2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400

The 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on July 24, 2022, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) speedway, it was the 21st race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports would win the race after Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, who originally finished first and second respectively, were both disqualified for failing post-race technical inspection. Elliott became the first NASCAR driver to win a race after both the original first and second-place finishers were disqualified since 1955. Hamlin was also the first NASCAR Cup Series race winner to be disqualified since 1960, ending a 62-year streak.[8] It was also the first disqualification of the Next Gen car since its debut earlier that year.

2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Race 21 of 36 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series
Date July 24, 2022 (2022-07-24)
Location Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (640 km)
Average speed 122.459 miles per hour (197.079 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 52.944
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 63
Winner
No. 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network USA
Announcers Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1), Mike Bagley (2) and Kyle Rickey (3)

Report

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Background

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Pocono Raceway, the track where the race was held.

Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) oval speedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1970s. Nicknamed "The Tricky Triangle", the speedway has three distinct corners and is known for high speeds along its lengthy straightaways.

From 1982 to 2019, the circuit had two race weekends. In 2020, the circuit was reduced to one race meeting of two races. The first race was moved to World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis starting in 2022.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford
7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford
16 Noah Gragson (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota
24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford
38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet
45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota
47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford
77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford
99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

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Ross Chastain was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 53.661 seconds and a speed of 167.720 mph (269.919 km/h).[9]

Practice results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 53.661 167.720
2 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.688 167.635
3 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 53.781 167.345
Official practice results

Qualifying

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Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.944 and a speed of 169.991 mph (273.574 km/h).[10]

During the second round of qualifying, Kurt Busch spun and the car made tail to wall contact to the Turn 3 wall. After further checkups on Sunday morning, he was medically disqualified and thereby suspended under a medical suspension that resulted in what became a career-ending injury, announcing his formal retirement on August 26, 2023. Ty Gibbs took over the 45 car for the remainder of the regular season.

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.145 52.944
2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.173 53.098
3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.237 53.140
4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.532 53.250
5 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 53.522 53.279
6 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 53.601 53.457
7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 53.410 53.472
8 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.577 53.579
9 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 53.473 53.590
10 45 Kurt Busch[a] 23XI Racing Toyota 53.444 0.000
11 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 53.550
12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 53.620
13 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 53.655
14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 53.669
15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 53.678
16 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 53.708
17 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.834
18 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.835
19 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 53.878
20 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 53.921
21 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 53.984
22 16 Noah Gragson (R) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 54.000
23 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 54.009
24 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 54.020
25 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 54.049
26 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 54.061
27 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 54.140
28 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 54.197
29 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 54.221
30 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 54.440
31 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 54.639
32 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 54.763
33 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 54.769
34 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 54.816
35 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 55.625
36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 56.166
Official qualifying results

Race

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Stage Results

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Stage One Laps: 30

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10
2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9
3 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 8
4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 7
5 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5
7 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4
8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 2
10 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 1
Official stage one results

Stage Two Laps: 65

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 10
2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 9
3 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7
5 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 5
7 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3
9 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2
10 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

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Stage Three Laps: 65

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 53
2 16 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 35
3 9 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 160 47
4 11 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 35
5 4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 45
6 25 34 Michael McDowell[b] Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 -68
7 8 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 35
8 7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 160 29
9 34 43 Erik Jones[c] Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 160 7
10 15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 27
11 17 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 26
12 18 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 36
13 12 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 24
14 26 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 160 23
15 13 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 22
16 10 45 Ty Gibbs (i)[d] 23XI Racing Toyota 160 0
17 32 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 20
18 19 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 160 19
19 23 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 160 20
20 14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 160 17
21 30 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 160 16
22 27 42 Ty Dillon[c] Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 160 -20
23 28 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 160 14
24 22 16 Noah Gragson (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 160 0
25 29 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 160 12
26 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 160 11
27 24 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 160 20
28 33 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 159 0
29 5 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 158 8
30 35 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 158 0
31 20 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 154 6
32 21 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 142 15
33 6 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 135 20
34 31 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 35 0
DSQ (35) 1 11 Denny Hamlin[e] Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 2
DSQ

(36)

2 18 Kyle Busch[e] Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 160 1
Official race results

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 15 among 10 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 9 for 37
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 15 minutes and 59 seconds
  • Average speed: 122.459 miles per hour (197.079 km/h)

Media

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Television

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USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman, and Marty Snider served as pit reporters.

USA
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen
Color-commentator: Jeff Burton
Color-commentator: Steve Letarte
Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kim Coon
Parker Kligerman
Marty Snider

Radio

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Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Kyle Rickey called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 3. Steve Post and Chris Wilner worked pit road for MRN.

MRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Todd Gordon
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turn 3: Kyle Rickey
Steve Post
Chris Wilner

Standings after the race

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Notes

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  1. ^ Kurt Busch was medically disqualified following a crash in Turn 3 on his warmup lap in the second round following a NASCAR evaluation the next day. Ty Gibbs took over the 45 car following the disqualification.
  2. ^ McDowell was docked 100 points after NASCAR discovered illegal modifications to his car during the R&D Center inspection.[11]
  3. ^ a b Erik Jones and Ty Dillon were docked 35 points after their rocker box vent holes failed pre-race inspection.[12]
  4. ^ Following Kurt Busch's medical disqualification (concussion) during the second round of qualifying, Ty Gibbs drove the No. 45 23XI Toyota in his place.[13]
  5. ^ a b Hamlin and Kyle Busch originally finished first and second respectively, but were disqualified after failing post-race inspection for an infringement on both cars' front fascia.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "2022 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Pocono Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2022.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  6. ^ "M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Elliott inherits Pocono win as Hamlin, Busch cars disqualified". Racer.com. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Utter, Jim (July 23, 2022). "Ross Chastain spins but is still fastest in Pocono Cup practice". Motorsport.com. Long Pond, Pennsylvania: Motorsport Network. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  10. ^ Utter, Jim (July 23, 2022). "Denny Hamlin earns Pocono Cup pole; Kurt Busch wrecks". Motorsport.com. Long Pond, Pennsylvania: Motorsport Network. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "NASCAR slaps Front Row with huge penalties after Pocono violation". Racer.com. July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  12. ^ "NASCAR penalizes Petty GMS". Racer.com. July 23, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Ty Gibbs to make Cup Series debut in place of Kurt Busch at Pocono". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.


Previous race:
2022 Ambetter 301
NASCAR Cup Series
2022 season
Next race:
2022 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard