2013 Gobowling.com 400

The 2013 Gobowling.com 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 4, 2013, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.023 km) triangular superspeedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his second win of the season, while Jeff Gordon finished second. Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five. The race was one of the most competitive races held at Pocono Raceway, as there were nine cautions, 14 different leaders, and 27 lead changes.

2013 Gobowling.com 400
Race details[1]
Race 21 of 36 in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date August 4, 2013 (2013-08-04)
Location Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 79.0 °F (26.1 °C); average wind speeds of 13.0 miles per hour (20.9 km/h)[2]
Average speed 129.009 mph (207.620 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 49.819 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 66
Winner
No. 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree
Nielsen Ratings 3.2 (5.062 million viewers)

Report

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Background

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Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[3] The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°.[3] However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°.[4] The front stretch at Pocono Raceway is 3,740 feet long, the longest at the track.[4] The back stretch, is 3,055 feet long, while the short stretch, which connects turn two with turn three, is only 1,780 feet long.[4] Jeff Gordon was the defending race winner after winning the race in 2012.[5]

Before the race, Jimmie Johnson was leading the Drivers' Championship with 740 points, while Clint Bowyer stood in second with 665 points.[6] Carl Edwards followed in the third with 655, seven points ahead of Kevin Harvick and 39 ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth and fifth.[6] Matt Kenseth, with 615 points, was in sixth; five ahead of Kyle Busch, who was scored seventh.[6] Eighth-placed Greg Biffle was one point ahead of Kasey Kahne and six ahead of Gordon in ninth and tenth.[6] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 143 points, twelve points ahead of Toyota. Ford was third after recording only 99 points before the race.[7]

Entry list

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(R) - Denotes rookie driver.

(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Sponsor
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Cessna
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford Redd's Apple Ale
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Farmers Insurance
7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Stanley Tools / DeWalt
10 Danica Patrick (R) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota FedEx Office
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford GEICO
14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Toyota "Let's Go Places"
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3M
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R) Roush Fenway Racing Ford Zest
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota M&M's Peanut Butter
19 Alex Kennedy Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota Plinker Tactical / Hampton Inn
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota The Home Depot / Husky Tools
22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford Shell / Pennzoil
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Tarkett / Menards
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Budweiser
30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota Widow Wax
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet fxi GutterClear 365
32 Timmy Hill (R) FAS Lane Racing Ford OXY Water
33 Tony Raines (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet Little Joe's Autos
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford Taco Bell
35 Josh Wise (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford MDS Transport
36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford Long John Silver's
39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet Haas Automation 30th Anniversary
40 Landon Cassill (i) Circle Sport Chevrolet Interstate Moving Services
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Target
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford GoBowling.com
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Scott Products
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's / Planes
51 A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Phoenix Construction
55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine
56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet Furniture Row / Denver Mattress
83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota Burger King / Dr Pepper
87 Joe Nemechek (i) NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet National Guard Youth Foundation
93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota Burger King / Dr Pepper
98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford Phil Parsons Racing
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fastenal
Official entry list

Practice and qualifying

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Jimmie Johnson scored his thirty-first pole position during qualifying.

Three practice sessions are scheduled to be held before the race. The first session, scheduled on August 2, 2013, was 90 minutes long. The second and third, held a day later on August 3, 2013, will last 50 minutes each.[8] In the first practice session, Kurt Busch was the quickest with a best lap time of 50.600 seconds.[9] Kyle Busch followed in second, ahead of Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton in third and fourth.[9] Joey Logano was scored fifth quickest with a best lap time of 50.929, 329 thousandths of a second slower than Kurt Busch.[9] Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, and Edwards completed the top-ten.[9]

During the qualifying session, Johnson, whose car was late to the qualifying grid, recorded his thirty-first career pole position, and set a new track record[10] with a lap time of 49.819 seconds and a speed of 180.654 mph (290.734 km/h).[11] Kyle Busch, who completed his lap in 49.823 seconds, will start alongside Johnson on the grid, in front of Edwards, Newman, and Kurt Busch.[11] Logano, with a lap time of 50.111 seconds, was scored sixth ahead of Biffle and Ambrose in seventh and eighth.[11] Hamlin and Aric Almirola completed the first ten grid positions with lap times of 28.162 and 28.191.[11] After the session concluded, Johnson explained why his car was late to the qualifying grid, "We had a left rear toe (tire angle) was off by a thousandth of an inch. The system is pass-fail... a thousandth of an inch. I'm glad we got it sorted out."[10]

Race

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Before the race, NASCAR decided that there would be a competition caution on lap 20 because of Saturday practice being washed out.

Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag, but the field had only gotten through the first turn when the first caution came out for a crash, as Juan Pablo Montoya washed up the track into Ricky Stenhouse Jr., causing Stenhouse to spin out. Matt Kenseth was also collected. Montoya would finish three laps down in 28th, Kenseth would finish in 22nd on the lead lap, and Stenhouse would end up in 34th place, 46 laps down.

The race restarted on lap 5, with Johnson still leading. On lap 16, the second caution of the race came out when Denny Hamlin spun and hit the wall in turn 3. Hamlin would ultimately be credited with a last place finish. Due to its proximity to lap 20, NASCAR declared this to be the competition caution.

On the restart, Johnson continued to lead, and led until lap 33 when he pitted for a green flag pit stop, handing the lead to Brad Keselowski. A cycle of green flag pit stops was carried out over the next fifteen laps. Due to some cars staying out on the previous caution, the lead changed several times between lap 33 and lap 48. Keselowski led one lap before pitting. Kurt Busch then led seven laps before pitting. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray then each stayed out to lead a lap before pitting, which cycled the lead back to Johnson on lap 48.

On lap 53, the third caution came out when David Gilliland cut a right-front tire in the Tunnel Turn and hit the outside wall. Johnson and most of the leaders pitted under the caution. Ultimately, Johnson had a slow pit stop and ended up restarting in the middle of the pack. At the restart on lap 58, Keselowski led the field to the green flag. He led for four laps before a fast-charging Kasey Kahne managed to overtake him. Kahne led for ten laps before taking a green flag pit stop (he and Keselowski were on an off-sequence strategy). Ryan Newman held the lead for two laps before pitting, which handed the lead to Johnson. Johnson led until lap 75, when he pitted, giving the lead to Tony Stewart.

On lap 78, the fourth caution flag came out when Johnson cut a right front tire coming off the first turn and slapped the outside wall. This damaged his car significantly, and he stayed at the back of the lead lap for most of the remainder of the race, until his crew discovered that a spark plug had been knocked loose. Once this problem had been fixed, he rallied back to a 13th-place finish. Kahne reassumed the lead under caution.

At the restart on lap 82, Kahne and Keselowski were again at the front of the field. Over the next 13 laps, the two drivers exchanged the lead several times, until the fifth caution came out on lap 96 when David Stremme cut a right front tire in turn 1. Most of the leaders pitted under this caution, but Martin Truex Jr. stayed out and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 100. He then led the next three laps. On lap 104, the sixth caution came out when Aric Almirola cut a left rear tire and spun in turn 3 after contact with Timmy Hill.

Kahne reassumed the lead under caution and continued to lead at the restart on lap 107. On lap 110, the seventh caution flag came out for a four car accident at the Tunnel Turn exit. Danica Patrick was racing Travis Kvapil for 17th place when the two made contact and both cars got loose and spun. Kvapail was able to save his car, but Danica ended up being hit by Paul Menard and Jeff Burton.

The race restarted on lap 116 with Kahne still leading. Kahne continued to lead until a set of green flag pit stops on lap 130. As Kahne pitted, Kurt Busch assumed the lead for two laps before pitting, handing the lead to Almirola for lap 132. Almirola led that lap, then Dave Blaney assumed the lead for three laps before pitting on lap 135. David Ragan then held the lead for one lap before the lead cycled back to Kahne.

With 15 laps to go, three of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars were leading the field, with Kahne leading Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. The top five (the three Hendrick cars, plus Newman and Kurt Busch) were Chevrolets. Kahne was able to use lapped traffic to build up a 7.5 second lead on Gordon. This continued until lap 150, when the eighth caution came out for debris, erasing Kahne's lead on Gordon. Kahne restarted on the outside lane on lap 153. Kahne held the lead until Gordon overtook him in the Tunnel Turn. Gordon appeared to be on his way to his first victory of the season, but on lap 156, his lead was erased when Matt Kenseth spun in the Tunnel Turn.

