MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
Pocono 400
Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney
Age: 23
Team: No. 21 – Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
Owner: Wood Brothers Racing
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – "I can’t believe it. It's a hard one to process. First, we had to pass Kyle (Busch), he was older tires and he was struggling on older tires. Then, we had to hold Kevin (Harvick) off. He was really fast all day. I just didn't want to make a mistake - that would have been the worst thing to do. I have to thank him for racing me really clean. It's the Wood Brothers' 99th win and that's really special and it was a lot of fun."
-- Ryan Blaney
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· Ryan Blaney won the 36th annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Pocono 400 Sunday at Pocono Raceway. It is Blaney’s first win in 68 career MENCS races. It was his fifth top-10 finish in 14 races this year. In the process, he became the 10th different winner this year and the ninth driver to punch his ticket into the 2017 MENCS playoffs, which commences in Chicago on September 17 and culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19.
· It marked the third time in 2017 that a driver has notched his first career MENCS victory, as Blaney joins Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Talladega) and Austin Dillon (Charlotte).
· It is Blaney’s second top-10 finish in three races at Pocono Raceway.
· Prior to today, Blaney’s best MENCS showing was a second-place finish in the 2017 Daytona 500.
· Blaney becomes the 19th driver to win a race for Wood Brothers Racing, an organization that now has compiled 99 MENCS victories. It is their first win since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500.
· Kevin Harvick (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 14 races this year, five of which have been in the top-5. It marked his 14th top-10 and ninth top-5 in 33 career starts at Pocono, and tied a career-best at the track which he had achieved twice previously.
· Rookie Erik Jones finished third in his first career MENCS race at Pocono Raceway. It was his best finish in 17 career starts, with his previous best being a seventh-place showing two weeks ago at Charlotte.
· For 2017, NASCAR has introduced a new stage format in all three national series where each race is segmented into three stages. In addition to the points awarded at the end of a race (Final Stage), points are also awarded to the top-10 finishers of the first two stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2).
· Kyle Busch won Stage 1 of Sunday’s race, while Kyle Larson captured Stage 2.
· Martin Truex Jr. (584) leads the 2017 point standings by one point over Kyle Larson (583). They are followed by Kevin Harvick (480).
· Nine drivers currently have qualified for the 16-driver field of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The list consists of Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney, each of whom has won at least one race this season. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
· Ryan Blaney has started twice in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and has a best finish of 17th in 2015.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
· Brad Keselowski won the 2nd annual Pocono Green 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Pocono Raceway on Saturday. It is Keselowski’s 35th victory in 245 career XFINITY Series races. It is his first win and fifth top-10 finish in as many XFINITY Series races this year.
· Keselowski also captured Stage 1 and 2 of the race.
· Justin Allgaier (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 12 XFINITY races this year. It was the fourth time this year he had a top-5 showing.
· Kyle Larson (third) posted his seventh top-10 finish in as many XFINITY races this year. It marked his sixth time in the top-5.
· Cole Custer (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.
· With one win apiece this year, Justin Allgaier and Ryan Reed have clinched spots in the 12-driver playoff field in the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series Playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 300 XFINITY Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 18.
· Justin Allgaier (409) leads the XFINITY Series points standings by one point over Elliott Sadler (408). They are followed by rookie William Byron (347).
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
· Christopher Bell won the 21st annual winstaronlinegaming.com 400 Camping World Truck Series race Friday evening at Texas Motor Speedway. It marked his fourth victory in 37 career Truck Series starts.
· It was Bell’s second victory and sixth top-10 finish in seven races this year. He also won Stage 2 of the race.
· Johnny Sauter took Stage 1 of the race.
· Rookie Chase Briscoe (second) posted his third top-10 finish of 2017.
· Rookie Grant Enfinger was third as he finished in the top-10 for the fourth time in seven races this year.
· Christopher Bell (2 wins), rookie Kaz Grala (1 win) and Johnny Sauter (1 win) all have qualified for the 8-driver field in the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs. The Playoffs culminate with the Ford EcoBoost 200 Camping World Truck Series championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, November 17.
· Johnny Sauter (338) leads the points standings by 40 points over Christopher Bell (298).
