By George Cornwallis

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented

By VISITPA.com

The Place: Pocono Raceway

Track Length: 2.5 Mile Asphalt Paved Tri-oval

The Date: Sunday, June 22

The Time: 2 p.m. ET

The Purse: $11,055,250

TV: Amazon Prime, 1:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 400 miles (160 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 95), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)

Where To Watch NASCAR This Weekend:

Sunday, June 22

NCS Race: The Great American Getaway 400 (Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM at 2 p.m. ET)

NASCAR Cup Series

Pocono Storylines and Insights:

·       This weekend marks the 92nd running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway (1974-2025).

·        The race to the Playoffs is officially underway, only 10 races remain before the Playoffs.

·       2025 is the fourth straight year that Pocono held one race.

·       Denny Hamlin’s seven wins at Pocono are the most all-time.

·       Denny Hamlin has more wins at Pocono (7) than any other track.

·       Denny Hamlin is the only repeat winner in the last eight Pocono races; he won three races during that time.

·       Four organizations won the last 10 Pocono races: Joe Gibbs Racing (six wins), Hendrick Motorsports (two wins), Stewart Haas Racing and Team Penske (one win each).

·       Denny Hamlin ended a 406-race streak of consecutive starts after missing Mexico City.

·       Team Penske went 22 races between their Pocono wins from 2011 to 2024.

·       Last year’s Pocono race had only 24 cars running at the finish, the fewest for a Pocono Cup race since June 1993.

·       19 different drivers finished in the top-10 in the last two races, only Chris Buescher finished top-10 in both.

·       Three drivers outside the top 16 in regular season points won this season (J. Berry, A. Cindric and Shane van Gisbergen).

·       Chase Elliott won at Pocono in 2023 after crossing the line third and failing to lead a lap after Denny Hamin (1^st) and Kyle Busch (2^nd) were both disqualified in post-race inspection.

·       Chase Elliott leads all drivers in points earned at Pocono in the Next Gen car.

·       There was a caution in the first 15 laps in each of the last seven Pocono races.

·       The stage 2 winner is winless at Pocono.

·       William Byron’s average finish of 9.36 at Pocono is the best all-time.

·       Kyle Larson leads all drivers with nine top-five finishes in 2025, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin rank second with seven.

·       Kyle Larson’s 11 top-10 finishes in 2025 are tied for the most with Christopher Bell.

·       This weekend, eight of the 40 NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Raceway winners are active:

·       The difference between the last driver in the Playoffs on points and the first driver out is 19 points, the largest gap of the season, the two drivers were tied in points entering Mexico City.

·       Three of the top-four drivers in regular season standings drive for Hendrick Motorsports: Byron-first, Larson-second, and Elliott-fourth.

·       William Byron’s 604 points earned through 16 races in 2025 are the most at this point in the season by a driver in the Next Gen era (2022-2025).

·       William Byron’s 67 point lead over second place (Kyle Larson) in regular season points is the largest gap this year.

·       Chase Elliott is the only driver to finish top-20 in all 16 races this season.

·       2025 is the second straight season that Chase Eliott completed all but one lap of the season entering the 17th race of the season.

·       In the stage era, only one driver has won at Pocono from below the cutline (Ryan Blaney, 17th in 2017).

·       The last 11 races at Pocono were won by a driver ranked sixth or better in the Playoff standings.

·       Denny Hamlin has been in the top five in Speed, Long Run, and Restart rating for each Pocono race in the Next Gen car.

·       Bubba Wallace has gained an average of 11 spots per race on Restarts in the Next Gen, most of all drivers.

·       Denny Hamlin has gained an average of nine spots per race on Restarts in the Next Gen.

·       Ty Gibbs has been top five in Speed and Long Run Speed in each of the last two Pocono races.

·       Tyler Reddick and William Byron have been top 10 in Speed in all three Next Gen races at Pocono.

·       Since swapping pit crews before Darlington, the #5 team has had the number 1 ranked Pit Crew.

·       A total of four NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Pocono Raceway; three of which are active this weekend: Ryan Blaney (2017), Chris Buescher (2016), Denny Hamlin (2006), Jeremy Mayfield (1998).

The Playoff Picture (10 Races Remain Before Playoffs):

·       10 of the 16 spots are filled by winners.

·       The bubble is now 19 points between Chris Buescher and his RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece

·       14th to 17th in the Playoff standings are separated by 39 points

·       William Byron leads the regular season points by 67 over Kyle Larson

·       William Byron has 172 stage points in 2025, 27 more than any other driver

·       Kyle Larson has 23 playoff points, the most of all drivers

·       Three drivers holding playoff spots with wins are currently outside the top-16 in points (Austin Cindric, Josh Berry & Shane van Gisbergen)

Understanding the In-Season Challenge:

·       The top 32 in driver points following Nashville last week are eligible (Shane van Gisbergen, Cole Custer, Riley Herbst and Cody Ware failed to qualify among full-time drivers).

·       The next three races (Michigan, Mexico City, Pocono) establish the seeding for the challenge based on the best driver finishing positions over those races. Tiebreakers are decided by the second-best finish and then the third-best finish among those races. If needed, the final tiebreaker is points standings after Pocono.

·       The first of five races for the In-Season Challenge is Atlanta, with drivers competing in a bracket-style tournament until the final two drivers face off in the finale at Indianapolis with the best-finishing driver winning $1 million.

NASCAR & Pocono, Etc.

Historical & Significant Events at Pocono Raceway:

• Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway is operated by the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.
• Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.
• In 1972, Pocono Raceway held Concert 10, a two-day rock music festival that had an estimated attendance of 200,000.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was on August 4, 1974, and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty driving the famous Petty Enterprises’ No. 43 Dodge. The average speed of the 192-lap race was 115.593 mph. Petty led 152 of the 192 laps on his way to the win.
• The 2.5-mile track was repaved during the fall of 2011.
• 2012 marked the first season the NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012, all NASCAR Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.
• There have been 91 NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year from 1982-2021.
• 2020 marked the first season the NASCAR Cup Series held a doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway, with races running Saturday and Sunday.
• Since 2022, Pocono Raceway has hosted the Elements Music Festival, an EDM music and arts festival.
• Since 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series has only competed at Pocono Raceway once a season.

American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans Now Available on Prime Video:

• American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans – the feature-length documentary chronicling NASCAR’s special entry at the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023 – is now available on Prime Video.
• The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the crown jewels of international motorsports. It’s a showcase of sports car racing excellence that tests the limits of man and machine.
• For the race’s 100th anniversary running in June 2023, an invitation was extended to NASCAR to bring an American stock car Chevrolet Camaro to compete against the futuristic Ferrari and Porsche prototypes and attempt to complete the grueling 24-hour challenge that is Le Mans.
• It was NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France’s dream since childhood to have one of his cars race at Le Mans, so he recruited NASCAR’s most successful team, Hendrick Motorsports, to build and race the car. Along with world-class drivers Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller, Hendrick Motorsports embarked on an eighteen-month journey to develop a race car designed to run three-hour races on ovals in the United States into one that could survive the challenge of racing 24 hours straight on an unforgiving road course.
• American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans is produced by NASCAR Studios and Griffin Van Malssen and directed by Brad Lockhart. The film is executive produced by Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports and Tim Clark, John Dahl, Amy Anderson, Tally Hair, and Matt Summers of NASCAR.

COURTESY NASCAR COMMUNICATIONS