Pocono Raceway is like nowhere else on the NASCAR schedule, though it feels like a few other places. Combining some of the best of American oval racing, Turn 1 at the track is modelled after the now-defunct Trenton Raceway in nearby New Jersey, Turn 2 is based on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Turn 3 is based on the Milwaukee Mile, and there famously is no fourth turn.
All that makes it a challenge not just for the drivers but for the crew chiefs and race shops to set up a car, since a car set up for Indianapolis is not suitable for the Milwaukee Mile. But it’s a challenge some drivers and teams particularly need to rise to quickly in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com, airing at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Odds via BetMGM
+375 – Denny Hamlin
+500 – Kyle Larson
+600 – Christopher Bell
+750 – Martin Truex Jr.
+800 – Tyler Reddick
+1000 – William Byron
+1000 – Ty Gibbs
+1200 – Chase Elliott
+1600 – Ryan Blaney
+1800 – Brad Keselowski
There are just six regular season races remaining, counting Pocono, before the Playoff field is set. Though, if the Playoffs began prior to the race at Pocono, four drivers would be locked in on points, any new winner from the full-time roster would automatically get a spot. Potentially, if six new winners win each of the next six races, a win might not be a guarantee of a Playoff position, but it more than likely is.
That’s because a driver like Denny Hamlin is just so likely to win again, particularly at a track like Pocono. While Hamlin has been on a cold streak throughout the summer stretch, he picked up three wins early in the year, as well as a win at the non-points-paying Clash race, and he knows how to win at Pocono. Hamlin’s seven wins are the most of any driver in the field at the track, ahead of Kyle Busch with four.
Busch particularly needs a win, since he’s yet to get one this season. In fact, the two-time champion sits outside the Playoff cutline on points heading into Pocono, with the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team having struggled so far this season, particularly on short tracks. At a track so challenging for drivers, Busch will be hoping that experience pays dividends, and perhaps makes up for any shortcomings with the car.
The only other active driver with multiple wins at the track is Martin Truex. For the driver of the No. 19, a win means even more since it may be his last chance. Truex is retiring from full-time competition after this season. He, too, has yet to score a win. Though he sits in the most comfortable points position of any driver without a win, that is no guarantee of making the Playoffs if there are multiple new winners in the next several races, as he found out in 2022.
“Really looking forward to going to Pocono this weekend in our Interstate Batteries car. It’s one of our home tracks, as they say. I’ve won there a couple of times,” Truex said.
He knows full well just how much of a challenge the track is.
“Pocono really tests every aspect of your car – horsepower, downforce, you name it. You’ve got to make your car work in all three corners and each one is so different, it’s a challenge. The setup has to be spot on because all three corners are unique. It’s really hard to make your car work around there,” he explained.
“Track position is key, so you have to qualify well and you have to have a fast car, but you have to have the right strategy, too, because if you get off strategy and lose track position, it’s going to be a tough day. The NextGen car has been even more track-position sensitive than before, so you have to try to stay near the front all day. You have to have a good racecar there and I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of them over the years there and we’ve had some success.”
The other drivers in the points positions behind Truex to note are Ty Gibbs, Ross Chastain, and Chris Buescher. Barely below the cutline and firmly in that battle is Bubba Wallace as well.
Chastain is firmly in the points race mindset.
“We’ve had some good runs there the last couple of races and I’m confident we’ll have good Busch Light Peach Chevy this weekend and get a solid result,” he said about Pocono.
Practice and qualifying will be televised on the USA Network from 12 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Xfinity driver shakeup means more Cup talent to beat
It was Shane van Gisbergen who got back to victory lane on a road course in the Xfinity Series at Chicago, but the driver lineup of another car was just as big a story: Joey Logano piloted the No. 15 AM Racing machine after the team announced that its full-time driver Hailie Deegan would sit out for the race. After letting the two-time champion gauge the car, the team has since released Deegan.
For the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225, airing at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and streaming on the NBC Sports App, it’ll be Josh Berry in that car. Berry announced that he’ll be driving for Wood Brothers Racing next year following the closure of Stewart-Haas, but despite being a Cup driver, he has recent Xfinity Series experience, as recent as 2023.
