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

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

June 22, 2025

Odrick Tallies Second Pro/Am Challenge Victory of 2025

LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 22, 2025) – Tristan McKee (No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) earned his first-career CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series victory in style, leading every lap on his way to Victory Lane at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. After claiming the point position when his teammate Corey Day (No. 17 HendrickCars.com/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) went off course in the first turn of the race, the second-place starter put on a display of pure dominance, driving away from his competitors and repeating the feat for multiple restarts. When he captured the checkered flag, he became the second-youngest winner in the history of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at the age of 14 years, 10 months and 19 days, and stood atop the podium between TA2 Champions Rafa Matos (No. 57 Concord American Flagpole/SHR Chevrolet Camaro) and Thomas Merrill (No. 26 HP Tuners/Franklin Road/Cope Chevrolet Camaro). McKee’s win extends his lead in the point standings for the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Championship, Rookie of the Year and Young Gun Award.

Notes of Interest:

• Tristan McKee earned his first-career victory in just his eighth points-paying race in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series.

• McKee became the second-youngest winner in the history of the Trans Am Series at 14 years, 10 months and 19 days old. Brent Crews is the youngest winner, earning his first victory at 14 years, three months and four days old.

• McKee leads the point standings for the class, in addition to the Rookie of the Year and Young Gun Award battles.

• McKee’s victory was his fourth-consecutive podium finish. He has not finished worse than seventh in the first six events of the season.

• Rafa Matos’ second-place finish was his third podium of the season. The three-time champion has one win, which he earned at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

• Thomas Merrill earned his first podium of the 2025 season with his third-place finish.

“That’s what we’re hoping for, to be the champion when it comes to the last race,” said McKee on the podium after being asked if he could become the youngest champion in Trans Am history. “I’ve just got to give thanks to all the SLR guys; they brought a really good car. They came prepared; we unloaded off the trailer really fast and stayed fast all weekend, so all props to them. You know, I did a lot of studying and preparation for this race, and it really paid off. Thanks to Josh Wise, Scott Speed, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet, Gainbridge, and once again, all the TeamSLR crew.”

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series National Championship Top 10:

1. Tristan McKee, No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro

2. Rafa Matos, No. 57 Concord American Flagpole/SHR Chevrolet Camaro

3. Thomas Merrill, No. 26 HP Tuners/Franklin Road/Cope Chevrolet Camaro

4. Thomas Annunziata, No. 90 Gazoo Racing/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

5. Sam Corry, No. 70 Stilo Helmets/Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

6. Ben Maier, No. 6 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang

7. Eric Cayton, No. 71 Ray Skillman Auto Group Ford Mustang

8. Gian Buffomante, No. 95 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

9. Will Robinson, No. 51 Mike Cope Race Cars LLC Ford Mustang

10. Mia Lovell, No. 40 Nitro Motorsports Toyota Camry

Jared Odrick (No. 00 Black Underwear/CoolBoxx Chevrolet Camaro) earned his second win of the 2025 season in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Pro/Am Challenge, finishing ninth overall. Barry Boes (No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) started the race in the lead and had commanding speed, but was stymied by an electrical issue on lap 28. Once Odrick took the lead, it was a tight battle between him and Keith Prociuk (No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Car Ford Mustang), with Odrick ultimately taking the checkered flag and Prociuk finishing second. Cale Phillips (No. 99 Mincey’s Graphics/SNP Inc. Ford Mustang) took the third podium spot.

“It was tough, obviously it’s hot,” said Odrick on the podium. “We were all trying to keep our composure and catch our breath here. But it was awesome. [Keith] Prociuk and I were close all race, he was in my mirrors all race. At the end there, he actually overtook me going into [Turns] 8 and 9 because I had let some National guys go through to keep a clean race. He passed me, looked like he got a little wide in Turn 9, and he had to wait to get on throttle, and I was able to get on throttle a little bit earlier, so I was able to take it with two corners left. And it was so, so dramatic; I can’t wait to watch the tape.”

CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series Pro/Am Challenge Podium:

1. Jared Odrick, No. 00 Black Underwear/CoolBoxx Chevrolet Camaro

2. Keith Prociuk, No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang

3. Cale Phillips, No. 99 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang

Omologato Watches Fastest Lap of the Race:

Tristan McKee, No. 28 Spire/Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro

Bassett Hard Charger:

Matt Gray, No. 64 Ryan Companies Ford Mustang

Full race results can be found here.

An encore presentation of today’s race will air tonight on SPEED SPORT 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series returns to the track next weekend for the Road America SpeedTour at Road America, June 27-29. Tickets can be purchased here.

Pocono Raceway used to host two NASCAR Cup Series races per year, and on two separate weekends. In 2020, it began hosting a doubleheader weekend, but that experiment was short-lived, and since 2022, just one race per season has been contested at the “Tricky Triangle”.

This Sunday’s 160-lap Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA is the 17th of 36 races on the 2025 schedule. It is also the season’s final race on Amazon Prime Video. After this race, there will be just nine races remaining on the regular season schedule before the four-round, 10-race playoffs.

This race is also the third and final seeding race before the upcoming five-round, 32-driver tournament.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is the reigning race winner at Pocono. He is a two-time winner at the track, having also won there in 2017 to secure his first career win when he was still at Wood Brothers Racing.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin took the pole position for Sunday afternoon’s race in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session, and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher started beside him on the front row.

A full starting lineup can be found here.

Follow along with our race updates from Pocono Raceway.

NASCAR at Pocono: Stage 1 results

1st – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2nd – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

3rd – Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

4th – Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

5th – Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

6th – Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

7th – Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

8th – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

9th – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10th – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

NASCAR at Pocono: Stage 2 results

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

2nd – Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

3rd – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

4th – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

5th – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

6th – Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

7th – Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

8th – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

9th – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10th – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

NASCAR at Pocono: Full race results

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

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

3rd – Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

4th – Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

5th – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

7th – Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

8th – Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

9th – Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

10th – Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

11th – Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

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

15th – Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

16th – Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

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

18th – Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

19th – Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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

21st – A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

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

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

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

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

26th – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

27th – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

30th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

33rd – Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

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

35th – Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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