. Ty Gibbs got loose.
Lap 19, Martin Truex Jr has the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five. Ty Gibbs drops to seventh.
Josh Berry is on pit road for an unscheduled visit after saying it didn’t feel right.
Lap 20 Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 23, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron round out the top five.
Bubba Wallace comes down pit road to short pit the end of the stage. Wallace reports that he doesn’t have the car to be aggressive.
Noah Gragson is out of the car center and says that he just got loose; adding that the car was loose from the start and was just trying to hold on til the end of the stage.
Lap 26, Kyle Busch is up to 26th after starting the race from the back of the field.
Several of the drivers are short pitting the end of stage one and coming down for service with three laps remaining in stage one.
Martin Truex Jr wins stage one for his third stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Alex Bowman
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Erik Jones
Drivers who have not made a pit stop come down pit road for service. Chase Elliott wins the race off of pit road.
Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Brad Keselowski alongside on lap 36. Keselowski gets out in front for the lead from the inside lane. Erik Jones comes up to challenge for the lead but Keselowski holds him off.
The top five are Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar.
Lap 39, after winning the race off of pit road, Chase Elliott has moved up 12 spots since the restart of the race.
Lap 40, Chase Elliott has entered the top 10. Brad Keselowski has a lead of over a seconon on Erik Jones; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 42, Chase Elliott continues to move through the field and is now in seventh place.
Lap 43, Brad Keselowski has increased his lead to over two seconds on Erik Jones; Christopoher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 47, Brad Keselowski has increased his lead to four seconds on Erik Jones; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five with Chase Elliott in sixth.
Todd Gilliland is reporting an ill handling car; adding that he may have broken the tow link when he brused the wall.
Lap 50, Brad Keselowski is running away from the field with a lead of over five seconds on Erik Jones; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 52; driving it like he stole it, Brad Keselowski has pulled out to a lead of over six seconds on Erik Jones; Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 53, Ross Chastain’s car is smoking after he hit the wall to bring out the caution flag. Chastain reports that he lost steering before he hit the wall.
The crew reports that there is too much damage to the car and he is out of the race.
Drivers come down pit road for service with a few staying out on the track. Taking only two tires, Denny Hamlin wins the race off of pit road; teammate Martin Truex Jr comes out second.
Todd Gilliland was caught speeding on pit road.
Severa teams took only two tires, but Erik Jones’ tires in his pits showed some cording.
Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 59 with Josh Berry alongside. Josh Berry gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Austin Cindric.
With the size of the track and the difficulty for spotters being able to see turn one, some of the teams are using two spotters.
Lap 61, Josh Berry has a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Ty Gibbs, William Byron, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 63, Chase Elliott passes Martin Truex Jr for fifth.
Lap 64, Josh Berry has a lead of under half a second on Denny Hamlin; Ty Gibbs, William Byron, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin passes Josh Berry for the lead.
Chase Elliott and Ty Gibbs battle for third.
Lap 71, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second and a half on Josh Berry; Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and William Byron round out the top five.
Ryan Blaney passes William Byron for fifth.
Lap 73, Austin Cindric is the first of the drivers who will need to short pit stage two to come down pit road.
Lap 75, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over three second on Josh Berry; Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five. Ty Gibbs comes down pit road for service.
Chase Elliott passes Josh Berry for second.
Josh Berry comes down pit road.
Lap 78, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Brad Keselowski.
Lap 83, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over five seconds on Chase Elliott; Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Todd Gilliland and Carson Hocevar make contact but the track stays green.
Just five laps remain in stage two as more drivers come down pit road to short pit the end of the stage. Denny Hamlin has a near four second lead on Chase Elliott; Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin wins stage two for his first ever Pocono stage win.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Brad Keselowski
William Byron
Erik Jones
Kyle Larson
Alex Bowman
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Drivers come down pit road for service with Tyler Reddick winning the race off of pit road.
Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin make contact coming off of pit road.
Staying out on the track, Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 100 with Josh Berry alongside. Drivers spread out three and four wide going into turn one. Chris Buescher is the leader.
The top five are Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Larson, and Josh Berry.
Lap 102, Brad Keselowski passes Josh Berry for fifth. Chris Buescher has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Ryan Blaney.
Lap 105, Chris Buescher has a near second and a half lead on Ryan Blaney; Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 109, Chris Buescher holds a lead of around a second and a half on Ryan Blaney; Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 111, Josh Berry is the first driver on pit road for service. He overshoots his pit and the crew has to push him back in the box before they can service it.
The caution flag comes out on lap 115 when Todd Gilliland gets into the wall after losing a brake rotor. The crew pushes the car to the garage.
The field comes down pit road for service. Crews hope to pack the fuel cells to get the drivers to the end of the race. Taking only two tires, Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.
Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, and Daniel Suarez were all caught speeding on pit road. It has been 92 races since Chase Elliott has been caught for speeding on pit road. All four of them will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Several of the teams are concerned about having enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside with 40 laps remaining in the race.
The caution flag comes out when Kyle Busch gets hit by Corey LaJoie and sent Busch spinning and through the grass. When Busch hit the apron of the track, it sent him back up the track where he made contact with other drivers. Ryan Preece, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, and Carson Hocevar were also involved. Conversation on the radio between LaJoie and his crew showed intent when the crew chief said that Busch got what he deserved.
Out of the care center, Kyle Busch did not speak on the on track incident but instead thanked the fans and sponsors.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with 34 laps remaining in the race with Denny Hamlinh alongside. Blaney holds on to the lead with Alex Bowman in second; Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and William Byron round out eh top five.
The seventh caution flag comes out for a crash involving John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, and Zane Smith during a three wide battle.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Alex Bowman alongside with 29 laps remaining in the race. Blaney edges out for the lead. Ty Gibbs’ car is smoking with a possible blown engine.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and William Byron.
The caution flag comes out with 28 laps to go for fluid on the track after Ty Gibbs’ engine blows. The 54 car left a great deal of fluid on the track.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with 23 laps to go with Alex Bowman alongside. Drivers get three and four wide with Ryan Blaney out in front.
Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin battle for second.
Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr make it a three way battle for fifth.
Twenty to go! Ryan Blaney leads the race with Alex Bowman in second; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
With 18 laps to go, Ryan Blaney has a half second lead on Alex Bowman; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Michael McDowell is the only driver on the track not on the lead lap with a dozen cars out of the race.
Fifteen to go, Ryan Blaney has increased his lead to a second on Alex Bowman; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five. There are battle for position all through the field.
Eleven to go, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a near second and a half lead on Alex Bowman; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Eight to go, Ryan Blaney’s lead is now at two seconds over Alex Bowman.
Seven to go, Denny Hamlin passes Alex Bowman for second; Ryan Blaney is over two seconds out in front.
Daniel Hemric limps back to pit road after getting into the wall.
Five to go, Denny Hamlin is slowly closing the gap on lead Ryan Blaney…but is there enough time????
Ryan Blaney takes the white flag with a lead just under two seconds.
Ryan Blaney wins the race! It is a sweep for Ford at Pocono this weekend.
The unofficial results of the Great American Getaway 400:
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
Alex Bowman
William Byron
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Brad Keselowski
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Erik Jones
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Suarez
Carson Hocevar
Austin Cindric
Corey LaJoie
Josh Berry
AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley
Austin Dillon
Michael McDowell
Daniel Hemric
Cody Ware
Ty Gibbs
John Hunter Nemechek
Zane Smith
Ryan Preece
Harrison Burton
Kyle Busch
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Todd Gilliland
JJ Yeley
Ross Chastain
Noah Gragson