The Cup Series rolls on today as it returns to the Pennsylvania mountains and Pocono Raceway for the 2025 The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM. Pocono Raceway is a 2.5 mile asphalt tri-oval that has played host to NASCAR annually since 1971 and has flummoxed drivers across generations with its unique configuration. Pocono serves as one of the most unique tracks on the schedule, as each of the three turns is modeled after turns at three different tracks. Turn one has 14 degrees of banking and is modeled after the turns at Trenton Speedway; turn two has eight degrees of banking and is modeled after the turns at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; and turn three has six degrees of banking and is modeled after the turns at the Milwaukee Mile.
At this racetrack, track position is king. Passing is so difficult at Pocono and requires so much patience. Getting all you can on restarts is going to be so important, as drivers can easily go five and six wide on the frontstretch at this track. Flipping the stage and coming in to pit right before the end of it is another easy way to leapfrog over drivers. With a track this size, the move can be pulled off without losing a lap if you’re running close enough to the front. This track is also notorious for long green flag runs, so there’s always chance of having a good ol’ fashioned fuel mileage race, much like we had at Michigan two weeks ago. At 2.5 miles per lap, you can certainly save some fuel if you know how to do it properly. If that’s the case, give an edge to the veterans and those who are best at managing their fuel. Finally, drivers will need to take care of their equipment if they want to be around at the end of the race. With hot temperatures and high speeds, we have seen lots of brake failures, tire blowouts and blown engines through the years. Drivers can still be aggressive, but they have to pay attention to what their car is doing, or else their day will end up in smoke.
The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM was first held in 1971 and has produced a great roll call of winners and legends of the sport throughout the years. Denny Hamlin has won this race the most times, finding Victory Lane five times so far in his career. Bill Elliott won this race four times, while Kyle Busch, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip each have three victories in this race. Geoffrey Bodine, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Tim Richmond are also multi-time winners of this race.
Last year’s edition was won by Ryan Blaney, who led a race-high 44 laps on the way to his second career Pocono victory. Denny Hamlin finished in second place after leading 31 laps, teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron finished third and fourth and Joey Logano finished in fifth after leading three laps. Brad Keselowski finished in seventh after leading 20 laps, Martin Truex Jr. finished in eighth after leading 14 laps, Chris Buescher finished in 11th after leading 19 laps, Josh Berry finished in 20th after leading eight laps and polesitter Ty Gibbs finished in 27th after leading 21 laps.
2025 has been yet another season of struggle for Kyle Busch, posting just one top five and five top 10 finishes through the first 16 races, which has still been good enough to slot in 18th position in the Point Standings. It’s tough to fade Busch at Pocono, a track where he has had so much success in his career. Four wins, 11 top 5’s, 18 top 10’s and 585 laps led in 37 starts. Since making the leap to Richard Childress Racing, Busch has been non-existent in this race, qualifying outside the top 20 each of the last two years and finishing 21st and 32nd in those starts. This weekend is looking to be much of the same so far for Busch, who could only muster the 20th fastest lap of Practice and didn’t show much pace on 5 or 10 Lap Averages. Busch rolls out from 26th place today and will once again be a non-factor due to the lack of speed in his race car. All of this adds up to Kyle Busch finishing outside the top 20 at Pocono for the fourth straight year.
Erik Jones has quietly put together a solid season in the #43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota, posting one top five, two top 10’s and six top 15 finishes to sit at 22nd position in the Point Standings. He may not be a dominant driver or someone who comes to mind as a ringer most weeks, but Pocono has been arguably one of Jones’ best tracks on the circuit, logging five top 5’s, eight top 10’s and leading 56 laps in 13 starts at “The Tricky Triangle.” Jones is currently on a streak of three straight top 15 finishes at the track, including a pair of top 10’s during that stretch, and is once again showing signs of promise so far this weekend, posting decent pace during Practice and qualifying in 11th position for the race this afternoon. Jones has four straight top 20 finishes on the campaign, including an 11th place finish at Michigan two weeks ago, another high pace, drafting-esque track. Pocono is another track that requires that same type of raw speed, and with his current form, I predict that Erik Jones will log a fourth straight top 15 finish this afternoon at Pocono.
Chris Buescher has put together a respectable campaign this season, earning a pair of top 5’s and eight top 10 finishes as we near the halfway point of the season. Buescher has had a recent uptick in form though, posting two straight top 10 finishes, including a season-best finish of second at Michigan just two weeks ago. Buescher has an interesting stat line when it comes to Pocono, posting one win (in just his second ever start at the track), two top 10’s, 10 top 20’s and 40 laps led in 15 career starts at the track. Buescher is consistent, and his upside continues to grow each time they return to the track. This weekend has the makings of a possible big one for Buescher, who posted the 5th fastest lap of Practice, showed great pace on the 5 Lap Average and ultimately qualified on the front row in second position. Buescher seemingly has all the momentum in the world and will absolutely be in the mix for the win late in the race. Expect Buescher to lead some laps on the way to a third straight top 10 finish in 2025 and his third ever top 10 at Pocono Raceway.
Ryan Blaney is one of, if not, the greatest rollercoasters in NASCAR. Just look at his season so far: one win, six top 5’s, seven top 10’s and five DNF’s. Checkers or wreckers, and rarely anything in between at the moment. Pocono is a track that seems to fit that mold for Blaney as well, as he has posted two wins (including both his first ever Cup Series win in 2017, as well as last year’s race), three top 5’s, seven top 10’s, 11 top 20’s and 95 laps led in 15 starts. His last 10 Pocono starts? One win, two top 5’s, five top 10’s, eight top 12’s and three finishes of 30th or worse. The rollercoaster rides on. This weekend has feature much of the same for Blaney, who posted the eighth fastest lap of Practice, showed great pace on 5, 10 and 15 Lap Averages, only for him to qualify in 20th position for this afternoon’s race. The story of the season though has been Blaney on the long run, as arguably nobody has had a faster rocket as a run goes on at seemingly every track type than the #12 of Ryan Blaney. If we have some long runs in this final stage, it’s pretty much checkmate for Team Penske and Blaney. I’m taking Ryan Blaney to defend his victory and win The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM for the second straight season!
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