bigbadbrother
06-08-2014, 08:44 PM
Tom Jensen
Dale Earnhardt Jr. triumphed through a long afternoon of miscues and mayhem to win Sunday's Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway and lock himself into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Earnhardt passed Brad Keselowski with five laps to go to win his second race of the season, followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.
Denny Hamlin started from the pole in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but it was the third-qualifier Keselowski who went into the lead on the opening lap.
Once in clean air Keselowski dominated the first half of the race, leading the first 56 laps until he had to pit under green for regularly scheduled service.
Following a caution for debris on Lap 73, Stewart jumped into the lead on the restart, pulling his SHR teammates Harvick and Kurt Busch with him, as Keselowski fell to fourth.
On the next restart on Lap 84, it was Busch who briefly put his SHR Chevrolet out front over Stewart and Harvick. All told, Keselowski led 70 of the first 80 laps, but once he fell out of the lead, struggled to get back up front.
Hamlin took the lead on Lap 96, just after the three SHR drivers pitted along with Team Penske teammates Keselowski and Joey Logano. But Hamlin had to come in a couple of laps later, putting Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the point for the first time all day.
The lead continued to shuffle while green-flag stops continued, with rookie Kyle Larson leading for the first time all season.
Finally, when all the stops had cycled through, Stewart has out front on Lap 113.
On Lap 118, the yellow waved for fluid on the track, with some drivers pitting and others opting to stay out. Stewart was too fast in four different sections on pit road, which cost him the lead and dropped him from contention.
Under caution, Keselowski was one of 12 drivers that stayed out and reassumed the lead over Earnhardt and Clint Bowyer.
The green came out on Lap 123, and six laps later, Keselowski pitted, surrendering the lead to Earnhardt, who led for three laps before pitting himself.
On Lap 135, Keselowski passed Earnhardt and Johnson to move into sixth place, with the five cars ahead of him all needing to pit again.
Then Danica Patrick bounced off the wall, bringing out a caution on Lap 138. Keselowski held the lead on the restart, but then Kasey Kahne crashed hard with the Roush Fenway Fords of Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle suffering damage as well. Kahne was driven up the exit of Turn 1 and into the wall by Kyle Busch.
The race restarted with 12 laps to go, and Keselowski again made a perfect restart to drive to the lead. But he got a piece of debris on his grille, which sent the temperature of his engine soaring.
Earnhardt caught Keselowski and passed him with five laps to go and that was it.
Pos Driver Car # Make Started Laps Led Points Driver Rating
1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 8 160 11 47 120.9
2 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 3 160 95 44 143.3
3 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 2 160 5 42 118.4
4 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 1 160 4 41 107.2
5 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 14 160 7 40 96.0
6 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 20 160 5 39 97.8
7 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 15 160 0 37 84.9
8 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 5 160 2 37 114.8
9 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 17 160 0 35 85.9
10 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 18 160 0 34 81.5
11 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 19 160 0 33 96.8
12 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 6 160 0 32 86.6
13 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 12 160 24 32 105.2
14 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 4 160 0 30 110.4
15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 28 160 0 29 68.0
16 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 13 160 0 28 73.9
17 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 11 160 0 27 73.7
18 David Ragan 34 Ford 32 160 0 26 55.8
19 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 9 160 1 26 81.4
20 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 30 160 0 24 58.6
21 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 21 160 0 23 64.4
22 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 22 160 0 22 66.2
23 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 25 160 0 21 60.0
24 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 29 160 0 20 57.5
25 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 26 160 0 19 52.6
26 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 23 160 0 18 60.9
27 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 24 160 6 18 65.0
28 David Gilliland 38 Ford 35 160 0 16 50.2
29 Travis Kvapil 32 Ford 33 160 0 15 44.2
30 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 40 159 0 14 41.2
31 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 34 159 0 13 41.4
32 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 41 159 0 12 33.5
33 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 31 158 0 0 41.6
34 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 36 158 0 10 40.1
35 Josh Wise 98 Ford 37 158 0 9 35.3
36 Timmy Hill 66 Toyota 39 158 0 8 27.8
37 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 16 158 0 7 55.9
38 J.J. Yeley 44 Chevrolet 38 157 0 0 32.0
39 Alex Kennedy 33 Chevrolet 42 156 0 5 28.4
40 Joey Logano 22 Ford 7 150 0 4 80.8
41 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 10 143 0 3 73.1
42 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 27 142 0 2 67.7
43 Dave Blaney 77 Ford 43 142 0 1 23.9
2014 Pocono 400 Stats
Scheduled Laps: 160
Total Laps: 160
Distance: 400.0 miles
Lead Changes: 30
Dale Earnhardt Jr. triumphed through a long afternoon of miscues and mayhem to win Sunday's Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway and lock himself into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Earnhardt passed Brad Keselowski with five laps to go to win his second race of the season, followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.
