Entry List : Pocono Raceway

• Pocono Raceway
• Pocono 325
• Pole Winner: Kyle Larson
• Age: 28
• Team: No. 5 - HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
• Owner: Hendrick Motorsports
• Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
• Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
• Kyle Larson won the Pole Award for the Pocono 325 by having the highest total PMQ.
• PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
• 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
• 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
• 25% of the owner's final race position.
• 35% of the Owner Points position.

• Saturday, June 26th, 2021
• NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer

Alex Bowman, last-lap flat tire at Pocono ends Kyle Larson's win streak

After an intense, nail-biting battle over the last 29 laps at Pocono Raceway, Alex Bowman won Saturday's Pocono Organics CBD 325 when his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson blew a left-front tire while leading within one corner of the finish line.

Bowman's victory ended a streak of three-straight wins for Larson, who passed Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet on Lap 127 of 130 and appeared destined to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four straight NASCAR Cup Series races.

Choosing the inside lane for a restart on Lap 112, Bowman surged into the lead, having gained track position with a two-tire call on his final pit stop. Larson spent the next 15 laps harrying his teammate and made what appeared to be the winning pass as the cars entered the Tunnel Turn on Lap 127.

But three laps later, on the short straightaway between Turns 2 and 3, Larson's left front went flat, and the No. 5 Chevrolet rocketed into the outside wall in Turn 3. Larson came home ninth in his damaged Camaro, his first finish outside the top two in seven races.

Bowman, who announced a contract extension with Hendrick last weekend at Nashville, won for the third time this season, the first time at Pocono and the fifth time in his career. The victory was the sixth straight for Hendrick Motorsports, matching a string of six combined wins by Johnson and Jeff Gordon in 2007.

"Yeah, I hate to win one that way, but hell, yeah, I'll take it," a shocked Bowman said after climbing from his car. "Super proud of this Ally 48 team. Man, we kind of gave the lead away. We were on two tires, just got super tight. Tried to hold (Larson) off as long as I could.

"(Crew chief) Greg (Ives) 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. Hell, yeah, so cool to see all the fans out here. Always like to come to ‘PA.' It's a cool place, beautiful weather, great day for a race. Heck, yeah, I'll take it."

Larson was just as shocked at the loss as Bowman was at his victory.

"I guess disbelief still," Larson said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. "I don't know, a little bit laughable, just because I can't believe it.

"Hate that we didn't get another win. Would have been cool to win five in a row (assuming another victory in Sunday's second leg of the NASCAR Cup doubleheader). Just wasn't meant to be I guess today. I felt something like right in the middle of the Tunnel (Turn). Wasn't quite sure what it was yet. It finally kind of shredded halfway through the short chute there. Couldn't turn.

"Hate that we didn't get the win. Cool that Alex still did, a Hendrick car with another win. Cool to keep Mr. H's (team owner Rick Hendrick's) streak going. Yeah, hate we didn't get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane, but we'll try to start another streak (on Sunday)."

Larson will have to start Sunday's race from the rear of the field in a backup car. Bowman will start 20th after an inversion of the top 20 finishing positions from Saturday's race.

In an event that featured a hodgepodge of pit strategies before it distilled into the closing Bowman-Larson battle, Kyle Busch led a race-high 30 laps and finished second, .683 seconds behind Bowman. William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney completed the top five.

"We were a tick—just a little bit—slower than Larson, and we were able to hold him off," Busch said of the green-flag run before the final caution for debris on Lap 107. "The 48 (Bowman) held him off forever and finally the 5 (Larson) got by and got away by 20 lengths or so.

"I was just dying tight behind those guys. I just could not do anything in traffic. We were just struggling in traffic. We don't have what we need to slice through traffic. Everybody's hindered, but it seems like us a little bit more."

Kurt Busch won the second stage and finished sixth, leap-frogging past Chris Buescher into the final Playoff-eligible position in the series standings.

• Drivers Entered: 38
• Laps Scheduled: 130
• Margin of Victory: 0.683 Seconds
• Time of Race: 2 Hours 30 Minutes 38 Seconds
• Average Speed: 129.453
• Cautions: 8 for 25 laps
• Lead Changes: 14
• Green Flag Passes: 2,406 (22.9 passes per green flag lap)

• Pocono Raceway
• 40th Annual Pocono Organics CBD 325
• Race Winner: Alex Bowman
• Age: 28
• Team : No. 48 - Ally Chevrolet
• Owner: Hendrick Motorsports
• Crew Chief: Greg Ives
• Alex Bowman won the 40th Annual Pocono Organics CBD 325, his fifth victory in 207 NASCAR Cup Series races.
• This is his third victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2021.
• This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 11 races at Pocono Raceway.
• Kyle Busch (second) posted his 17th top-10 finish in 33 races at Pocono Raceway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2021.
• William Byron (third) posted his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Pocono Raceway.
• Chase Briscoe (24th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• This season Hendrick Motorsports has tied their Modern Era (1972-Present) record for the most consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins with six straight victories set in 2007.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Pocono Raceway with 18 victories ? Jeff Gordon (six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Kasey Kahne (one), Geoff Bodine (one), Terry Labonte (one) and Alex Bowman (one).