Berry will be joined by one fellow Cup driver in the form of William Byron in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Additionally, Ryan Truex will once again pilot the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing – though he may not be a Cup driver, Truex has twice proven at Dover that he can win in the Xfinity Series.
It’s the points picture that is most pressing for the remaining full-time Xfinity Series drivers, however. Those who have a win have effectively secured a spot in the Playoffs, but with eight races to go drivers who haven’t won are looking for that checkered flag.
Cole Custer, last year’s series champion, might be in the best points position, but with just six points spots remaining for those eight races, his position is by no means secure. Every new winner takes away a spot on points.
For Custer, the stats line may be disappointingly empty in the wins column, compared to this time last year where he had two wins, both on road courses, but it’s better than last season everywhere else. He has more top-five finishes and markedly more top tens than he did at this point in the season, particularly.
His goal, of course, is to get that win, though. Custer knows that Pocono is a challenging track, but it’s one that he’s managed to win at in the Xfinity Series before, back in 2019.
“As a driver, you have to look at it and almost reset your mindset going into every single corner, which is unlike most tracks on the schedule. Each turn at Pocono is completely different, so how you work the brake and the throttle, are you shifting or are you not shifting, what’s your line in that turn – it’s all unique in each of the three corners,” Custer explained.
“There are so many different things you can do as a driver at Pocono, so you really have to reset and adapt to your car as best as you can. It’s a challenge, for sure. It can get difficult to not put yourself in a bad spot at times, but if you can run up front and survive to be there at the end, you’ll have a good shot to win.”
His teammate Riley Herbst is just behind him in the Playoff picture, plenty of points above the cutline but also lacking a win. He, too, knows that Pocono is a special challenge.
“Pocono’s a tricky one, hence its nickname,” Herbst acknowledged. “Each turn is different, so you have to approach them with different strategies. We’ll do our best, but myself and the No. 98 Monster Energy team are ready after that strong run last year.
“Turn one is super fast and high-banked. Then, you go to the Long Pond straightaway, and into the Tunnel Turn. That’s just like the Indianapolis big track – super flat, tight radius, and very bumpy. Then you go down the short shoot into a long turn three, which is the most important corner of the track in my opinion. It’s extremely flat and high-speed, but you have to come off it well to get a good run for the longest straightaway in NASCAR.”
Below Herbst, AJ Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, Parker Kligerman, and Sammy Smith would all be in on points should the Playoffs start before Pocono, but all have yet to find a win. Smith only has a 23-point advantage to the cutline, too, so he is not in safe position by any means.
Practice and qualifying will be televised on the USA Network from 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Only three more chances to make the Truck Series Playoffs
The Craftsman Truck Series has the shortest schedule of all of NASCAR’s three national series, and there are just three races remaining before the Playoff field is set.
Corey Heim might have the most wins with four on the season, but three-time winner Christian Eckes still leads him in the points standings and the race for the regular season championship.
Additionally, two other drivers have won besides Heim and Eckes – Nick Sanchez with two wins and Rajah Caruth with one. So, with six points spots available, any new winner in Friday’s CRC Brakleen 175, airing at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will automatically lock in.
As for the drivers in those points positions, Ty Majeski has a large advantage, followed by Tyler Ankrum, Tayler Gray, Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, and Tanner Gray. Each driver has a varying cushion to the cutline, from Majeski’s 144-point advantage to just 14 for Gray over Daniel Dye, with Stewart Friesen just three behind there.
One interesting challenge for the Truck Series regulars are the pair of Cup Series drivers participating as well. Ross Chastain will drive the No. 45 Chevrolet for Neice Motorsports and past series champion Zane Smith will drive the No. 91 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.
Practice and qualifying will be televised on FS2 from 2 p.m. ET on Friday.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com
The Place: Pocono Raceway
Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Tri-Oval
The Date: Sunday, July 14
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,776,907
TV: USA, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (160 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 95), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Explore The Pocono Mountains 225
The Place: Pocono Raceway
Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Tri-Oval
The Date: Saturday, July 13
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,439,558
TV: USA, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 225 miles (90 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 90)
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: CRC Brakleen 175
The Place: Pocono Raceway
Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Tri-Oval
The Date: Friday, July 12
The Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $757,128
TV: FS1, 5:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 175 miles (70 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 70)
