Blaney was one of the drivers who stopped for fuel just before Stage 3 began. This meant he had to manage his fuel carefully when he made his final pit stop during a caution on lap 117 out of 160.
After this pit stop, Blaney emerged from the pit road in second place. However, he moved into the lead when Kyle Larson, who was initially in first after pit stops, was penalized for speeding along with three other drivers.
During the final 40 laps of the race, there were three more cautions. These caution periods helped Blaney save enough fuel. Despite a late challenge from Denny Hamlin, Blaney managed to hold onto his lead and won the race at Pocono Raceway with a margin of 1.312 seconds.
Blaney expressed his satisfaction with how things fell into place for his team: “I think things are just kind of falling into place for us. I feel like we have gotten to a great place on speed in the last two months, especially.” He also reflected on missed opportunities in previous races where they could have won.
He praised his team’s strategy for the race: “It was nice to stick to the plan today and our plan was to have track position at the end. I knew our car was fast enough.” Blaney showed pride in his team’s efforts, mentioning his earlier win at Pocono Raceway seven years ago.
When asked about his team’s current performance compared to previous years, Blaney noted improvements: “I think we are in a better spot at this time this year than where we were last year at this point. I feel like our speed is better. Our execution is great.”
This victory marked Blaney’s second win of the season and his 12th career win. It was also his second win at the 2.5-mile track where he first won in 2017.
Team Penske has been performing well recently, winning four of the last seven races. All three of their drivers are now guaranteed spots in the 16-driver playoff field.
Other top finishers in the race included Alex Bowman in third, William Byron in fourth, and Joey Logano in fifth place. The rest of the top ten were Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace.
In Stage 1, Martin Truex Jr. opted not to pit and won with a 1.345-second lead over Hamlin. Reddick, Byron, and Elliott followed behind.
During Stage 2, Hamlin stayed on the track and won with a significant 5.707-second lead over Elliott. Keselowski, Byron, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.
The race saw incidents such as Ross Chastain crashing into the Turn 3 wall, forcing him out of the race. Todd Gilliland also had a brake rotor issue that caused him to hit the wall in Turn 1.
As Stage 3 began, most lead lap cars pitted, but Blaney managed to stay out and eventually took the lead after others were penalized for speeding on pit road.
The race had its share of restarts and incidents, including a multi-car crash triggered by Corey LaJoie and involving Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This incident forced several cars out of the race.
Blaney held onto his lead despite challenges from other drivers during restarts and managed to secure the victory with strategic driving and teamwork.
