LONG POND, Pa. – William Byron entered Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway with more than a race’s worth of points cushion over the field in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. 

Even with a tough-luck finish, he remains on top with an advantage of 54 markers over teammate Kyle Larson. But while Larson is second behind Byron in the points standings, he leads the way in the Cup playoff standings with three wins in tow. 

All four of Hendrick Motorsports’ entries are on the right side of the cut line after Sunday’s race. Larson and Byron are locked in via wins. Chase Elliott is in the best shape of any driver without a win thus far, 160 points above the cutoff. 

Alex Bowman rounds out the group, 20 points to the good in the 16th and final spot. 

Here’s a look at the playoff standings heading into Saturday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

FROM WINNER TO CHAMPION, PART 5: Gordon vs. Earnhardt

Below are Pocono The Great American Getaway 400 Fantasy NASCAR Projected Finish Ranges. I think this helpful member exclusive will be good for a variety of different fantasy NASCAR formats.

Dominator = Leading laps and running fastest laps

(High > Medium-High > Medium > Low)

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Zach Wigal wired all 25 laps to capture Saturday night’s USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget feature victory at Chillicothe, Ohio’s Atomic Speedway.

Wigal (Belpre, Ohio) started fourth in the field but had picked his way to the lead by the end of lap one. From that point forward, the 2023 series champion was never headed en route to his first win of the 2025 series season. Overall, it was Wigal’s 12th career USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget main event win.

Crossing the line behind Wigal were defending series champion Bryce Massingill (Troy, Ohio), followed by Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kansas) who advanced from 10th to 3rd.

It was a breakout night for Cole Morgan (Brookville, Ohio) who finished fourth to earn the Rosewood Machine & Tool Company Precision Move of the Race. Sprint Car regular Ryan Barr (Piqua, Ohio) rounded out the top-five.

Heat races presented by Performance Electronics, Stiefel’s Home & Auto and Hoosier Auto Racing Fans were won by Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, Ohio), Cole Morgan and Buddy Hollmeyer (Norwood, Ohio).

Wigal also earned VMS Motorsports Fast Qualifier honors with a time of 14.832 seconds.

USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: June 21, 2025 – Atomic Speedway – Chillicothe, Ohio

VMS MOTORSPORTS FIRST QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Zach Wigal, 18, Wigal-14.832; 2. Tyler Nelson, 91, Nelson-14.875; 3. Bryce Massingill, 35, Massingill-15.026; 4. Luke Hall, 74, Heitmeyer-15.105; 5. Brayden Schwartz, 55s, Schwartz-15.950; 6. Taylor Nibert, 11N, Nibert-16.526.

VMS MOTORSPORTS SECOND QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Matt Lux, 5, Wells-14.955; 2. Ian Creager, 36, Creager-15.038; 3. Cole Morgan, 7m, Morgan-15.398; 4. Tommy Bigelow, 2B, Bigelow-16.027; 5. Jim Jones, 97, Jones-16.286; 6. Dylan Trost, 21, Trost-NT.

VMS MOTORSPORTS THIRD QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Ryan Barr, 11T, Taylor-15.542; 2. Tyler Kalb, 32, Kalb-15.619; 3. Buddy Hollmeyer, 11, Taylor-15.637; 4. Luke Lemons, 33L, Lemons-15.862; 5. Jakeb Boxell, 404, Boxell/Merkler-NT.

PERFORMANCE ELECTRONICS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Luke Hall (1), 2. Zach Wigal (4), 3. Bryce Massingill (2), 4. Tyler Nelson (3), 5. Brayden Schwartz (5), 6. Taylor Nibert (6). NT

STIEFEL’S HOME & AUTO SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cole Morgan (2), 2. Matt Lux (4), 3. Ian Creager (3), 4. Tommy Bigelow (1), 5. Dylan Trost (6), 6. Jim Jones (5). NT

HOOSIER AUTO RACING FANS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Buddy Hollmeyer (2), 2. Ryan Barr (4), 3. Tyler Kalb (3), 4. 33L-Luke Lemons (1), 5. 404-Jakeb Boxell (5). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Wigal (4), 2. Bryce Massingill (1), 3. Tyler Nelson (10), 4. Cole Morgan (3), 5. Ryan Barr (2), 6. Matt Lux (5), 7. Ian Creager (8), 8. Buddy Hollmeyer (6), 9. Tyler Kalb (9), 10. Brayden Schwartz (13), 11. Taylor Nibert (16), 12. Dylan Trost (14), 13. Jim Jones (17), 14. Luke Lemons (12), 15. Luke Hall (7), 16. Tommy Bigelow (11). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Zach Wigal.

NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: June 28, 2025 – Fremont Speedway – Fremont, Ohio

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

VMS Motorsports Fast Qualifier: Zach Wigal (14.832)

Performance Electronics First Heat Winner: Luke Hall

Stiefel’s Home & Auto Second Heat Winner: Cole Morgan

Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Third Heat Winner: Buddy Hollmeyer

Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger: Tyler Nelson (10th to 3rd)

Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move of the Race: Cole Morgan

USAC PR

Rain showers moved into Pocono Raceway on Sunday morning, raising early concerns about a potential delay to the NASCAR Cup Series race. Though NASCAR had not made any official announcements at the time, the wet conditions threatened the scheduled start.

The unsettled weather put The Great American Getaway 400’s scheduled 2:20 p.m. ET green flag in jeopardy. Veteran insider Bob Pockrass shared a timely update on X, suggesting a possible delay if rain didn’t clear soon.

Rain Clouds Over Pocono Put Cup Series Start in Doubt

While not an official statement from NASCAR, Pockrass’s post indicated officials were monitoring a tight weather window. Light rain and cloudy skies had settled over the Long Pond, Pennsylvania area during the morning hours, with radar showing scattered showers continuing into early afternoon.

Pockrass in a post on X said, “Three hours before scheduled green flag at Pocono. Would probably need the rain to stop by 12:30p ET for a chance at on-time start. Do have time to wait it out as likely can race to around 8:30.”

Three hours before scheduled green flag at Pocono. Would probably need the rain to stop by 12:30p ET for a chance at on-time start. Do have time to wait it out as likely can race to around 8:30. pic.twitter.com/eA9J42MHKp

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 22, 2025

By early afternoon, NASCAR officially announced a weather delay as rain continued to soak the track. Track drying at Pocono, a 2.5-mile triangle-shaped superspeedway, requires considerable time. With no lights at the facility, NASCAR faces a hard deadline to complete the race before sunset around 8:40 p.m. ET.

NASCAR has shown a willingness to wait out weather delays when there’s a reasonable window to complete the race. Track drying efforts were underway as conditions began to improve, though lightning north of the track remained a concern.

What Time Is the NASCAR Cup Race at Pocono Supposed To Start?

The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway is scheduled for Sunday, June 22. Presented by VISITPA.COM, the race carries a scheduled green flag time of 2:20 p.m. ET in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

The Pocono Cup Series race marks the final event of the year to be broadcast exclusively on Prime Video. Pre-race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on the streaming platform.

#NASCAR … Current scene at Pocono as teams prepare to race at 4:30 pm ET pic.twitter.com/f6v7eDv6RL

— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 22, 2025

The Great American Getaway 400 runs 160 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race features three stages: Stage 1 ends on lap 30, Stage 2 concludes on lap 95, and the final stage runs 65 laps to lap 160.

Defending race winner Ryan Blaney aims to capture back-to-back victories at the Tricky Triangle. Denny Hamlin, who earned the pole position for Sunday’s race and owns seven career Cup victories at Pocono, looks to add another trophy to his collection. Shane van Gisbergen enters fresh off his dominant victory in last weekend’s inaugural Cup Series race in Mexico City, where he led 60 laps and won by over 16 seconds despite battling illness throughout the weekend.

When regular crew chief Mardy Lindley was suspended one week for the (rather common) issue of loose lug nuts, JR Motorsports team co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped up to the plate to lead the No. 88 team this weekend. Well, with Dale Jr. calling the shots and rising star Connor Zilisch behind the wheel, they captured the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway.

