2016 Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 14 of 36 in the2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2016 Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 program cover, featuringMartin Truex Jr.
Date	June 6, 2016 (2016-06-06) (postponed from June 5, 2016 (2016-06-05))
Location	Pocono Raceway inLong Pond, Pennsylvania
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.5 miles (4 km)
Distance	160 laps, 400 mi (640 km)
Average speed	125.49 mph (201.96 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske
Time	49.525 seconds
Most laps led
Driver	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	51
Winner
No. 41	Kurt Busch	Stewart–Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FS1
Announcers	Mike Joy,Jeff Gordon andDarrell Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle andRusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1),Mike Bagley (2) and Kyle Rickey (3)

The2016 Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 was aNASCARSprint Cup Series stock carrace held on June 6, 2016 atPocono Raceway inLong Pond, Pennsylvania. The race, postponed a day because of persistent rain, was contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) triangular racecourse, and was the fourteenth race of the2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kurt Busch scored his first and only victory of the 2016 season, his third career victory at Pocono and first win at the track since 2007. the race had 14 lead changes among different drivers and ten cautions for 40 laps.

Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) tri-oval track inBlakeslee, Pennsylvania. Entering the race,Kevin Harvick leads the points with 457, whileKurt Busch is 36 points back,Jimmie Johnson is 48 points back,Kyle Busch is 52 points back, andCarl Edwards is 53 points back. Harvick, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Edwards,Brad Keselowski,Martin Truex Jr.,Matt Kenseth, andDenny Hamlin have already clinched a Chase position.

The preliminary entry list for the race included forty cars and was released on May 30, 2016 at 12:48 pm ET.

Carl Edwards was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 50.055 and a speed of 179.802 mph (289.363 km/h).^[10]

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 50.876 and a speed of 176.901 mph (284.695 km/h).^[11]

Brad Keselowski scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.525 and a speed of 181.726 mph (292.460 km/h).^[12] He said after qualifying that his car was "really fast. My teammate Joey Logano, he’s really fast. He’s probably not really happy I won the pole, but it goes the other way sometimes where he gets it.”^[13] He also added that he "felt really good when we ran the first round and I was third and knew I had a little more speed left. We ran the second round and I didn’t feel I had anything left and was still third. I got down into turn one on my last run there and it kind of bottomed out and shot up the hill a little and I wasn’t very confident at all. I have learned over time that these things have a way of working themselves out when they are meant to be and I guess today was meant to be.”^[14]

Joey Logano, who qualified second, said his qualifying performance was "similar tolast week when I won the first two rounds and came in second in the last one. It stings a little bit because I really wanted to get a pole. We're mad about second and it's a good thing when you're mad about second because it means your organization and your team is where it needs to be mad."^[15] He also added that he's "excited about the race Sunday" and that Pocono "has been a good race track for us in the past.”^[16]

The race was scheduled to run on Sunday, June 5 at 1:00 p.m., but rain forced the race to be postponed to Monday.^[17]

Under mostly sunnyPennsylvania skies,Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag at 12:13 p.m. TeammateJoey Logano passed him exiting turn 1 to take the lead. The first caution of the race flew on lap 4 for a single-car spin in turn 3. Riding the high line,Matt DiBenedetto got loose and spun out.^[18] He managed to save it without touching the wall.

The race restarted on lap 7. The second caution of the race flew on lap 16. It was a scheduled competition caution for overnight rain.Kyle Larson opted not to pit and assumed the lead.Kevin Harvick andKasey Kahne were tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field.^[19]

The race restarted on lap 20. The third caution of the race flew on lap 22 for a single-car spin in turn 1. Rounding the turn,Brian Scott got loose, made contact with the wall and spun out. Keselowski was called to pit road for unapproved body modifications.^[20] More specifically, one of his crew members dented in a side panel that could give the car an aerodynamic advantage.^[21]

The race restarted on lap 27. Larson pitted from the lead the same lap and handed the lead toMatt Kenseth. A number of cars began pitting on lap 52. Kenseth made his stop on lap 54 and handed the lead to Harvick. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 60 for a single-car wreck in turn 1 involving DiBenedetto. He would go on to finish 40th.^[22] Harvick pitted under the caution and handed the lead back to Kenseth.Aric Almirola was tagged for his crew being over the wall too soon and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field.

The race restarted on lap 66.Chase Elliott drove under Kenseth andKyle Busch to take the lead on lap 67. A number of cars began pitting on lap 86. Elliott hit pit road on lap 87 and handed the lead to Busch. Debris in turn 2 brought out the fifth caution of the race on lap 88. Busch pitted under the caution and the lead cycled back to Elliott.

The race restarted on lap 93 and a multi-car wreck on the Long Pond Straightaway brought out the sixth caution of the race. Exiting turn 1,Tony Stewart got loose, got into teammateDanica Patrick, hit the wall, came down the track, clippedLandon Cassill and sent him into the wall.^[23]

The race restarted with 62 laps to go. The seventh caution of the race flew with 58 laps to go for a single-car wreck in turn 1. Going into the turn,Michael Annett suffered a left-front tire blowout and slammed the wall.

The race restarted with 52 laps to go. The eighth caution of the race flew with 51 laps to go for a single-car wreck on the Long Pond straightaway. Exiting turn 1,Ryan Newman made contact with Busch and sent him into the wall.Chris Buescher also spun out trying to avoid the wreck.

The race restarted with 47 laps to go. The ninth caution of the race flew with 43 laps to go for a single-car wreck in turn 1. Going into the turn,Austin Dillon suffered a right-front brake rotor failure and slammed the wall.A. J. Allmendinger opted not to pit under the caution and assumed the lead. He pitted the next lap, however, and handed the lead toTy Dillon.

The race restarted with 38 laps to go and a single-car wreck in turn 1 brought out the 10th caution of the race. Rounding the turn,Jimmie Johnson got loose, saved the car but slammed the inside wall.^[24] Dillon pitted under the caution and handed the lead toDale Earnhardt Jr.

The race restarted with 33 laps to go. After a drag race to the line,Kurt Busch took the lead from Earnhardt with 32 laps to go.^[25] With his remaining fuel load in question, he saved enough to score the victory.^[26]

"It's tough to balance everything," Busch said in victory lane. "We had a fast car and an interim crew chief. And we didn't know if we had enough fuel to make it. ... This was a wonderful win for us. We've been so close all year. It's just so much fun to drive and be up front."^[27]

Earnhardt said afterwards that the race "was a good run for us. The car wasn’t all we hoped it would be, but it was good." However, he felt he "should have been able to hold that 41 off on that final restart. Me and the 24 was racing pretty hard and it gave the 41 the opportunity to get a run on us,” Earnhardt said. “If I could have got in front of him I don’t think he would have got by us."^[28]

After finishing third, Keselowski took issue with comments made by Fox Sports color commentatorJeff Gordon saying Fox "need[s] to get some people that aren't inbred to the sport and own teams and have internal knowledge, because that is pretty crappy. It is what it is."^[29]

Elliott, who finished fourth after leading a race-high of 51 laps, said he "made a big mistake there behind [Earnhardt] in the tunnel [Turn 2]. I wish I had been a little more patient and given ourselves a better chance, but you live and you learn."^[30]

• Lead changes: 14 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 10 for 40
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 11 minutes, and 15 seconds
• Average speed: 125.49 miles per hour (201.96 km/h)

Fox NASCAR televised the race in the United States onFS1 for the second consecutive year.Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while six-time Pocono winner,Jeff Gordon and four-time winnerDarrell Waltrip were the color commentators.Jamie Little,Vince Welch andMatt Yocum reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast byMotor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcasted onSirius XMNASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and four-time Pocono winnerRusty Wallace announced the race in the booth while the field was racing on the front stretch.Dave Moody called the race from atop a billboard outside of turn 1 when the field was racing through turn 1 whileMike Bagley called the race from a billboard outside turn 2 when the field was racing through turn 2. Kyle Rickey reported the race from a billboard outside turn 3 when the field was racing through turn 3. Alex Hayden,Glenn Jarrett and Steve Post reported from pit lane during the race.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Kevin Harvick 490 2 Kurt Busch 465 (–25) 3 3 Brad Keselowski 442 (–48) 1 4 Carl Edwards 437 (–53) 1 5 Kyle Busch 416 (–74) 3 6 Jimmie Johnson 415 (–75) 1 7 Chase Elliott(R) 413 (–77) 1 8 Joey Logano 410 (–80) 2 9 Martin Truex Jr. 403 (–87) 10 Matt Kenseth 382 (–108) 2 11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 381 (–109) 1 12 Denny Hamlin 372 (–118) 1 13 Austin Dillon 348 (–142) 14 Jamie McMurray 342 (–148) 15 Ryan Blaney(R) 340 (–150) 16 Ryan Newman 338 (–152) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 588 2 Chevrolet 566 (–22) 3 Ford 514 (–74) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

• 2016 in sports in Pennsylvania
• 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Pocono Raceway
• June 2016 sports events in the United States

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