Posted on by Staff Report

The second edition of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge is just around the corner, and the bracket has been set following Sunday’s Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, won by Denny Hamlin.

Full In-Season Challenge printable bracket

Points leader Tyler Reddick will enter the In-Season Challenge as the No. 1 seed, with Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Ty Gibbs clinching the top five seeds in the bracket.

Alex Bowman and Cole Custer were tied for the 32nd and final spot in the tournament after Pocono, but Bowman earned the tiebreaker based on highest finish in 2026 (third at Talladega).

RELATED: Race results | How the In-Season Challenge works | Register now!

The In-Season Challenge begins Sunday, June 28 at Sonoma Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with the tournament making stops at Chicagoland Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and the championship round hosted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26.

SEED LIST

 

1. Tyler Reddick
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Chase Elliott
5. Ty Gibbs
6. Kyle Larson
7. Chris Buescher
8. Daniel Suárez
9. Carson Hocevar
10. Christopher Bell
11. William Byron
12. Chase Briscoe
13. Bubba Wallace
14. Shane van Gisbergen
15. Erik Jones
16. Austin Cindric
17. Brad Keselowski
18. Joey Logano
19. Ryan Preece
20. Michael McDowell
21. AJ Allmendinger
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23. Ross Chastain
24. Zane Smith
25. Todd Gilliland
26. John Hunter Nemechek
27. Riley Herbst
28. Austin Dillon
29. Noah Gragson
30. Josh Berry
31. Ty Dillon
32. Alex Bowman

MORE: Register now for bracket game! | Advice for filling out bracket

FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS

No. 1 Tyler Reddick vs No. 32 Alex Bowman
No. 16 Austin Cindric vs No. 17 Brad Keselowski
No. 8 Daniel Suárez vs No. 25 Todd Gilliland
No. 9 Carson Hocevar vs No. 24 Zane Smith
No. 12 Chase Briscoe vs No. 21 AJ Allmendinger
No. 5 Ty Gibbs vs No. 28 Austin Dillon
No. 13 Bubba Wallace vs No. 20 Michael McDowell
No. 4 Chase Elliott vs No. 29 Noah Gragson
No. 2 Denny Hamlin vs No. 31 Ty Dillon
No. 15 Erik Jones vs No. 18 Joey Logano
No. 7 Chris Buescher vs No. 26 John Hunter Nemechek
No. 10 Christopher Bell vs No. 23 Ross Chastain
No. 11 William Byron vs No. 22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
No. 6 Kyle Larson vs No. 27 Riley Herbst
No. 14 Shane van Gisbergen vs No. 19 Ryan Preece
No. 3 Ryan Blaney vs No. 30 Josh Berry
Posted on by Staff Report

The all-time list of NASCAR Cup Series winners starts with Richard Petty (200 wins) and includes more than 60 drivers who won just a single time at NASCAR’s top level.

Below is the list of all-time winners, in order, in the Cup Series.

Last update: After Race 17 of the 2026 season (Naval Base Coronado).

