NASCAR: Pocono Raceway results in 3 minutes

The weather was relentless at the Pennsylvania 400 and it finally prevailed around 4 p.m. Monday.

A mix of fog and rain finally ended this race with 22 laps to go around 4 p.m.. That made for a surprise winner in Chris Buescher of Front Row Racing. He stayed out when others pitted and was first when the cars were parked under Red Flag when fog became dangerously thick.

Buescher still must finish in the top 30 of the Sprint Cup standings in order to qualify for the season-ending Chase. Buescher, 23, is the reigning Xfinity champion before moving up to full time on the Sprint Cup series this season.

Brad Keselowski finished second and Regan Smth finished third.

Turning point

Fog became so thick that spotters couldn’t keep view of their various cars. So NASCAR first called a caution and then parked the cars until rain hit the track.

Three who mattered

Buescher: He’s certainly this season’s surprise race winner . A bold strategy paid off.

Kyle Larson: He gave himself a chance throughout the second half of this race to get a Chase-clinching victory.

Greg Biffle: Knowing he needs a win to qualify for the Chase, he gambled on pit strategy for much of the race.

Observations

▪ Joey Logano might have had the fastest car in the field when Chase Elliott got loose and pushed Logano into the wall with about 57 laps remaining..

▪ Pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr., driving the same car that dominated the Coca-Cola 600, lost a right front tire early in the race, hitting the wall for heavy damage. He sustained further damage shortly past the race’s official midpoint.

▪ Pocono Raceway did a terrific job of drying the track Monday, considering the misty conditions most of the morning.

They said it

“Trying to remember every rain dance I ever learned.” – Buescher, while parked as the leader under Red Flag.

N@SCAR

Three tweets from Monday’s race:

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 4:28 PM with the headline "NASCAR: Pocono Raceway results in 3 minutes."