NASCAR: Earnhardt defeats Harvick at Pocono

Dale Earnhardt Jr. emerged in front through the late strategy gambles and restart jostles to win at Pocono for the second time in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Pitting for fresh tires and a fuel top-up under a long yellow for a 13-car pile-up going into the final quarter of the race was key to Earnhardt's victory, as it meant his subsequent final stop under green could just be a rapid splash while others needed a full service.

The Hendrick Chevrolet driver still had to clear a group of cars that were gambling on stretching their fuel loads to the finish, but a handful of late yellows helped that process.

After the final restart with three laps to go, Earnhardt just had to hold off a very determined Kevin Harvick, whose pit tactics brought him back up to second despite a pit speeding penalty and damage from the multi-car collision.

Harvick tried his utmost, but crossed the line two tenths of a second behind the triumphant Earnhardt, with early race leader Joey Logano right behind both of them.

Jeff Gordon had dominated much of the race, although the wild variety of strategies that developed from the first yellow onward meant sheer speed was unlikely to be enough. Unlike teammate Earnhardt, Gordon had to take a full fuel load and four tires under green at his final stop, leaving him back in the pack, where his Chevrolet didn't handle so well. He could only make it back to sixth, behind Clint Bowyer and fuel-gambler Greg Biffle.

Kurt Busch was the other main protagonist, going out of sequence on fuel strategy early on but showing similar speed to Gordon. He also ended up in the midfield after the final stops, and then hit the wall when a tire went down.

Denny Hamlin inadvertently triggered the race's huge crash when he got sideways in a big group of cars following a brush with Bowyer. While chaos erupted behind him, Hamlin was able to straighten up with just a small brush of the wall and finished ninth.

Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth were among the big names embroiled in the shunt, Stewart ending up perched atop Paul Menard's car. Keselowski had earlier tumbled down the order from third on the grid when an opening-lap clash with Busch sent him sideways.

Jimmie Johnson had two punctures. He fought back from a lapped 43rd to fourth following the first, but the second ended his race.

Kyle Busch was another notable retirement due to an early engine failure. Polesitter Kyle Larson steadily slipped back after losing the lead to Logano on lap one. He eventually finished 11th.