Active drivers in ALL CAPS

RankDriverWins
1.Richard Petty200
2.David Pearson105
3.Jeff Gordon93
4.Bobby Allison85
5.Darrell Waltrip84
T-6.Jimmie Johnson83
T-6.Cale Yarborough83
8.Dale Earnhardt76
9.DENNY HAMLIN64
10.Kyle Busch63
11.Kevin Harvick60
12.Rusty Wallace55
13.Lee Petty54
T-14.Ned Jarrett50
T-14.Junior Johnson50
16.Tony Stewart49
17.Herb Thomas48
18.Buck Baker46
19.Bill Elliott44
20.Mark Martin40
T-21.Tim Flock39
T-21.Matt Kenseth39
T-23.Bobby Isaac37
T-23.JOEY LOGANO37
25.BRAD KESELOWSKI36
T-26.Kurt Busch34
T-26.Martin Truex Jr.34
28.Fireball Roberts33
T-29.KYLE LARSON32
T-29.Dale Jarrett32
T-31.Carl Edwards28
T-31.Rex White28
T-33.Dale Earnhardt Jr.26
T-33.Fred Lorenzen26
T-35.Jim Paschal25
T-35.Joe Weatherly25
T-37.CHASE ELLIOTT23
T-37.Ricky Rudd23
39.Terry Labonte22
T-40.Jeff Burton21
T-40.Bobby Labonte21
T-40.Benny Parsons21
T-40.Jack Smith21
44.Speedy Thompson20
T-45.Davey Allison19
T-45.Buddy Baker19
T-45.Greg Biffle19
T-45.Fonty Flock19
T-49.Geoff Bodine18
T-49.Neil Bonnett18
T-49.Harry Gant18
T-49.Kasey Kahne18
T-49.Ryan Newman18
T-49.RYAN BLANEY18
T-55.Marvin Panch17
T-55.Curtis Turner17
57.WILLIAM BYRON16
58.Ernie Irvan15
T-59.Dick Hutcherson14
T-59.LeeRoy Yarbrough14
T-61CHRISTOPHER BELL13
T-61.Dick Rathmann13
T-61.Tim Richmond13
T-61.TYLER REDDICK13
T-65.Donnie Allison10
T-65.Clint Bowyer10
T-65.Sterling Marlin10
T-68.Paul Goldsmith9
T-68.Cotton Owens9
T-68.Bob Welborn9
T-71.ALEX BOWMAN8
T-71.Kyle Petty8
T-73.SHANE VAN GISBERGEN7
T-73.Darel Dieringer7
T-73.AJ Foyt7
T-73.Jamie McMurray7
T-73.Jim Reed7
T-73.Marshall Teague7
T-79.AUSTIN DILLON6
T-79.CHRIS BUESCHER6
T-79.ROSS CHASTAIN6
T-82.Ward Burton5
T-82.Dan Gurney5
T-82.Alan Kulwicki5
T-82.Tiny Lund5
T-82.Dave Marcis5
T-82.Jeremy Mayfield5
T-82.Ralph Moody5
T-89.CHASE BRISCOE5
T-89.Lloyd Dane4
T-89.Bob Flock4
T-89.Charlie Glotzbach4
T-89.Eddie Gray4
T-89.Bobby Hamilton4
T-89.Pete Hamilton4
T-89.Parnelli Jones4
T-89.Hershel McGriff4
T-89.Joe Nemechek4
T-89.Eddie Pagan4
T-89.Ken Schrader4
T-89.Morgan Shepherd4
T-89.Nelson Stacy4
T-89.RICKY STENHOUSE JR.4
T-89.Billy Wade4
T-89.Michael Waltrip4
T-89.Glen Wood4
T-107.AJ ALLMENDINGER3
T-107.Aric Almirola3
T-107.AUSTIN CINDRIC3
T-107.Bill Blair3
T-107.Robby Gordon3
T-107.ERIK JONES3
T-107.Dick Linder3
T-107.Frank Mundy3
T-107.Elliott Sadler3
T-107.Gwyn Staley3
T-107.DANIEL SUÁREZ3
T-107.Brian Vickers3
T-107.BUBBA WALLACE3
T-120.MICHAEL MCDOWELL2
T-120.Marcos Ambrose2
T-120.John Andretti2
T-120.Johnny Beauchamp2
T-120.Red Byron2
T-120.Derrike Cope2
T-120.Ricky Craven2
T-120.Ray Elder2
T-120.James Hylton2
T-120.Bobby Johns2
T-120.Joe Lee Johnson2
T-120.Al Keller2
T-120.Elmo Langley2
T-120.Danny Letner2
T-120.Juan Pablo Montoya2
T-120.Billy Myers2
T-120.Jimmy Pardue2
T-120.Steve Park2
T-120.Tom Pistone2
T-120.Marvin Porter2
T-120.David Ragan2
T-120.David Reutimann2
T-120.Gober Sosebee2
T-120.Jimmy Spencer2
T-120.Emanuel Zervakis2
T-145.Johnny Allen1
T-145.Bill Amick1
T-145.Mario Andretti1
T-145.Earl Balmer1
T-145.Trevor Bayne1
T-145.Johnny Benson1
T-145.JOSH BERRY1
T-145.Brett Bodine1
T-145.Ron Bouchard1
T-145.Richard Brickhouse1
T-145.Dick Brooks1
T-145.Bob Burdick1
T-145.Harrison Burton1
T-145.Marvin Burke1
T-145.Neil Cole1
T-145.Jim Cook1
T-145.Cole Custer1
T-145.Mark Donohue1
T-145.Joe Eubanks1
T-145.Lou Figaro1
T-145.Jimmy Florian1
T-145.Larry Frank1
T-145TY GIBBS1
T-145.Danny Graves1
T-145.Royce Haggerty1
T-145.Justin Haley1
T-145.COREY HEIM1
T-145.Bobby Hillin1
T-145.CARSON HOCEVAR1
T-145.Jim Hurtubise1
T-145.John Kieper1
T-145.Harold Kite1
T-145.Paul Lewis1
T-145.Johnny Mantz1
T-145.Sam McQuagg1
T-145.Casey Mears1
T-145.Paul Menard1
T-145.Lloyd Moore1
T-145.Jerry Nadeau1
T-145.Norm Nelson1
T-145.Bill Norton1
T-145.Phil Parsons1
T-145.Dick Passwater1
T-145.Lennie Pond1
T-145.Bill Rexford1
T-145.Jody Ridley1
T-145.Shorty Rollins1
T-145.Jim Roper1
T-145.Earl Ross1
T-145.John Rostek1
T-145.Johnny Rutherford1
T-145.Greg Sacks1
T-145.Leon Sales1
T-145.Frankie Schneider1
T-145.Wendell Scott1
T-145.Buddy Shuman1
T-145.Regan Smith1
T-145.John Soares1
T-145.Lake Speed1
T-145.Chuck Stevenson1
T-145.Donald Thomas1
T-145.Tommy Thompson1
T-145.Art Watts1
T-145.Danny Weinberg1
T-145.Jack White1
Posted on by Staff Report

