Pocono Raceway

Reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer claimed his first win of the 2024 season Saturday beating his closest championship challenger Justin Allgaier to the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 checkered flag and giving Ford its first series win of the year.

Custer’s No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang took the lead from Allgaier on a re-start with nine laps remaining and then held off the JR Motorsports Chevy by .670-second to secure his 14^th career victory in a thrilling finish at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. He becomes first driver to win multiple NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the historic 2.5-mile track – answering his 2019 win.

“You just try to manage it the best you can but it’s kind of the luck of the draw who gets the best push,’’ a smiling Custer said of having to hold off perennial championship contender Allgaier and third place finisher NASCAR Cup Series regular William Byron in the closing laps.

“That was some Doug Yates horsepower right there. We definitely had it on the straightaways and man, I just can’t say enough about these guys. They’ve worked so hard this whole year and just haven’t had that final result. To finally get it, is so awesome.’’

Allgaier led a race best 30 laps of the 90-lap race with the 25-year old Californian Custer out front for 25 laps – the two drivers each winning a stage. For Allgaier, his Stage 1 victory was a series best 11^th but a pit road penalty during the ensuing pit stop forced him to work his way back up through the field.

And even with all the impressive race statistics and compelling comeback storyline Saturday, it was missing out on the trophy after such a strong showing that stuck with Allgaier when he climbed out of his Chevrolet.

“Really proud of everyone at Junior Motorsports, just really stinks to come out of here second,’’ Allgaier said. “Led so many laps here and feel like same result every time, just not able to go to Victory Lane. … just came up a little short and it’s going to sting for a little while.’’

This year’s Daytona 500 winner and the 2017 Xfinity Series champion Byron was making his third Xfinity Series start of the season and kept the field honest leading 17 laps.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray rounded out the Pocono top-five. Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman and JR Motorsports teammates Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer rounded out the top-10.

Custer extended his lead atop the Xfinity Series championship and now holds a 51-point advantage on Allgaier. With seven races remaining to set the 12-driver Playoff field, Smith holds a 23-point edge over Ryan Sieg for that 12^th position.

Austin Hill survived an early race pit road speeding penalty, gambled on fuel strategy and prevailed in an incredible wheel-to-wheel run to the checkered flag in overtime to claim his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Saturday.

As important as the victory for the 29-year old Georgia-native his good day combined with an uncharacteristic disappointing day for his closest rivals in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings gave him a huge boost in the points with only seven races remaining to set the 12-driver field. He trailed championship leader John Hunter Nemechek by 33 points before the green flag and took the checkered flag now only 13 behind.

On a dramatic – at times chaotic – overtime re-start, Hill had to get around the day's most dominant driver, JR Motorsports' Josh Berry. His No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was behind Berry on the restart and gave him a big push at the green flag, but Berry got loose and Hill got around him to lead his first lap on the afternoon.

Both Berry and his JRM teammate Justin Allgaier hit the wall in separate accidents on the final lap bringing out the yellow flag and the race ultimately ended under caution with Hill out front.

“We didn't have the best car all day.," Hill said. “Andy [Petree] and all the guys back at RCR engines worked really hard. We got the car better. I thought we were maybe a top-five or top-seven car. I didn't think we had anything for the leader today.

“On that restart he drove into one and got really loose into the entry.. … we drag raced down the backstretch and once I cleared him [Berry] I knew I just had to hit my marks.

“Such a special win," he added. “Obviously with fuel saving, we didn't know if we were going to make it and it was on my mind going into the Tunnel Turn (Turn 2) that I had to get back to the start-finish line. I had enough fuel to do a burnout so we saved enough."

It was especially heartbreaking for Berry, who dominated all the race's major statistics. For the first time in his career he swept both Stage wins. And he started from pole position for the first time this year, leading a race high 51 of the 92 laps. He finished 24^thafter his No. 8 JRM Chevrolet trailed up track and into the wall racing Hill – bringing out the final caution that ended the race.

“Just a wild restart there," said Berry, who will take over for retiring NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford next year.

“The 21 [Hill] was behind me and gave me a really good push but pushed me a little longer and harder than I wanted into Turn 1 and got me into the marbles .. I was able to battle back and race with him. Tried to time the run, but got there a little quicker.

“Just a racing deal.," he added. “Hate we didn't get the finish we deserved today. ..Just really proud of the car we brought today and I know if we continue to have that kind of speed we'll win plenty of races. Just a tough way to end but still a lot of positives from the day."

