NASCAR at Pocono live updates: Martin Truex Jr. wins stage 1 of Cup race

The second Cup race of NASCAR’s doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway is today. The Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 race is at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN.

The race is 350 miles (140 Laps) with stages ending on laps 30, 85, 140. All times are Eastern.

We’ll have the latest updates here. Follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

Stage 1

4:24 p.m., Lap 30: Martin Truex Jr. wins the first stage at Pocono. William Byron, who pitted just before the end of the stage, avoids going down a lap by staying just ahead of Truex at the flag. In the top-10 for stage points after Truex is Aric Almirola followed by Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suárez and Joey Logano.

4:17 p.m., Lap 27: Denny Hamlin pits, followed by teammates Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch, as Martin Truex Jr. stays out in the lead. Hendrick Motorsports cars William Byron and Chase Elliott also pit, while Kyle Larson in 17th plans to pit after the stage break for his team to make repairs to his nose after early contact with Hamlin on the start.

4:10 p.m., Lap 14: Martin Truex Jr. leads after Michael McDowell led seven laps. Chris Buescher led the opening six laps. Buescher is in 17th and McDowell is back to fifth with Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski in the top four.

3:59 p.m., Lap 7: The race goes green again with Chris Buescher lined up on the outside lane again. He he goes high and falls back as Michael McDowell surges to the lead. Buescher’s No. 17 radio says Buescher got “pushed hard all the way to the corner” and he had to jam the brakes to avoid getting turned.

3:51 p.m., Lap 3: Chris Buescher, starting on the pole, leads the opening laps and the caution comes out early for Anthony Alfredo. He hit the outside wall and reported that he feels like his right front tire went down in the tunnel. Alfredo heads to pit road.

Pre-race

3:38 p.m.: Pre-race ceremonies are underway with the national anthem sung by Meghan Wotring at the track and another single jet flyover. Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau board chair Bill Colavito delivers the command to fire engines.

Story continues

3 p.m.: NASCAR confirms that full-time Xfinity driver Justin Allgaier will fill in piloting the No. 77 today for Spire Motorsports. Justin Haley was slated drive in today’s Cup race, but Haley was involved in an accident on Lap 24 of 90 during today’s Xfinity race. Haley was released from the care center following the accident, but Spire will pivot to Allgaier driving out of an “abundance of caution,” according to reports. The No. 77 was slated to start 27th, and with the driver change, Allgaier will drop to the rear.

“I fit in the car, which is a plus,” Allgaier said on NBCSN.

2:35 p.m.: Austin Cindric wins NASCAR’s Xfinity race at Pocono for his fourth victory this year. He held off Ty Gibbs, who finished second and made a late run at the checkered flag. Gibbs finished 0.3 seconds behind Cindric, with Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson and A.J. Allmendinger finishing in the top-five. The Cup race is up next.

2:30 p.m.: NASCAR approved seven drivers to use a backup car for today’s Cup race: Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Anthony Alfredo, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Newman and Cole Custer. They will drop to the rear at the start of today’s race.2:30 p.m.: Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell are starting in the front row for today’s race at Pocono due to the invert of the top-20 finishing teams from yesterday’s race at the same track. Buescher finished 20th (McDowell was 19th). Day 1 Pocono race winner Alex Bowman will start 20th today after securing his third win this season. It was the sixth points race win in a row for a Hendrick Motorsports driver. Bowman is looking to make it a weekend sweep, with the track promising that one fan will win $10,000 and five local charities will split $90,000 if he’s able to do so, per NBC Sports.

NASCAR at Pocono Day 2 starting order

*replacing Justin Haley

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