Another curveball struck those around the current Chase bubble Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway as Brad Keselowski, Shane van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano were all caught up in a multicar wreck down the frontstretch during Stage 2.

Running three-wide off Turn 3, Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Berry made contact before Austin Hill made it three-wide on the bottom with the stack-up ultimately forcing the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford into the wall. A chain reaction ensued with Noah Gragson and Logano spinning. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford just clipped the left rear of Wallace’s No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, sending Wallace around.

With nowhere to go, Keselowski hit the side of the No. 23, causing race-ending damage to the front end of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford. Bell also brushed the outside wall in the incident.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Pocono

Keselowski and Gragson went behind the wall, while the others involved remained on track. Gragson was credited with a 35th-place result, and Keselowski was scored last in 38th.

Wallace finished 21st on the lead lap. Bell recovered and nearly stole Sunday’s race on fuel strategy, but ran out just before the final lap and crossed the line 26th. Van Gisbergen and Logano both finished outside the top 30, multiple laps down.

Bell (10th), Wallace (11th), van Gisbergen (14th) and Keselowski (15th) all entered Sunday’s race in provisional Chase spots while Logano was 17th, three points behind teammate Austin Cindric for the final spot.

After Sunday, Keselowski dropped outside The Chase to 17th, while Wallace also conceded two spots and is 13th heading to Naval Base Coronado next Sunday (4 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I thought we had decent pace and just trying to bide our time,” Keselowski said after exiting the infield care center. “The race was going to crack open in different strategies. These guys run really stupid races where they’re like three wide on Lap 5 in a race where strategy is going to re-shuffle the field three more times. So we were just trying not to get caught up in their junk, and I missed the first wave of the junk, but not the second.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

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.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — The 2026 season has presented Ford its fair share of challenges.

Through the season’s first 15 races, the manufacturer has just one win, which came with Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske group on March 8 at Phoenix Raceway. Sitting third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, Blaney is one of just two Fords inside the top 10 in points ahead of Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway (1 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Pocono schedule | Cup standings

The last month and a half has been underwhelming for the Blue Ovals. In five races since the beginning of May, Ford has just one top five: a fifth-place finish for Chris Buescher on May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway. The manufacturer was shut out of at least the top six positions at Watkins Glen International, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway.

As his point total depicts, Blaney has been the best of the Mustangs this year. But the most recent of his three top fives came in a runner-up finish to Ty Gibbs at Bristol Motor Speedway in the middle of April.

Optimism isn’t lost within the Ford camp — not by a long shot. However, there is a realistic acceptance that there is a gap between their current capabilities and the performance and execution of the Toyota and Chevrolet teams.

“You’re always trying to get better,” Blaney said Saturday at Pocono. “There’s always things we’re looking at doing to try to be a little better here and there. I mean, obviously you can’t do any body stuff, but can always set up things you’re trying to change. Like, did this work a little bit better here? Can we continue to refine that or work on that path? Sometimes you go down the wrong path, you know? And you learn from those. Not saying I don’t think we’ve gone down any wrong path; it’s just we’re continuing to try to figure things to do the best we can.

“There are things we can do, just try to refine some stuff. A little bit goes a long way in this series, so hopefully we can just start piecing together little things, and they start to add up.”

Team Penske has earned the best finishes for the Ford bunch over the past month, with Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric each taking turns as the manufacturer’s best finisher over the past four races. But best of the bunch isn’t all they’d like to be. And without a new body until the 2027 introduction of the Dark Horse Mustang SC, how can teams realistically erase any deficiencies?

“My message to my guys in general is we have to keep giving our 100%, trying to find every little bit we can,” No. 22 crew chief Paul Wolfe told NASCAR.com. “Because as long as I’ve been doing this now, eventually it’ll turn around and you’ll have at least equal or maybe we’ll have the advantage from a car-potential standpoint. And at that moment, you need to make sure you’ve got all your i’s dotted, t’s crossed, so that we can get back to Victory Lane and win those races like we know we’ve done in the past and that we’re capable of as a team.”

Ryan Blaney drives a Ford at Michigan in a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Brett Farmer | Getty Images

At RFK Racing, Buescher has been the lead dog of the three-car program statistically, joining Blaney as the only other Ford inside the top 10 in points, entering Sunday’s race eighth in the standings. As Buescher acknowledged in his Saturday press conference, “Our RFK circle had a pretty brutal month.” In five races for Buescher, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece since May began, the trio has combined for only two top 10s but collected five DNFs across 20 combined starts.

“We’ve never had to work so hard to run ninth at Michigan,” Buescher said. “That was largely due to several instances throughout the race that resulted in having to tape up the nose, so again, not the best read on the day and where we stacked up. I certainly look back at practice and even qualifying and the race at times, I feel like we had the ability to run top five, fifth to seventh. That was kind of what we were capable of there, and I guess (that’s) good and bad. That’s kind of where we’ve found ourselves at a lot of the mile-and-a-halfs.

“We’re close, but we have to keep pushing. We have some work to do, and we’re aware of that, but we’re certainly in the ballpark, and we feel like we’ve got good-handling race cars at RFK, and we’re working steadily to figure out how to get these Mustangs into Victory Lane. We’re just not quite there at that last step yet.”

Despite the lack of statistical success this season, Buescher said he has been eager to return to Pocono “for a lot of weeks,” particularly after a fourth-place run at the “Tricky Triangle” just one year ago. He anticipates last year’s notes will still apply — and practice proved he may be right as his No. 17 Ford was fastest in overall and five-lap averages.

“It’s going to translate, last year’s stuff,” Buescher said. “We’re not sitting still. We didn’t just copy-paste, but it is very largely based around what we had here last year and what was so fast for us. We very narrowly missed the pole here last year. We had a very fast lap in the race and ran up front all day. Just again, it’s the detail work that you’ve got to get right. These races are so hard to win, and they’re supposed to be, but, man, to really get those good days and turn them into great days, it’s down to the detail work. And we’re going to keep working on that.”

Buescher will start The Great American Getaway 400 from sixth position as Ford’s best qualifier, with Team Penske housemates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano 10th and 11th, respectively.

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to rural Pennsylvania for race 16 of the 2026 season at Pocono Raceway, while the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to action after its first off weekend of the year at the “Tricky Triangle.” Bookmark this page for everything you need throughout race weekend, including qualifying orders, practice speeds, race results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | TV listings

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on Prime Video. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Eight sets for the weekend (six new sets for the race, one set for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one set for practice).

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Unofficial Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Five sets for the weekend (three new sets for the race, one set for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one set for practice). 

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — Sam Mayer lined up on the front row with his teammate Sheldon Creed on his back bumper set for a green-white-checkered restart to end Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Pocono Raceway.

But a split-second decision by Creed to jump to Mayer’s left allowed Justin Allgaier to storm ahead, leaving the Haas Factory Team duo in the dust as Allgaier rolled to his fifth win of the season.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Pocono

In fourth and fifth, respectively, Mayer and Creed were left to wonder what could have been.

“I’m glad I have sunglasses on right now because I’m ready to bawl my eyes out,” Mayer said.

Mayer and Creed lined up as the first two cars on the inside lane in a restart at Lap 98 of 100. One restart earlier, the duo leaned left and stayed together for a strong push into Turn 1. Creed anticipated Mayer would do the same on the final re-fire. Mayer opted against so he could have a better arch into the corner.

“I was hoping we’re gonna do the same thing again,” Creed said. “Sam did a really good job the prior restart, and just as soon as we got to the line, he started leaning left, just to keep both of us from kind of getting put three (wide), and then that made it a lot easier for me just to commit to him. Whoever was behind me, they can get to my right all they want, but I just didn’t want to be three, and he did a really good job that time. And then we got to the line there on that last restart, and the 19 (Brent Crews) was already pushing me, so I felt like I kind of had to turn left because I didn’t want to be three-wide.

“And unfortunately I kind of took his (Mayer’s) opportunity away, and I was trying to get myself on, and then just landed super loose down there into 1 and slid up the race track. You kind of hate to do that when you’re around your teammates on restarts, but at the same time, trying to give myself an opportunity as well.”

Even if it doesn’t ease the pain of defeat, that logic helped Mayer reconcile any blame or criticism he may have wanted to place on Creed, who was going for the victory just like he was.

“Door numbers aside, you’ve gotta put yourself in a spot to try to win the race, and the 00 was even for first going into Turn 1, so I can’t fault him at all for it,” Mayer said. “I mean I probably wouldn’t have done it just because I know that the cars don’t handle very good on the bottom when you have that sort of an entry, and it happened to me on the second to last restart. That’s why the 7 (Allgaier) beat me is because I was shallow, so I knew that going down there is just shooting yourself in the foot. But I mean when you’re in the second lane, you have to do that, so it’s just kind of one of those deals.

“If I would have had a little bit of help, my lane would have won. He had help, his lane won, so it’s kind of just part of the racing at this race track. It’s so much fun, but just absolutely brutal sometimes.”

An eight-time winner in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition, Mayer is still seeking his first win of 2026 but now has top fives in three of his last four races, including consecutive fourth-place finishes at Nashville Superspeedway and Pocono.

Those stats are good, particularly as he leaves Pocono ninth in points, up two from where he entered. But it does little to make Saturday’s near-miss feel better in the immediate aftermath.

