It took 129.5 laps of work for Kyle Larson to put himself in position to earn his fourth Cup Series win a row. And then, it took all of one corner for all of that to change.
Alex Bowman won Saturday's Pocono Organics 325 in the final corner after Kyle Larson, who had been leading the race by over a second on the final lap, blew a tire entering Turn 3 coming to the checkered flag. Bowman earns his third win of 2021 and the fifth of his career, snapping Larson's win streak while simultaneously preserving a streak of six straight victories for Hendrick Motorsports.
Bowman had appeared to be on the losing end of a battle for the lead and the win, as he had spent much of the final 20 laps trying to hold off Larson after taking the lead on the final restart. After the two ran nose-to-tail in the closing laps, Larson had finally made the pass on Bowman with four laps to go and appeared to be well on his way to victory until disaster struck in the final corner.
"I felt something right in the middle of the tunnel (turn), wasn't quite sure what it was yet. And then it finally kind of shredded halfway through the little short chute there and couldn't turn," Larson told NBC Sports. "Hate that we didn't get the win, but cool that Alex still did and a Hendrick car with another win. Cool to keep Mr. H's streak going."
The beneficiary of his teammate's misfortunes, Bowman was left somewhat befuddled by the outcome of the race and at having stolen a victory. "I don't even know what to think," he quipped as he exited his car.
Saturday's race will go down as one of the most spectacular finishes in the history of Pocono Raceway, and was eerily reminiscent of one of the track's great finishes over 20 years ago. On the final lap of the 2000 Pennsylvania 500, Jeremy Mayfield cut a tire entering Turn 2 while leading on the final lap, allowing teammate Rusty Wallace to scoot past and score the victory.
There won't be much time for the finish to Saturday's race to fully sink in, as Sunday will see the second race of the Cup Series' double header weekend at Pocono. An invert of the top 20 finishers from Saturday will put Chris Buescher on the pole for tomorrow's Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, with Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, and Aric Almirola the top 5.
Unofficial Top 10:
1. #48 - Bowman
2. #18 - Ky. Busch
3. #24 - Byron
4. #11 - Hamlin
5. #12 - Blaney
6. #1 - Ku. Busch
7. #22 - Logano
8. #4 - Harvick
9. #5 - Larson
10. #2 - Keselowski
Kyle Larson cuts a left front tire entering Turn 3 on the final lap. Alex Bowman goes by on the inside, and BOWMAN earns his third win of the season.
Kyle Larson limps across the start/finish line in 9th.
White flag is out. Kyle Larson has opened up his lead to over a second over Alex Bowman.
Kyle Larson was finally able to get a run on his teammate and take the lead with 4 laps to go. Larson now leads Bowman by four tenths with three to go.
Five laps to go. Alex Bowman continues to make it wide as he tries to hold off Kyle Larson.
Keep an eye on the race for 20th: With this double header weekend, the starting lineup tomorrow will be an invert of the Top 20 from today followed by 21-38 in the order in which they finished.
Martin Truex Jr. currently runs 20th, which would make him the polesitter for tomorrow.
10 laps to go. Alex Bowman is looking for his third win of the season. Kyle Larson is looking for his fourth straight. Both can make it six in a row for Hendrick Motorsports.
1. #48 - Bowman
2. #5 - Larson
3. #18 - Ky. Busch
4. #24 - Byron
5. #12 - Blaney
6. #11 - Hamlin
7. #1 - Ku. Busch
8. #8 - Reddick
9. #22 - Logano
10. #4 - Harvick
Kyle Larson hasn't been able to make it stick trying to pass Alex Bowman, which has allowed Kyle Busch to close in to within a second of the two leaders.
