Reflecting on the win, Colin Braun credited the team’s strategy and execution, saying, “It was just really good pitch strategy by the guys. Tom did a great job hitting the fuel number he needed to hit. The Acura, HRC, MSR guys were right on with the math to make it work. In the end, it just came down to a battle of the fuel save. Great to grab the win, super proud of everybody, and hopefully, it kicks off some good momentum.”

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin earned the top seed in the inaugural version of NASCAR’s In-season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament set to kick off next week in Atlanta.

The tournament, which comes with a $1 million prize to the winner, is part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

The final 32-driver field was set by results of the races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. Chase Briscoe won the Cup race Sunday at Pocono Raceway to finalize the field.

The drivers will be paired in head-to-head matchups based on seeding, with the winners advancing to the next round in a bracket format that mirrors the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Hamlin goes head-to-head next week against the 32nd seed, Ty Dillon. Briscoe earned the second seed, Chris Buescher is third, Christopher Bell fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.

The format is single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The tournament is patterned after in-season tournaments that are staged by soccer leagues around the world and even brought to the NBA.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

We’re down to single digits and now we have 11 different winners.

After Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, only nine races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Chase Briscoe claimed his first win of the season Sunday, becoming the 11th racer to win a race this season.

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Briscoe was thin on fuel during the final stage, but had enough gas and horsepower to hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the final laps. Ryan Blaney was third as the top three all finished within a second of each other. Here’s the full finishing order.

NASCAR standings: Results from Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway today

1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

4. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

6. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

7. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

8. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

9. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

10. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

11. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

12. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

13. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

14. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

15. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

16. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

17. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

18. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

19. Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

20. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

21. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

22. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

23. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

25. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

26. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

27. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

28. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

29. Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet

31. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

32. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

33. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

34. Brennan Poole, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet

35. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

36. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

37. Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR today: Results, winner of Cup Series race at Pocono

Chase Briscoe became the sixth Cup driver in the past eight races to earn his first win of the 2025 season, beating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin at Pocono Raceway.

With his third career victory, Briscoe became the 11th driver to lock into the 16 spots in the Cup Series playoffs. He also become the 12th driver to win for Joe Gibbs Racing. He previously had won at Phoenix and Darlington for Stewart-Haas Racing.

His previous best finish at Pocono was 15th.

In the points standings, William Byron maintained a 54-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. Ryan Preece is on the cutline in 14th, 39 points ahead of AJ Allmendinger.

Here’s what drivers were saying after a rain-delayed race in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Here’s the finishing order at Pocono:

1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
2. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
3. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
4. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
6. John H Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
7. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
8. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
9. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
10. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
11. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevolet
12. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
13. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
14. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
15. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
16. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
17. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toytoa
18. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
19. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
20. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Toyota
21. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
22. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
23. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
25. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
26. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
27. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
28. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
29. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
31. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
32. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
33. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
34. Brennan Poole, No. 44 Chevrolet
35. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
36. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
37. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro reaffirmed the state would provide no funding for any new sports arenas — a possibility that looms with the Eagles’ lease set to expire in 2032 — and said there were conversations about bringing NASCAR to Philadelphia as he championed the state’s full sports slate next year during an appearance Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Shapiro said he would continue talking with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and the Rooney family in Pittsburgh about what — if anything — the NFL teams need when it comes to the state of their stadiums.

Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium, the home of the Steelers, opened in 2001 while Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003 in Philadelphia’s shared sports complex. The Eagles do not own the Linc. The team will need to renew its lease or build a new stadium, and Lurie said during the lead-up to the Super Bowl that he was “torn” over the idea of replacing the stadium or staying put in the home where they raised their only two Super Bowl championship banners.

If a new stadium is proposed, it won’t come with state money — just as Shapiro said he would not provide when the 76ers considered building a new arena (ownership did not ask for the funds) last year.

(The 76ers decided to partner with Comcast Spectacor, their current landlord, to build a new arena in South Philadelphia.)

“I’m very worried about the overall budget,” Shapiro said Sunday at Pocono. “I’m very worried about the overall economic situation given the federal cuts. You want to balance investing in tourism, investing in sports, investing in great arenas and facilities, with making sure that you’re also investing those dollars in things that Pennsylvanians need most.”

Shapiro, who spoke ahead of the scheduled NASCAR Cup Series race at the track, declined to get into specifics about any stadium conversations with the state’s NFL owners.

“I will tell you that we want to make sure the Steelers, we want to make sure the Eagles, and all of our pro teams have outstanding places to play,” he said. “That are welcoming for fans. That generate revenue.

“We’re going to continue to dialog with them about what they need and what’s possible.”