“It’s just part of it. It’s so hard,” Mayer said. “You look at the Cup Series and you see 30 guys that can go out there and win. Well, I mean, you’ve got 15 guys that can win each week in this series, so the intensity level is just as high as the Cup Series. I mean, you see the 88, William (Byron), he obviously is a very talented race-car driver, really good on Sundays, and he comes to Saturdays, and he runs second, third as well.

“So I mean, the intensity level is just as high, and that’s what makes racing special and winning special because you know that no matter what series you’re in, it’s rewarding to win. And I want to do that really, really badly. So it’s hard to balance that, but at the end of the day, you’ve just got to go execute and be better and make the right choices, and have the cards fall your way, to be honest with you, but that’s the love of racing.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

Track: Pocono Raceway
Location: Long Pond, Pa.
Track length: 2.5 miles
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 160 laps | 400 miles
Segments: 30 | 95 | 160
Sunday’s starting lineup | Cup Series pit stall assignments

Points battle tightening up with tricky tests ahead

Pocono Raceway’s three unique corners offer one of the biggest annual tests on the Cup Series schedule. This season, Pocono begins a lengthy stretch of asymmetry for the field with the “Tricky Triangle” preceding next week’s debut at Naval Base Coronado, a trip to the windy Sonoma Raceway, a return to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019, the always-treacherous EchoPark Speedway, the first points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996, and finally, the crown jewel Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Safe to say, the points entering Sunday versus what they will look like during the final week of July will likely be dramatically different.

And it all begins as Denny Hamlin, who’s won two races in a row, is chasing down Tyler Reddick for the top spot in the standings.

Reddick, who held a 129-point advantage over his 23XI Racing co-owner Hamlin just one month ago, has now seen it shrink to just 51.

“Honestly, it’s crazy when you’re at the top, you think, ‘OK, we’re good. We’re happy.’ You’re able to just solely focus on setting yourself up to win races and so we’ll have to be a little bit more mindful of points for a bit here unless we’re able to pull back away again,” Reddick said. “I would say we’ve just been able to just focus solely on bringing really fast race cars and not really worrying about trying anything else, which has been nice. A little bit more pressure now, but hopefully I can handle it.”

MORE: Updated weekend schedule | At-track photos

Toyota has been the dominant manufacturer on track so far in 2026, and Hamlin is now blooming as the main beneficiary with triumphs at Nashville and Michigan — where he’s had to come all the way from the rear of the field both times.

The win streak hasn’t been easy for the 45-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver, but the confidence may be at an all-time high for Hamlin even if he’s not dominating these races.

“This is certainly the peak of that,” Hamlin said of the No. 11 team’s strength. “There’s been other times where we’ve had a lot of success over a stretch like you’re talking about, but not as dominating. I don’t know that we really dominated the last few weeks. When we needed to, we could, and that’s been the difference this time around versus previous. I feel very confident in the way that I’m approaching each race track, the way that I need to get speed out of the cars, what I need out of them in traffic, all those things. I feel pretty dialed in with that right now.”

With the variation in the coming weeks, Hamlin discussed his week-to-week process and how his experience has allowed the transitions to different tracks not really affect how he approaches certain race weekends.

“The process starts a little bit sooner,” Hamlin said. “You need more laps, more reps at a track like San Diego versus somewhere like here at Pocono. So, I don’t really treat it any differently. My advantage right now is just simply that the laps that I’ve got at all these tracks. Any of these tracks that I’ve been successful at, or had wins, or run really strong, I know what that feel is, and so I just go in there and I try to replicate that feel over and over and over.

“It’s truthfully been easy when we’re coming to these race tracks where I’ve had success or had wins. It’s tracks like San Diego where I don’t know what the right feel is. I don’t know where I’m at on the race track. That’s where the challenge really comes in, but all the other tracks is pretty easy at this point knowing what I need out of the car. Not easy to get the result. The process is not easy, but it’s certainly easy to know what I need.”

pocono general view
James Gilbert | Getty Images

In the details …

After Pocono, just 10 races remain until the start of The Chase, and as the regular season continues to sail along, every point and result has a significant effect on the standings toward the cutline.

