Chase Elliott wins the 2022 Cup Series "M&M's Fan Appreciation" 400 at Pocono after Top-2 finishers disqualified

 

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    The 2022 "M&M's Fan Appreciation" 400 at Pocono Raceway was filled to the brim with exciting race battles throughout the field, all the way to the end. However, the excitement got even more interesting after the event. As it would turn out, the battle for 3rd and 4th would become the battle for the win.

NASCAR had disqualified original winner Denny Hamlin and the runner-up finisher Kyle Busch for some illegal aerodynamic advantages on the fronts of the two Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry's. As pieces of clear tape were used over the air ducts, creating a different result for air to move around the front fascia on the car.

It is the first time this season a race winner has been disqualified.

“Yeah, unfortunately we were doing our post-race inspections, which we do,” said NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran. “There were some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia. There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ. It is a penalty, both for the 11 of Denny Hamlin and the 18 of Kyle Busch have been DQed. Their vehicles are being loaded in the NASCAR hauler and they’re going to go back to the R&D Center.”

Hamlin won the pole position, led 21 laps, and ultimately crossed the finish line .927-second ahead of Busch for the apparent win in an action-packed afternoon at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway surface.

But both of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars failed post-pace inspection leaving the victory to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, who now has a series-best four victories: three wins and a pair of 2nd-place finishes in the last five races alone. Tyler Reddick would be given the runner-up finish after the shift in race results.

Here are the complete race results from Pocono Raceway:

NASCAR.com

 

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