The Great American Getaway 400: No. 12 Ryan Blaney earns 12th Cup win at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. – Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was at the front of the field when it mattered the most and found himself in Victory Lane for the 12th time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, after taking the checkered flag in The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com at Pocono Raceway.

Blaney’s No. 12 Wabash Ford was one of the many drivers that ran up front consistently during the 400-mile race at the “Tricky Triangle” and opted for better track position at the end of the stages instead of picking up stage points. Blaney, who was in the top 10 with four laps to go in both Stage 1 and Stage 2, decided to pit both times, eventually leading to his race win.

“Feel like we’ve gotten to a great pace and speed the last couple months, honestly thought we let a couple races slip away from us I thought we should have won,’’ Blaney said. “It’s just so cool to win here again. Won here seven years ago for my first Cup win, so awesome to be back.”

Denny Hamlin, who is arguably one of the all-time greats to race at Pocono found himself with a runner-up finish. The No. 11 Mavis Tire Toyota was second in Stage 1 and won in Stage 2, helping the Joe Gibbs Racing driver earn a race-high 54 points.

“You never lose one, just run out of laps or you run out of time, right?” Hamlin said jokingly. “No, hats off to this whole Mavis Tires and Brakes team. Dave (Sorbaro), the CEO and 100 associates were here today, so we were proud to host them. Would’ve loved to give them a victory, but second is close and at least, it’s good to get back on track. We’ve had some slides over the last month-and-a-half.”

Results from The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com are listed below:

One of the hottest topics leaving Pocono Raceway was an incident with 40 laps to go that ultimately ended the day for four drivers (Nos. 8, 21, 41, 47) and involved three others (Nos. 2, 7, 16).

This occurred when Spire Motorsports driver Corey Lajoie made contact with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, before LaJoie ultimately hooked Busch in the left rear, sending the No. 8 zone/GetGo Chevrolet into the infield grass and then back up the track into traffic.

Take a look at the replay below:

Comments made on the radio by LaJoie’s No. 7 team:

Take a look at the incident from LaJoie’s in-car camera: