Patience pays off for Chase Briscoe on his way to big win at Pocono

Chase Briscoe earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Sunday, edging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, led a race-high 72 of 160 laps, including the final 34, while managing fuel consumption to hold off Hamlin. He crossed the finish line 0.682 seconds ahead of Hamlin, securing a spot in the 2025 playoffs.

“There was a lot [of pressure],” Briscoe said. “It was kind of weird. I wasn’t driving hard so it’s not like I was on the ragged edge, but it was just so hard having a guy chasing you, especially the guy that’s the greatest of all time here, to be trying to save fuel and everything else. Just an amazing day for our race team. Really the first race we’ve executed all year long.”

The win is the third of Briscoe’s career. He had previously earned a season-best four pole positions and led laps in eight races.

Hamlin, a seven-time Pocono winner and three-time winner this season, finished second for the 10th time in his career at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. He started on the pole, won the opening stage and led 32 laps.

“It was definitely going to be difficult,” said Hamlin, who returned to competition after missing last week’s Mexico City race for the birth of his son. “The team did a great job and we were next best in line of our strategy; it just didn’t work out.”

Ryan Blaney, a two-time Pocono winner, finished third despite starting from the back of the field due to car adjustments and a malfunctioning cool-suit for more than 100 laps. Chris Buescher of RFK Racing finished fourth, and Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports was fifth, marking his second consecutive Top 5 finish.

John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth, followed by Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric to round out the Top 10.

Briscoe is the 11th driver to clinch a playoff spot. William Byron, who finished 27th after a qualifying accident, maintains a 54-point lead over teammate Kyle Larson in the championship standings. Alex Bowman holds the 16th and final playoff position, 20 points ahead of Ryan Preece with nine races remaining in the regular season.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway for the Quaker State 400 on Saturday at 7 p.m. EDT. The race is the first round of the In Season Bracket Challenge, a five-race series with a $1 million prize.

Joey Logano is the defending race winner. Christopher Bell won at Atlanta in February.

The Great American Getaway 400 

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Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Sunday, June 22, 2025

1. (6) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 160.
2. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.
3. (20) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160.
4. (2) Chris Buescher, Ford, 160.
5. (18) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160.
6. (4) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 160.
7. (24) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160.
8. (13) Ryan Preece, Ford, 160.
9. (14) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160.
10. (19) Austin Cindric, Ford, 160.
11. (25) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160.
12. (35) Josh Berry, Ford, 160.
13. (11) Erik Jones, Toyota, 160.
14. (7) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 160.
15. (10) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 160.
16. (12) Joey Logano, Ford, 160.
17. (9) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160.
18. (3) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 160.
19. (22) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 160.
20. (26) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 160.
21. (33) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160.
22. (5) Cole Custer, Ford, 160.
23. (17) Noah Gragson, Ford, 160.
24. (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.
25. (15) Zane Smith, Ford, 160.
26. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 160.
27. (31) William Byron, Chevrolet, 160.
28. (32) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 160.
29. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, 160.
30. (30) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 160.
31. (23) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 159.
32. (8) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 159.
33. (27) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 140.
34. (37) Brennan Poole(i), Chevrolet, Drivetrain, 111.
35. (28) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Accident, 73.
36. (34) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 54.
37. (29) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, Accident, 41.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 130.199 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 4 Mins, 20 Secs.
Margin of Victory: .682 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 31 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 9 drivers.