{"id":3446,"date":"2016-06-04T22:24:40","date_gmt":"2016-06-05T03:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=3446"},"modified":"2016-06-04T22:24:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-05T03:24:40","slug":"kyle-larson-wins-rain-shortened-nascar-xfinity-debut-race-at-pocono","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/04\/kyle-larson-wins-rain-shortened-nascar-xfinity-debut-race-at-pocono\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Larson wins rain-shortened NASCAR XFINITY debut race at Pocono"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/p>\n

LONG POND, Pa. \u2013 The maiden voyage of the NASCAR XFINITY<\/a> Series at Pocono Raceway was shorter than planned, but race winner Kyle Larson<\/strong> wasn\u2019t complaining.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle

Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Cessna\/NTT Data Group Chevrolet, poses with the trophy in an alternate Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NASCAR awarded the checkered flag in the Pocono Green 250 to Larson when the race was red-flagged after 53 of 100 scheduled laps and then called because of persistent rain.<\/p>\n

The victory was Larson\u2019s first of the season and fourth in the series, but it was a source of frustration to runner-up Erik Jones, who arguably had the fastest car and was closing rapidly on Larson when a rain shower blew in from the west and stopped the action.<\/p>\n

Ty Dillon finished third, followed by Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. Ninth-place finisher Daniel Suarez maintained an 11-point lead in the series standings over Elliott Sadler, who ran sixth.<\/p>\n

The caution flag flew for the fifth time on Lap 52, when a stormed cell drenched Turn 3 and began to move over the entire track. Another shower followed and then a steady rain, forcing NASCAR to shorten the race.<\/p>\n

Larson likely was the only driver in the field who welcomed the downpour.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle

Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Cessna\/NTT Data Group Chevrolet, celebrates in an alternate Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“I\u2019m happy with it,” Larson said. “Now that the race is over and we got the win, it can clear out so we can race (on Sunday) for the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup race … I had kept a gap on him (Jones) for about four laps when he was in second.<\/p>\n

“The rain was coming, and it was starting to sprinkle on his windshield. We weren\u2019t quite to halfway yet (when a race becomes official), so I wasn\u2019t really saying much on the radio, but once we did get to halfway, it started coming down a lot harder. We were going to be racing a lot harder in the next lap or half a lap maybe, so I\u2019m happy that it started downpouring when it did.”<\/p>\n

Before the race was stopped, Jones had moved from fourth on a Lap 44 restart to second place and was pressuring Larson for the lead when rain began to fall in earnest.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s pretty frustrating,” said Jones, who has two wins, three runner-up finishes and a pair of thirds in 12 races this season. “You look at this whole year, and it\u2019s kind of been a season of just missing it by that much.<\/p>\n

\"The

The team of Kyle Larson(not pictured), driver of the #42 Cessna\/NTT Data Group Chevrolet, celebrates after claiming victory in the rain-shortened NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“We\u2019ve missed a few races with penalties and circumstance and the way things worked out, and today was another one of those days where I thought we had a good shot at the win, and the way it played out, it just didn\u2019t work out for us.”<\/p>\n

Larson had surged into the top spot on Lap 35 and stayed on the track under the fourth caution of the race, brought about by a violent collision between the Ford of Ryan Reed and the Chevrolet of Jeremy Clements.<\/p>\n

After the restart on Lap 44, Larson pulled away to a lead of nearly two seconds before Jones starting gaining ground on the No. 42 Chevrolet. Jones was roughly one car-length behind when NASCAR threw the caution flag for rain.<\/p>\n

A lap later, the sanctioning body red-flagged the race. During the stoppage, however, an ongoing feud between Reed and Sieg boiled over into a shoving match in the garage. Contact between their two cars had preceded Reed\u2019s accident with Clements.<\/p>\n

\"Erik

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 SportClips Haircuts Toyota, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“You can\u2019t race around the kid,” Sieg said of Reed, a Roush Fenway Racing driver. “He\u2019s got a lot of money, and he\u2019s got a Roush car, but he can\u2019t drive it. … Money can\u2019t buy skill, obviously, with him. We had a really good car, but it just sucks that it\u2019s torn up here in the garage, and we\u2019ve got nothing to show for it.”<\/p>\n

