If you were like me, you went to bed last night thinking that Denny Hamlin won at M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. However, like me you may be shocked to find out that in fact Chase Elliott gets that win after Denny and Kyle Busch have been disqualified.
The race itself at the “Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway was filled with competition and drama. Ten drivers exchanged the lead 14 times. Kyle Busch led a race high 63 laps. Kyle Larson was the winner of stage one under caution while Kyle Busch claimed the win in stage two.
There were nine caution periods in the race. This included the final caution when Denny Hamlin gave Ross Chastain some “payback” for some incidents in previous races that Denny felt were a result of unnecessary racing risks.
The race would come down to pit strategy even with that final re-start. The cars that were on the same strategy as Denny were near the front with a chance to race for the win. Even though Kyle Busch was at the front for the re-start and had been the dominant car all day, Denny’s team had adjusted his car to get it working better when it counted.
When the green flag waived Denny was able to race out to the lead. He held that lead and extended it to a somewhat comfortable gap thorough the final 13 laps of the race. Kyle Busch crossed the finish line in second place followed by Chase Elliott (3rd), Tyler Reddick (4th), Daniel Suárez (5th), Christopher Bell (6th) and Kyle Larson (7th).
During post-race inspection both the #11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin and the #18 Toyota of Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing {JGR} teammates) failed and were disqualified. NASCAR.com reports “the front fascia on both JGR entries was the source of the issues leading to their disqualification.” The teams have until 12 noon today (7/25) to appeal NASCAR’s ruling.
With those disqualifications, Chase Elliott was declared the winner of the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. The cars behind him all also move up in the finishing order. That makes Tyler Reddick second-place, Daniel Suárez third-place, Christopher Bell fourth-place and Kyle Larson fifth-place. See the complete race results for the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 here.
If the results of the race stand as they are now, that gives Chase Elliott his fourth win of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Chase remains the leader in the regular season point standings with Ross Chastain remaining in second-place. Ryan Blaney also holds steady in third. Kyle Larson moves up to fourth-place pushing Martin Truex Jr. back to fifth. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
The next stop for the drivers and teams will be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Sunday, July 31st.
By: Buck Stevens
