It’s time to tackle the “Tricky Triangle” as the NASCAR Cup Series makes its annual trek to the mountains of Pennsylvania.
The three-turn, 2.5-mile tri-oval at Pocono Raceway hosts Sunday’s race, with the 2024 playoffs fast approaching. Six races remain in the regular season, and only a handful of playoff berths are still up for grabs as winless drivers try to reach victory lane or point their way into the postseason.
Alex Bowman became the most recent driver to jump into the playoff picture when he scored his first victory of the season on the streets of Chicago last Sunday. Now others, like former Cup Series champions and Pocono winners Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, seek to do the same.
USA TODAY Sports is providing coverage of The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.com at Pocono Raceway. Follow along for all the latest news, updates, highlights and results of Sunday’s race.
Ross Chastain crashes hard, ending his day at Pocono
Ross Chastain brought out the caution on Lap 53 after his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet crashed hard into the Turn 3 wall. Chastain, who was running 21st at the time, said he lost steering before his right front tire went down, leading to a spin that sent his car slamming into the wall with major damage.
Chastain was able to coast his car back to pit road but the team determined there was too much damage to repair the car and get him back on track. Chastain became the second driver, following Noah Gragson, to have his race end early.
With the yellow flag out, many cars decided to take fuel and tires to finish the stage. A handful of cars stayed out on the track, including pole winner Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric andd Josh Berry.
Stage 2 begins with Brad Keselowski in the lead
After the caution flag waved to end the opening stage, the first six drivers hit pit road for fuel and tires, handing the front row to the Fords of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
Keselowski quickly took the lead as Logano drifted way up the race track and fell all the way back outside the Top 10. Erik Jones moved up to second, Christopher Bell third and Chris Buescher fourth.
Martin Truex Jr. wins Stage 1 of NASCAR race at Pocono
Martin Truex Jr., who took the lead on Lap 18, won the 30-lap opening stage Sunday at Pocono Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has announced this will be his final season as a full-time Cup Series driver, is winless this season but is currently ranked fifth in points.
Denny Hamlin, the all-time wins leader at Pocono finished second behind his JGR teammate. Hamlin is seeking his eighth career win at the “Tricky Triangle” and his fourth victory of the season.
Here are the top 10 drivers in Stage 1:
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club
Martin Truex Jr. takes the lead in opening stage at Pocono
Martin Truex Jr. took the lead after the restart on Lap 18, following Noah Gragson’s crash. Truex is still seeking his first victory of 2024, but the 2017 Cup Series champion has won twice at Pocono (in 2015 and 2018). Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin went with him and slided into second, as JGR’s Ty Gibbs, who had led the first 17 laps, dropped to fifth. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and William Byron round out the top five.
Noah Gragson crashes hard into wall at Pocono NASCAR race
Noah Gragson brought out the first caution on Lap 14 of 160 when his No. 10 Ford got loose in Turn 1, spinning and crashing hard into the wall backside first. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver started 25th but his day ended early with the crash as a truck towed his damaged car from the track, while Gragson took a ride to the infield care center.
The yellow brought many cars to pit road for fuel and tires, but the top 10 drivers all stayed out on the track.
Green flag waves at Pocono for Sunday’s NASCAR race
The Great American Getaway 400 has officially begun with the starter waving the green flag at 2:49 p.m. ET. Ty Gibbs and William Byron started on the front row for the 160-lap race.
Kyle Busch’s car leaks oil before start of NASCAR race at Pocono
Kyle Busch was already having a bad year – winless through the first 20 races in 2024 – but things went from bad to worse for the Richard Childress Racing driver when his No. 8 Chevrolet started leaking oil while sitting on the grid, according to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass. The team pushed the car back to the garage to replace the oil line, but they had to take the entire underbody off to replace it.
The crew scrambled to make the fixes, but eventually pushed the car back to pit road. Because of the repairs, Busch has to drop to the rear of the field before the start of the race. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who has four career wins at Pocono, qualified 24th on Saturday.
Also dropping to the rear: Corey LaJoie, whose No. 7 Chevrolet needed suspension repairs after qualifying, per Pockrass.
What time does Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono start?
The Great American Getaway 400 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
What TV channel is Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono on?
USA Network is broadcasting The Great American Getaway 400 and will have a pre-race show at 2 p.m. ET.
Will there be a live stream of Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono?
The Great American Getaway 400 can be live streamed on the NBCSports website and the NBC Sports app. The race is also available to stream on Fubo.
Who is starting on the pole in Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono?
Ty Gibbs will start on the pole for The Great American Getaway 400 after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver qualified first on Saturday. Hendrick Motor Sports driver William Byron, who qualified second, will also start on the front row. This marks the second consecutive week that Gibbs has qualified for the front row, following last week’s race on the streets of Chicago, where he started second.
What is the weather forecast for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono?
Expect a mix of clouds and sunshine today at Pocono Raceway. The AccuWeather forecast calls for mostly cloudy conditions with a 70% chance of precipitation, and possibly a thunderstorm.
Look for a high temperature of 85 degrees. Winds will be out of the west at 7 mph, gusting to 16 mph.
Who won the most recent NASCAR Cup race at Pocono?
Denny Hamlin led nine laps, including the final seven after taking the lead from Kyle Larson by running him up into wall following a restart. Hamlin went on to win the July 23, 2023, race under caution over Tyler Reddick for his record-breaking seventh victory at Pocono and the 50th of his Cup Series career.
What is the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono?
(Car number in parentheses)
- (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
- (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- (4) Josh Berry, Ford
- (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
- (71) Zane Smith, Chevrolet
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford
- (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
- (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
- (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
- (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
- (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
- (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
- (34) Michael McDowell, Ford
- (21) Harrison Burton, Ford
- (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
- (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
- (10) Noah Gragson, Ford
- (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
- (31) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet
- (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford
- (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
- (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet
- (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
- (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
- (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford
- (51) Justin Haley, Ford
- (15) Cody Ware, Ford
- (41) Ryan Preece, Ford
- (44) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
Why is Pocono Raceway called the “Tricky Triangle”?
Pocono Raceway, known as the “Tricky Triangle,” is one of the most unique ovals in NASCAR because unlike other tracks in the series it has just three turns instead of four, and each of the three has a different degree of banking. The 2.5-mile tri-oval also features the longest front stretch in the series at 3,740 feet.
Pocono straightaway lengths:
- Front stretch (main): 3,740 feet
- Long Pond (back) straightaway: 3,055 feet
- Short (North) straightaway: 1,780 feet
Pocono Turns
- Turn 1: 14 degrees banking
- Turn 2 (Tunnel Turn): 8 degrees banking
- Turn 3: 6 degrees banking
How many laps is Sunday’s NASCAR race at Pocono?
The Great American Getaway 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race will feature three segments (laps per stage) – Stage 1: 30 laps; Stage 2: 65 laps; Stage 3: 65 laps.
How many drivers have won NASCAR Cup races in the 2024 season?
Six races remain in the regular season, including Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway, before the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin on Sept. 11. A regular-season win virtually locks up a playoff berth, but the possibility still remains that there could be more race winners than available playoff spots since 12 drivers have at least one victory this season.
2024 winners (points in parentheses): Kyle Larson 3 (671); Denny Hamlin 3 (629); William Byron 3 (599); Christopher Bell 3 (586); Chase Elliott 1 (660); Tyler Reddick 1 (648); Ryan Blaney 1 (587); Brad Keselowski 1 (558); Alex Bowman 1 (553); Joey Logano 1 (484); Daniel Suarez 1 (410); Austin Cindric 1 (389).
What races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season?
Following next Sunday’s race, NASCAR will take two weekends off during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here are the five races that conclude the regular season (all times ET):
- Sunday, July 21: At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2:30 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday, Aug. 11: At Richmond Raceway, 6 p.m. (USA)
- Sunday, Aug. 18: At Michigan International Speedway, 2:30 p.m. (USA)
- Saturday, Aug. 24: At Daytona International Speedway, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)
- Sunday, Sept. 1: At Darlington Raceway, 6 p.m. (USA)
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