The 2021 Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on June 26, 2021, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 130 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) triangular racecourse, it was the 18th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | June 26, 2021 | ||
| Location | Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) | ||
| Distance | 130 laps, 325 mi (523 km) | ||
| Average speed | 129.453 miles per hour (208.334 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 30 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 0.90/1.448 million | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1), Mike Bagley (2) and Kurt Becker (3) | ||
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
editKyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.[4]
Starting Lineup
editRace
editStage Results
editStage One Laps: 25
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 52
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
editStage Three Laps: 53
On the final lap, Kyle Larson, who had passed Alex Bowman for the lead with four laps to go, cut a left front tire entering the final corner at turn three and would hit the wall. Bowman would go on to take the victory from Kyle Busch, who led the most laps, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Larson was credited with a ninth place finish, crossing the line with a badly damaged car.
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 130 | 43 |
| 2 | 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 130 | 47 |
| 3 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 130 | 50 |
| 4 | 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 130 | 43 |
| 5 | 27 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 130 | 38 |
| 6 | 8 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 45 |
| 7 | 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 130 | 45 |
| 8 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 130 | 35 |
| 9 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 130 | 45 |
| 10 | 18 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 130 | 28 |
| 11 | 16 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 27 |
| 12 | 29 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 130 | 25 |
| 13 | 14 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 130 | 27 |
| 14 | 20 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 130 | 23 |
| 15 | 7 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 22 |
| 16 | 11 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 130 | 21 |
| 17 | 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 130 | 20 |
| 18 | 15 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 130 | 23 |
| 19 | 17 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 130 | 18 |
| 20 | 25 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 130 | 17 |
| 21 | 12 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 18 |
| 22 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 130 | 15 |
| 23 | 31 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 14 |
| 24 | 28 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 130 | 13 |
| 25 | 35 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 0 |
| 26 | 24 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 130 | 11 |
| 27 | 34 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 130 | 0 |
| 28 | 36 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 9 |
| 29 | 30 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 0 |
| 30 | 32 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 130 | 0 |
| 31 | 37 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 130 | 6 |
| 32 | 21 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 129 | 5 |
| 33 | 6 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 129 | 4 |
| 34 | 33 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 128 | 3 |
| 35 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 126 | 0 |
| 36 | 23 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 125 | 1 |
| 37 | 19 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 96 | 1 |
| 38 | 26 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 13 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 14 among 9 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 25
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 30 minutes and 38 seconds
- Average speed: 129.453 miles per hour (208.334 km/h)
Race recap
editFor pre-race ceremonies, Monty Self of Motor Racing Outreach gave out the invocation. Ellen Kane would sing the national anthem. A singular USAF C-17 Globemaster III would perform a flyover at the end of the national anthem. Jeff Moyer, CEO of Rodale Institute, would give the starting command.
Kyle Larson would lead the first 5 laps before being passed by William Byron on lap 6. On lap 10, a caution was called for debris in Turn 2. On the restart, Byron would pull away but a lap later, Brad Keselowski, in an attempt to go under Cole Custer, hit Custer in the back and sent Custer into the outside wall, sending cars scattering as Custer slid down into the inside wall. Custer would retire from the race. After pit stops, Kyle Busch would assume the lead. Kyle Busch would pull away from William Byron on the restart and go on to win Stage 1.
On the final lap, Larson would blow a tire on the final turn, hitting the Turn 3 wall. Bowman, who was second at the time would pass Larson and win the race. Larson would eventually crawl to the line, finishing ninth.
Media
editTelevision
editNBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Jac Collinsworth handled the features from the track.
| NBCSN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Features reporter |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |
Jac Collinsworth |
Radio
editMRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Kyle Rickey called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 3 when the field raced through turn 3. Steve Post and Kim Coon worked pit road for the radio side.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle |
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turn 3: Kyle Rickey |
Steve Post Kim Coon |
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ "2021 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ "Pocono Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ a b "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
- ^ "Pocono Organics CBD 325 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.