On the last restart on lap 158, Gordon restarted on the inside and Kahne restarted on the outside. Gordon got a jump on the restart ahead of Kahne and Newman. Kahne caught up to Gordon and the two cars raced side by side down the Long Pond straightaway. Kahne cleared Gordon in the Tunnel Turn and assumed the lead at the white flag. He then held off Gordon and Kurt Busch over the last lap to win his second race of the season and his second Pocono race win.

Newman finished fourth, and Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth. Keselowski finished sixth, the highest non-Chevrolet finisher in the field. Joey Logano finished seventh, Kyle Busch finished eighth, while Stewart and Greg Biffle rounded out the top ten.[12]

Results

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Qualifying

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Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.819 180.654
2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 49.823 180.639
3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.950 180.180
4 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 49.999 180.004
5 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 50.085 179.695
6 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 50.111 179.601
7 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.130 179.533
8 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.187 179.329
9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.239 179.144
10 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.253 179.094
11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 50.297 178.937
12 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.322 178.848
13 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.373 178.667
14 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.418 178.508
15 51 A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 50.420 178.501
16 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.446 178.409
17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.487 178.264
18 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.488 178.260
19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.546 178.056
20 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.553 178.031
21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.567 177.982
22 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.659 177.658
23 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 50.678 177.592
24 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.702 177.508
25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.721 177.441
26 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.779 177.239
27 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 50.784 177.221
28 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.850 176.991
29 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 50.864 176.942
30 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.894 176.838
31 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 50.899 176.821
32 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.059 176.267
33 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 51.108 176.098
34 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.177 175.860
35 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 51.211 175.743
36 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.376 175.179
37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.415 175.046
38 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 51.462 174.886
39 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 51.696 174.095
40 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.815 173.695
41 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 52.305 172.068
42 19 Alex Kennedy Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 53.286 168.900
43 33 Tony Raines Circle Sport Chevrolet 53.960 166.790
Source:[11]

Race results

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Kasey Kahne won the race.
Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Led Points1
1 18 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 66 48
2 22 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 7 43
3 5 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 160 9 42
4 4 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 160 2 41
5 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 2 40
6 11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 160 14 39
7 6 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 160 0 37
8 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 0 36
9 20 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 160 3 36
10 7 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 160 0 34
11 3 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 160 0 33
12 8 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 160 0 32
13 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 43 32
14 16 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 160 0 30
15 26 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 160 7 30
16 12 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 160 1 29
17 14 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 0 27
18 28 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 160 0 26
19 33 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 160 0 25
20 10 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 160 1 25
21 30 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 1 24
22 24 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 1 23
23 32 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 160 3 22
24 29 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 160 0 20
25 36 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Ford 160 0 19
26 23 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 160 0 18
27 41 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 158 0 17
28 19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 157 0 16
29 38 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 157 0 0[2]
30 31 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 151 0 14
31 35 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 141 0 13
32 21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 127 0 12
33 15 51 A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 122 0 11
34 17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 113 0 10
35 34 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 110 0 9
36 13 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 109 0 8
37 39 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 55 0 0[2]
38 43 33 Tony Raines Circle Sport Chevrolet 53 0 0[2]
39 37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 51 0 5
40 27 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 44 0 4
41 40 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 44 0 0[2]
42 42 19 Alex Kennedy Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 22 0 2
43 9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14 0 1
Source:
Notes
  1. ^1 Points include 3 Chase for the Sprint Cup points for winning, 1 point for leading a lap, and 1 point for most laps led.
  2. a b c d Ineligible for driver's championship points.

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "2013 Gobowling.com 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  3. ^ a b "NASCAR TRACK: POCONO RACEWAY". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Pocono Raceway". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  5. ^ "2012 Pennsylvania 400". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d "2013 Brickyard 400 report" (PDF). Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. June 2, 2013. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  7. ^ "Manufacturer's Championship Classification". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  8. ^ "Gobowling.com 400 Practice/Qualifying Times". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d "Gobowling.com 400 1st Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Johnson speeds to Coors Light Pole". NASCAR. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c d e "2013 Gobowling.com 400 Qualifying Results". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  12. ^ Complete Race Results: 2013 Gobowling.com 400 at Pocono


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Sprint Cup Series
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