It didn't take too long for things to break loose at Pocono Raceway. All of two corners, in fact, were complete before Landon Cassill got loose on the outside of the turn three and spun, collecting Martin Truex Jr. before slamming the outside wall. A.J. Allmendinger also spun in the incident.
Cassill took his Toyota straight to the garage, while the entire right-side door of Truex's car - including the energy-absorbing foam that sits behind the sheetmetal - was ripped away by the contact with Cassill.
The trouble nearly broke loose on the very first corner when Denny Hamlin dove under Carl Edwards for the second position. He slid up the hill into Edwards, knocking both cars sideways and flattening the left-rear quarter panel against the tire on Edwards' car. Edwards would have no doubt had to pit as his Ford was throwing up plumes of smoke from the tire rubbing. He avoided the melee and was able to get to pit road and get the tire changed with only the penalty of having to start at the rear of the field. Seeing as he would have been there anyway, the 2005 and 2008 Pocono winner effectively starts over from the back of the field and will try to work his way forward.