NASCAR Sprint Cup Pocono: Buescher takes surprise maiden victory

The Front Row Motorsports driver was in the lead with 129 of 160 laps completed when the yellow flag was shown, benefiting from being on a different pitstop strategy to the leaders.

The race had been postponed from its original Sunday start time due to wet weather making the track unusable, and rescheduled for Monday but still started an hour late with similar weather conditions.

It was halted due to the weather conditions again but it was in fact fog that eventually ended the race, rather than rainfall.

Drops of rain had been spotted throughout the race earlier on, and there were rumours that the running was going to be stopped at the midway point, leading to a series of frantic pitstops preparing for the 80-lap mark.

Nevertheless, the race ran past the midway point and until 138 laps were complete, when a caution turned into the lengthy red-flag period.

Having started 22nd, reigning Xfinity Series champion Buescher went off sequence early after cutting a tyre.

But that put him in prime position when the race was stopped, having just taken the lead as those ahead of him completed their next pitstops.

Buescher's previous-best Cup result was 14th at Indianapolis last weekend, and he is now 31st in the standings, six points adrift of the 30th he would require to qualify for the Chase.

Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson had been fighting for the lead before stopping and ultimately finished second and sixth.

Regan Smith wound up third ahead of Kevin Harvick, while Tony Stewart completed the top-five in another strong run.

Joey Logano looked in the mix until a crash with Chase Elliott took him out of contention, while polesitter Martin Truex Jr tagged a wall early.

Jeff Gordon ran as high as seventh until a seatbelt malfunction dropped him down the order, in what could be his last Cup race standing in for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

RESULTS - 138 LAPS:

PROVISIONAL CHASE FIELD

On wins: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart

On points: Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson