Sunday (June 27) afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race has quite the status to live up to after what happened less than 24 hours before.
On Saturday, Kyle Larson was seemingly on cruise control, having battled and overcome Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman in the waning laps of the Pocono Organics CBD 325 to take the lead, set sail and focus on winning the race.
That didn’t happen, because Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet suffered a flat tire in the final turn of the final lap, slamming into the wall. Bowman scooted by to get the win.
We can't believe it!@Alex_Bowman is your winner! pic.twitter.com/rX8dBjT83b
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 26, 2021
The win was Bowman’s third of 2021.
As for Sunday, Larson looks to rebound while Bowman could sweep the weekend. All cars were worked on after the race yesterday and will go through inspection again; this story will be updated with any issues.
Chris Buescher will lead the field to green in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with Michael McDowell alongside him. Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell and Aric Almirola round out the top five. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick fill out the top 10.
Bowman starts 20th, all of these slots as a result of the inversion of the top 20 finishers from Saturday, while Larson, Ryan Preece and several other drivers will turn to backup cars.
Justin Haley, originally scheduled to race in Spire Motorsports’ No. 77, will be replaced by Justin Allgaier after Haley suffered a hard crash in the Xfinity race Sunday afternoon.
Allgaier gets a feel of the seat of the Spire No. 77. He will replace Haley today. Haley is OK but out of abundance of caution, Allgaier to race today. pic.twitter.com/HgAiSJSiyb
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 27, 2021
Last year featured two different winners at the Pocono doubleheader in Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, both of whom finished in the top 10 on Saturday.
Elsewhere this weekend, the Camping World Truck Series ran their race before the first Cup event on Saturday, where John Hunter Nemechek outlasted Kyle Busch Motorsports boss Kyle Busch to take the checkered.
As for the Xfinity Series, Austin Cindric held off Ty Gibbs to take the win on Sunday prior to the Cup Series’ second event.
In Austria, Max Verstappen notched his fourth Formula 1 victory of 2021 at the Styrian Grand Prix.
Tune in to the NBCSN at 3:30 p.m. ET for coverage of the finale of the Cup Series doubleheader.
Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch and also hosts the Adam Cheek's Sports Week podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.