Watkins Masters the Tricky Triangle: Late Restarts and Clean Air Steal Pocono Win

Long Pond, PA — The OBRL YesterYear Gen 4 Cup Series Round 14 at Pocono Raceway featured high-stakes strategy and a dramatic late-race shift in momentum during a 90-lap battle at the Tricky Triangle. Cortney Nelson started on the pole after a blistering qualifying lap, leading a field of 900-horsepower machines onto the new, smooth repave of the challenging three-turn circuit.

The action began immediately as Tom Ogle challenged Nelson on the opening lap, but the first caution flew almost instantly when a multi-car wreck erupted in turn one involving Kevin Strandberg and Rick Nitz. Once the race resumed, Nelson established himself as the class of the field, building a lead of nearly three seconds. Behind him, the race was characterized by extreme tire wear, forcing drivers to manage their equipment as the cars became greasy and slippery deep into the runs. While Nelson dominated the front, Dan Hill and Jack Jagerman provided the excitement in the mid-pack, both making massive climbs from the rear of the grid.

The race’s complexion changed during the final stint. A caution caused by an equipment failure for Gavin Adams bunched the field and set up a strategic gamble. On the ensuing pit stops, Greg McDaniel took only two tires to leapfrog into the lead, while the rest of the leaders, including Matt Watkins and Cortney Nelson, opted for four. On the restart with 14 laps to go, Watkins used his fresh rubber to muscle past McDaniel for the lead. Meanwhile, the longtime leader Nelson struggled significantly in dirty air and traffic for the first time all night, eventually falling all the way back to a 14th-place finish.

A late-race incident between Eric Essary and Robert Guarisco triggered a final yellow flag, setting up a high-tension Green-White-Checkered finish. Matt Watkins and Tom Ogle lined up on the front row for the two-lap dash. Watkins got a perfect jump on the restart, clearing Ogle into turn one and maintaining clean air to secure the victory.

Matt Watkins took the win, crediting a fast final pit stop and the advantage of clean air for his victory. Tom Ogle finished second, noting that while he was fast earlier in the race, he couldn’t overcome Watkins on the final restart. Dwayne McArthur rounded out the podium in third, surviving a terrible green-flag pit stop earlier in the night to finish strong. Dan Hill earned highest climber honors, finishing fourth after starting 27th—an impressive gain of 23 positions. Kelvin Masur completed the top five after a late-race surge. Despite leading the most laps, Cortney Nelson was the night’s biggest victim of the late-race cautions, proving that you only need to lead the final lap.