The 2015 Windows 10 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on August 2, 2015, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5 mile (4 km) triangular superspeedway, it was the 21st race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Matt Kenseth won the race, his second of the season. Brad Keselowski finished second. Jeff Gordon finished third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle rounded out the top five.
Kyle Busch won the pole for the race, led 19 laps, was leading the race before running out of fuel on the final lap and finished 21st. Joey Logano led a race high of 97 laps before running out of fuel with three laps to go and finished 20th. The race had 18 lead changes among 13 different drivers, eight caution flag periods for 32 laps and one red flag period that lasted for 14 minutes and 32 seconds.
This was the 33rd career victory for Matt Kenseth, second of the season, first at Pocono Raceway and tenth at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth left Pocono trailing Kevin Harvick by 118–points in the points standings. Despite being the winning manufacturer, Toyota left Pocono trailing Chevrolet by 75–points in the manufacturer standings. But they pulled to within one–point of Ford for second in the standings.
The Windows 10 400 was carried by NBC Sports on the cable/satellite NBCSN network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Report
Background
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as the Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania at Long Pond. Kevin Harvick entered Pocono with a 69-point lead over Joey Logano. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 100 back, Jimmie Johnson entered 102 back and Martin Truex Jr. entered 109 back.
Changes to the track Following the Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 in June, a section of the Tunnel Turn – turn 2 – about by was milled, leveled and repaved. This was done to eliminate the bumps that develop when the foundation for the track surface that goes over the tunnel the team haulers use to get in and out of the track settles into the ground.
Entry list The entry list for the Windows 10 400 was released on Monday, July 27 at 11:20 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-three drivers were entered for the race. All were entered in the previous week's race at Indianapolis. There were three driver changes for this race. The No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet that was driven by Alex Kennedy. The Premium Motorsports duo swapped rides this weekend with Timmy Hill driving the No. 62 Chevrolet and Reed Sorenson driving the No. 98 Ford.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Travis Kvapil (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial final entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional
Practice
First practice Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 50.961 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.961 176.606 2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.038 176.339 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.059 176.267Official first practice results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Carl Edwards was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 51.191 and a speed of . PosDriverTeamManufacturerTime119Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota51.191175.812220Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota51.306175.418318Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota51.309175.408Official second practice results
Final practice
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 51.358 and a speed of . Jeb Burton was forced to go to his backup car after wrecking into the inside pit road wall. Because this change took place after qualifying, he started the race from the rear of the field. PosDriverTeamManufacturerTime118Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota51.358175.240241Kurt BuschChevrolet51.409175.067319Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota51.452174.920Official final practice results
Qualifying
Kyle Busch won the pole with a time of 50.444 and a speed of . “I told you I had a fast car, I just wasn’t sure we could get the balance right,” Busch said after winning the pole. “(Crew chief) Adam Stevens and these guys, they did it again.” “A lot of that lies on me for putting the lap together something I hadn’t done over the last couple of months,” Kevin Harvick said after qualifying second. “I feel like we all did a good job there and made some good adjustments. I feel like I probably gave up a little bit in Turn 1. I got a little bit tight in the center of that corner, but all-in-all it was a good lap and I’m glad we ran our fastest speed in the last round. That is what you have to do.” “Not bad,” Tony Stewart said after qualifying fifth. “ (Crew chief) Chad Johnston came over in between the practice session and qualifying and showed me some stuff where I was losing some time. That is what we focused on for qualifying and it worked.” “We were pretty good in that final round but not quite good enough to get the pole there,” said Brad Keselowski after qualifying ninth. “We were missing a little bit in one of the corners, but all-in-all a good effort. We had the fastest car in practice so I feel pretty good about that. It is similar to what we had at the Brickyard and we were really strong there but just needed a little more to win so I am optimistic about it for sure.” “We really struggled for whatever reason in Turn 1 today,” said Martin Truex Jr. after qualifying 13th “Just can’t seem to get the balance right. We were either too tight or too loose no matter what we do. Fought the same thing there, not a big deal though I think we will be okay. We’ve got plenty of time to figure it out tomorrow. We’ve got a few cars to pass, but 13th is not too bad. We did it last week.”
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.107 50.859 50.444 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.869 50.665 50.514 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 51.201 50.720 50.608 4 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.894 50.945 50.659 5 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.762 50.826 50.667 6 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.005 50.777 50.672 7 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.463 50.882 50.691 8 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.164 50.702 50.750 9 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.952 50.888 50.764 10 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.037 50.877 50.787 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.140 50.785 50.833 12 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.158 50.914 50.948 13 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 51.107 51.007 — 14 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.261 51.030 — 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.241 51.038 — 16 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.294 51.060 — 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 51.264 51.061 — 18 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.237 51.153 — 19 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 51.376 51.202 — 20 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.205 51.262 — 21 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 51.423 51.390 — 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51.315 51.409 — 23 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.500 51.504 — 24 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 51.198 51.524 — 25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.510 — — 26 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 51.614 — — 27 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 51.621 — — 28 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.723 — — 29 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 51.771 — — 30 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 51.803 — — 31 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 51.895 — — 32 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.924 — — 33 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.949 — — 34 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.971 — — 35 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 52.125 — — 36 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 52.137 — — 37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.171 — — 38 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 52.283 — — 39 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 52.364 — — 40 32 Travis Kvapil (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 52.448 — — 41 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 53.477 — — 42 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 54.051 — — 43 62 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports Ford 54.486 — —Official qualifying results
Race
First half
Start The race was scheduled to start at 1:46 p.m., but started four minutes later when Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag. The first caution of the race flew on the fifth lap when Kasey Kahne got loose on the frontstretch coming out of turn 3, slid down the track and slammed into the inside wall lining pit road. This was in an almost identical manner to what happened to Jeb Burton in final practice the day before. “Well, first of all I couldn’t believe I was clear over here this late in the corner and then all the way to the left heading towards pit wall,” Kahne said. “Then I saw the people and I thought to myself that those guys need to take off running and get out of the way. I didn’t know. I hadn’t done anything like that before so it was kind of crazy the way it all happened.” Kahne was uninjured, and he was released from the infield care center a few minutes later, but his car was damaged beyond repair, resulting in a last-place finish. The race was red-flagged to allow NASCAR to evaluate and repair the wall. After a 14-minute and 43 second delay, the red flag was withdrawn and the field continued under caution.