Shapiro promoted the financial impact generated for the state each year because of the NASCAR weekend at Pocono. He praised Pocono Raceway officials for its third straight sellout crowd set for Sunday. The track sold out all frontstretch seating, premium seating, suites, infield camping and the grandstand camping area. It also is the fifth consecutive year that the entire infield camping inventory has been sold out.

Pocono President Ben May said the track sold around 50,000 grandstand tickets, around 2,000 suite seats and 3,300 camping spots.

NASCAR expressed at least a cursory interest in adding to its recent string of offbeat race locations — everywhere from Mexico City to a temporary track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — and floated the idea of holding a race inside a Philadelphia stadium, Franklin Field. The site is traditionally home to the Penn Relays and college football.

“There’s some conversations,” Shapiro said. “First and foremost, we don’t want to do anything that undermines Pocono. But as Ben (says), the more NASCAR the better. The more racing, the better. The more we can turn people on in communities that haven’t been to Pocono yet, to get excited about racing, and then make that trip to Pocono next year, the better. I want to see more NASCAR, more racing. I also just want to see more sports in general.”

He’ll get his wish next year.

Shapiro laughed when he said he calls into sports talk radio stations as “Josh from Juniata” and was all-in on the heavy inventory of major sports events headed to the state.

Among the events in 2026, Pennsylvania will host the baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, the World Cup at the Linc and the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. The big year kicks off with the NFL draft in Pittsburgh next April.

“I worked my ass off to bring that to Pittsburgh, together with the Steelers,” Shapiro said. “I’m excited for them.”

By Dan Gelston, The Associated Press

LONG POND, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro reaffirmed the state would provide no funding for any new sports arenas — a possibility that looms with the Eagles’ lease set to expire in 2032 — and said there were conversations about bringing NASCAR to Philadelphia as he championed the state’s full sports slate next year during an appearance Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Shapiro said he would continue talking with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and the Rooney family in Pittsburgh about what — if anything — the NFL teams need when it comes to the state of their stadiums.

Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium, the home of the Steelers, opened in 2001 while Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003 in Philadelphia’s shared sports complex. The Eagles do not own the Linc. The team will need to renew its lease or build a new stadium, and Lurie said during the lead-up to the Super Bowl that he was “torn” over the idea of replacing the stadium or staying put in the home where they raised their only two Super Bowl championship banners.

If a new stadium is proposed, it won’t come with state money — just as Shapiro said he would not provide when the 76ers considered building a new arena (ownership did not ask for the funds) last year.

(The 76ers decided to partner with Comcast Spectacor, their current landlord, to build a new arena in South Philadelphia.)

“I’m very worried about the overall budget,” Shapiro said Sunday at Pocono. “I’m very worried about the overall economic situation given the federal cuts. You want to balance investing in tourism, investing in sports, investing in great arenas and facilities, with making sure that you’re also investing those dollars in things that Pennsylvanians need most.”

Shapiro, who spoke ahead of the scheduled NASCAR Cup Series race at the track, declined to get into specifics about any stadium conversations with the state’s NFL owners.

“I will tell you that we want to make sure the Steelers, we want to make sure the Eagles, and all of our pro teams have outstanding places to play,” he said. “That are welcoming for fans. That generate revenue.

“We’re going to continue to dialogue with them about what they need and what’s possible.”

Shapiro promoted the financial impact generated for the state each year because of the NASCAR weekend at Pocono. He praised Pocono Raceway officials for its third straight sellout crowd set for Sunday. The track sold out all frontstretch seating, premium seating, suites, infield camping and the grandstand camping area. It also is the fifth consecutive year that the entire infield camping inventory has been sold out.

Pocono President Ben May said the track sold around 50,000 grandstand tickets, around 2,000 suite seats and 3,300 camping spots.

NASCAR expressed at least a cursory interest in adding to its recent string of offbeat race locations — everywhere from Mexico City to a temporary track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — and floated the idea of holding a race inside a Philadelphia stadium, Franklin Field. The site is traditionally home to the Penn Relays and college football.

“There’s some conversations,” Shapiro said. “First and foremost, we don’t want to do anything that undermines Pocono. But as Ben (says), the more NASCAR the better. The more racing, the better. The more we can turn people on in communities that haven’t been to Pocono yet, to get excited about racing, and then make that trip to Pocono next year, the better. I want to see more NASCAR, more racing. I also just want to see more sports in general.”

He’ll get his wish next year.

Shapiro laughed when he said he calls into sports talk radio stations as “Josh from Juniata” and was all-in on the heavy inventory of major sports events headed to the state.

Among the events in 2026, Pennsylvania will host the baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, the World Cup at the Linc and the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. The big year kicks off with the NFL draft in Pittsburgh next April.

“I worked my ass off to bring that to Pittsburgh, together with the Steelers,” Shapiro said. “I’m excited for them.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing