The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s race.
Denny Hamlin, who has won a track-record seven Cup races there, is the defending winner.
USA Network will have coverage of Sunday’s race. Pre-race coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET.
Here’s a look at where things stand for each Cup organization entering the 21st race of the season.
23XI Racing — Good news: Tyler Reddick is tied with Ryan Blaney for most points scored (211) in the last six races. … Reddick has the best average finish (7.6) in the series in the last six races. … Bubba Wallace has finished 11th or better in the last three Pocono races. Bad news: Wallace is 45 points outside a playoff spot heading into Pocono.
Chicago Street Race shuffles NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings
There’s a new No. 1 and two drivers move into the the top 10 heading into Sunday’s race at Pocono.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Todd Gilliland has an average finish of 12.3 in the last six races, which ranks fourth best in the series in that span. … Gilliland ranks eighth in the series in points scored (163) in the last six races. … Michael McDowell placed fifth at Chicago and Gilliland was seventh, putting Front Row cars in the top 10 for the second time in the last five races. It also happened at Sonoma. … The organization has led 270 laps through 20 races this season. Last year, Front Row led 15 laps in the first 20 races. Bad News: The organization has seven DNFs. Last year after 20 races, Front Row had three DNFs.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Alex Bowman’s win at Chicago means all four Hendrick drivers have won a race this season. That’s the third time in the last four years all four Hendrick drivers have had at least a victory in the same season. … Kyle Larson continues to lead the points despite missing the Coca-Cola 600. … William Byron’s average finish of 9.9 at Pocono is the best among active drivers. Bad news: Chase Elliott’s 21st-place finish last weekend at Chicago marked the first time he’s had a result outside the top 20 this year.
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Alex Bowman celebrated his win, but some of the favorites had a rough day in Sunday’s Cup race.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Christopher Bell’s three wins and 596 laps led are his most through 20 races of any Cup season. … Bell has led nearly 29% of all the laps run in the last seven races. … Denny Hamlin is the winningest Cup driver at Pocono with seven victories at the track. … Martin Truex Jr. has five top 10s in the last seven Pocono races. … Ty Gibbs has started in the top 10 in seven of the last nine races. Bad news: Bell’s five DNFs are also his most through 20 races of any Cup season. … Hamlin has finished outside the top 10 in the last five races.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has three top 10s in the last four races. Bad news: Stenhouse has one top-10 finish in 20 starts at Pocono, although it was last year when he placed seventh.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Daniel Hemric has an average finish of 10.0 in two career Cup starts at Pocono. … AJ Allmendinger is making his fifth Cup start in the last six races this weekend. Bad news: The organization’s cars rank 28th (No. 31 car) and 32nd (No. 16 car) in car owner points.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Erik Jones has finished ninth in both Next Gen races at Pocono. … Jones has placed in the top 10 in eight of his 12 Pocono Cup starts. Bad news: John Hunter Nemechek’s eighth-place finish last month at New Hampshire is his only result inside the top 25 in the last eight races.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch’s ninth-place finish at Chicago snapped a seven-race streak of finishes outside the top 10. … Austin Dillon’s pit crew had the fastest four-tire pit stop last weekend at Chicago, according to Racing Insights. Bad news: Dillon has one top-10 finish in 18 career Cup starts at Pocono.
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Both Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon must win to make the NASCAR Cup playoffs this season.
RFK Racing — Good news: Chris Buescher ranks second in the series in best average finish (10.8) in the last six races. … Joey Hand finished fourth for the team at Chicago in a third car. … Brad Keselowski’s seven top-five finishes equals last season’s total. … Keselowski has placed in the top 10 in 11 of the last 15 Pocono races. Bad news: Buescher holds the final playoff spot with six races left in the regular season.
Chris Buescher falls to final Cup playoff spot after Alex Bowman wins at Chicago
Chris Buescher: “We didn’t need another (new) winner. But it’s not going to change how we approach our weeks.”
Spire Motorsports — Good news: The organization announced this week that Rodney Childers will join the team and be Corey LaJoie’s crew chief next season, allowing current crew chief Ryan Sparks to focus on his competition director duties. … Zane Smith has four top-20 finishes in the last six races, his best stretch of the season. Bad news: Carson Hocevar’s 24th-place finish snapped a five-race streak of top-20 results.
Rodney Childers to be Corey LaJoie’s crew chief beginning in 2025
Ryan Sparks, who has served as Corey LaJoie’s crew chief, will focus on his competition director duties in 2025.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Noah Gragson has three top 10s in the last four races. Bad news: Three of its four drivers finished 32nd or worse at Chicago. Chase Briscoe was 32nd, Ryan Preece was 34th and Josh Berry was 36th.
Team Penske — Good news: Ryan Blaney has four top-10 finishes in the last five races, including his win at Iowa. Bad news: Austin Cindric has two top-10 finishes in 20 races this season: His win at World Wide Technology Raceway and a fourth-place finish at Atlanta. … Joey Logano last scored a top-five finish there. … Team Penske’s last Pocono Cup victory came in 2011 with Brad Keselowski.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Daniel Suarez has three top-20 finishes in the last five races. Bad news: Ross Chastain’s best Pocono finish is 13th in eight Cup starts there.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton finished eighth at Pocono last year. Bad news: After scoring back-to-back top 20s, Burton has finished 28th and 25th the past two races.
