Waterford, Mich. The Tricky Triangle is the home of NASCAR for The Great American Getaway at Pocono Raceway. Teams and manufacturers are gearing for a weekend like no other. The track has a drafting dynamic where veteran drivers know where to put other veterans and schools the youngins. The three corners are all different in banking, and the tunnel two turn is very bumpy.
So, let’s go racing boys.
Toyota Gazoo
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS
Camry drivers look to continue Pocono prowess … Pocono Raceway has been a strong track for multiple Toyota drivers who are eager to return to the “Tricky Triangle” this weekend, including Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Hamlin, who returns to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota Camry XSE this weekend, is the all-time leader in career wins at Pocono with seven – most recently winning in 2023. He also has 16 top-fives and 23 top-10s in 35 career starts in the Pocono Mountains. Reddick comes into this weekend with four straight top-10s at Pocono and his 23XI Racing teammate, Wallace, has three top-10s in the last four Pocono races.
Nemechek posting career-best numbers early in2025 … Last weekend’s sixth-place result in Mexico City continued the strong start to the 2025 Cup Series season for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s John Hunter Nemechek. The driver of the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE has earned a career-best five top-10 finishes in 16 races this season, including a top-five at the season-opening Daytona 500. Nemechek makes his fourth career Cup Series start at Pocono this weekend and is a former winner there with his victory in the Truck Series in 2021.
Spire Motorsports
In 15 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Spire Motorsports has logged three top-20 finishes. Carson Hocevar, driver of the team’s No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1, posted a team-best 17th-place finish in last season’s 400-mile event at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the Cup Series for Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Hocevar, respectively. The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com will be streamed live on Amazon Prime, Sunday, June 22 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 17th of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Dorman Products Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.Dorman Products celebrates their fifth season as Spire Motorsports partner with their first appearance as the primary sponsor on the No. 7 Chevy. The Colmar, Pa.-based company gives professionals, enthusiasts and owners greater freedom to fix motor vehicles. For over 100 years, Dorman has been driving new solutions, releasing tens of thousands of aftermarket replacement products engineered to save time and money and increase convenience and reliability. Founded and headquartered in the United States, Dorman is a pioneering global organization offering an always-evolving catalog of products, covering cars, trucks and specialty vehicles, from chassis to body, from underhood to undercarriage, and from hardware to complex electronics.The 26-year-old driver has four Cup Series starts under his belt at “The Tricky Triangle,” earning a venue-best 21st-place result in 2022. His average finishing position at the 2.5-mile triangle is 25.8.
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1
Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, is set to make his second NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400.Hocevar started 15th in last year’s event at Pocono and finished 17th in the 160-lap event.The 22-year-old driver will also return to the No. 7 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series on Friday. Hocevar owns three prior starts in the series at the Tricky Triangle, with a best finish of fifth in the 2022 race.Friday’s race will mark the fourth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event for Hocevar, who took home the win six weeks ago at Kansas Speedway.Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings LLC, Delaware Life focuses on delivering a seamless experience for advisors. The company understands how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation and every individual need. Delaware Life is passionate about equipping advisors with annuities that give their customers peace of mind and a successful future, allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next. Carson Hocevar Quote How will another double-duty weekend help you at a track as tricky as Pocono? “Track time is going to be an advantage this weekend. Pocono can be really difficult, you have to be able to get through each corner and they’re all different. The way the car or truck gets through the tunnel turn is going to feel completely different from how it gets through Turn One or Three. Then there’s the long straightaway and the bumps, and all the unique things that can impact a race at Pocono. I think we’ll do well. We’ve been able to find things at each type of track that play in our favor and I feel like we’ll be able to build on all of those things to make the adjustments we need.”
JOE GIBBS RACING JGR AT POCONO: Joe Gibbs Racing has claimed 17 NASCAR Cup Series victories at Pocono Raceway. In 166 combined starts at the 2.5-mile tri-oval, the organization has tallied 48 top-five finishes, 88 top-10s, 13 pole awards, and 2,014 laps led. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, and Tony Stewart have all driven JGR entries to victory lane at the Tricky Triangle.
DENNY HAMLINNo. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE HAMLIN AT POCONO: Denny Hamlin is the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins leader at Pocono Raceway with seven victories. He also leads all active drivers in top-five finishes (16), top-10s (23), and laps led (858) at Pocono. Hamlin’s four pole awards are also tied for the most among active drivers. Over the past eight races at Pocono, Hamlin has three wins, a pair of runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result. He has led laps in the past 10 Pocono races dating back to July 2018.FIRST WIN: Hamlin captured his first career Cup Series victory at Pocono Raceway in June 2006. In that race, he started on the pole and led 83 laps on the way to victory lane. One month later, Hamlin turned in an even more dominant performance to earn his second Pocono victory after taking the pole award and leading 151 laps to score the win.11 TEAM IN MEXICO: With Hamlin missing the international race due to the birth of his third child, Joe Gibbs Racing’s designated reserve driver Ryan Truex filled in driving the No. 11 Toyota in Mexico City. Truex started 36th and worked his way into the top 20 early. Despite a pair of spins, a timely pit stop put Truex 10th for a restart with 32 laps remaining. As the field raced through the first set of turns on the restart, Truex was spun again and dropped down the running order. The race ran green until the finish and he ended the day with a 23rd-place result.CHRIS GAYLE: While he has not reached victory lane yet at Pocono Raceway, crew chief Chris Gayle is accustomed to running up front at the Tricky Triangle. In 10 Cup Series starts at the track, Gayle’s teams have recorded six top-five finishes and seven top-10s. Last year, Gayle led Ty Gibbs to the pole award at Pocono. In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 2.5-mile tri-oval, Gayle’s teams posted a pair of runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result.PROGRESSIVE: Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE will feature Progressive Insurance as the primary sponsor this weekend at Pocono Raceway. In March, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Progressive will be the primary sponsor of the No. 11 Toyota for 18 races this season. For more information on Progressive, visit www.progressive.com.