Denny Hamlin started from the pole in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but it was the third-qualifier Keselowski who went into the lead on the opening lap.
Once in clean air Keselowski dominated the first half of the race, leading the first 56 laps until he had to pit under green for regularly scheduled service.
Following a caution for debris on Lap 73, Stewart jumped into the lead on the restart, pulling his SHR teammates Harvick and Kurt Busch with him, as Keselowski fell to fourth.
On the next restart on Lap 84, it was Busch who briefly put his SHR Chevrolet out front over Stewart and Harvick. All told, Keselowski led 70 of the first 80 laps, but once he fell out of the lead, struggled to get back up front.
Hamlin took the lead on Lap 96, just after the three SHR drivers pitted along with Team Penske teammates Keselowski and Joey Logano. But Hamlin had to come in a couple of laps later, putting Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the point for the first time all day.
The lead continued to shuffle while green-flag stops continued, with rookie Kyle Larson leading for the first time all season.
Finally, when all the stops had cycled through, Stewart has out front on Lap 113.
On Lap 118, the yellow waved for fluid on the track, with some drivers pitting and others opting to stay out. Stewart was too fast in four different sections on pit road, which cost him the lead and dropped him from contention.
Under caution, Keselowski was one of 12 drivers that stayed out and reassumed the lead over Earnhardt and Clint Bowyer.
The green came out on Lap 123, and six laps later, Keselowski pitted, surrendering the lead to Earnhardt, who led for three laps before pitting himself.
On Lap 135, Keselowski passed Earnhardt and Johnson to move into sixth place, with the five cars ahead of him all needing to pit again.
Then Danica Patrick bounced off the wall, bringing out a caution on Lap 138. Keselowski held the lead on the restart, but then Kasey Kahne crashed hard with the Roush Fenway Fords of Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle suffering damage as well. Kahne was driven up the exit of Turn 1 and into the wall by Kyle Busch.
The race restarted with 12 laps to go, and Keselowski again made a perfect restart to drive to the lead. But he got a piece of debris on his grille, which sent the temperature of his engine soaring.
Earnhardt caught Keselowski and passed him with five laps to go and that was it.
Pos Driver Car # Make Started Laps Led Points Driver Rating
1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 8 160 11 47 120.9
2 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 3 160 95 44 143.3
3 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 2 160 5 42 118.4
4 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 1 160 4 41 107.2
5 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 14 160 7 40 96.0
6 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 20 160 5 39 97.8
7 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 15 160 0 37 84.9
8 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 5 160 2 37 114.8
9 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 17 160 0 35 85.9
10 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 18 160 0 34 81.5
11 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 19 160 0 33 96.8
12 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 6 160 0 32 86.6
13 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 12 160 24 32 105.2
14 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 4 160 0 30 110.4
15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 28 160 0 29 68.0
16 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 13 160 0 28 73.9
17 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 11 160 0 27 73.7
18 David Ragan 34 Ford 32 160 0 26 55.8
19 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 9 160 1 26 81.4
20 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 30 160 0 24 58.6
21 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 21 160 0 23 64.4
22 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 22 160 0 22 66.2
23 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 25 160 0 21 60.0
24 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 29 160 0 20 57.5
25 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 26 160 0 19 52.6
26 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 23 160 0 18 60.9
27 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 24 160 6 18 65.0
28 David Gilliland 38 Ford 35 160 0 16 50.2
29 Travis Kvapil 32 Ford 33 160 0 15 44.2
30 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 40 159 0 14 41.2
31 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 34 159 0 13 41.4
32 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 41 159 0 12 33.5
33 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 31 158 0 0 41.6
34 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 36 158 0 10 40.1
35 Josh Wise 98 Ford 37 158 0 9 35.3
36 Timmy Hill 66 Toyota 39 158 0 8 27.8
37 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 16 158 0 7 55.9
38 J.J. Yeley 44 Chevrolet 38 157 0 0 32.0
39 Alex Kennedy 33 Chevrolet 42 156 0 5 28.4
40 Joey Logano 22 Ford 7 150 0 4 80.8
41 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 10 143 0 3 73.1
42 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 27 142 0 2 67.7
43 Dave Blaney 77 Ford 43 142 0 1 23.9
2014 Pocono 400 Stats
Scheduled Laps: 160
Total Laps: 160
Distance: 400.0 miles
Lead Changes: 30