It was actually Lindley’s idea, texting Dale Jr. to ask if he was up for the challenge. The Lindleys and Earnhardts have quite the history as well. Dale Sr. and Butch Lindley (Mardy’s father) raced against each other back in the 1970s and sadly, both Mardy and Dale Jr. lost their fathers to the sport of auto racing. Earnhardt said on Saturday that the shared tragedy of losing their fathers connected them.

Getting back into the competitive spirit

Connor Zilisch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

And at Pocono, it was big shoes to fill for Earnhardt, as Lindley had won nine Xfinity races since 2023 with three different JRM drivers. As for Dale, it was great for him to get back into such a high-pressure environment after spending most of his time watching from afar as a owner/broadcaster.

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“I love owning race cars, and I love racking up statistics and championships, but it does not have the competitive sort of skin in the game, if you will, that (today) does,” said Earnhardt in the winner’s press conference.

“If you’re in the car, it’s on you to make sure you’re doing everything right. And when you’re the crew chief, you’re under a ton of pressure. I understand that I did not come in here and handle all of the layers that Mardy usually handles or any given crew chief manages. They certainly were putting me in a position to do some light lifting, but as the race went on, we got more comfortable and more aggressive.

“It was fun. I felt like I really had some involvement, some input in the energy that the crew and team had. Keeping them pumped up, everybody executing, and keeping Connor aware of what are goals were and what our expectations were on the restarts. He wanted to deliver.”

How much of a crew chief was he…really?

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

As for how much say Earnhardt actually had, he admits that anything significant involving the set-up and adjustments was already being handled by the engineering team. Dale Jr.’s influence was more with in-race strategy and advising Zilisch as a driver coach.

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“I’m not a fool to think — I didn’t have control of all the buttons and levers and stuff,” said Earnhardt. “But mid-way through the race, I was feeling it. Me and the engineers on the box we’re in a great conversations around what we should do, how far we could make it, whether we were going to have enough for the green-white-checkered…all those things.”

After his experience, would he be up to do it all again? “I would not ever walk in the shop and say I’d be up for doing but if we find ourselves unfortunately where somebody gets suspended, if they want me to do it, I would happily do it,” added Earnhardt.

Earnhardt added that the thing he was most nervous about wasn’t actually being the crew chief, but when he came off the box to prepare and set the right-front tire on the wall before handing it off to the pit crew during the stop. He was worried about messing up the flow of things or slowing down the stop unnecessarily, even visiting with the Trackhouse earlier in the week to practice.

He also praised Zilisch as a “young man going on 35,” but he was happy to advise the 18-year-old and keep him focused on the task at hand as he went on to earn his first oval win. “It was fun to help him understand what I thought would be the best scenario on some of those restarts.”

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Read Also:

Connor Zilisch and crew chief Dale Earnhardt Jr. win Pocono NASCAR Xfinity race

Chase Elliott “really bummed” by Pocono Xfinity loss after restart run-in

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

The NASCAR Cup Series drivers go from “South of the Border” in Mexico City to one of the northernmost stops on the circuit at Pocono Raceway today. The green flag drops just after 2:00 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime. 

Denny Hamlin is among the most popular choices this week following his week off due to the birth of his son, but is the pole sitter on top in our free betting picks for The Great American Getaway 400 on Sunday, June 22? 

Odds to win 2025 The Great American Getaway 400

Odds as of 6-22.

The Great American Getaway 400 expert picks and predictions

Odds listed below courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of 6-21.

The Great American Getaway 400 pre-qualifying favorites

Denny Hamlin (+450)
Pocono has been his playground. Denny Hamlin has seven wins there, including three of the last eight overall. It would be eight wins and four of the last eight if not for a 2022 DQ.

He was also runner-up twice, including last year, making eight Top-6 finishes in his last 10 Pocono tries. 

Kyle Larson (+550)
Late-race contact battling Hamlin for the win in 2023 relegated Kyle Larson to 20th at the end. Prior to that, he had seven Top-10 finishes in 10 tries, including fifth in 2022 and runner-up in 2021. Larson was 13th last year.

William Byron (+800)
William Byron started second and finished fourth last year after being fourth in both stages. The year prior he led 60 laps from the pole but finished 14th.

Byron has led 95 laps in his last five Pocono starts and has second stage finishes of fourth, first, fifth, third and fourth, respectively, the last five tries.