His JR Motorsports teammate Sammy Smith finished second to Hill, followed by former NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, who was competing in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in two years – driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in a paint scheme honoring his team owner Rick Hendrick's late son, Ricky Hendrick – a popular NASCAR competitor.

Stewart-Haas Racing's Riley Herbst finished fourth, also coming out on the right side of fuel-save gamble. Kaulig Racing's Daniel Hemric was fifth.

“We finished fourth and that's what we needed at a track I don't particular love," Herbst said “Lucky to get out of here with a Top-5."

The effort was good enough to keep Herbst in the points picture for the championship. He is ranked 12^th– the final Playoff transfer position – 26 points ahead of Parker Kligerman, who finished ninth Saturday.

Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Kligerman and another NASCAR Cup Series regular, Daniel Suarez, who drove for Kaulig Racing rounded out the Top-10.

A mid-race incident with two of the three championship leaders – Nemechek and third place Cole Custer – changed the complexion on the regular season title chase. On a restart just over halfway through the race – with both Nemechek and Custer running inside the Top-10 – Nemechek hit the wall and washed back across the track, his Toyota hitting Cole Custer's Ford. Custer was third in the championship entering the race.

Both teams made quick repairs to the cars, but they were non-competitive for the remainder of the race. Nemechek finished 32^ndand Custer, 33^rd.

Two of the most determined, talented, young drivers in NASCAR put on a show for the ages in the closing laps of Saturday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway with 24-year-old Noah Gragson ultimately holding off Ty Gibbs, 19, by the blink of an eye to take the victory.

Gragson’s No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line at the storied 2.5-mile track by a mere .281-seconds ahead of Gibb’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – the last 15 laps the duo staying within .3-seconds of one another.

Gibbs earned three of his four race wins this season on a last lap pass, but Gragson didn’t allow it Saturday – so happy with the effort he climbed out of his car and joined his team scaling the fencing in front of a boisterous and approving crowded frontstretch grandstand.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever driven there," said the Las Vegas native Gragson, whose three wins this season already ties his single season high mark. “I’m worn out. Working my ass off out there to keep the 54 back. He’s pretty fast.

“I had to work for it," Gragson said still catching his breath from climbing the fence. “It was tough. Kept getting tight, tight, tight and with 15 to go I didn’t think I could hold him off. But we just keep digging."

That summed up a dramatic ending to an action-packed day.

Gragson’s JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier started from pole position and led the first 23 laps to win Stage 1. Gragson was seventh and Gibbs’ fourth in the opening run. But Gragson took the lead on the ensuing pit stop and won Stage 2 – his seventh and the JR Motorsports series’ best 21st stage win of the year.

Ultimately, good pit strategy made the difference for Gragson, whose Chevrolet was able to benefit from a four-tire and gas stop with 38 laps to go. He re-started sixth – behind Gibbs’ who did not take tires – and worked his way forward, taking the lead for good with 22 laps to go.

“It definitely hurt us giving him a tire advantage," Gibbs said. “But I was so surprised to be able to hang with the 9 (car) when he was on [fresh tires]. Had a great car, just didn’t put it together. I just made some mistakes and we’ll come back next weekend."

Gragson’s teammate Berry finished third, followed by Xfinity Series driver standings leader Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and Richard Childress Racing's rookie Sheldon Creed.

Two more JR Motorsports drivers, Sam Mayer and Allgaier finished sixth and seventh – a particularly impressive comeback for Allgaier who was penalized for speeding on pit road during his last pit stop.

RCR’s Austin Hill, Kaulig’s Daniel Hemric and NASCAR Cup Series regular Cole Custer rounded out the top 10.

It was a dramatic race from start to finish, including a red flag period during Stage 2 for a for a high-speed accident involving five cars. Santino Ferrucci’s car got loose exiting Turn 3 and was hit from behind by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. whose car catapulted toward the pit road wall, colliding with Jeb Burton’s car, spinning and flipping Burton’s car over on its hood.

The NASCAR AMR Safety Crew immediately responded, checked that Burton was okay and then carefully right-sided his car back onto its tires. Burton climbed out un-assisted and the wreckage was cleaned up. The red flag lasted a little more than eight minutes and the race resumed.

“Man, that was not good," said Burton, driver of the No. 27 Our Motorsport Chevrolet. “Hate if for my guys, those guys work hard on these race cars.

“But appreciate the safety crew, they got to me fast," he added. “It’s been a tough year, but we’ll keep digging.”

Gragson’s victory marked the seventh win in the last 11 races for JR Motorsports, which is enjoying a summer of success. And Allmendinger now leads Allgaier by 16 points atop the series driver standings.

