By Lonnie Hugh Skinner

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Pocono Storylines and Insights:

·       This weekend marks the 10th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway, all since 2016.

·       This weekend’s race is scheduled for 100 laps, after it was 90 in each of the last five races at Pocono, the first four races there were scheduled at 100 laps.

·       There have been eight different winners in nine Pocono races – Cole Custer is the only repeat winner.

·       Austin Hill is the only past Xfinity Series Pocono winner in the field.

·       Of the eight former Pocono winners, seven are current full-time Cup Series drivers (Austin Hill is the only exception).

·       Chase Elliott will be driving the Hendrick Motorsports #17. His second Xfinity start of 2025.

·       Dale Earnhardt Jr. will serve as crew chief as Mardy Lindley serves suspension for lug nuts at Nashville.

·       Eight drivers on the entry list have won at Pocono in Cup (Elliott), Trucks (B. Jones) or ARCA (7 drivers).

·       The last six Pocono winners were under the age of 30.

·       Taylor Gray has never finished outside the top five at Pocono in Xfinity, Trucks or ARCA.

·       Justin Allgaier needs four laps led at Pocono to pass Cole Custer for most led there all-time.

·       Eight drivers will be making their first career Xfinity Series start at Pocono.

·       Six of nine Pocono races were won by the driver that led the most laps.

·       Three of the last six Pocono races went to overtime.

·       Three of the last eight Pocono races featured a pass for the win in the final two laps.

·       JGR (1), JRM (1) and RCR (1) have combined for just three wins at Pocono.

·       Ford has won five of the nine Pocono races but are winless this season.

·       There are 11 races left in the regular season and six Playoff spots remain open.

·       Taylor Gray and Ryan Sieg are tied at the cut line.

·       The drivers from 8^th-14^th are separated by 57 points, less than one race.

·       The four drivers behind Ryan Sieg in the points are all rookies.

·       JR Motorsports has won seven races this season with five different drivers, tied for most different drivers in a season all-time: Justin Allgaier 3, Connor Zilisch 1, Sammy Smith 1, Kyle Larson 1 & Daniel Suarez 1.

·       JR Motorsports is five wins away from 100, only three other teams won at least 100 NXS races (Joe Gibbs Racing-217, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing-138, Richard Childress Racing-100).

·       Four crew chiefs got their first NXS win in 2025: Chad Haney at Atlanta, Sam McAulay at Darlington, Adam Wall at Bristol & Cory Shea at Mexico City.

·       Taylor Gray (2^nd – tied), Christian Eckes (4^th) and William Sawalich (6^th) scored or matched their career- best finish at Mexico City.

·       Austin Hill finished in the top-10 in six straight races, his fifth time with a streak of 6+ consecutive races.

·       Justin Allgaier’s 28 career wins are ninth on the all-time wins list and one away from tying Matt Kenseth.

·       Justin Allgaier is eight top 10s away from 300 in his career, he would be the first driver with 300 top 10s.

·       Justin Allgaier leads all drivers with 10 top-five finishes and 638 laps led in 2025.

·       Justin Allgaier’s 10 top-five finishes in 2025 are his most ever after 15 races in a season.

·       Justin Allgaier has won the Fastest Lap Award five times this season, no other driver has more than two.

·       Sam Mayer is the only driver to finish top-15 in 12 of 15 races this season.

·       Five races this year ended with a last lap pass.

·       Three of the last five races this season had a pass for the win in the final two laps.

·       Seven of the 15 races this season went to overtime.

·       Chevrolet led 2,107 of 2,701 laps this season.

·       Chevrolet has won 13 of 15 races, the most all time by a manufacturer through 15 races in series history.

·       2025 is the first season since 2003 without a first-time winner in the first 15 races.

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