WHAT: HighPoint.com 400 NASCAR Cup Series race.
WHERE: Pocono Raceway, a 2.5-mile tri-oval in Long Pond, Pa.
WHEN: Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET.
BROADCAST: TV – USA Network | Radio – MRN, SiriusXM.
RACE LENGTH: 160 laps | 400 miles (Three stages: Laps 1-30, 31-95, 96-160).
ENTRY LIST LINK: HighPoint.com 400.
SUPPORT SERIES EVENTS: ARCA Menards Series Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150, Friday; NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150, Saturday.
2022 RACE WINNER: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports.
2022 POLE WINNER: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing.
2022 RACE RECAP: In a bizarre ending to the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400, Chase Elliott was declared the winner after the first- and second-place cars of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, respectively, were disqualified following post-race inspection.
Hamlin appeared to have won the race when he finished .927 of a second over Busch for what would have been a track-record seventh career win at Pocono Raceway. Elliott, who did not lead a lap, finished a distant third but inherited the win after the two drivers who placed in front of him were disqualified.
Hamlin and Busch looked strong from the outset, with Hamlin winning the pole and Busch starting alongside him on the front row. Busch won Stage 2 and led a race-high 63 of the 160 laps but it was Hamlin by the close. He led the final 18 laps and overcame another confrontation with Ross Chastain on a late restart.
Chastain and Hamlin were first and second, respectively, on the restart with 18 laps remaining but Hamlin shot to the inside and edged up the track to squeeze Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing driver hit the outside wall, was then hit by Kevin Harvick and his day was done with a 32nd-place finish. The race went green again on Lap 148 and Hamlin would lead those final 13 laps to what appeared to be a victory.
Instead, Elliott claimed his series-leading fourth win of the season. Tyler Reddick finished second, Daniel Suarez third, Christopher Bell fourth and Kyle Larson fifth in the revised finishing results. Ty Gibbs, filling in for Kurt Busch after the 23XI Racing driver was injured from an accident during Saturday’s qualifying, made his Cup Series debut and finished 16th. Full race results
POCONO RACEWAY CAREER LEADERS
WINS
- Jeff Gordon 6
Denny Hamlin 6
- Bill Elliott 5
- Kyle Busch 4
Tim Richmond 4
Rusty Wallace 4
Darrell Waltrip 4
- Six drivers tied 3
POLES
- Ken Schrader 5
- Bill Elliott 4
Kyle Busch 4
Denny Hamlin 4
- Jimmie Johnson 3
Mark Martin 3
Rusty Wallace 3
Darrell Waltrip 3
Cale Yarborough 3
LAPS LED
- Jeff Gordon 1,040
- Denny Hamlin 818
- Geoff Bodine 810
- Rusty Wallace 753
- Jimmie Johnson 743
Note-Bold indicates entrant in HighPoint.com 400.
NASCAR CUP SERIES NOTES
Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing earned his third win of the season in Monday’s rain-delayed Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory vaulted Truex Jr. atop the Cup Series points standings once again as he holds a 17-point advantage over William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports. Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing is third, 62 back. … Byron leads the series in victories (4) and is one of four drivers with multiple wins on the season. Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing and Truex Jr. have three each and Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports has two. … There have been 12 different winners through the first 20 races. … Larson leads the series in top-five finishes with nine and is followed by Byron (8) and Truex Jr. and Busch (7). … Busch leads the series in top-10 finishes with 12, one better than Byron (11). Five drivers are tied with 10 top-10 finishes. … Byron also leads the series in laps led with 751 while Truex Jr. has moved up to second with 743. He passed Larson (601) after leading a race-high 254 laps at New Hampshire. … Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell, in his 16th season of NASCAR Cup Series competition, will be making his 450th career start in the HighPoint.com 400. … Cole Custer will making the final start of his three-race Cup Series stint with Rick Ware Racing in Sunday’s race. Custer, who is driving the No. 51 Ford for RWR, finished 32nd at Atlanta and 35th at New Hampshire, respectively. He has made six career Cup starts at Pocono with a best finish of 16th in the first race of the 2020 doubleheader. The 2020 Cup Series rookie of the year currently is running fulltime in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Stewart-Haas Racing. … Toyota will be chasing its 600th NASCAR National Series victory during the Pocono Raceway weekend. Truex Jr. provided No. 599 with Monday’s Cup Series win at New Hampshire. Toyota has recorded 176 Cup wins along with 196 in Xfinity and 227 in trucks.
RACE HISTORY NOTES
The HighPoint.com 400 is the 21st race on the Cup Series’ 36-race schedule. This will be the 90th Cup Series race hosted by Pocono Raceway. The first NASCAR race was held on Aug. 8, 1974, a 480-mile race won by Richard Petty. … The HighPoint.com 400 field will have three multiple winners at Pocono Raceway: Denny Hamlin (6), Kyle Busch (4) and Martin Truex Jr. (2). … The field also has three multiple Pocono Raceway pole winners: Hamlin (4), Busch (4) and Joey Logano (2). … Kevin Harvickhas made the most starts among the active drivers with 43. Ricky Rudd holds the all-time record with 55. Harvick also is the leader among active drivers in top-five finishes (15) and top-10 efforts (22). … William Byron has the best average finishing position among active drivers with a minimum of nine starts at 9.4. Brad Keselowski is second (10.7), Kyle Larson third (11.0), Hamlin fourth (11.8) and Harvick fifth (12.1). Hamlin owns the best average starting position among actives at 7.6. … Harvick has four top-10 finishes, including three among the top five, in his last five starts at Pocono. The highlight was his lone Pocono victory in 2020. … Busch has four wins and seven top-five finishes overall in his last 10 starts at Pocono. He won in 2017, ’18, ’19 and ’21. … Keselowski has seven top-10 finishes in his last 10 Pocono starts, including four among the top five. … Hamlin has two victories and seven top-10 finishes overall in his last 10 Pocono starts. Five of those seven have been among the top five, including wins in 2019 and ’20. … In his last 10 visits to Pocono, Truex Jr. has a win to go along with six top-10 finishes, including half of those among the top five.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, July 21
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice
12:30 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series qualifying
1:35 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series practice
2:05 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series qualifying
3:35 p.m. – 4:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice
4:05 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying
6:00 p.m. – ARCA Menards Series Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 (60 laps | 150 miles)
Saturday, July 22
12:00 p.m.: CRC Brakleen 150 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race (60 laps | 150 miles)
2:35 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series practice
3:20 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
5:30 p.m. – Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 NASCAR Xfinity Series race (90 laps | 225 miles)
Sunday, July 23
2:30 p.m. – HighPoint.com 400 NASCAR Cup Series race (160 laps | 400 miles)
Note: All times are Eastern/local.
Pocono Raceway PR
