To celebrate 75 years worth of memories, the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team will be celebrated throughout the summer with “Wood Brothers Wednesdays” on The NASCAR Channel.
Wood Brothers Racing has been around since 1950, when Glen and Leonard Wood teamed up to pioneer a legacy that has transcended time.
Glen was behind the wheel of their car at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1960 and took the Wood Brothers Racing team to Victory Lane for the first time. The team scored its 101st NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2025, when Josh Berry took the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Bookending those victories were triumphs everywhere from Daytona to Darlington to Rockingham and everywhere in between. Twenty of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers have piloted a car for the team throughout their storied history, one that is well worth celebrating.
This weekend will celebrate memorable Wood Brothers moments throughout the 1980s. It also highlights some of their success at Pocono Raceway, the site of this weekend’s Cup Series race (Sun., 2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The thrilling 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Raceway will be the first full race on tap Wednesday. The race was won by Kyle Petty, marking his first victory in the Cup Series.
Ryan Blaney’s victory at Pocono in the 2017 Axalta Presents the Pocono 400 will be on the schedule. It was the first victory of Blaney’s Cup Series career, as well as the team’s first victory at the track since Neil Bonnett was victorious at the “Tricky Triangle” in 1980.
Bonnett’s victory in July 1980, as well as the 1983 Firecracker 400 from Daytona International Speedway, finish out the day’s races. That Daytona contest was won by Buddy Baker. It was the 19th and final victory of his Hall of Fame career.
The “Memory Lane” original content series will relive both the race from Richmond in 1986, as well as Blaney’s 2017 Pocono victory.
The NASCAR Channel delivers 24/7, always-on content, featuring the latest news and information from around the sport, original programming and race replays.
It is a FAST channel (Free-Ad Supported Television) and can be watched on your TV or mobile device via one of the streaming partners, such as Tubi or Xumo Play.
Spire Motorsports fined Carson Hocevar $50,000 for comments he made during a recent livestream, the organization announced Tuesday evening.
Hocevar disparaged Mexico City during a since-deleted stream on Twitch before traveling south for the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race at the 2.42-mile Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. In a statement, Spire Motorsports addressed the comments, issuing a fine to its sophomore driver and mandating cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training “after a thorough internal review of Carson Hocevar’s recent livestream remarks about Mexico City, and in close consultation with NASCAR,” the statement said.
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) June 17, 2025
The fine will be donated in equal portions to three organizations that serve Mexican communities, the statement said:
— Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross) — providing humanitarian and medical relief across Mexico.
— Un Kilo de Ayuda — a nonprofit combating childhood malnutrition and supporting early-childhood development in rural communities.
— Fondo Unido México (United Way Mexico) — funding local NGOs that improve education, health and housing in 22 Mexican states.
“These actions are consistent with Spire Motorsports’ core value of RESPECT, which is something we proudly display on every race car, team uniform, trackside hauler, and digital channel,” the statement read. “Respect is not a slogan. It is a daily expectation that we ‘walk the walk’ in how we speak, compete and serve the communities that welcome our sport.
“Carson’s recent comments made during the livestream fell short of that standard. They did not represent the views of Spire Motorsports, our partners, or NASCAR. Carson has acknowledged his mistake publicly, and his prompt, sincere apology demonstrated personal accountability. We now take this additional step to underscore that words carry weight, and respect must be lived out loud.”
The 22-year-old driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet issued an apology on his social media accounts late Sunday evening following the event, in which he finished 34th, one lap down.
“Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan,” Hocevar said on his social media. “When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here. Now that I’ve actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran, and I may have to move here to hide out from Ricky [Stenhouse Jr.] anyway.
“Count this as another lesson for me in a season I’ve learned so much. Don’t believe everything you hear without seeing it yourself. If anyone should give anyone or any place the benefit of the doubt it’s me. I’m sorry Mexico City. Consider me an ally going forward and an example of getting off Twitch and seeing things with my own two eyes.”
The team informed NASCAR of its penalties to Hocevar, the statement read.
