Bowman Snaps Larson's String

Alex Bowman sweeps by the S/F line

(LONG POND, PA - JUNE 26, 2021) Alex Bowman had luck on his side Saturday in the Pocono Organics 325 NASCAR Cup Series race in front of a packed grandstand. Bowman put an exclamation point on his new two-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports by winning his third race of the 2021 season. Kyle Larson's string of wins in Cup races got snapped when his left-front tire went flat on the last lap of Saturday's half of the weekend double-header event.

Starting in 13th place, Bowman steadily ran in the top of the field, leading once until a final caution on lap 109 had him pick the outside line and take the lead from Kyle (Busch and Larson), leading until Larson retook the lead on lap 127. Larson looked set for a fifth Cup race victory in a row until the last lap when his left front tire went flat and the car slammed into the outside wall. Larson and Bowman had opened a lead of over a second on Kyle Busch and Bowman went on to a victory of 0.683 second ahead of Kyle Busch, with another Hendrick car driven by William Byron in third place.

 "Yeah, I hate to win one that way, but hell; yeah, I'll take it," Bowman said after the win. "Top to bottom, everybody is putting race cars on the race track. Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys did a really good job. We didn't run that good all day, so I'm kind of in shock. I don't know what to say to you guys."

Kyle Larson, who held on to finish ninth, said: "I don't know, a little bit laughable just because I can't believe it."

Second-place finisher Kyle Busch needed "Just more front turn. Our car's kind of die tight in traffic, and just wasn't able to turn as well as I needed too late in the going in order to get a run on them.

"It was just impossible to pass. We were a tick – just a little bit – slower than (Kyle) Larson and we were able to hold him off. The 48 (Alex Bowman) held him off forever and finally the 5 (Kyle Larson) got by and got away by 20 lengths or so."

Sunday's race starting lineup will invert the top 20 finishers from Saturday, with Larson falling to the rear in a backup car.

Unofficial Results, 40th Annual Pocono Organics CBD 325, June 26, 2021, Pocono Raceway, 2.5 - Mile Paved

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 13, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 130, , 8, 2, 16, 5, 43, Running
2) 5, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Mini's Toyota, 130, 1, 9, 3, 30, 1, 47, Running
3) 2, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Color of the Year Chevrolet, 130, 2, 4, 1, 13, , 50, Running
4) 10, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 130, 6, 6, 1, 11, , 43, Running
5) 27, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford, 130, , 5, , , , 38, Running
6) 8, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 130, 7, 1, 2, 12, 1, 45, Running
7) 4, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 130, 4, 3, 1, 18, , 45, Running
8) 3, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 130, 5, , , , , 35, Running
9) 1, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 130, 3, 2, 3, 15, , 45, Running
10) 18, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Detroit Engines Ford, 130, , 10, , , , 28, Running
11) 16, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Chevrolet, 130, 10, , , , , 27, Running
12) 29, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 14, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 130, 8, , , , , 27, Running
14) 20, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Root Insurance Toyota, 130, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 7, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Scott Brand Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 11, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 130, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 9, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 130, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 15, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 STANLEY Toyota, 130, , 7, , , , 23, Running
19) 17, Michael McDowell, No. 34 ARRMA Ford, 130, , , 1, 5, , 18, Running
20) 25, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Acronis Ford, 130, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 12, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Workrise Chevrolet, 130, 9, , , , , 18, Running
22) 22, Erik Jones, No. 43 Medallion Bank Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 31, * Ryan Preece, No. 37 Thomas'/Kroger Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 28, Chase Briscoe #, No. 14 HighPoint.com/Webex by Cisco Ford, 130, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 35, Cody Ware(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 0, Running
26) 24, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 38 Death Wish Coffee Ford, 130, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 34, Justin Haley(i), No. 77 Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 0, Running
28) 36, James Davison, No. 15 Go FMX Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 30, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 53 RichMar Florists Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 32, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 American Brain Tumor Association Ford, 130, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 37, Quin Houff, No. 00 Mane 'n Tail/Spirit Unlimited Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 21, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 129, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 6, Ross Chastain, No. 42 McDonald's Chevrolet, 129, , , 1, 10, , 4, Running
34) 33, Josh Bilicki, No. 52 Jacob Companies Ford, 128, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 38, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 M&M Mechanical Toyota, 126, , , , , , 0, Running
36) 23, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Nations Guard Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 1, Running
37) 19, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford, 96, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 26, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 13, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 30 Mins, 38 Secs.
Race Length: 130 Laps, 325. Miles
Average Speed: 129.453 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.683 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 18, 24, 5, 22, 4, 11, 1, 99, 3, 8
Stage 2 Top 10: 1, 5, 22, 24, 12, 11, 19, 48, 18, 2

Comments: Alex Bowman has won the Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Raceway, his fifth victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: No. 41 (multiple inspection failures).

Caution Flags: 8 for 25 laps;
Laps: 10-12 (Debris Turn 2 / Competition [None]);
15-17 (No. 2, 41 Incident Frontstretch [None]);
27-29 (Stage 1 Conclusion [20]);
54-57 (No. 6 Incident Turn 1 [None]);
61-63 (No. 7, 38 Incident Frontstretch [52]);
73-75 (No. 42 Incident Turn 2 [66]);
79-81 (Stage 2 Conclusion [38]);
109-111 (Debris Turn 2 [3]).

Lead Changes: 14 among 9 drivers;
K. Larson 1-4;
W. Byron 5-17;
K. Busch 18-26;
J. Logano 27-44;
R. Chastain 45-54;
K. Busch 55-72;
K. Busch 73-83;
K. Larson 84-91;
K. Busch 92;
D. Hamlin 93-103;
M. McDowell 104-108;
K. Busch 109-111;
A. Bowman 112-126;
K. Larson 127-129;
A. Bowman 130.

Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Chase Briscoe, No. 14 

John Davison

Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.

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Volume 2021, Issue 6, Posted 8:35 PM, 06.26.2021