CHASE BRISCOENo. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE BRISCOE AT POCONO: Chase Briscoe’s best finish in five NASCAR Cup Series is a pair of 15th-place results (2022 and 2024). His three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track are highlighted by a win in 2020 and a third-place performance in 2019. Briscoe also finished ninth in his only NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at Pocono.POCONO WINS: Briscoe owns wins at Pocono Raceway in the Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series. In June 2020, he led 24 laps and overcame a spin with 22 laps remaining to win the Xfinity Series race at the track. In July 2016, Briscoe started second and led 51 of 60 laps to win the ARCA race at Pocono.MEXICO RECAP: Briscoe posted his seventh top-10 finish of the season with a seventh-place run last weekend in Mexico City. After starting 19th, he was collected in a multi-car accident on lap 6. Briscoe lost a lap while the No. 19 team repaired the crash damage. He eventually rejoined the lead lap at the start of stage two and methodically worked his way forward to earn a seventh-place result.2025 POLE AWARDS: Briscoe leads the Cup Series with four pole awards this season, including the Daytona 500 and three consecutive poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Michigan International Speedway. His four pole awards in 16 starts with JGR are twice as many as he had in his first 144 career Cup Series starts.JAMES SMALL: 2025 marks James Small’s sixth season as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. The first five years of his tenure as crew chief were spent with Martin Truex Jr. as Small led the No. 19 team to eight wins, 46 top-five finishes, 86 top-10s, and four NASCAR playoffs appearances. The Australia native led Truex to a runner-up finish in the 2021 championship and to the 2023 regular season championship.BASS PRO SHOPS: Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear”. For more information or to shop online, visit www.basspro.com.
CHRISTOPHER BELLNo. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE BELL AT POCONO: Christopher Bell has posted a pair of top-five finishes and three top-10s in seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway. Last year, Bell started 13th and finished 12th at the 2.5-mile track. In five combined starts at Pocono across the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Bell recorded one win, three top-five finishes, and four top-10s.POCONO WIN: Bell started third and won the Truck Series race at Pocono during his championship season in 2017. In that race, he grabbed the lead with seven laps to go and never looked back to secure the victory.MEXICO CITY RECAP: The Oklahoma native earned a second-place finish last weekend in Mexico City. Despite starting 31st, Bell carved his way through the field, particularly during rainy conditions early in the race. After finishing second in stage two, Bell continued his strong performance by ending the day with his third runner-up finish of the season. It was the No. 20 team’s eighth top-10 result in the past 10 races.MILESTONE CELEBRATION: The No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE will have a special look this weekend with gold door numbers and accents to celebrate Rheem’s 100th anniversary. For 100 years, Rheem has been a leader in product innovation. As they celebrate everything they’ve accomplished so far, they continue to look towards the future of air and water. Next Starts Now! To learn more, visit www.rheem.com/100.RHEEM AT POCONO: Rheem will host more than 125 guests this weekend in Pocono. Executives will be on site from the Rheem Operations team, in addition to customers from key distributors FW Webb & Ferguson and guests from the Water Heater Division (WHD), the Air/Water Commercial and Air/Water Residential Divisions.
TY GIBBSNo. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE GIBBS AT POCONO: Ty Gibbs has three NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway with a best finish of fifth in 2023. Last July, Gibbs won the pole award at the Tricky Triangle, but finished 27th after an engine failure late in the race. Gibbs finished second in both of his NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track. He won the ARCA Menards Series race at Pocono in June 2020 and followed that up with a runner-up finish in June 2021.CUP DEBUT: In July 2022, Gibbs made his Cup Series debut at Pocono Raceway driving the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing. The start was unplanned as Gibbs was tabbed to be the replacement for Kurt Busch after Busch was unable to compete following an accident during qualifying. Gibbs finished 16th despite turning zero laps in the car before the race began.MEXICO CITY RECAP: Gibbs had a solid overall weekend in Mexico City. He started fourth and led 27 laps before a caution during a round of green-flag pit stops put him outside the top 10 for the final stint of the race. He ultimately finished 11th. In Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, Gibbs started second and led 18 laps before finishing 14th after being collected in a late-race accident.TYLER ALLEN: Crew chief Tyler Allen is in his first year leading Gibbs and the No. 54 team. While this is Allen’s first experience as a crew chief at the Cup Series level, he had a standout season in 2024 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allen led JGR’s No. 20 Xfinity Series team to eight victories and a runner-up finish in the owner’s championship.
Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Dorman Products Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.Dorman Products celebrates their fifth season as Spire Motorsports partner with their first appearance as the primary sponsor on the No. 7 Chevy. The Colmar, Pa.-based company gives professionals, enthusiasts and owners greater freedom to fix motor vehicles. For over 100 years, Dorman has been driving new solutions, releasing tens of thousands of aftermarket replacement products engineered to save time and money and increase convenience and reliability. Founded and headquartered in the United States, Dorman is a pioneering global organization offering an always-evolving catalog of products, covering cars, trucks and specialty vehicles, from chassis to body, from underhood to undercarriage, and from hardware to complex electronics.The 26-year-old driver has four Cup Series starts under his belt at “The Tricky Triangle,” earning a venue-best 21st-place result in 2022. His average finishing position at the 2.5-mile triangle is 25.8.
