Quite simply, Pocono Raceway’s best was best once again.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin hoisted his record eighth NASCAR Cup Series trophy at the 2.5-mile Pocono track in Sunday’s running of the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA — his No. 11 JGR Toyota holding off the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota of Tyler Reddick by 1.678 seconds in a dramatic fuel-saving dance to the checkered flag.
The victory marks the first time in his 21-year full-time career Hamlin has won three consecutive races — at Nashville, Michigan and now Pocono. It’s sure been a productive summer for the 45-year-old Virginian, who now has 64 series wins — placing him ninth on the sport’s all-time list and moving him ahead of his former teammate, the late two-time series champion Kyle Busch.
RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Pocono
“Just so special here,” said a smiling Hamlin of his effort at the Tricky Triangle.
“Just so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team,” he continued. “This is a team effort. They’ve given me fast cars. The pit crew is flawless right now. We’ve just got it all going.
“I’d say it’s certainly the best we’ve been,” Hamlin said of his team’s current confidence level. “We come to the race track every week knowing that we’ve got a great shot to win. The team is doing an amazing job knowing exactly what I need in the car every week, and that’s why we’re winning.”
Now, with only 10 races left to set the 16-driver Chase field, Hamlin’s win streak has decisively cut Reddick’s once triple-digit lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. Reddick is only 19 points ahead of Hamlin — who, along with NBA legend Michael Jordan, co-owns Reddick’s team. It’s the smallest margin atop the standings this year for the five-race winner Reddick.
“It’s a bummer,” conceded Reddick, who rallied from fifth to second place in the closing laps after concerns of a tire going down on a late-race restart.
“We definitely lost time in a couple spots there. Some of it is everyone’s racing hard for track position and some of it is just bad luck, I guess, just where you catch cars.
SHOP: Race winner gear
“We knew qualifying was going to be tricky coming into this and just weren’t able to get stage points. Scoring the points we did just didn’t get the job done.”
Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell, who gambled with a fuel-saving strategy in the closing laps, was passed by Hamlin with four laps remaining and then ran out of gas just as the field took the white flag. He finished 26th despite his valiant effort on the day, nursing a broken left wrist he suffered in an accident last week at Michigan.
“We were mired back in the 20s, so I think it was an amazing call,” Bell said of the gamble, calling the calculated risk “worth it.”
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron finished third in the No. 24 Chevrolet, followed by Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek — claiming his best finish of the season. His race-best 42 laps out front in the No. 42 Toyota were more laps than he led in either the entire 2024 or 2025 seasons.
Hendrick’s Kyle Larson finished fifth and led laps early. Legacy’s Erik Jones was sixth — his second consecutive top-10 finish — followed by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, JGR’s Ty Gibbs and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott finished 11th — just missing out on a fifth consecutive Pocono top 10. Hamlin won Stage 1, and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland claimed the Stage 2 win — his first career stage victory.
With the regular season winding down, points positions to determine which 16 drivers will race for the championship are close. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen is 14th, 10 points clear of 17th-place Brad Keselowski. Jones and Austin Cindric are ranked 15th and 16th, respectively — both only four points above the cutline. Behind Keselowski, Team Penske’s Joey Logano is 21 points out of 16th place.
The NASCAR Cup Series will headline a tripleheader weekend in Southern California with next Sunday’s inaugural Anduril 250 (4 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Qualcomm Circuit on Naval Base Coronado.
Note: NASCAR Cup Series post-race inspection was clear, confirming Hamlin as the race winner. Six cars will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, this week for further inspection: the Nos. 5, 7, 12, 17, 42 and 45.
Stage 2 recap
Todd Gilliland stretched his fuel tank over the final 44 laps of the frame to win Stage 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono. It was his first career stage win.
Chase Briscoe finished second, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to complete the top five. Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suárez, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott completed the top 10.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results
After short-pitting the opening stage, Nemechek commenced the second frame from the lead, but not for long. Tyler Reddick, who also stayed out, passed the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club driver at Lap 39, taking his first lead of the afternoon.
Behind them, battling Hamlin for a spot in the top five, Zane Smith got loose exiting Turn 1 and spun around, contacting the inside wall at Lap 41.
Shortly after the restart, Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Berry made contact exiting Turn 3, battling mid-pack as Austin Hill made it three-wide, triggering a crash that involved nine cars. Of note, Bubba Wallace spun in front of Keselowski, with the RFK Racing co-owner t-boning Wallace. Noah Gragson, Christopher Bell, Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch all also caught a piece of the wreck. Keselowski and Gragson went behind the wall.
During the caution period, over half the field came down pit road for service, including Reddick from the lead, handing the top spot back to Nemechek.
Nemechek led 33 laps and paced the race until pitting at Lap 78, with just 17 circuits remaining in Stage 2. Most cars that pitted during the previous yellow stayed on track, while those on the opposite strategy cycled toward the rear of the field, handing the lead to Elliott. Hamlin got the lead back at Lap 88, but just two laps later, the next wave of pit stops began.
Kyle Larson came down pit road first, followed by leaders Hamlin and Elliott at Lap 91. Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs came one circuit later. Austin Cindric and Bell were also among those pitting before the stage break.
Stage 1 recap
Denny Hamlin passed Kyle Larson with six laps to go to win Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Larson hung on for second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher. Daniel Suárez, William Byron, Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Austin Hill completed the top 10.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results
Hamlin fired off from the pole, but Larson, who rolled off second, nabbed the top spot on the initial start and paced the first 24 laps. Larson jumped out to a multi-second lead, but the 45-year-old — often known for his long-run pace — tracked down the two-time series champion at Lap 24 with a daring pass down the frontstretch.
A handful of cars pitted before the stage end, including Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Zane Smith and John Hunter Nemechek, intending to gain track position for Stage 2.
The opening 30-lap frame went caution-free.