Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

NASCAR Pocono: Hamlin beats Harvick in second Cup Series race of the weekend

Denny Hamlin scored his fourth win of the year in a rain-delayed second NASCAR Cup race of the weekend at Pocono, beating Kevin Harvick by over three seconds

In a reverse of Saturday's race won by Harvick, the Stewart-Haas Ford driver was chasing after Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the closing stages of the 140-lap race, but couldn't close the gap to the Daytona 500 winner and finished 3.068s behind.

The race had started with a range of strategies, with some drivers pitting early while others waiting until after lap 50 before coming onto pit road for the first time. But by the second half of the final stage, the drivers who had come in latest seemed to have the advantage.

Hamlin had narrowly made the top 10 at the end of the second stage, beating Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliot by just 0.002s, and slowly climbed his way up through the order in the final stage.

As others came into the pits for their final stops, Hamlin stayed out and extended his gap over Harvick and the rest of the field.

With 20 laps to go before the chequered flag, Hamlin finally came into the pits, managing to only lose one position in the process.

Martin Truex Jr, who had been pitting late throughout the race, had a 10-second lead when Hamlin returned to the track, but wasn't able to make it to the chequered flag and had to pit just five laps later.

Hamlin was handed a lead he would hold to the end for his sixth career victory at Pocono, with Harvick following him home despite having concerns about vibrations.

Brad Keslowski was forced to pit four laps before the finish, which promoted Hamlin's team-mate Erik Jones to third, just ahead of top Chevrolet runner Elliot and Harvick's team-mate Aric Almirola.

Rain early in the race brought a long delay after just a handful of laps. Chip Ganassi Racing's Kurt Busch led early on ahead of Talladega winner Ryan Blaney.

The pair finished the opening stage first and second, before Busch fell backwards in the second stage.

Blaney stayed towards the front of the field but ran into trouble shortly after coming into the pits.

He tried to make a move up the inside of defending Cup champion Kyle Busch, tapping the rear of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as they passed a lapped car. Busch was sent into a spin, hitting the wall and severely damaging the front of his Camry.

Blaney's race was further hindered when Alex Bowman interfered with his pit stop and he fell further back.

Almost as soon as racing resumed the caution was thrown again when Ryan Preece span into the wall, almost collecting Bubba Wallace.

Both drivers were able to continue, with Wallace spending much of the final stage towards the front of the field despite being on an alternate strategy to most around him.

However, he fell backwards in the closing stages of the race and finished 20th.

Matt DiBenedetto spent most of the race running towards the front of the field, taking the chequered flag sixth ahead of William Byron and Clint Bowyer, who were leaning on one another as they crossed the finish line in the battle for seventh.

Bowman and Truex completed the top 10.

Race results - 140 laps

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2h50m54.s
2 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3.068s
3 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 16.756s
4 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.298s
5 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 25.305s
6 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 25.656s
7 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.621s
8 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 28.385s
9 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.388s
10 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.499s
11 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 29.551s
12 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 32.658s
13 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 34.658s
14 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 45.599s
15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.996s
16 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.622s
17 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 53.460s
18 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1 Lap
19 John Hunter Nemechek Front Row Motorsports Ford 1 Lap
20 Darrell Wallace Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Lap
21 Corey LaJoie Go FAS Racing Ford 1 Lap
22 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 1 Lap
23 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
24 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1 Lap
25 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
26 Daniel Suarez Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 1 Lap
27 Brennan Poole Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 2 Laps
28 J.J. Yeley Rick Ware Racing Ford 2 Laps
29 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Toyota 3 Laps
30 James Davison Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 4 Laps
31 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 4 Laps
32 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 4 Laps
33 Joey Gase Petty Ware Racing Ford 4 Laps
34 Josh Bilicki Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 4 Laps
35 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5 Laps
36 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 5 Laps
37 B.J. McLeod BJ McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 7 Laps
38 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Accident
39 Christopher Bell Leavine Family Racing Toyota Accident
40 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford Accident


Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Pocono NASCAR: Cup Series leader Harvick ends Pocono drought
Next article Obituary: Pocono Raceway co-founder Dr. Rose Mattioli - 1927-2020

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe