Cool Down Laps: NASCAR News for June

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kicked off the month of June by visiting Pocono Raceway, where Kyle Busch led the most laps before earning his fourth victory of the season.

Busch led 79 laps and won by a 2.224 margin-of-victory over Brad Keselowski. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver tied Rusty Wallace on the all-time wins list, with 55 MENCS wins.

Kyle Larson won Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Pocono 400, but finished in the 26th position after cutting across the nose of the No. 14 driven by Clint Bowyer and hitting the wall in Turn 1.

Erik Jones finished third, Chase Elliott finished fourth, while Bowyer rounded out the top five.

The following week at Michigan International Speedway was a washout on Sunday, June 9th, resulting in the FireKeepers Casino 400 being run on Monday, June 10th. 

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Joey Logano held off Kurt Busch after a late-race caution by Erik Jones caused a two-lap shootout in NASCAR Overtime.

Logano’s determination and previous experience at the two-mile track propelled him ahead on Lap 202 and helped him hold off Busch in the final laps.

“I can’t tell you everything I learned,” the Team Penske driver said, “You race this whole race, you keep building that notebook up.”

Martin Truex Jr. finished third, Daniel Suarez fourth, and Kyle Busch finished fifth.

Keselowski finished sixth, Kevin Harvick seventh, while Ryan Newman, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10.

The MENCS returned from their Father’s Day off weekend to Sonoma Raceway, where Truex led 59 of 90 laps and earned his fourth win of the season.

William Byron won Stage 1 while Denny Hamlin won Stage 2.

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There was a first time MENCS winner on Sunday, June 30, 2019 at Chicagoland Speedway. Alex Bowman earned his first career victory ahead of Kyle Larson, after the two exchanged the lead several times in the closing laps.

Bowman led 88 laps during the Camping World 400. He got his No. 88 Chevrolet stuck in the mud during his celebratory burnout.

 “It’s all I’ve wanted my whole life,” Bowman said, “I’m just tired of running second, didn’t want to do that anymore.”

Logano finished third, Jimmie Johnson finished fourth, and Keselowski rounded out the top-five finishers.

Harvick, who led a race-high 132 laps, finished 14th after hitting the wall on Lap 172 of 267.

Xfinity Series:


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Cole Custer edged out Tyler Reddick for his third win of the season at Pocono Raceway in an overtime finish.

Custer started from the pole and led 58 laps. He beat Reddick by a .226 margin-of-victory.

Chase Briscoe finished third. Ryan Preece finished fourth. Christopher Bell recovered from a spin on Lap 17 to finish fifth.

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Tyler Reddick earned his third win in five races at Michigan International Speedway, using fuel mileage to his advantage to earn his sixth career victory.

Noah Gragson finished second, Michael Annett third, while Paul Menard and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.

Brandon Jones finished sixth, Briscoe finished seventh and John Hunter Nemechek finished 8th after being involved in wrecks on Lap 77 and 12, respectively.

Jeb Burton finished 9th and Justin Haley 10th.

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Bell finished 13th after a miscommunication with (crew chief) Jason Ratcliff resulted in the Joe Gibbs Racing driver not pitting until Lap 114.

“Yeah, that was our first time using code words and we got the code words mixed up,” Bell told FOX Sports post-race. “My definition was a little bit different than what Jason had planned.”

Bell won one week later on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16th during the CircuitCity.com 250 at Iowa Speedway.

Bell led 186 laps and swept the stages to earn his fourth victory of the 2019 season.

Custer finished second, Allgaier third, Harrison Burton fourth, and Zane Smith fifth.

Custer earned his fourth win of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing at Chicagoland Speedway. He led 151 of 200 laps during the Camping World 300.

Custer beat Logano by almost three seconds. Michael Annett finished third, Brandon Jones fourth, and Austin Cindric finished fifth.

Ryan Sieg finished 12th after coming back from two separate spins in Turn 2 on Lap 78 and Lap 111, respectively. Allgaier finished 32nd after spinning on Lap 12 in Turn 2.

Reddick leads in the standings by 71 points over Custer. Sieg holds the 12th position by 98 points over Gray Gaulding.

Truck Series:

The Gander Outdoors Truck Series kicked off June with bonus cash in the Triple Truck Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. 

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Greg Biffle returned to the series for the first time in 15 years to race for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Biffle led 18 of 167 laps before earning his first victory in the series since 2001.

Matt Crafton earned his sixth top-five finish of the season with second. Tyler Ankrum finished third and Grant Enfinger finished fourth.

Harrison Burton finished fifth after being involved in a multi-truck wreck on Lap 96.

There were several cautions throughout the SpeedyCash.com 400, including spins by Cory Roper, Jordan Anderson, and Stewart Friesen.

Ross Chastain dominated at Iowa Speedway, leading 141 of 200 laps. His win was disqaualfied after post-race inspection, and Brett Moffitt was credited with his first win of the season.

Austin Hill and Johnny Sauter made contact several times during the M&Ms 200, causing tempers to flare and NASCAR Officials parking the No. 13 of Sauter after he spun Hill out intentionally under caution.

NASCAR punished Sauter even further, suspending him for one race at Gateway. 


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Chastain won, and passed post-race inspection, on Saturday, June 22nd at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. 

Chastain must now make the top 20 in the standings before the playoffs begin to be eligible for the championship, since he declared for GOTS points mid-season.


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Brett Moffitt earned his second win of the season at Chicagoland Speedway, leading 72 laps of the Camping World 225.

The win was Moffitt’s second win in two years at the 1.5-mile track.

Brandon Jones finished second in his third start of the year for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He won Stage 1 and led three times for a total of 13 laps.

Friesen finished third, While Burton and Hill rounded out the top five.

Enfinger, who won Stage 2, finished 16th after contact between the No. 44 of Spencer Davis and the No. 22 of Austin Wayne Self knocked the ThorSport Racing driver out of contention.

Enfinger leads Friesen in the standings by 52 points and 53 over Moffitt.

Gilliland is on the bubble in eighth, while Sheldon Creed is only five points away in ninth.

Cool Down Laps: NASCAR News for June Cool Down Laps: NASCAR News for June Reviewed by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 02, 2019 Rating: 5