NASCAR Pocono results 2017: Ryan Blaney wins Pocono 400

If Ryan Blaney was going to win his first Monster Energy Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono Raceway, he first needed to find a way to pass a determined Kyle Busch, then fend off an equally determined Kevin Harvick.

Blaney accomplished both, though the former series champions certainly didn’t make it easy for the 23-year-old driver of the famed Wood Brothers Racing team. Busch twice threw two big blocks that pushed on Blaney to the inside before Blaney eventually made his way around with 10 laps remaining. Meanwhile, Harvick hounded Blaney for the final five laps but never could make a run to pull alongside, finishing 0.139 seconds behind.

It was Blaney’s first win in his 68th Cup start and the first in 122 races for the Wood Brothers, one of NASCAR’s oldest teams. Blaney is the third first-time winner this season, joining Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Talladega Superspeedway) and Austin Dillon (Charlotte Motor Speedway).

“I think it exceeds the dream a little bit,” Blaney said. “I grew up watching my dad race on this race track and it’s so cool to get the Wood Brothers in victory lane, and to do it here at a race track that is really close to Ohio -- a home to me -- is pretty awesome.”

Rookie Erik Jones finished a career-best third, with Kurt Busch in fourth and Brad Keselowski in fifth. Completing the top 10 were Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth.

Busch started on the pole and led a race-high 100 laps of a possible 160. But his first win of the season slipped away when a decision not to pit for fresh tires under a caution for Kasey Kahne’s single-car accident put him at a disadvantage when the race resumed with 13 laps remaining.

On the ensuing restart, Blaney quickly emerged to challenge Busch, who tried to withstand Blaney’s charge by blocking him. Blaney eventually got around and built up enough of a lead that Harvick couldn’t erase before the checkered flag waved.

“I needed for (Blaney) to make a mistake and try to get up underneath him on the exit of the corner,” Harvick said. “He never made a mistake and did a great job and ended up winning the race.”

Brake failures on the cars of Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray saw each involved in simultaneous separate scary crashes, with both drivers making significant contact with the Turn 1 wall on Lap 97.

Neither driver was injured, though Johnson did need several minutes to collect himself. Both Johnson and McMurray, whose car became engulfed in flames, were transported to the infield care center where they underwent an evaluation before being released.

“When I went in the corner and hit the pedal, it travelled immediately to the floor and I could see a little puff of smoke and I knew I was in big trouble,” Johnson said. “I quickly stuffed it into third gear and tried to slow the car down and got into the grass. Fortunately I had a decent angle when I hit the wall in Turn 1. Outside of scaring myself pretty good, all is well.”

The race was red flagged 23 minutes to allow safety workers to remove the cars and clear away the debris.

The Cup Series next travels to Michigan International Speedway for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.