Here’s a look at four drivers who are making a climb up the standings in the last month of action:

DRIVERMOST RECENT LOWAFTER MICHIGANGAINED TO CUT
Daniel Suárez+18 after Watkins Glen+89 to cut71 points in three races
Chase Briscoe-6 after Watkins Glen+41 to cut47 points in three races
Joey Logano-38 after Watkins Glen-3 to cut35 points in three races
Erik Jones-69 after Watkins Glen-18 to cut51 points in three races

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Pocono hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: What the crew chiefs are saying | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: New colors set for Pocono | View gallery
• Hauler Talk: Bell’s Michigan crash was the hardest in Next Gen era | Listen now
• Power Rankings: New No. 1 going into Pocono race | This week’s ranks
• NASCAR Classics: Inside the video vault from Pocono | Watch now

Contributing: Zach Sturniolo

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LONG POND, Pa. — The tricky confines of Pocono Raceway have a habit of favoring fuel strategy in NASCAR Cup Series races.

Crew chiefs are trying to ensure they won’t get fooled again.

MORE: Updated Pocono schedule

Paul Wolfe, three-time champion crew chief of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford and driver Joey Logano, emphasized Saturday that strategy will be at the forefront of his and every other crew chief’s mind in Sunday’s race at Pocono (1 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). But in order to capitalize when opportunity presents itself, their drivers also need a good race car.

“Obviously, you’ve gotta have a car that handles well and has decent speed, but these races are so much about strategy and how to play that,” Wolfe told NASCAR.com. “A lot of it just really depends on if you get cautions or not. That’s really when it starts changing.

“So yeah, having a game plan, knowing what you can maximize from a fuel strategy standpoint as far as what you feel like you can save depending on your driver.”

Teams will also traverse the “Tricky Triangle” with a new right-side tire from Goodyear. Wolfe said feedback from Logano indicates no significant change in feel behind the wheel, but an improvement from previous tires at other intermediate tracks on the circuit.

“Based off of practice, I don’t think we’re going to have the issues we’ve had at some other places with this construction and seeing the cords after a fuel run,” Wolfe said, “So I think knowing that’s not a concern, I think it’ll be more of a Pocono-type strategy setup.”

Joey Logano drives at Pocono.
Hannah Tallant | For NASCAR Digital Media

Another unique wrinkle at Pocono is its pit road, the longest and widest on the NASCAR circuit but one which features new timing lines to measure competitors’ rolling speed. Officials permitted teams to measure and roll at pit-road speed during Saturday’s practice, a unique addition to the session.

“Typically, they don’t like guys to practice pit-road speeds right during practice sessions,” Wolfe said. “We’ll look at that, just to kind of see where we were at the game there, but yeah, just remeasured, replaced some timing lines, basically, which I don’t know that it’s going to have a huge impact on pit road (Sunday), but just something new, something for us to pay attention to.”

Brakes have also come into focus after some rotors failed two weeks ago at Nashville Superspeedway. Pocono is no stranger to brake failures itself, with multiple drivers experiencing issues over the years.

“I think what’s unique about Pocono is you do use a lot of brake rub for the biggest track as this is,” Wolfe said. “We have those long straightaways where you get the big heat swings in the rotors, and guys are trying to tune cars with different brake pads or packages, I guess you’d say that work on the car balance rather than not just using the brakes to slow the car down, but using brakes to make the car handle differently. So when you start doing that, you start stressing certain rotors more than others, and then we have options as far as what we call a light-duty rotor versus a heavy-duty rotor. Pretty basic is what the meaning of them: one’s lighter and one’s heavier.