“NASCAR has confirmed that our team-imposed discipline satisfies the sanctioning body’s requirements,” it continued. “Together we remain committed to showcasing NASCAR’s global growth, celebrating the passionate Mexican fanbase we experienced firsthand last weekend, and ensuring every member of our organization treats hosts, competitors, and communities with dignity.”
Hocevar also made contact with Stenhouse’s car during the Viva Mexico 250, the second time in three weeks his bumper has met that of Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet, leading to a post-race confrontation.
The NASCAR Cup Series resumes action this weekend at Pocono Raceway with the running of The Great American Getaway 400 on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET (Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
That rumbling you heard from Mexico City’s high elevations could have been the enthusiastic fans in the stadium section of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez — or it just might have been Shane van Gisbergen shaking up the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race with his dominant road course victory instead.
And while the battle along the elimination line went from zero to 19 points after the Viva Mexico 250, adding another winner to make it 10 this season has the playoff race still feeling tight with only 10 races remaining until the field is set.
Let’s check in on the bubble battle as we exit Mexico City and get ready to head to Pocono Raceway for Prime Video’s last race of the season (2 p.m. ET, Sunday, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Stats courtesy of Racing Insights.
Drivers provisionally qualified for playoffs with a win (10): Kyle Larson (three wins), Denny Hamlin (three wins), Christopher Bell (three wins), William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry, Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain.
Winless drivers more than 100 points above the elimination line (two): Chase Elliott (+146) and Tyler Reddick (+123).
With 12 spots filled by the above drivers, there are four spots open for the rest of the field to fight over, including these drivers closest to the elimination line:
Rank
Driver
Cutoff
13
Bubba Wallace
+57
14
Chase Briscoe
+39
15
Alex Bowman
+22
16
Chris Buescher
+19
ELIMINATION LINE
17
Ryan Preece
-19
18
Michael McDowell
-43
19
AJ Allmendinger
-45
20
Kyle Busch
-50
Bubble analysis: Besides race winner SVG, the only two drivers who gained points against the elimination line this week were the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Chase Elliott (who gained four points) and Alex Bowman (up nine points) after they finished third and fourth, respectively, at Mexico City.
Elliott is the active leader in road-course wins with seven but has yet to win on a road course in the Next Gen car, so Elliott showing signs of life at Mexico City could mean he will be a factor in upcoming road races at Chicago, Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Meanwhile, Bowman was the winner at Chicago last season, so those two could quickly make it 12 different winners.
Another driver who is adept at road-course racing is Michael McDowell, and although he lost six points against the elimination line and sits 43 points below after a fifth-place finish at Mexico City, he jumped five spots in the standings due to some other drivers like AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch and Carson Hocevar not taking advantage of the trip south of the border. Despite this development, McDowell still might need to win his way into the playoffs.
Off the charts: Finishing sixth at Mexico City, John Hunter Nemechek still lost 20 points to the elimination line, which is the perfect illustration of what a winner like SVG (coming from 130 points below the elimination line) can do to everyone else’s playoff chances. Ty Gibbs, who had a stronger car than his 11th-place finish indicated, lost 25 points against the elimination line and fell below Nemechek and into 25th place in the playoff standings.
With three road courses and two superspeedways — EchoPark (formerly Atlanta) and Daytona — on the schedule before the playoffs begin, there will be chances for more havoc to hit. However, it’s debatable whether Pocono will be one of those wild weeks.
Most of the former winners at Pocono are either already locked into the playoffs or reside above the elimination line, including Denny Hamlin (seven wins), Ryan Blaney (two wins) — and even one-time winners Elliott, Bowman, Chris Buescher and Joey Logano. However, the exceptions to the rule are Busch (four wins) and Brad Keselowski (one win), who are both in need of a big turnaround as they sit 50 and 140 points below the elimination line, respectively.
MEXICO CITY — Shane van Gisbergen stood tall on the highest Victory Podium step, wearing a traditional Mexican sombrero and spraying champagne to celebrate his win in Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 at the world-renowned Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
The entire sport undoubtedly felt equally as triumphant following the first international points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race weekend in half a century.
