I would like to thank all of you guys for coming out to VAVEL USA today. This was honestly a betetr race than I expected. And the finish of the race was much wilder than I anticipated. heck, the first caution of the race was for a fire of all things. Overall, this is a great way to start out the summer months for NASCAR. Be sure to join us next week with LIVE coverage of the Ollie's Bargains Outlet 250 from Michigan International Speedway, the Drivin' For Lineman 200 from Gateway, and the Quiken Loans 400 from Michigan International Speedway. From all of us as VAVEL USA, I'm Steven Patrick, be sure to come back next Saturday and Sunday!
Top five finishers: Earnhardt Jr, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Larson.
This is the first time that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won multiple races in a season since he won six races back in 2004.
Pocono 400 Inline
TO THE CHECKERED FLAG TO CLAIM HIS SECOND WIN THIS SEASON, DALE EARNHARDT JR. WINS THE POCONO 400!
WHITE FLAG
Coming to the white flag, half second lead.
2 To Go: Dale Jr. five miles away!
4 to Go: Dale Jr. has a car length on Keselowski. Can he hold on?
5 To Go: Danica Patrick intruded keselowski's speed and Dale Jr. has taken the lead!
7 to Go: Keselowski reporting that his car is starting to get hot. This is going to be intense.
9 to Go: Kyle Larson battling Denny Hamlin for fourth.
9 To Go: Trash on the grill of the 2 car.
11 To Go: Kyle Larson gets around Jimmie Johnson for fifth.
11 To Go: Brad Keselowski has assumed the lead with pure ease.
12 To Go: GREEN FLAG and something is wrong with Logano!
15 To Go: Kasey Kahne with two hard hits into the wall. Glad he's okay.
18 To Go: Kyle Busch forced Kasey Kahne in to the wall and when Kasey came back down, he collected Carl Edwards.
18 To Go: Kasey Kahne's car is in shambles.
18 To Go: CAUTION
19 to Go: GREEN FLAG
Pocono 400 Inline
Lap 138: The top three cars come in and Brad Keselowski is the new leader. He's follwoed by the Hendick duo of Dale Eamrhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 137: Danica Patrick hit the wall and is the cause of this caution.
Lap 137: CAUTION
Lap 137: Justin Allgaier is the leader but he and the rest of the top five need to pit one more time. Once they cycle through, Brad Keselowski will be the new leader.
lap 135: Jeff Gordon is the new leader and is now on pit road.
Lap 134: Jimmie Johnson and second place Kurt Busch on pit road.
Lap 132: Dale jr. on pit road and Jimmie Johnson holds the lead.
Lap 129: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the new race leader as green flag stops begin
Lap 127: Doing my own number crunching, if this race goes green the rest of the way, Joey Logano should win this race.
Lap 125: Looks like for a moment Tony Stewart lost the clutch and couldn't shift. He slid all the way up the track.
lap 124: Brad Keselowski assumes the lead.
Lap 123: GREEN FLAG
Lap 121: Brad Keselowski is now the leader.
Lap 121: Tony Stewart was too fast entering pit road. That''s be a pass through penalty for the 14 car
Lap 119: A ton of different stratagies being played. leaders come down pit road. Others who had just came in about ten laps prior stayed out.
Lap 118: Fluid on the track is the cause for the caution.
Lap 117: CAUTION
Lap 116: Kevin Harivck on pit road for an unscheduled stop. He had a tire going down.
Pocono 400 Inline
Lap 113: Tony Stewart is back to the lead. Now the brain crunching for many crew chiefs who just came to pit road in the last five laps becomes severe.
Lap 112: Jimmie Johnson to pit road. 49 laps to go.
Lap 109: Kyle Larson gives up the lead to hit pit road. Jimmie Johnson the new leader.
Lap 105: Maybe, just maybe, it is possible for this pit strategy to work out for either Kyle Larson or Jimmie Johnson. heck, Matt Kenseth could turn into a contender here.
Lap 103: The new leader is Kyle Larson. First tim leading in his career.
Lap 100: The cycle of pit stops has gotten Jimmie Johnson up to 6th. But the strategy doesn't seem to be in his favor.
Lap 98: Denny Hamlin down pit road and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has taken the lead.
Lap 97: Denny Hamlin currently the leader then followed by Dale Jr.
Lap 96: Tony Stewart gives up the lead to come down pit road. Jeff Gordon follows
Lap 94: Stewart-Haas companion Danica Patrick down pit road.
Lap 93: Tony Stewart has taken the elad back as his teammates come down pit road.
Lap 90: Following the Stewart-Haas cars are the Penske Racing duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.
Lap 87: Lets now point out that the top three cars are all owned under Stewart-Haas Racing.
Lap 86: Tony Stewart was on Kurt Busch's tail but he got wicked loosed off of turn three.
Lap 85: Kurt Busch assumes the point.
Lap 83: GREEN FLAG
Pocono 400 Inline
Halfway home in Pocono. The elad car seems to easily be the ebst car. Who can take it home though, is the question.
Lap 81: Caution is out for Dave Blaney spinning out in turn two.
