Sunday, July 24th, 2022
Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA
Chase Elliott has been declared the winner of Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway after first and second place finishers, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified following post-race technical inspection.
It’s a series-best fourth race victory for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who now leads the championship standings by 105-points over Ross Chastain and 111-points over Ryan Blaney.
It is the first time this season a race winner has been disqualified.
"Yeah, unfortunately we were doing our post-race inspections, which we do," said NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran. "There were some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia. There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn't have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ. It is a penalty, both for the 11 of Denny Hamlin and the 18 of Kyle Busch have been DQed. Their vehicles are being loaded in the NASCAR hauler and they're going to go back to the R&D Center."
Hamlin won the pole position, led 21 laps, and ultimately crossed the finish line .927-second ahead of Busch for the apparent win in an action-packed afternoon at the 2.5-mile Pocono track.
But both of the JGR cars failed post-pace inspection leaving the victory to the 26-year-old 2020 series champion Elliott, who now has a series-best four victories – three wins and a pair of second-place finishes in the last five races alone.
The updated finishing order of the race includes a runner-up showing now for Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick. Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, JGR’s Christopher Bell, and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson – who won Stage 1 of the race - round out the top five.
Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell was sixth, followed by JGR’s Martin Truex Jr., the Hamlin-owned 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Petty GMS Racing’s Erik Jones and RCR’s driver Austin Dillon.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Tampa, FL | Mar 14, 1984 | 40 | Ford | Haas Automation | Stewart-Haas Racing | Drew Blickensderfer |
2 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Auburn Hills, MI | Feb 12, 1984 | 40 | Ford | Kohler Generators | RFK Racing | Matt McCall |
3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chesterfield, VA | Nov 18, 1980 | 43 | Toyota | FedEx Office | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gabehart |
4 | 15 | JJ Yeley | Phoenix, AZ | Oct 5, 1976 | 48 | Ford | Ollie’s Bargain Outlet | Rick Ware Racing | Kevyn Rebolledo |
5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Middleton, CT | May 24, 1990 | 34 | Ford | Verizon Frontline | Team Penske | Paul Wolfe |
6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Bakersfield, CA | Dec 8, 1975 | 48 | Ford | Busch Light Apple #BuschTrickyTrivia | Stewart-Haas Racing | Rodney Childers |
7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Las Vegas, NV | May 2, 1985 | 39 | Toyota | M&M's | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore |
8 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr | Mayetta, NJ | Jun 29, 1980 | 44 | Toyota | DeWalt | Joe Gibbs Racing | James Small |
9 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Phoenix, AZ | Dec 21, 1984 | 39 | Ford | Fr8Auctions.com | Front Row Motorsports | Blake Harris |
10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Apr 27, 1990 | 34 | Chevrolet | BREZTRI | Richard Childress Racing | Justin Alexander |
11 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Olive Branch, MS | Oct 2, 1987 | 37 | Chevrolet | Kroger/ SweetLeaf | JTG Daugherty Racing | Brian Pattie |
12 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Sacremento, CA | Jul 31, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | Hendrick Motorsports | Cliff Daniels |
13 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Tuscon, AZ | Apr 25, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Ally | Hendrick Motorsports | Greg Ives |
14 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | High Point, NC | Dec 31, 1993 | 30 | Ford | Menards\Duracell | Team Penske | Jonathan Hassler |
15 | 7 | Corey Lajoie | Kannapolis, NC | Sep 25, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | WWE SummerSlam on Peacock | Spire Motorsports | Ryan Sparks |
16 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Feb 27, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Big Dog Energy | Petty GMS Motorsports | Jerame Donley |
17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Dawsonville, GA | Nov 28, 1995 | 28 | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts | Hendrick Motorsports | Alan Gustafson |
18 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Prosper, TX | Oct 29, 1992 | 31 | Ford | Wyndham Rewards | RFK Racing | Travis Peterson |
19 | 43 | Erik Jones | Byron, MI | May 30, 1996 | 28 | Chevrolet | FOCUSfactor | Petty GMS Motorsports | Dave Elenz |
20 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Wauchula, FL | Nov 17, 1983 | 40 | Ford | Surface Sunscreen | Live Fast Motorsports | Lee Leslie |
21 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Monterrey, Mexico | Jan 7, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | CommScope | TrackHouse Racing | Travis Mack |
22 | 51 | Cody Ware | Greensboro, NC | Nov 7, 1995 | 28 | Ford | Nurtec ODT | Rick Ware Racing | Billy Plourde |
23 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Alva, FL | Dec 4, 1992 | 31 | Chevrolet | Worldwide Express | TrackHouse Racing | Phil Surgen |
24 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Mobile, AL | Oct 8, 1993 | 31 | Toyota | DoorDash | 23XI Racing | Bootie Barker |
25 | 24 | William Byron | Charlotte, NC | Nov 29, 1997 | 26 | Chevrolet | RaptorTough.com | Hendrick Motorsports | Rudy Fugle |
26 | 41 | Cole Custer | Ladera Ranch, CA | Jan 23, 1998 | 26 | Ford | HaasTooling.com | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mike Shiplett |
27 | 77 | Josh Bilicki | Menomonee Falls, WI | Jun 3, 1995 | 29 | Chevrolet | Zeigler Auto/Rich Mar Florist | Spire Motorsports | Kevin Bellicourt |
28 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | Jan 11, 1996 | 28 | Chevrolet | Sheetz | Richard Childress Racing | Randall Burnett |
29 | 31 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | Kaulig Racing | Trent Owens |
30 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Norman, OK | Dec 16, 1994 | 29 | Toyota | Rheem | Joe Gibbs Racing | Adam Stevens |
31 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Columbus, OH | Sep 2, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Keystone Light | Team Penske | Jeremy Bullins |
32 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mitchell, IN | Dec 15, 1994 | 29 | Ford | HighPoint.com | Stewart-Haas Racing | Johnny Klausmeier |
33 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Huntersville, NC | Oct 9, 2000 | 24 | Ford | Motorcraft \ Quick Lane | Wood Brothers Racing | Brian Wilson |
34 | 16 | Noah Gragson | Las Vegas, NV | Jul 15, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | Gold Fish Casino Slots | Kaulig Racing | Matt Swiderski |
35 | 45 | Ty Gibbs | Charlotte, NC | Oct 4, 2002 | 22 | Toyota | McDonald's | 23XI Racing | Billy Scott |
36 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Sherrills Ford, NC | May 15, 2000 | 24 | Ford | A&W Root Beer Float | Front Row Motorsports | Seth Barbour |