LONG POND, Pa. — Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch shared laughs side-by-side on a podium only days after they tangled on a bump-and-run on the track.
The front row starters were connected again when their cars failed post-qualifying inspection and the times were disallowed.
Harvick had turned a lap of 177.750 mph on Saturday to briefly win the pole and Busch was a few ticks behind him at Pocono but they’ll start at the rear of the field.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez is the pole winner at Pocono. He’s the first Mexican to win a pole in the Cup series.
But over 400 miles on a 21/2-mile triangle track, there’s ample time for Harvick and Busch to race their way to the front.
“I’ve screwed it up here a lot,” Harvick said.
He could pin this screw up on his team. Harvick, the 2014 Cup champion, has 43 career wins but has yet to win a Cup race at Pocono or Kentucky Speedway. Harvick is 0 for 8 at Kentucky and 0 for 35 at Pocono. He’s getting close on the 21/2-mile triangle track – Harvick has two runner-up finishes and two fourths in his last four races.
“My guys put a lot of effort into coming to Kentucky and Pocono every year just because they know that the last two years, they have been the tracks that are still on the list,” Harvick said. “They know it would be nice to have that race completed.”
• Richard Petty Motorsports has signed rookie driver Darrell Wallace Jr. to a two-year contract extension through 2020. More commonly known by his childhood nickname “Bubba,” Wallace was second in the Daytona 500 for the highest finish for a black driver in the race.
XFINITY: Christopher Bell moved back out front in overtime to win the race at Iowa Speedway in Ames, Iowa, becoming the first series regular with three straight victories since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1999.
Coming off victories in Kentucky and New Hampshire, Bell led 94 of 257 laps. He broke a tie with Cup driver Kyle Larson for the series season victory lead with four.
Bell fell back to fourth in the first attempt at overtime before a red flag halted the race. He retook control in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 car, going low to beat Justin Allgaier – the winner of the June race at Iowa.
Allgaier finished second, followed by Kyle Benjamin and Ross Chastain.
NASCAR TRUCKS: Kyle Busch held off Erik Jones down the stretch to win the Trucks race at Pocono Raceway and tie the record for most career wins in series.
Busch won for the 51st time in Trucks and matched NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Ron Hornaday Jr. on the list. Busch also won for the 191st time over the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series.
Busch, the 2015 NASCAR Cup champion, is not scheduled to race in Trucks for his Kyle Busch Motorsports team again this season. He battled side-by-side with Jones during the last 10 laps. But Busch shook off Jones and pulled away over the final laps and won for the second time in the series this season.
FORMULA ONE: Lewis Hamilton produced a brilliant last lap to take pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, Hungary, ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in difficult track conditions.
INDYCAR: Alexander Rossi won his third pole of the season, leading qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 in Lexington, Ohio.
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