The NASCAR Cup Series wraps up in Chicago and maybe next year will deliver clearer skies for the street race. This weekend we turn our attention to the tricky triangle. Pocono Raceway plays host this weekend for The Great American Gateway 400. Truth be told, this isn’t NASCAR’s best race every year. This track is massive. It is 2.5 miles in length, but cannot be compared to superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega. High-speed intermediates are where we look for comparable tracks. Pocono has two of the longest straightaways on the schedule. So we tend to get long, green flag runs where the field is spread out and passing becomes problematic. But there’s still money to be made. Here are the top drivers for this week’s Great American Getaway 400 preview!
As mentioned at the top, this track is very unique. It prides itself on having just three turns. Turn one is 14 degrees in banking (modeled after Trenton Speedway). Then turn two (aka the Tunnel Turn) is at eight degrees, modeled after Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And lastly, turn three is modeled after the Milwaukee Mile and it’s just six degrees. So it’s a huge relatively flat track. The long straightaway in front, where you’ll see several cars fan out to grab clean air, measures in at 3,740 feet in length before diving into turn one. The racing isn’t the greatest visually. We just don’t see a ton of passing. But the track is in Long Pond, PA and it’s located in a very scenic location even if the racing could be a bore.
Great American Getaway 400: The Top Plays
Denny Hamlin (#11 Toyota)
Hamlin’s been going through it lately. At New Hampshire, he was having a strong day up until the rain interrupted. When they restarted the race on wet tires, Hamlin’s car just couldn’t keep pace and he finished 24th. Then at Nashville, he had the lead and should’ve won. But the multiple overtimes came into play and he didn’t have the fuel to finish the race so he was forced to pit. And last week we saw the chaos of a street course and he finished 30th after a late spin in the final stage cost him track position. Fortunately, we head to Pocono. Hamlin loves this track. He’s raced here 34 times in his Cup Series career and has won here seven times, including last year’s edition.
Kyle Larson (#5 Chevrolet)
Sure, it’s a little bit boring leading off the Great American Getaway 400 preview with both Hamlin and Larson. I did the same thing last year, basically. But truly, if we had to name the top two drivers ahead of this weekend’s action, it’s probably the two of them. Hamlin carries the track success here. But Larson has finished second here on two occasions. He’d led 42 laps here in the two NextGen races. That may not sound like much but remember, this is a 2.5-mile track and this race will only have 160 laps. That equates to maybe 105 dominator points on DraftKings. Larson’s also no stranger to leading 30+ laps here so while the win has evaded him, would it really surprise anyone if he contended for the win this weekend?
Tyler Reddick (#45 Toyota)
Reddick’s actually on a nice little run. He’s finished sixth or better in five of the last seven races coming into Pocono. You’d never know it though because during his post-race interviews he’s sounded like his dog died. And mind you, at Nashville he finished third and at Chicago he finished second. In the two NextGen races at Pocono, he’s finished as the runner-up in both. And he did that with two different teams (23XI Racing and Richard Childress Racing). But last year he led 15 laps and was in the top five for most of the race. He’s trending towards a trip to victory lane at some point. Perhaps he goes this weekend and we see a happier version of him for the post-race interview.
Great American Getaway 400: Wouldn’t Bet Against Them
Ty Gibbs (#54 Toyota)
I’m using the Great American Getaway 400 preview as another week to hype up Ty Gibbs. Gibbs actually came pretty close to winning last week at Chicago. He was the leader at the time of the lengthy rain delay. There was a part of me that thought if it kept raining, NASCAR would make the race official, despite it not making it to the end of stage two or even halfway through the race in terms of laps. But Gibbs still finished third and now heads to a track he’s performed well at. He finished fifth in this race last year with Joe Gibbs Racing. Even in the Xfinity Series, he logged a pair of runner-up finishes at Pocono. He’ll have plenty of horsepower under the hood and could grab another top-five finish this weekend.
Brad Keselowski (#6 Ford)
Track history does cater to Keselowski this week. However, his best results, including a streak of top-five finishes, all came during his time with Team Penske. Obviously, things have been different with RFK Racing. He’s been there as a driver and part-owner for three years now and has just one win, which came at Darlington this past Spring. We have noted numerous times in this article about RFK Racing and how they’ve been much better in the last couple of years. This year, the team has continued to improve and have been faster on the larger ovals than the other Ford teams. Michigan is a decent comparison to Pocono just in terms of size and horsepower required to navigate. And wouldn’t you know it, Kez finished fourth their last year. I’ll buy into the speed ahead of on-track activity this weekend.
Bubba Wallace (#23 Toyota)
Bubba likely won’t win the race. Honestly, we should probably suspect some kind of fine or punishment for his post-race actions toward Alex Bowman last week. But if we’re talking favorable tracks, this is a good one for Bubba. He’s had success on larger ovals and higher-speed intermediates. At Pocono, he’s really improved since joining 23XI Racing. He grabbed a top five at this track in 2021, was eighth in 2022 (the first year of the NextGen car), and he was 11th last year. Bubba’s car always has speed. We should expect it to be fast. Bubba becomes risky because you essentially need him to run a perfect race. Any slip-up, pit road penalty, or ill-timed caution can get in his head a bit. But at least we have a sample size with 23XI that can give you some confidence heading into the weekend.
The Sleepers and Values
Daniel Suarez (#99 Chevrolet)
I like leading off the value section with Suarez for the Great American Getaway 400 Preview. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bold statement to assume Trackhouse has speed this weekend. When given good equipment, Suarez has performed well at Pocono. He wrecked in last year’s race, but in 2022 he finished third and he grabbed an additional pair of top 15 finishes at this track in 2020 and 2021. Dating back to his time with JGR, he managed to finish as the runner-up in 2018. Even if we look at Michigan as a comparable race, Trackhouse has done well there the last two years. Suarez finished sixth at Michigan in 2023 but also led 45 total laps in the last two races there. Obviously, it’s no guarantee. But we know he won’t be pricy and has the equipment for a top 10 finish.
Noah Gragson (#10 Ford)
I’m very interested in what Noah Gragson can do this weekend. We’re still waiting to get news on his plans for 2025, but perhaps a strong run at a track he’s performed well at can stir up the rumor mill. He won at Pocono two years ago in the Xfinity Series where he led 43 laps, and overall, was great here in the lower level of NASCAR. Gragson took over the 10-car for Aric Almirola and Almirola had some great runs here in the last few years. He finished 12th and 13th in the two Pocono races during the NextGen car’s first two years. And Almirola finished third here back in 2020 with 61 laps led. Gragson has looked good at the high-speed intermediates this year. He was sixth at Vegas and ninth at Kansas.
Erik Jones (#43 Toyota)
Every week we tune in to watch NASCAR. And every week we wonder how bad things have gotten at Legacy Motor Club. This organization usually qualifies poorly. Jones hasn’t qualified inside the top 20 since Martinsville nearly three months ago. He can certainly have one of these runs where he can keep the car clean and move into the top 20 as we’ve seen a few times this year. In the two Pocono races in the NextGen car, Jones has started P34 and P24 respectively. In both races he finished ninth. He also has five other top five finishes at Pocono during his time with Joe Gibbs Racing. I am optimistic that, for as bad as things are at Legacy, Jones can have a strong race.