Regardless of a couple of mid-week logistical issues, the race weekend itself was certainly viewed as a success by those who planned, those who executed, those who raced — and, as importantly, those who attended.
The facility was world-class, the fans were knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the drivers they came to watch were basking in all the Mexican amor shown to them.
From Front Row Motorsports’ driver Todd Gilliland to Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, the drivers were surrounded by large and loud groups of avid fans wherever they roamed from paddock to fan zone.
What about Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suárez, who worked so hard and passionately for months to help promote NASCAR’s race weekend in his home country? He was like a motorsports version of The Beatles. Huge groups of fans followed him everywhere – chanting his name, wearing his race shirts and holding up homemade signs.
The only time Suárez wasn’t grinning this weekend came as he stood on the starting grid Sunday afternoon alongside his family, joining in with a children’s choir as they sang the Mexican National Anthem. Suárez’s emotion was palpable.
And he rewarded his massive support base, winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at his home road course and running up front early in Sunday’s Cup Series race, too. Even his 19th-place finish was treated more like a victory.
“Every single thing about this weekend exceeded my expectations, the people, the fans, the sponsors, the excitement, the energy,” said Suárez, van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing teammate. “I had expectations for this weekend, not the results, but, [for] the event, and I can tell you that I personally exceeded those expectations.
“So very, very happy for that. Very blessed. I hope that we can do it many more times.”
It was certainly a prevailing theme.
NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon spoke with reporters before the race and expressed enthusiasm about the sport’s experience in Mexico City.
Later, he even delivered a hybrid starting command in honor of the Spanish-speaking crowd, telling the grid: “Pilatos, start your engines!”
“Listen to the fans,” he said, smiling when asked about the reception NASCAR received. “There are a large amount of fans that want to see NASCAR in person. Internationally, I think it opens a lot of doors for sponsorships and if we have a crowd that’s as energetic today as it was yesterday – of course Daniel [winning] played into that too – but to me, the most exciting thing about coming here is the passion, the excitement, the energy that fans here in Mexico bring. … that’s why I think we’re here.”
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy wouldn’t go so far as to promise a return engagement, but he was also understandably pleased with the weekend, acknowledging there are some logistical learning curves, but overall heartened by the passion shown. He said that 90% of those who attended the race were from Mexico, with 44% coming from Mexico City.
“Today wasn’t just a race,” said Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer. “This was a historic moment for our sport, for Mexico, for the global motorsports community and for a lot of folks that came together to be able to make this happen.”
The big question Sunday night post-race was whether NASCAR would return to Mexico City next year for an encore. Asked about it by the American NASCAR beat writers and again by members of the large international media contingent, Kennedy smiled and deferred, noting NASCAR was still working on the 2026 schedule.
But he seemed very pleased with the inaugural Mexico City weekend.
“We’ve been bold and innovative,” Kennedy said, mentioning recent NASCAR events at the Los Angeles Coliseum and the first street race in downtown Chicago as the sport’s willingness to try new venues and travel to new destinations.
“This was the next milestone moment for us, bringing the race internationally. I can tell you, we’re very bold about continuing to bring the series internationally, and Mexico is a great place to do it. This weekend is a great example of that, and I would say we’re very hopeful to be back here.”
Kennedy added: “I think the beauty of our sport, and we’ve seen this several times over the past few years, is that no matter what’s going on outside of these four walls, outside of this race track, even outside of this country, sports can be great unifiers and NASCAR has proven that time and time again that it builds communities.
“It brings people together with shared passion and shared values. And that’s what we saw this weekend. People from all walks of life came together and watched an amazing race with the best drivers in the world, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Forest Smith has raced many types of vehicles for more than 25 years. In 2014, he decided to switch from asphalt stock cars to motorcycles. But he kept his modified car — literally on a shelf in his garage — for almost a decade.
“After I was injured, and after about a year of just staring at it up in my garage, I thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s there for a reason,'” Smith said.
In 2019, Smith crashed his motorcycle while competing in the Mint 400 off-road race in Las Vegas. He was left paralyzed from the waist down.
The life-altering situation took him out of racing for more than a year as he grew accustomed to his new way of life. One of the changes was learning how to drive a car with hand controls.
A fabricator by trade, Smith had always built his own race cars. He realized the hand controls were pretty simple, and he decided to find out whether they could be placed in his modified.
“My whole life I’ve been a troubleshooter, so from that point, it was just a matter of how do I make this work without electronics?” Smith said. “Because there are several other guys that are paralyzed that are racing. … But that’s all with fully electronic throttle and braking and all that.
“Mine’s a little more rudimentary where it’s still a cable. I just wound up welding a linkage system that works onto the steering wheel, and that’s what I run the throttle with. So I basically squeeze the steering wheel to apply the throttle, and I have a brake lever off the left side of the steering wheel.
“I’m basically driving with one hand, which I never was great at, but now I just do, and I kind of shift my left hand to brake as I need to.”
(Photo: Chet Strange/NASCAR)
Smith these days races at Colorado National Speedway, a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track in Dacono, Colorado. He competes in the track’s Grand American Modified series, which awards Division IV national championship points.
When he first returned to a race car after his accident, though, Smith needed a full afternoon to feel comfortable with the new setup. His biggest concern was whether he would be able to feel if the car was loose or tight.
“That feeling that people know the sensation of the car sliding before it slides, it’s kind of there,” he said. “My hand control could probably be a little bit better. It’s probably a limiting factor for me now, just having control. We have more horsepower than we need, which I love; I always lobbied for that. But when it’s an inch-and-a-half of squeeze, I’m still working on that. It’s kind of like a light switch.”
Smith went to the first test session telling himself that if driving didn’t feel right, he wouldn’t try to push it. Not only did he want to make sure he was able to drive and compete again, but he wanted to make sure everyone else on the track was comfortable with his presence, too.
“We went out for a practice, and I think the people there kind of knew,” he said. “And I was really concerned with, are they going to accept you or not? Are they going to trust you? And I don’t blame them. You’re talking about very expensive equipment. Are they going to trust running side-by-side with this guy and wonder what his capabilities are?
“But I think everyone feels good about it now. It did take a good afternoon, and I’ve raced long enough that I understand the limit. I’m not the guy that’s going to go out and crash things. I know to back off a little bit and live to race another day. Whereas if I was younger, maybe that wouldn’t have happened. I maybe might’ve overstepped my bounds a little bit. But being older, being in the handicap position, I wanted to make sure I that I gained the trust of my competitors back.
“I think if you went and talked with anybody at the track without my knowledge, I think I have as good of a reputation as anybody else.”
(Photo: Chet Strange/NASCAR)
The fears of not knowing whether he could race — or what others would think — went away in that first afternoon. He said it was the best he’d felt since his injury.
“I can’t even begin to describe what a terrible situation being paralyzed is. But there are people that have it far worse. … Being paralyzed is terrible. I’m not going to sugarcoat it whatsoever. There’s so many terrible things about it, and it lets you know that you’re paralyzed every second of every day.
“Except when I got in the race car and you hammer the throttle. It all disappeared.
“That was probably the most exhilarating. Plus I’m obviously an adrenaline junkie, so just feeling that itch for speed. Literally just not feeling injured. Feeling equal, not feeling like I’m in a chair. I’m no different than anybody else. I’m driving with my hands, but we’re in the same car.”
Smith returned to racing full-time at Colorado in 2022. He finished ninth in the modified standings that season, followed by a fifth in 2023 and 11th in 2024. He’s tied for sixth in the standings this year.
“We work really hard,” he said. “We’re trying to get better, and it’s not being paralyzed that’s slowing me down. We have a good group of guys, too. They’re just fast. The competition level right now is high at our track. That’s a good thing. It makes you bring your A-game every time.”
Smith’s first experience with racing came when he was 16 and working as an auto mechanic at a local Dodge dealership. The service manager there raced a sprint car at a small track in Denver.