Corey Heim earned his series’ best fifth victory of the season in Friday evening’s rain-interrupted CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The 21-year old swept both stages and led 55 of the 70 laps to add to his trophy total.

But, he had to battle competitors and climate for this win.

The Georgian’s No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota led Grant Enfinger’s Chevrolet across the finish line by .867-second to take his 10th career victory – quickly re-establishing himself as the race leader – again – on the final re-start with three laps remaining.

“It started from the very beginning, we’ve had such a close bond,’’ Heim said of his strong working relationship with crew chief Scott Zippidelli and the career-best single season win mark.

“Week in and week out, so proud of these guys, can’t say enough about them,’’ Heim said.

Rain drops covered the windshields of the trucks – particularly in Turn 2 of the 2.5-mile Pocono track – and eventually brought out a caution flag for weather with only nine laps remaining in the race. But after parking on pit road for just over 10 minutes of red-flag stoppage, the field returned to the track for a lap only to come back down pit road again as the rain got heavier with seven laps remaining.

Not surprisingly Heim immediately told his crew the rain was substantial. Enfinger, who was 2.2-seconds behind Heim at the time of the initial red flag, was optimistic it was going to be a brief shower. NASCAR had already determined before the green flag that the race would be official no matter the circumstance at 8:20 p.m. ET – approximately one hour and 10 minutes after the first red flag waved Friday evening.

But the sun shone on the re-start allowing enough laps to complete the race – a light rain beginning again during driver’s post-race interviews.

Enfinger’s second-place finish equals his best mark of the year – also at North Wilkesboro, N.C. – and certainly helped solidify the CR7 Motorsports driver’s position in the Playoff standings. He is seventh place with only two races remaining before the 2024 Playoffs begin Aug. 25 at the Milwaukee Mile Speedway.

McAnally Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes finished third, followed by TRICON Garage’s Taylor Gray and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain, driving for Niece Motorsports.

The closing laps featured close racing up front with many among the lead pack having to be conscious about saving fuel – a variable then made moot with the rain stoppage. Heim was trying to hold off the hard-charging, highly-motivated veteran Enfinger, who was racing for his first win of the season while Eckes had to hold off Chastain for third place.

The pole-winner Eckes led the race’s opening 11 laps in the No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Chevy and finished second to race-winner Heim in both stages. But a slow pit stop during the secong stage break forced Eckes to play catch-up. He restarted 10^th but was up to fourth place within five laps and continued to move forward.

He rallied to that ultimate third-place showing giving him a series best 12-race streak of Top-10 finishes and he still holds a 32-point edge on Heim for the regular season championship.

The first caution flag for a race incident came out with 26 laps remaining when Rajah Caruth spun on track. At the time Heim led Chastain by almost 3-seconds. As the trucks drove under caution, drivers were alerted that rain was imminent, so the front-runners did not pit.

Chase Purdy, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Dean Thompson and Caruth rounded out the Top-10.

With only two races remaining to set the 10-driver Playoff field, Daniel Dye holds a single-point edge on Tanner Gray in that 10^th position and a slight four-point advantage over Friesen.

Only four fulltime series drivers have won this season to claim automatic Playoff berths including Heim, Eckes, Friday’s 13^thplace finisher Nick Sanchez and Caruth.

In what was both a thrilling and historic afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Kyle Busch earned a hard-fought win in Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 with a last lap pass for his Kyle Busch Motorsports team’s milestone 100^thseries victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Busch made a daring move low on series championship leader Corey Heim in Turn 2 “The Tunnel Turn” of the iconic 2.5-mile track, got around cleanly and motored off to a .604-second win in the No. 51 KBM Chevrolet to at last secure that unprecedented 100th victory for his decorated team. It marks the second win of the year in five truck starts for Busch, 38, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

“It’s pretty cool, we’ve been around for a long time, but it’s been fun, said Busch, who contributed 64 of those 100 wins himself and now has three at Pocono.

“A great ride. Obviously, this [Chevrolet] Silvarado today was really really fast, just mired in traffic. Couldn’t find a way to make a clean move so had to make a little bit of a racey one, a little bit of a dicey one there at the end getting into two. Heim ran a great race. We just needed this hundredth win to get it over with.

“Really proud of the guys and everybody at KBM," he said, adding, “It’s a monumental day, a century mark of being able to win a hundred truck races. We’re a small team, just one that performs in the truck series."

Eighteen drivers contributed to that grand win total for Kyle Busch Motorsports – including Heim, who finished runner-up to his former boss on Saturday after leading a race best 27 of the 60 laps.

