2017 Overton's 400
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2017 Overton's 400, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
held on July 30, 2017 at Pocono Raceway in
Long Pond, Pennsylvania Long Pond is an unincorporated community in Monroe County in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, a part of the Appalachian Mountains. Long Pond is located within the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed. Its ZIP code is 18334. Geography Long Po ...
. Contested over 160 laps on the superspeedway, it was the 21st race of the
2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 69th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 46th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts ...
season.


Report


Background

Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as the Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the
Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
at Long Pond. It is the site of two annual
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
races held just weeks apart in early June and late July/early August, one NASCAR
Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
event in early June, one
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Camping World Truck Series event in late July/early August, and two
ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
races in early June and late July/early August. From 1971 to 1989, and again since 2013, the track has also hosted an
Indy Car INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
race, currently sanctioned by the
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
and run in August. Pocono is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or
International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...
, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. It is run by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon and Nicholas, both of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli. Mattco also owns
South Boston Speedway South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...
in
South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Outside of the NASCAR races, Pocono is used throughout the year by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.


Entry list


Practice


First practice

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 51.114 seconds and a speed of .


Final practice

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 50.898 seconds and a speed of .


Qualifying

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.175 and a speed of .


Qualifying results


Race


First stage

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
led the field to the green flag at 3:20 p.m. The field didn't complete a full lap when rounding the third turn,
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
got loose and spun, triggering an eight-car wreck that brought out the first caution. Aric Almirola took the worst damage on his way to a last-place finish. Back to green on the eighth lap, cars started hitting pit road to short-pit the first stage on Lap 15. Busch pitted from the lead on Lap 22, as did
Erik Jones Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That J ...
after a four-lap stint in front. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the next 11 circuits, before diving onto pit road on Lap 37, cycling the lead to Kenseth. He didn't hold the lead for long, however, as Busch passed him going into Turn 1 to take the lead on Lap 42 and drove on to win the first stage that concluded on Lap 51. He opted to pit under the stage break, while Kenseth stayed out to retake the lead. Teammate
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and ope ...
restarted from the tail-end of the field for speeding.


Second stage

On fresher tires, Busch powered by the outside of Kenseth in Turn 3 to return to the lead on the Lap 56 restart. When the field came back through Turn 3 a lap later,
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
spun, after contact with teammate
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
, and hit the wall, bringing out the third caution. The race restarted on Lap 62. A drive-shaft piece that came from
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champi ...
's car brought out the fourth caution on Lap 70. Hamlin stayed out to get the race lead, but was relegated to second on the restart, bumping up
Austin Dillon Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racin ...
, for not maintaining pace car speed. It made no difference, however, as Hamlin regained the lead going into Turn 1 on the Lap 75 restart. He led the next 15 laps, before
Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
got to his inside exiting Turn 1 and took the lead heading down the Long Pond Straightaway. Truex was among a slew of cars that opted to short-pit for the position to win towards the end of the second stage on Lap 98, handing the lead to
Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
, who won the stage on Lap 101. Truex resumed his place up front when Bowyer pitted.


Final stage

The race restarted on Lap 106. Cars started hitting pit road for their final pit stop with 37 laps to go. Race leader Truex pitted with 34 to go, handing the lead to Busch, who had yet to pit. He did so with 25 to go, handing the lead to
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
. When he stopped five laps later, the lead cycled to Hamlin. During the cycle,
Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Ser ...
was hit with a pass through penalty for speeding, and a stop and go penalty for pitting to service his car during his pass through. With 17 to go,
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
took the lead from Hamlin going into Turn 1. But Busch caught Harvick going into Turn 3, bumped him out of the racing groove and drove on to victory.


Race results


Stage results

Stage 1 ''Laps:'' 50 Stage 2 ''Laps:'' 50


Final stage results

Stage 3 ''Laps:'' 60


Race statistics

* Lead changes: 9 among different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 5 for 21 * Red flags: 0 * Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes and 7 seconds * Average speed:


Media


Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen and
Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champi ...
had the call from the regular booth for the race.
Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
and
Steve Letarte Steven Letarte (born May 14, 1979) is an American professional NASCAR crew chief and sportscaster who works for NBC Sports as a color commentator on NASCAR on NBC, their telecasts for NASCAR. He also works as a consultant for Spire Motorsports, ...
had the call in the new NBC's stock car smarts booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and
Kelli Stavast Kelli L. Stavast is an American sportscaster who works for NBC Sports as a pit reporter for both their NASCAR (in both the Cup and Xfinity Series) and IndyCar Series coverage. She has reported for numerous other forms of motorsports throughout he ...
reported from pit lane during the race.


Radio

Motor Racing Network Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ...
had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.


Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. *. – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overton's 400 2017 Overton's 400 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2017 in sports in Pennsylvania July 2017 sports events in the United States