For the second time this season, rain washed out a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the track. In June, the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 was moved to Monday because of rain that came through overnight and continued into Sunday. NASCAR said this is the first time a track has had two rain-postponed races in the same season.
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Buescher won on a day when two of the youngest stars of the Sprint Cup Series – Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson – battled side by side for the lead and appeared to have the best pit strategy early in the race.
Rain could threaten today’s race as well.
“We’re going to push this as far as we can”. “It’s 11 years in the making”. Buescher had his first Sprint Cup victory and Front Row Motorsports had its second win.
Racing his not done at Pocono.
Keselowski finished second and Regan Smith placed third. “It’s unfortunate. Your first goal is always to get the race completed in its entirety on the day that was supposed to be held”.
The Pennsylvania 400, delayed because of rain on Sunday, ended today (Monday) 22 laps short of the full distance when dense fog rolled in, obscuring most of the track and raising safety concerns by team spotters and NASCAR officials. “This was our first chance to really take a look mid-season, get the cars exactly as they were on the race track, take them from here and then perform the analysis”. “More than likely, though, this may be his one moment of glory”.
Buescher was out of sequence in pit strategy because he cut down a left-rear while trying to avoid an accident. He compounded matters by speeding off pit road and was assessed a pass-through penalty and fell one lap down. “I tried not to get my hopes up because I know how these things can play out. And I think he was excited, but he’s kind of the humble, quiet, excited kind of guy”.
When Elliott and Joey Logano were involved in an accident in Turn 2 on lap 106, Buescher was the “lucky dog” and got his lap back.
“We’re going to keep working to make sure that we find more speed and we’re able to win races on days where the track is dry and clear all the way to the checkered flag”.
So it would make a lot of sense for Roush and Ford to hedge their bets with their best shot to make the Chase and send additional help to Buescher, if that’s even remotely possible.
It turned out to be the right decision.
Larson and Dillon resumed their race for the lead shortly before the fog came, but both faded and set the stage for Buescher. With threats of severe weather and no lifting of the fog, NASCAR chose to end the race with just over 21 laps remaining. He stayed out when others pitted and was first when the cars were parked under Red Flag when fog became dangerously thick.
“For us, it was the ideal storm”, Igdalsky said. “It worked out really well. We just lost the track and got up against the clock to get everything done”.
After that comes the Chase itself, which a year ago featured intentional crashing, apparent race manipulation and even a little bit of authentic drama in motorsport’s most manufactured championship format. That would put the start into the late afternoon, and the Pocono Raceway is not equipped with lights.
PENNSYLVANIA 400Site: Long Pond, Pennsylvania Schedule: Monday, race, 1:30 p.m., NBCSN.
In earning a win and pulling within six points of 30th place in the standings, Buescher undoubtedly caused great consternation for several winless counterparts attempting to reach NASCAR’s 16-driver playoff via their position in the standings.
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Buescher’s Pocono victory was only the fourth for a auto carrying the No. 34 in Sprint Cup Series history.