“Just unreal," said Heim, who holds a 42-point lead over Zane Smith atop the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship heading into the regular season finale next week at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

“I felt like I did everything right," continued Heim, who drives the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota. “Seemed like we had about five laps in the truck before it started tightened up really bad on me. I really did get the run I wanted out of 1 and knew his straightaway speed was really good. I was a little upset initially but realistically, I would have done the exact same thing. Heat of the moment deal there.

“Looking back on it, I’ve just got a lot of respect for Kyle. I raced for him for two years and he was really good to me and raced me with respect today. He’s a hard racer and didn’t wreck us for the win and I probably would have done the same thing. Really sucks, really thought we had it there."

Heim’s TRICON Garage teammate Taylor Gray finished a career best third place with another NASCAR Cup Series full-timer, Christopher Bell in fourth place in the Hattori Racing Enterprises No. 61 Toyota and Grant Enfinger rounding out the Top-5 in the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet.

Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson, 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes and Matt DiBenedetto completed the Top-10 on Saturday.

It was Heim’s closest championship challenger that dominated early at Pocono. Zane Smith, whose 19 laps led was second only to Heim, won both stages (his third and fourth of the season) giving him bonus points to seemingly narrow the championship gap.

That pit strategy, however, left him vulnerable in the rear of the field during that final stage and he was among 10 cars involved in an incident with eight laps remaining that brought out a 13-minute red flag period.

Smith’s truck was too damaged to finish the race, as was another championship hopeful, Stewart Friesen. The reigning series champion now shows up at Richmond a longshot to claim the regular season trophy, but he is one of four drivers with two wins on the season – second best to Heim’s three victories.

Pole winner, 22-year old Nick Sanchez was involved in an accident just prior to the “big one” and took out his fellow front row starter and rookie Jake Garcia.

Heading into the Richmond regular season finale, three-time former series champion Matt Crafton holds an eight-point advantage over Friesen for that final 10^thplace Playoff transfer spot.

Chandler Smith earned his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, taking the trophy in the CRC Brakleen 150 regular season finale at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway Saturday afternoon while another Smith – Zane - coolly collected his first Regular Season Championship.

It marked the seventh race win for a Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team in the last eight Pocono races with Smith leading a commanding 49 of the 60 laps in the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra. The 20-year-old Georgia native had to hold off a final lap charge from Ryan Preece, however, and did so by a close .262-seconds to hoist his fourth career trophy.

“We’ve been going through a little bit of a struggle here recently, but just when we needed to shine and we started shining," Chandler Smith said of the victory – his first since a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith finished a distant 13th in his No. 38 Ford F-150 dealing with throttle issues early in the race. But with the regular season title in hand, the series-best three-race winner will start the Playoffs with that all-important 15 bonus Playoff points. He’s hoping to become the first Regular Season Champion to win the season title since 2017.

“Man, today was a major struggle," Smith said. “Started out from the green flag to pretty much the end of Stage 2 our throttle was sticking and everything we were doing wasn’t fixing it. So, little worried at times because I knew I just had to have a couple points.

“Long day, once we did get it right still fought a really, really tight truck, but there’s no giving up," Smith added. “Glad we’re on to the Playoffs and ready to get this postseason started."

The other end of the Playoff drama, veteran Matt Crafton was able to hold onto his 10th and final Playoff transfer position – finishing 15th in the race, but with a 17- point edge on 19-year-old Derek Kraus, who finished ninth. Crafton, a three-time series champion, has now qualified for the series Playoffs every season since its inception into the series in 2016.

“These guys did everything they were supposed to and worked their rear ends off with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and worked on the simulator, working on getting our set-ups better and we were really good on the short runs, we had a way better truck than where we finished," Crafton said.

“Take your gloves off and do whatever it takes," he said of the racing for his fourth title now.

Last year’s Regular Season Champion John Hunter Nemechek was third, followed by rookie Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar.

Austin Hill, Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Kraus and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.

Former two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine finished 36th in his 800th and final NASCAR national series start. He was collected in an accident on Lap 13.

“I’ve been so blessed to be able to do what I love for 800 times," said Bodine, who now works as a race broadcaster for FOX Sports. “Pretty blessed life to have.”

As for the early ending, “That’s racing," Bodine said managing a smile. “I’ve been here before. I’ve been wrecked before. That’s part of the game."

After adjusting the standings according to Playoff positions the 10 drivers to advance to the upcoming seven-race Camping World Truck Series Playoffs include (in points order) Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, defending series champion Ben Rhodes, Nemechek, Friesen, Eckes, Majeski, Hocevar, Grant Enfinger and Crafton.