Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):
● Kevin Harvick started 11th, finished fourth and collected seven bonus points.
● Harvick dropped two spots early on, but was back up to 11th by the eighth lap.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion was reported to be tight by Harvick on lap 10.
● Harvick pitted on lap 20 for four tires only. He could not take fuel due to the competition caution coming out.
● On lap 22, Harvick pitted for fuel only.
● Harvick restarted ninth and was up to sixth by lap 24.
● On lap 37, Harvick reported the car was still too tight.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):
● Harvick started 10th, finished 15th.
● On lap 52, he pitted for four tires and fuel.
● Harvick was third on lap 93, 7.7 seconds behind leader Kyle Busch.
● On lap 94, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 101-160):
● Harvick started second and finished 22nd.
● On lap 113, Harvick said his car was tight. He was in second place.
● The No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion pitted for two tires and fuel on lap 124 while in second-place behind Busch. Unfortunately, he was penalized with a drive-through penalty for having an uncontrolled tire.
● Things became worse as Harvick lost power steering in his car, and he finished a disappointing 22nd.
Notes:
● Kyle Busch won the Pocono 400 to score his 55th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season and his third at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 2.224 seconds.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 28 laps.
● Twenty-one of the 37 drivers in the Pocono 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Busch leaves Pocono as the sole championship leader with a four-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano. The duo came into the Pocono 400 tied atop the championship standings.
● Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points.
● This is only the third time Harvick has finished outside the top-10 at Pocono since joining SHR in 2014.
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 9 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
TSC PR
