NASCAR Pocono results 2017: Ryan Blaney wins Pocono 400

Ryan Blaney wins first career Cup Series race, put the Wood Brothers back in victory lane.

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. 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.