Lap 80: CAUTION
Lap 77: Tony Stewart leaps to the lead on the restart. Keselowski falls back to fifth and is flat as a rock.
Lap 76: GREEN FLAG
Lap 72: Pit road is open, and a bit of mixed stretegy, and Marcos Ambrose and Jimmie Johnson wreck on pit road.
Lap 71: J.J Yeley had a tire come apart on track, culprit for the caution.
Lap 71: CAUTION
Lap 70: Kevin Harvick is right on Brad Keselowski's tail for the lead.
Lap 68: Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson in a fight for the fourth spot. Stewart currently holds the fourth spot.
Lap 67: Kyle Larson and Brian Vickers back battling for the eleventh spot.
Lap 66: Jimmie Johnson goes around Tony Stewart for fourth. The 48 car is on the come up.
Lap 66: The 2 car is on a rail. Brad Keselowski assumes the lead.
LAP 65: GREEN FLAG
Lap 61: Debris in turn three is the reason for this caution. Catch your breath before the restart.
Lap 61: CAUTION
Lap 61: Tony Stewart to pit road and Denny Hamlin will claim the lead.
Lap 59: Jeff Gordon on pit road and Tony Stewart will hold the lead for now.
Lap 58: Brad Keselowski gives up the lead to come down pit road. Jeff Gordon now holds the point.
Lap 57: Kevin Harvick now on pit road.
Lap 55: Nearing the second round of green flag pit stops. Only one caution thus far.
Lap 54: With Kurt's problem, he has been passed by team owner Tony Stewart for fourth.
Lap 51: Report that Kurt Busch's car is jumping out of gear when he puts it back into fourth gear.
Lap 49: Jimmie Johnson now battling Clint Bowyer for the ninth spot.
Pocono 400 Inline
Lap 47: Brad Keselowski holding a 1.7 second lead over second place Kevin Harvick.
Lap 45: Kyle Busch is falling like a rock yet again. Down to the fifteenth spot.
Lap 44: 20 crew wants a caution dearly they say. Want to change the nose of the car under caution only.
Lap 41: Matt Kenseth with severe damage to the hood and grill area. Does not look pretty at all.
Lap 39: Harvick now the second place car but Brad Kesewlowski is on a runaway train.
Lap 37: Brad Keselowski assumes the lead. He is trailed by the Stewart-Haas duo of Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick.
Lap 36: GREEN FLAG!
Lap 35: Pit road is open. Only takers are those a lap down or more.
lap 32: a fire outside of pit road entrance seems to be the culprit of this, the first caution of the day.
Lap 32: CAUTION
lap 31: The gap to first and second is .7 seconds. That's Brad Keselowski over Jeff Gordon.
Lap 29: Leader Brad Keselowski now on pit road.
Lap 28: Kevin Harvick down pit road.
Lap 27: Dale Jr. working Joey Logano for the seventh spot. green flag pit stops now also in full effect.
Lap 25: Marcos Ambrose beginning to short pit. Scheduled green flag stops have begun.
Lap 23: Dale Jr. easily goes through Kyle Busch. The 18 car is going in the wrong direction.
Lap 21: Tony Stewart gets around Kyle Busch for seventh. Dale Jr. looking to follow through.
Lap 20: Brad Keselowski has began lapping cars. Past last place Timmy Hill.
Lap 17: Kevin Harvick has now gotten around Denny Hamlin for the third spot.
Lap 14: Biggest mover of the race so far is Clint Bowyer who is up six spots. Speaking of six, Joey Logano is challenging Kyle Busch for the sixth spot.
Lap 12: Kevin Harvick is challenging Denny Hamlin for the third spot.
Lap 11: Dale Jr. picking up trash on the grill. That was only bound to happen.
Lap 6: Apparently, the Pocono Raceway has turned into a trash can. So many bags and wrappers on the track.
Lap 4: Drivers come in single file now. Second place Jeff Gordon slimming the gap to the leader Brad Keselowski.
Lap 2: Brad Keselowski went from third to first on the opening lap and has opened the gap up to second place Denny Hamlin.
Lap 1: GREEN FLAG!
1:16: The pace laps have begun. only moments until the green flag drops.
1:13: There is rain that will hit the track, but the race should be over by then.
1:10: Who will win today? Will we see a three-peat, your a first time winner? How many times will Kyle Petty say "That's incredible" during commentary? All these questions and more are about to be answered.
1:08: DRIVERS START YOUR ENGINES!
1:04: The Grand Marshalls for today's race are Johan Hill and Channing Tatum, the lead actors in the new movie 22 Jump Street.
1:03: An INCREDIBLE National Anthem!!
1:00: It's race time boys and girls! Now for prayer and the Anthem.
12:54: Race predictions: You can expect a few engines to blow up due to the constant shifting which could cause some weird pit stretegy. if that's the case, look for a team that's good at handling pit strategy that's constantly up front to win this race, possibly Brad Keselowski. In any other case, look for all the chatter of Matt Kenseth not being able to win this season to end today.
12:51: It was once said that back in the day, you'd wake up, go to church, go eat lunch, and come home to look the NASCAR race. On that note, we'd like to welcome all of you home from you Sunday morning festivities and welcome to VAVEL USA for todays coverage of the Pocono 400.
12:30: Alright folks. Now would be a great time to go get some lunch, refreshments, and for those west coast viewers and beyond, time for some breakfast. Get back here in time for the green flag. You won't want to miss any of todays action.
12:27: Drivers saying that the extra aprin in turn two will work wodners for them. Makes for better racing.
12:23: Josh Wise is one great dude. Team working on no sleep. It's truly amazing what those guys are doing.
12:15: Time to learn about the racing attributes of Josh Wise and Phil Parsons Racing. Honestly looking forward to this.
12:10 Jimmie Johnson should go barefoot in the car too.
12:08: You can go ELEVEN WIDE on the front straightaway at Pocono. Imagine the wreck that would come in turn one.
12:03: Dale Jr. - Charles Barkley in a go-kart race? Sheer entertainment!
11:59: Rumors swirling around that Sam Hornish Jr. could make his Sprint Cup return next season driving for the Wood Brothers!
11:54: Sadly, there are people in this world who have yet to eat breakfast. Myself included. Today will be all about eating and looking racing. Typical Sunday.
11:20: Slight adjustments have been made to the NASCAR Pocono Raceway. That being there is a new strip of pavement in turn two. What used to be grass now contains asphault. To be exact, there is 15 extra feet of asphault for drivers to dig into on the low side in turn two. Expect this curve to be used for Kyle Busch to divebomb to the lead, and expect Danica Patrick to use this extra aprin as an excuse as to why she wrecked her boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with 29 laps to go.
11:17: Sprint Cup points leader Matt Kenseth has not won a race in 2014. In a season that puts emphasis on winning, the team and driver that won more races than any other last season has found themselves in a very sticky position. Although the new Chase rules emply that the point leader automatically makes the Chase, there is now guarantee that Kenseth holds on to the poitn lead for another twelve races. Time is slowly ticking until it's time for the Chase, and the 20 team knows it. Tracks that Kenseth won at least year such as Kentucky and Bristol are still to come. For now, the 20 and Kenseth hopes that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Matt will roll off in the 16th spot
11:15: On Saturday, Kyle Larson pulled into Victory Lane at Pocono in the ARCA Series. Kyle had never ran at Pocono before in his career, so this was for sure a great first experience for the rookie. Larson started from the pole and terminated the field, leading 68 of the 80 laps. On a bad note for Larson, the ARCA Series does not allow shifting. To try and make up for this, the 42 crew made Kyle drive a stick shift. Shifting is valuble at Pocono and ehlps pick up speed. Larson said at first the experience was funny. Now, not so much. Kyle will roll off in the 14th spot.
Pocono 400 inline
11:14: The August race at Pocono was won by Kasey Kahne. Kasey is having a rather rough season walking into the action today at Pocono. Kasey's three Hendrick Motorsports teammates have all won races this season leaving Kasey as the lone man out. Not in favorable starting posotion today, Kasey rolls off 27th but is definitely looking to defend his Pocono crown and solitify his way into the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
11:12: Jimmie Johnson is back in top form coming into the summer session of the Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie and the 48 went winless through the first twelve races. But Jimmie pulled out dominating performances at both Charlotte and Dover en route to wins at both courses. Today, Jimmie will look to win three straight races at a track that he dominated last year and almost swept. A tire malfunction hindered the August Pocono race and kept the 48 from Victory Lane but Jimmie still looked strong. Jimmie posted third fastest in final practice and will roll off 20th.
11:09: In final practice on Saturday, kevin Harvick ruled all posting the fastest speed. While the 4 crew avoided a scare. What was thought to be an engine probelm that would have sent the 4 car to the abck of the field for the start of the race only turned out to be a transmition problem. The 4 car got back out on track and ran solid times, also sealing the fourth starting spot for Kevin Harvick.
Live Pocono 400 2014
11:05: Now we will look at some of the top stories in NASCAR on the day of the Pocono 400.
11:02: Here is the starting lineup for the Pocono 400:
Row 1: Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch
Row 2: Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick
Row 3: Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch
Row 4: Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Row 5: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards
Row 6: Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart
Row 7: Greg Biffle, Kyle Larson
Row 8: Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick
Row 9: Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray
Row 10: Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson
Row 11: A.J Allmendinger, Aric Almirola
Row 12: Paul Menard, Justin Allgaier
Row 13: Casey Mears, Matt Kenseth
Row 14: Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Row 15: Marcos Ambrose, Micahel Annett
Row 16: Landon Cassil, David Ragan
Row 17: Travis Kvapil, Alex Bowman
Row 18: David Gilliland, Reed Sorenson
Row 19: Josh Wise, J.J Yeley
Row 20: Timmy Hill, Cole Whitt
Row 21: Ryan Truex, Alex Kennedy
Row 22: Dave Blaney
NASCAR Races 2014 Live Results
11:00: Welcome to VAVEL USA's coverage of the Pocono 400 from Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Today, 43 of the worlds best drivers will tangle with the "Tricky Triangle" to see who will be on top after 160 laps at the Pocono Raceway. I'm Steven {atrick, and thank you for joining us on what is sure to be a great day of racing.