LONG POND, Pa. – Here's what you need to know from Monday's Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway:
WINNER: Rookie Chris Buescher, 23, stole the Pennsylvania 400 on Monday after a curtain of fog enveloped Pocono Raceway on Lap 132 of a scheduled 160. The race had been postponed from Sunday because of rain. Buescher made his final tank of fuel last from Lap 107, gambling on staying out as others pitted to hold the lead - his first in his Sprint Cup career - in case surrounding rain hit. A different weather oddity worked just as well as NASCAR red-flagged the race with 22 laps remaining. Small Front Row Motorsports had not won in 118 races, since David Ragan at Talladega Superspeedway in 2013. Buescher, a rookie with just 27 Cup starts, won the 2015 Xfinity Series title and was farmed out from Roush Fenway Racing for experience. He began the race 31st in points and therefore not eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup just by winning a race. He began 41 points outside 30th, but the win pulled him withing six points of 30th, leaving him five races to get inside the top 30 to become Chase eligible.
“We're in the hunt. We can definitely handle this now," Buescher said after NASCAR called the race after a red flag of about 80 minutes. "We've been headed in the right direction. We can get into this Chase now. We've had a lot of momentum lately. We just need to get to a point where we're more competitive at the end.”
Buescher is the first defending Xfinity Series champion to win a Cup race since Brad Keselowski in 2011.
“It doesn't even feel real right now. It's a tough way to end the race for a lot people but it's pretty awesome for us."
CREW CHIEF: Buescher won with crew chief Bob Osborne, who used to work on the pit box for Carl Edwards. "My first time here was with Bob Osborne," Edwards said, who won that race in 2005. "He's a pretty sharp cat. He may have schooled us all today. I talked to Bob a little bit this weekend. I don't want to say it's neat to see them win because we want to win, but I'd be happy for them."
Buescher admitted several crew chiefs had the same idea as Osborne. "A lot of guys that were on a similar strategy hit pit road just before we did," Buescher said. "They made the call up on the box to pull it off. This is going to stir up our whole year. Now we have to make sure we're in the top 30 in points. Mother nature can be really nice sometimes or it can be really mean. If that sun would have come out it would have changed our whole day.”
COSTLY: Rookie Chase Elliott washed up the track and into Joey Logano entering Turn 2 on Lap 105, wrecking both cars and adding another ill finish as Elliott attempts to qualify for the Chase as a rookie. Elliott entered the race 11th in the driver standings and therefore provisionally qualified for the 16-driver playoff. Logano was battling for position between Ryan Newman in the high line and Denny Hamlin in the low line before separating and being contacted by Elliott. The Hendrick Motorsports driver had results of 21st, 32nd, 31st, 34th and 15th before finishing 33rd on Monday.
A longer look at that last caution between @joeylogano and @chaseelliott #NASCARonNBCSN https://t.co/jll0pIlpwx
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 1, 2016
GAMBLE: Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, both third-year Cup drivers who are winless at NASCAR’s highest level, but within the Chase for the Sprint Cup qualification boundary before the race, stayed out with the first six cars to gamble on weather with the race eight laps short of halfway. Larson led Dillon for 10 laps before Logano snuck past in the low line as they door-jammed each other through a turn on Lap 81.
Before that caution, here's a longer look at that @joeylogano pass for the lead. #NASCARonNBCSN https://t.co/FBbLGnL4wD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 1, 2016
A caution was issued because of rain on Lap 85 with Logano leading, followed by Dillon, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Logano and the other top five drivers in the running order – Harvick, Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle – remained out to lead during the shower, but most of the other leaders came to pit road for fuel. A Lap 99 caution allowed Logano to pit for fuel and tires but he surrendered the lead. "We got a super-fast car especially in Turn 3," Dillon said during the red flag. "It's been fun racing the 42 (Larson) -- trying to get the lead before halfway. ... There are still things we need to do to get better. The good thing is we've had a fast enough car to win today, and I'm proud of that."
NO BIG DEAL: Harvick finished fourth with crew chief Rodney Childers monitoring from a remote location while serving a penalty for a lug nut violation incurred last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch won at Pocono in June with crew chief Tony Gibson serving the same suspension.
LEAD LOST: Pole-sitter and race leader Martin Truex Jr. crashed in the tunnel turn on a Lap 19 restart when a failing lug nut broke the inner valve stem, deflating the tire. It was the second time the sublime accident happened to his team this season. The field had just pitted for a competition caution. The No. 78 Toyota sustained heavy damage and lumbered around the 2.5-mile track and to the garage. Truex told his Furniture Row Racing crew that he could not turn the car into the corner after the restart. Truex returned but brushed a wall and had a third incident on Lap 99. He finished 38th.
BUSTED: Jeff Gordon was never a factor in his second race replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet, miring himself back in the field after a Lap 50 penalty for speeding on pit road. Later, he struggled when his seat belt came unfastened and had to be rehooked. He finished 27th.
THE FINISHER: Busch became the first driver to complete all laps in the first 21 Cup races when he ran 138 on Monday.
CHECK IT OUT: A competition caution was waved on Lap 15 because heavy rains the previous 24 hours had washed rubber from the track. No reports of weepers – water gurgling from under the racing surface – were reported at the beginning of the race after occurring Friday.
VIOLATIONS: The cars of Aric Almirola and Busch were sent to the rear of the field to begin the race because of inspection violations. Busch had made up 14 spots within 10 laps.
WASTED: Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard led the first practice session of the weekend and qualified third with new crew chief Danny Stockman but suffered an engine problem on a Lap 19 restart, nearly bunched the fielded and finished 35th.
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