A flurry of late race cautions helped Ryan Blaney remove any doubt about his fuel and earn his second NASCAR Cup win of the 2024 season at Pocono on Sunday.
Blaney was among a group of drivers to pit before the break between Stages 2 and 3, which left him close on fuel when he made his final stop under caution - brought out when Todd Gilliland appeared to blow a brake rotor and hit the wall in Turn 1 - on lap 117 of 160.
The Team Penske Ford came off pit road second after the stop but inherited the lead when Kyle Larson (Hendrick Chevrolet) was among four drivers penalised for speeding.
Three cautions in the final 40 laps helped Blaney save plenty of fuel and he held off a late charge by Stage 2 winner Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Toyota) by 1.312 seconds to win at the scene of his first Cup victory in 2017.
"Things are just kind of falling into place for us, I feel like we have gotten to a great place on speed in the last two months," Blaney said after Penske's fourth win from the last seven races.
"I feel like we honestly had a couple races slip away from us, which I thought we had a good shot at winning.
"It was nice to stick to the plan today and our plan was to have track position at the end. I knew our car was fast enough."
Asked if this was the best his team has ever been, Blaney added: "I think we are in a better spot at this time this year than where we were last year at this point. I feel like our speed is better."
Last week’s Chicago race winner Alex Bowman (Hendrick) finished third, after losing out to Hamlin with seven laps to go. His team-mate William Byron was fourth and Joey Logano (Penske) rounded out the top five.
Completing the top 10 were Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Stage 1 winner Martin Truex Jr., overall points leader Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace.
With just five races remaining before the playoffs, Ross Chastain's wait for a first win of the season continues. The 2022 Cup runner-up slammed into the Turn 3 wall on lap 53, which did serious damage to his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and knocked him out of the race.
Kyle Busch, the 2015 Cup champion, has also yet to win this year, and endured misfortune when he was turned around by Corey LaJoie turned Kyle Busch entering Turn 1.
Busch was sent up the track and into Ricky Stenhouse Jr, which triggered a multi-car crash that also took Harrison Burton and Ryan Preece out of the race.
NASCAR Cup Pocono Race Results
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | PITS | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 160 |
3:13'58.911 |
6 | 40 | ||
| 2 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 160 |
+1.312 3:14'00.223 |
1.312 | 7 | 54 | |
| 3 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+4.057 3:14'02.968 |
2.745 | 7 | 43 | |
| 4 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+6.160 3:14'05.071 |
2.103 | 7 | 47 | |
| 5 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 160 |
+6.559 3:14'05.470 |
0.399 | 7 | 38 | |
| 6 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 160 |
+6.865 3:14'05.776 |
0.306 | 7 | 40 | |
| 7 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 160 |
+7.604 3:14'06.515 |
0.739 | 7 | 41 | |
| 8 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 160 |
+8.512 3:14'07.423 |
0.908 | 7 | 39 | |
| 9 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+9.144 3:14'08.055 |
0.632 | 8 | 43 | |
| 10 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 160 |
+12.089 3:14'11.000 |
2.945 | 7 | 27 | |
| 11 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 160 |
+12.591 3:14'11.502 |
0.502 | 7 | 26 | |
| 12 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 160 |
+12.967 3:14'11.878 |
0.376 | 7 | 30 | |
| 13 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+15.901 3:14'14.812 |
2.934 | 9 | 29 | |
| 14 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 160 |
+16.636 3:14'15.547 |
0.735 | 7 | 30 | |
| 15 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 160 |
+17.621 3:14'16.532 |
0.985 | 7 | 22 | |
| 16 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+18.095 3:14'17.006 |
0.474 | 9 | 21 | |
| 17 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+19.701 3:14'18.612 |
1.606 | 9 | 20 | |
| 18 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 160 |
+20.368 3:14'19.279 |
0.667 | 6 | 19 | |
| 19 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+21.110 3:14'20.021 |
0.742 | 9 | 18 | |
| 20 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 160 |
+21.415 3:14'20.326 |
0.305 | 9 | 17 | |
| 21 | A. AllmendingerKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+23.784 3:14'22.695 |
2.369 | 9 | ||
| 22 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 160 |
+23.987 3:14'22.898 |
0.203 | 9 | 15 | |
| 23 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 160 |
+26.992 3:14'25.903 |
3.005 | 13 | 14 | |
| 24 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 158 |
+2 Laps 3:14'28.191 |
2 Laps | 9 | 13 | |
| 25 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 153 |
+7 Laps 3:09'27.552 |
5 Laps | 11 | 12 | |
| 26 | C. WareRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 134 |
+26 Laps 3:11'24.199 |
19 Laps | 11 | 11 | |
| 27 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 132 |
+28 Laps 2:47'49.042 |
2 Laps | 8 | 10 | |
| 28 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 126 |
+34 Laps 2:31'22.604 |
6 Laps | 7 | 9 | |
| 29 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 126 |
+34 Laps 2:31'22.705 |
0.101 | 7 | 8 | |
| 30 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 121 |
+39 Laps 2:20'52.483 |
5 Laps | 12 | 7 | |
| 31 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 121 |
+39 Laps 2:22'01.601 |
1'09.118 | 15 | 6 | |
| 32 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 120 |
+40 Laps 2:18'43.815 |
1 Lap | 9 | 5 | |
| 33 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 120 |
+40 Laps 2:18'44.142 |
0.327 | 6 | 4 | |
| 34 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 115 |
+45 Laps 2:08'51.395 |
5 Laps | 7 | 3 | |
| 35 | J. YeleyNY RACING TEAM | 44 | Chevrolet | 112 |
+48 Laps 2:06'44.221 |
3 Laps | 7 | ||
| 36 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 53 |
+107 Laps 59'50.384 |
59 Laps | 7 | 1 | |
| 37 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 13 |
+147 Laps 12'07.171 |
40 Laps | 2 | 1 |