“Typically, you think running a lighter one’s not a problem here, but if you get yourself in some weird brake-pad combinations, I think that’s where you can get yourself in trouble. Obviously, I don’t know where the field is, but I’m sure there’s different brake rotors and pad combinations throughout the field tomorrow. We talked about it coming here. It’s definitely something on our radar as we like to use that as a tuning tool, but you’re weighing out risk and reward.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series MillerTech Battery 250 at Pocono Raceway featured a race-record 18 lead changes and a race-record 10 cautions — including a seven-minute red flag period — but in the end, it was a very familiar scene in Victory Lane: championship leader Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 JR Motorsports team celebrating an inspired drive.

Allgaier led a race-best 35 of the 100 laps, ultimately taking the lead for good on a restart with two laps remaining. Haas Factory Team teammates Sam Mayer — who was Allgaier’s greatest challenge on the day — and Sheldon Creed created a three-wide push for the lead on the final restart, but ultimately slid backward as Allgaier’s JRM teammate William Byron was able to push Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet forward and help him create a gap on the field.

The advantage was all Allgaier needed to race off to a 0.607-second win over Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brent Crews, who passed Byron on the last corner of the final lap for second place.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Pocono

The victory was the 2024 series champion’s first at the historic 2.5-mile, triangle-shaped track, giving him wins now at 21 different venues. And it marked the fifth win of the year for Allgaier, tying his previous season-high win total.

“First of all, I’ve got to say thank you to William Byron because without his shove at the end of the race, it was probably game over,” Allgaier said before thanking the fans for filling the grandstands.

“This season has been special with [crew chief] Andrew Overstreet and this whole No. 7 team and this pit crew right here,” he said, adding with a grin, “We’re going to go celebrate this one for sure.”

Slowed by all the caution flags — four in the opening 25-lap stage alone — the early part of the race never allowed one driver to establish a rhythm and set the pace among all the starting and stopping.

Polesitter Taylor Gray led 24 laps and won the opening stage, and Crews claimed the Stage 2 win. But the final half of the race became a duel between Allgaier and Mayer, who led 14 laps and exchanged the lead with Allgaier frequently in the closing laps — sometimes on the same lap. They started side-by-side out front on the three final restarts, and Mayer looked like his No. 41 HFT Chevrolet would at least keep Allgaier honest. In the end, Mayer and Creed finished fourth and fifth.

“It was either the double zero [Creed] was trying to make a block, or just a push gone wrong a little bit,” Mayer said of the unsuccessful three-wide move on that last restart. “Just really unfortunate circumstance. We actually had a really good launch.

“At the end of these races, you’re not going to not take a run, so I don’t blame my teammate for pulling out of line like that, but obviously it put me in a bad spot,” Mayer continued. “The middle [lane] was OK if I had people with me. … Obviously today we executed really, really well, so lots to be proud about, but obviously I’m very devastated right now because I just want a shot at it and don’t feel like I’ve gotten a really true shot at it when the white flag flew.

“We were close today, executed really good and I’m really proud of everybody. One day it’s going to be my turn, and I can’t wait.”

MORE: Mayer, Creed lament missed Pocono opportunity

Incredibly, Allgaier’s effort — the 33rd victory of his career — now puts him 250 points ahead of second place, Richard Childress Racing driver Jesse Love, in the series championship standings with seven regular-season races remaining. Love only completed a single lap after being collected in the first of 10 yellow-flag incidents on the day.

“Just frustrated, obviously. Thought our Camaro was going to be good today,” Love said, adding, “Only got one lap to feel it out, but I was happy with that one corner. Wish we had gotten a few more.”

Anthony Alfredo, Rajah Caruth, Brandon Jones, the defending Pocono race winner Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top 10.

Jeremy Clements led a lap and finished 16th on a historic day for his career and the series. The 41-year-old South Carolinian tied Kenny Wallace for the most starts in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series history at 547. Wallace set the record in 2011 and last raced in 2015. Clements will claim the mark for himself when he takes next week’s green flag at San Diego.

The series heads to Southern California for next Saturday’s inaugural United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego.

Note: Inspection was completed in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series garage with no issues, confirming Allgaier as the winner.