NASCAR at Pocono race results: Kyle Busch overcomes transmission issues, low fuel to win

Kyle Busch made a gamble at the end of Sunday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, and it paid off with a checkered flag — the driver’s second of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

Busch was in a three-way battle late with William Byron and Denny Hamlin, and all three drivers were in need of fuel. While the latter two elected to pit for fuel within the final five laps, Busch elected to risk it all and stay on the track. That capped a day where the younger Busch brother had to fight off transmission issues — he was stuck in fourth gear heading into the pits during the Stage 2 break.

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Busch wasn’t the only driver to put together an excellent race: Kyle Larson, who lost out on a fourth straight Cup Series victory Saturday because of a blown tire, finished second with his backup car.

Sporting News tracked live updates and lap-by-lap highlights from NASCAR’s race at Pocono on Sunday, the second in a weekend doubleheader. Check out the complete results from the 140-lap, 350-mile Explore the Pocono Mountains 350:

NASCAR at Pocono live updates, highlights from Sunday race

(All times Eastern.)

6:20 p.m.: Your full top 10:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kyle Larson
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Bubba Wallace
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Alex Bowman
8. Ryan Preece
9. Tyler Reddick
10. Joey Logano

6:19 p.m.: And that’s it: Kyle Busch saves just enough fuel for a late push to the checkered flag. An incredible race from him, especially considering he had transmission issues earlier in the race.

6:16 p.m.: Now Hamlin pits. Busch is gonna risk it on the final lap with a 7-second lead over Larson.

6:15 p.m. And now Byron pits! Hamlin has the lead with a chance to win his first race of the year with two laps to go! Kyle Busch is hot on his tail.

6:12 p.m.: Byron maintains roughly a two-second lead over Hamlin and Kyle Busch with just five laps remaining. All are in danger of running out of fuel.

6:09 p.m.: Keselowski pits for fuel with nine laps left. Byron takes the lead and Keselowski falls to seventh.

6:01 p.m.: Looks like some teams are going to stretch their fuel.

6 p.m.: Keselowski, still in the lead, has the most laps driven since his last pit among the top drivers (34). Next closest is Byron, in second place, with 27.

5:55 p.m.: Bowman pits, leaving Keselowski as your leader with 24 laps remaining.

5:51 p.m.: Looks like Stenhouse’s car is smoking a little bit as he pits.

5:46 p.m.: Meanwhile, Bowman is still comfortably in the lead, though he hasn’t pitted since Lap 73.

5:38 p.m.: Oof, a huge mistake on Elliott’s part.

5:36 p.m.: Wow, it looks like Elliott has another flat to his front right tire. He pits again with 34 to go.

5:41 p.m.: And now Chase Elliott is heading to pit row. Looks like he has a flat. He’ll get a completely new set of tires.

5:38 p.m.: Ross Chastain and Bell have contact, and it looks like Chastain is having car issues. Shortly after, Elliott hits Bell with a much bigger hit and pits, causing Bell to pit. No caution.

5:37 p.m.: Bowman clears Bell’s No. 20 to take the lead coming out of the restart! Are we looking at a two-win weekend for the 48?

5:30 p.m.: Caution 4 (Lap 94). Looks like Corey LaJoie ran into the back of Erik Jones’ car, forcing him into the back of Cole Custer’s No. 41 car. Looks like Jones got the worst of it with a severely blown front left tire.

5:30 p.m.: Looks like Busch’s pit crew tried to work on his car during the stage break. His car’s stuck in fourth gear.

5:17 p.m.: Caution 3 (Lap 85). Byron is your Stage 2 winner. The full top 10:

1. William Byron
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Christopher Bell
5. Chase Elliott
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Kyle Busch
8. Kyle Larson
9. Aric Almirola
10. Ross Chastain

5:14 p.m.: Oh, wait. There’s the transmission issues again for Kyle Busch again.

6:12 p.m.: Now Wallace pits, with William Byron leading just six laps out from the conclusion of Stage 2.

5:07 p.m.: Bubba Wallace takes the lead with 11 laps remaining in Stage 2 after both Kyle Busch and Logano pit.

4:43 p.m.: Transmission issues? What transmission issues? Kyle Busch is in the lead at Pocono!

4:33 p.m.: Uh-oh.

4:31 p.m.: Looks like Larson has even more damage to his car.

4:21 p.m.: Caution 2 (Lap 30). Truex wins the stage, his fourth such victory this season. Garrett Smithley also got a free pass. The full top 10:

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Aric Almirola
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Bubba Wallace
6. Michael McDowell
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Daniel Suarez
10. Joey Logano

4:07 p.m.: Bowman was driving 21st at the time NBC caught this audio:

4:06 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr. overtakes McDowell for the lead on Lap 14.

3:59 p.m.: And there’s the restart on Lap 7. Michael McDowell has moved into the lead.

3:52 p.m.: Caution 1 (Lap 2). Getting the caution out of the way early. Looks like Anthony Alfredo blew his front right tire, but he should be able to keep driving on it.

3:50 p.m.: And they’re off!

3:35 p.m.: Flyover, complete.

3:33 p.m.: A total of eight cars will move to the rear for Sunday’s race:

2:57 p.m.: Of note:

NASCAR start time today

• Start time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV channel: NBCSN (TSN3 in Canada)
• Live stream: NBCSports.com | fuboTV (7-day free trial)

The green flag on Sunday’s race will drop at 3:49 p.m. ET.

Rain could affect that time. The National Weather Service forecast for Long Pond, Pa., site of Pocono Raceway, calls for a slight chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms with high temperatures between 85 and 90. The chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

NASCAR starting lineup at Pocono

NASCAR used the official results of Saturday’s Pocono Organics 325 to set the starting lineup for Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway, the Explore the Pocono Mountains 350.

*Larson will start at the rear of the field and race in a backup car Sunday because of a crash in Saturday’s race.

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