Sunday’s day of NASCAR racing at Pocono saw the drivers on track racing against the sunset during their longest green flag run of the day.
Denny Hamlin, with the help of a great call from his crew chief, Chris Gabehart, went on to take advantage.
The 11 team took two right-side tires during its final pit stop to keep Hamlin away from eventual second-place finisher Kevin Harvick.
The victory is Hamlin’s fourth win of the season, which is a series best that will extend his lead in the playoff grid.
While the 11 team has been no stranger to victory lane this season, defending champion and JGR teammate Kyle Busch was left again with a strong car that couldn’t find victory lane.
During a cycle of green flag pit stops, Busch was taken out by Ryan Blaney thanks to the hindrance of a lapped car.
.@Blaney came in hot, but there was no room to avoid @KyleBusch. pic.twitter.com/0y1flRaG2K
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 29, 2020
With 11 races remaining in the regular season, Busch has accrued the most points of drivers without a win.
Erik Jones earned his fourth top five of 2020 a fifth top five at Pocono in eight starts. Behind him was Aric Almirola, who managed his fourth straight top five – the best run of his career.
Matt DiBenedetto showed again that the No. 21 car isn’t holding him back at all, finishing in front of all three Team Penske cars in P6.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return to the track at the Brickyard next Sunday in a companion weekend with IndyCar.
NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 2 Results
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Erik Jones
4. Chase Elliott
5. Aric Almirola
6. Matt DiBenedetto
7. William Byron
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Alex Bowman
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Matt Kenseth
13. Kurt Busch
14. Austin Dillon
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
16. Jimmie Johnson
17. Cole Custer
18. Ryan Newman
19. John Hunter Nemechek
20. Bubba Wallace
21. Corey LaJoie
22. Ryan Blaney
23. Ty Dillon
24. Joey Logano
25. Ryan Preece
26. Daniel Suarez
27. Brennan Poole
28. J.J. Yeley
29. Timmy Hill
30. James Davison
31. Quin Houff
32. Garrett Smithley
33. Joey Gase
34. Josh Bilicki
35. Tyler Reddick
36. Chris Buescher
37. B.J. McLeod
38. Kyle Busch
39. Christopher Bell
40. Michael McDowell