Reed was more restrained in his comments, appropriately so because of the circumstances. It was Reed\u2019s car that good loose in side-by-side racing and initiated the first contact with Sieg. Subsequently, a cut tire on Reed\u2019s Ford led to his brush with the wall and the collision Clements\u2019 Chevy, which was collected when Reed spun down from the outside wall to the center of the track.<\/p>\n

“Emotions run high, obviously,” Reed said. “It\u2019s racing. I look forward to talking about it in a calm, cool, collected manner and working it out. Obviously, we race every week, and it\u2019s not going to do us any good to go out there and get into a battle royal.”<\/p>\n

The brouhaha in the garage marked the end of the excitement, however, as the rain persisted, and NASCAR called the race just before 4 p.m., after a stoppage of one hour, 35 minutes.<\/p>\n

Note: \u00a0More photos posted after results.<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Pocono Green 250<\/b><\/p>\n

Pocono Raceway<\/b><\/p>\n

Long Pond, Pennsylvania<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, June 04, 2016<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 1. (4) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 2. (1) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 3. (8) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 4. (2) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 5. (5) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 6. (6) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 7. (7) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 8. (14) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 9. (3) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 10. (10) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 11. (16) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 12. (13) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 13. (11) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 14. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 15. (12) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 16. (40) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 17. (19) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 18. (22) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 19. (29) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 20. (30) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 21. (26) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 22. (25) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 23. (34) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 24. (35) Alex Guenette, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 25. (36) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 53.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 26. (27) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 52.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 27. (24) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 52.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 28. (38) Todd Peck, Ford, 52.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 29. (15) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 51.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 30. (39) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 50.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 31. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Accident, 39.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 32. (32) TJ Bell, Dodge, 39.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 33. (23) Ryan Reed, Ford, Accident, 38.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 34. (31) Jeff Green, Toyota, Header, 30.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 35. (28) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Vibration, 29.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 36. (20) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 23.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 37. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 22.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 38. (33) Carl Long, Toyota, Brakes, 21.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 39. (9) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 20.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 40. (21) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Transmission, 6.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:\u00a0 118.421 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:\u00a0 01 Hrs, 07 Mins, 08 Secs. Margin of Victory:\u00a0 Caution.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:\u00a0 5 for 14 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:\u00a0 6 among 5 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 0; K. Busch(i) 1-16; J. Logano(i) 17-23; K. Larson(i) 24-31; R. Black Jr # 32; A. Almirola(i) 33-34; K. Larson(i) 35-53.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):\u00a0 K. Larson(i) 2 times for 27 laps; K. Busch(i) 1 time for 16 laps; J. Logano(i) 1 time for 7 laps; A. Almirola(i) 1 time for 2 laps; R. Black Jr # 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Top 10 in Points: D. Suarez – 408; E. Sadler – 397; T. Dillon – 390; B. Gaughan – 363; E. Jones # – 359; B. Jones # – 357; J. Allgaier – 355; B. Poole # – 343; D. Wallace Jr – 308; R. Reed – 274.<\/p>\n

\"Ty

Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Rheem Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Daniel

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 ARRIS Toyota, races Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Cessna\/NTT Data Group Chevrolet, during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Todd Warshaw\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Kyle

Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Cessna\/NTT Data Group Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Todd Warshaw\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Erik

Erik Jones, driver of the #20 SportClips Haircuts Toyota, leads a group of cars during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Kyle

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota, races Erik Jones, driver of the #20 SportClips Haircuts Toyota, during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway on June 4, 2016 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. \u2013 The maiden voyage of the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Pocono Raceway was shorter than planned, but race winner Kyle Larson wasn\u2019t complaining. NASCAR awarded the checkered flag in the Pocono Green 250 to Larson when the race was red-flagged after 53 of 100 scheduled laps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[225,16,181,248],"class_list":["post-3446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-kyle-larson","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-xfinity-series","tag-pocono"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Pocono_NXS_Larson_VL1_060416.jpg?fit=3831%2C2554","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-TA","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3446"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3457,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3446\/revisions\/3457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}