The Great American Getaway 400 sleepers

Tyler Reddick (+1000)
Tyler Reddick was 11th, ninth, second, second, and sixth, respectively, in his last five Pocono starts. 

Ty Gibbs (+2000)
He finished fifth in his second Pocono start in 2023 after leading four laps. Ty Gibbs finished 27th last year but won the pole and led 21 laps before his engine expired.

Bubba Wallace (+2500)
Bubba Wallace finished 10th last year, 11th the year prior, eighth in 2022, and fifth in 2021, and is back again in a Toyota.

Alex Bowman (+3500)
Alex Bowman won the first doubleheader in 2021 and ran seventh a day later after leading 18 laps. He finished third last year to earn five Top-11 finishes in his last six Pocono starts. 

The Great American Getaway 400 fades

Ryan Blaney (+750)
Prior to last year’s win, four of Ryan Blaney’s last six Pocono finishes were 12th or worse, including 33rd in 2022 and 30th in 2023. 

Chase Elliott (+1200)
Prior to the 2022 win that Chase Elliott led only the last lap in, he had no finishes better than fourth, and four of his last six had seen him finish 12th or worse.

He finished 10th in 2023 and ninth last year. Elliott has led 16 combined laps in his last 14 Pocono starts. 

Joey Logano (+1700)
Joey Logano finished fifth last year but was 20th and 35th the last two years prior and has just five Top-5 finishes in 29 tries here. His next-most recent Top 5 here came back in 2016. 

The Great American Getaway 400 prop pick: Christopher Bell Top 5 Finish 

Christopher Bell (+850 outright) is 0-for-7 at Pocono but he also has three Top-6 finishes, including two of the last three. 

Pick: Christopher Bell Top 5 Finish (+130 at DraftKings)

The Great American Getaway 400 field

Brennan Poole will join the 36 chartered drivers in the No. 44 Ford to make it 37 cars lining up for The Great American Getaway 400 this Sunday.

After taking Father’s Day weekend in Mexico off to be with his newly-born son, Denny Hamlin has opened as the pre-qualifying favorite for this race at +450. He is a seven-time winner at Pocono Raceway.

Kyle Larson is just behind Hamlin at +550, followed by Ryan Blaney at +750 as he seeks back-to-back victories at this track. William Byron (+800) and Christopher Bell (+850) round out the single-digit options.

The Great American Getaway 400 betting splits

Live Movement (opening to current)

• Denny Hamlin +475 to +300
• Carson Hocevar +2500 to +1600
• Chase Elliott +1500 to +2200

Highest Ticket%

• Denny Hamlin 10.5%
• William Byron 7.3%
• Chase Elliott 6.7%

Highest Handle%

• Denny Hamlin 19.2%
• Chase Elliott 9.5%
• Ryan Blaney 9.2%

Biggest Liabilities

• Chase Elliott
• Denny Hamlin
• Joey Logano

All data courtesy of BetMGM.

Pocono Raceway track analysis

On a triangle-shaped track, the best opportunities for passing are at the end of the three long straightaways. Pocono is annually a pretty straightforward race, with this being a very hard track to actually pass on. 

Short pitting sometimes gains you track position later, but depending on cautions, it could bite you too when factoring in tire life. Some drivers will elect to pit before the end of stages and give up stage points to restart up front at the next stage. 

Toyota has won around 70% of the last 12 Pocono races. They went 1-2 in 2022 before being disqualified. Did the egregious mistake make a difference? It’s hard to tell because they’ve been so dominant around the “Tricky Triangle” for the last decade and led 66 of the 160 laps last year.

Ford won last year but had just three cars finish in the Top-10.

The Great American Getaway 400 trends

• The eventual race winner failed to lead the most laps in eight of the last 12 races at Pocono, including five of the last six.

The Great American Getaway 400 info

Previous The Great American Getaway 400 winners

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have combined to win six of the last eight renewals of this race.

How to make The Great American Getaway 400 picks

NASCAR betting is a nuanced process that can take any number of factors into account, and spans several different types of bets. Fortunately, our How to Bet NASCAR guide walks you through the basics, including how to read odds, different markets that are available, and what to consider when making your bets.

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