Smith had never been around race cars or been to a race, “but I went down with him and watched and just was like, I don’t how to explain it,” he said. “I don’t know if I found racing or it found me, but once I’d seen it, I was just hooked. There’s nothing else that’s ever done that. I just felt like, this is what I should be doing.”
He got his first car in 1989, and other than the few years after his injury, he hasn’t stopped. He said the sport — both racing and working in the garage — has been difficult to escape. He builds all aspects of the car in his own garage, something else he didn’t think would be possible after getting hurt, but he’s probably doing more now than he was before.
“Even now, I should be working hard at making sure I can retire at some point,” Smith said with a laugh. “I’m 56, and I want to be sure my wife’s taken care of because she worked so hard at taking care of me and everything that we’ve done throughout her life. But here I am throwing money at tires for the car and doing all that. I’m not putting us in the poor house, but I could probably retire a year or two sooner if I wasn’t throwing money at a race car.
“But you have to enjoy life, too.”
(Photo: Chet Strange/NASCAR)
Smith’s wife Cindy is his biggest help both in the garage and on race days.
“If I didn’t have a the wife that I have, there’s no way,” he said. “There’s too much this life requires being handicapped. We’ve got four tires to mount to get ready for this weekend. There’s not many gals that would come out and mess with tires and help do all the things, load the trailer, hook this up, all of that.
“Being a racer almost requires you be a very selfish person, but for that to work, you need a selfless person, and my wife is very selfless. Otherwise it wouldn’t work.”
Smith won the modified championship at Colorado National in 2010 and last won a race there in 2012. His goal this year is to first win a trophy dash race to collect his first trophy since returning to the car.
Getting that win “will take a lot of emotional pressure off myself,” he said. From there, he wants to get to Victory Lane in a main event.
“And if we could put that together, then we’ll see where it goes,” he added. “Unfortunately you’re a racer, so you can say that will be enough, but if that box got checked, then you’d want to win five. But I’m old enough now I can look at myself and be objective and chuckle and realize that it really is just about having fun. I just enjoy it, what we do. I can’t imagine just sitting around watching TV or doing other stuff.
“It kind of keeps me having fun, and I enjoy it and always have, and apparently always will.”
For much of Sunday’s race, Ty Gibbs appeared to be the only driver capable of giving Shane van Gisbergen a run for his money in Mexico City.
SVG eventually cruised to a dominating victory at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the New Zealand native claiming the victory in the NASCAR Cup Series’ first points race outside the United States since 1958. But statistics provided by NASCAR Insights prove that Gibbs was a real factor before a caution in the final stage disrupted his strategy and relegated him to an 11th-place finish in the Viva Mexico 250.
According to NASCAR Insights, Gibbs was the day’s top driver on restarts while also ranking second in both speed and defense. The only car on track ranked faster than Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota was SVG’s No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. In many ways, it was a banner day for the sophomore Gibbs, who ranks just 19th on restarts, 21st on speed and 29th on defense for the whole of the 2025 season.
Gibbs’ day was unraveled, however, by a Lap 65 caution for Carson Hocevar, who spun in Turn 15 and was stuck broadside while trying to refire. SVG and other leaders pitted on Lap 64 ahead of the caution, but Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott and others had yet to receive service. That necessitated a visit to pit road under caution, relinquishing track position while those who previously pit were able to stay out and cycle back to the front of the field.
And while Gibbs had speed in his car, he wasn’t able to carve through the field as well as others on the same strategy, evidenced by ranking seventh in Passer Rating. Elliott rushed to finish third as the day’s second-best passer, and McDowell finished fifth, ranking as the day’s sixth-best passer.
“Sometimes life just doesn’t work out for you. You just have to keep digging,” Gibbs said.
McDowell’s top five brought him slightly closer to the provisional elimination line to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but SVG’s vault from 33rd in the standings to a playoff berth via his victory has destabilized the hunt to make the postseason on points. Exiting Mexico City, McDowell sits 18th, two spots outside the provisional 16-driver grid by 43 points. Just 10 races remain in the regular season.
— Cole Custer earned his first top-10 finish of 2025 in the No. 41 Haas Racing Factory Ford, finishing eighth, ranking fourth in Restart Rating and ninth in Defense Rating.
— Daniel Suárez, the home-country hero, ranked second in Restart Rating in his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet despite a 19th-place finish.
— Ryan Blaney came home 14th but ranked higher than that in every metric: third in Passer Rating, fifth in Defense Rating, sixth in Restart Rating, eighth in Pit Crew ranking and 11th in Speed Rating.
— Despite crashing out on Lap 7 and finishing 37th, Kyle Busch was ranked fifth in Speed Rating for Sunday’s race.
Shane van Gisbergen reminded everyone Sunday in Mexico City why his ascension to the Cup Series was a rapid one — he’s here to deliver trophies and is fully capable of doing so. With another playoff spot off the board, the focus shifts to Pocono Raceway, where defending winner and recent 2025 victor Ryan Blaney aims to make it two in a row at the “Tricky Triangle.”
NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 Cup Series contenders after the Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and before The Great American Getaway 400 (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Analysis: Byron’s Mexico City run was a grind, but he managed to salvage a ninth-place finish after qualifying near the tail of the field and battling through the mid-pack chaos. The “Tricky Triangle” has been good to No. 24 in the past, so a smoother weekend could be in store. He dominated a Truck Series race there in 2016 and has four top-six Cup finishes in 11 Pocono starts.
Analysis: Bell was the best of the bigwigs in Mexico City, finishing runner-up but nearly 17 seconds behind SVG after a clean, composed drive. He has three top-six finishes at Pocono himself in just seven starts, and with JGR’s track record, Bell looks poised to keep his hot streak rolling at one of NASCAR’s most unique tracks.
Analysis: Larson’s Mexico City weekend ended in heartbreak after damage from an early crash kept him behind the wall for much of the event, leading to a second finish of 36th or worse in the past four weeks. He’s still one of the most dangerous drivers at Pocono — remember his near-win in 2021 before a last-lap tire failure — and will be hungry to rebound and finally capitalize at a track where Hendrick Motorsports always brings speed.
Analysis: Elliott returned to the podium with a third-place run in Mexico City, showing the poise and pace that have made him a road-course ace over the years. His 2022 Pocono win kicked off an active three-race top-10 streak there and No. 9 could be a real threat to break through this weekend.
Analysis: Hamlin’s Mexico City return will have to wait after he missed this season’s running for the birth of his son (fill-in Ryan Truex took the No. 11 home in 23rd). Hamlin’s Pocono resume is second to none — a track-record seven wins, three of which have come in the past eight races — and he should rebound from missing a race in a big way at one of his signature tracks.
Analysis: Blaney’s Mexico City finish was a quiet one, landing 14th after showing speed and residing in the top five in the two opening stages. He scored his first Cup win at Pocono in 2017 in memorable fashion and enters as the defending winner as well. Whenever the series heads to Pennsylvania, the No. 12 team is always a contender.
Analysis: Reddick never found his rhythm in Mexico City, coming home 20th after starting mid-pack and struggling to make ground. He’s still one of the sport’s most versatile drivers, and with a pair of runner-ups in two of his last three Pocono starts, don’t be surprised if he bounces back on the triangle’s infamous layout.
Analysis: Chastain’s Mexico City run was marred by a spin and a 16th-place finish, but he showed flashes of speed before trouble struck. He’s somehow still searching for his first Pocono top 10 in Cup, but his aggression and Trackhouse’s momentum could make him a wild card this weekend.
Analysis: Wallace fought hard for a 12th-place finish in Mexico City, keeping his playoff push alive with another steady day. He’s been strong at Pocono with an 8.5 average finish over the past four races, so watch for the No. 23 to be in the mix if his team nails the strategy.
Analysis: Buescher quietly delivered another road-course top 10 with a 10th-place run in Mexico City, continuing his run of consistency on these layouts. He’s a past Pocono winner (2016, in the fog-shortened race) and RFK’s recent speed suggests he could be a dark horse again this weekend.
Analysis: Briscoe rebounded from a somewhat fruitless three-race run of poles with a strong seventh-place finish in Mexico City, showing poise and pace on the international stage. He’s still seeking his first Pocono top 10 and laps led, but it feels like we’re about to enter a strong stretch for JGR and Briscoe’s confidence is trending up.
Analysis: Logano’s Mexico City outing was a struggle, finishing 21st after fighting handling issues all day. He’s a past Pocono winner (2012), but his results there with Team Penske have been quite hit or miss. Still, don’t count out No. 22 for a bounce-back performance.
Analysis: Bowman got the rebound he needed in Mexico City with a strong fourth-place drive under less-than-ideal conditions, building momentum after a tough stretch. He’s a past Pocono winner (2021, capitalizing on Larson’s misfortune) and could be a sneaky pick to contend again this weekend.
Analysis: Preece grabbed a stage win and recovered from a penalty to finish 15th in Mexico City, showing flashes of speed and racecraft on the road course in a speedy Ford. He’s still looking for a true breakout oval run in 2025, but his recent form suggests he could surprise if things break his way at Pocono.
Analysis: Cindric’s 18th-place finish in Mexico City was a solid if unspectacular day, but he kept his nose clean and led a lap. He has not quite impressed at Pocono just yet, but he has finished better each time out and his road-course discipline could translate to the triangle’s technical corners eventually.
Analysis: McDowell delivered his best run of the year with a fifth-place finish in Mexico City for a whopping 45 points, capitalizing on chaos and showcasing his road-course prowess. He’s had some sneaky good recent runs at Pocono, and with Spire’s recent uptick, McDowell could be a dark horse for another top 10.
Analysis: Busch’s Mexico City race ended early after an incident put him out just seven laps in, continuing a frustrating off-and-on run of bad luck. Still, he’s a four-time Pocono winner and always a threat if his team can find the right balance for the triangle’s unique demands.
Analysis: Allmendinger rallied to 13th in Mexico City, once again proving his road-course mettle despite perhaps missing out on one of his playoff-clinching opportunities. Pocono has rarely been kind to him, but his experience and Kaulig’s steady improvement could see the No. 16 in the hunt for stage points.
Analysis: Berry’s first international Cup race was a learning experience, coming home 26th after a mid-race incident (but getting a front-row seat to the Carson Hocevar/Ricky Stenhouse Jr. skirmish, so, you win some, you lose some). The short-track ace is still gaining experience on the big ovals, but Wood Brothers Racing has a strong Pocono history and win No. 2 isn’t that far-fetched for Berry.
Analysis: SVG was expected to be strong but still stunned the field in Mexico City, leading 60 of 100 laps from pole and winning by a mesmerizing amount of time for his second Cup victory — both at inaugural road-course events. The New Zealander is still learning NASCAR’s ovals, but with Trackhouse’s momentum and the playoff monkey off his back, he’ll be one of the most intriguing wild cards at Pocono this weekend.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts a two-week northeast swing this Friday at Pocono Raceway (5 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar is slated to make his fourth start of the season in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports entry, while Xfinity Series driver Brandon Jones is behind the wheel of the No. 1 machine for the seventh time.
See the full entry list for the MillerTech Battery 200:
After an exciting international weekend in Mexico City, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns stateside to race in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Chase Elliott, who finished runner-up at Darlington Raceway in April, will make his second Xfinity Series start of the season, piloting the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will put on his crew chief hat this weekend, subbing in for Mardy Lindley on the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Connor Zilisch. Lindley will serve his one-race suspension at Pocono for a penalty resulting from a lugnut violation at Nashville.
The NASCAR Cup Series makes its return to the United States this weekend with a trip to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The “Tricky Triangle” in northeastern Pennsylvania is the final seeding event to set the bracket for the 32 drivers competing in the In-Season Challenge, which begins June 28 at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).
Denny Hamlin will return to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after missing last Sunday’s race in Mexico City for the birth of his son. Brennan Poole will drive the No. 44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team this weekend as the only Open entry slated for competition at Pocono.
See the full entry list for Sunday’s 160-lap, 400-mile race around the 2.5-mile track:
