It was another packed house at Pocono Raceway for the Great American Getaway 400, with a sold-out crowd braving a weather delay that pushed the start by nearly two and a half hours due to thunderstorms.
Denny Hamlin led the field to green from the pole, while regular-season points leader William Byron and Bubba Wallace were both forced to start from the rear. Byron had crashed during qualifying, and Wallace’s car wouldn’t fire up in time to make a lap. The command to start engines was given by newly inducted NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch.
Stage 1 ran relatively clean with a fair amount of shuffling throughout the field. Byron and teammate Chase Elliott both began carving their way forward — Byron from the 30s, Elliott from 21st — and by the end of the opening segment, both were already inside the top 10. Hamlin stayed strong and secured the Stage 1 win.
Most of the field came down pit road between stages, but four cars, including Brad Keselowski, chose to stay out. On Lap 42, Riley Herbst encountered brake issues and smacked the wall in Turn 2 to bring out a caution. By Lap 50, Byron had surged all the way to third, while Elliott climbed to fifth. Aggressive moves on restarts and plenty of comers and goers made track position feel like a revolving door.
Keselowski maintained control for a time, but Lap 55 saw brake trouble strike again when Bubba Wallace slammed the wall in the Tunnel Turn following a brake rotor explosion — the second 23XI car with brake issues after Herbst earlier in the day. Just a few laps later, Keselowski mistakenly pitted before pit road was open and had to serve a penalty.
On Lap 63, Alex Bowman took the lead. Then, as Stage 2 approached its close, more brake issues arose — this time with Michael McDowell in the #71. He limped the car all the way to pit road to avoid triggering a caution.
The biggest wreck of the day came on Lap 83, when Kyle Busch spun and collected multiple cars including Todd Gilliland, Shane van Gisbergen, Christopher Bell, and Ty Dillon. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick, clearly nervous after witnessing multiple brake failures across the field, including both of his teammates, headed to the garage proactively to have his brakes checked.
Chase Briscoe, who had shown speed all day, won Stage 2 and later kicked off the final stage running up front. Austin Cindric kicked off the last regularly scheduled green flag pit stops with much of the field following suit. On 125, Van Gisbergen had another incident when he spun and tapped the wall, but the race stayed green.
With 20 laps remaining, it became a tight battle at the front. Briscoe led Hamlin by just half a second, with Ryan Blaney closing in fast from third and Elliott right on his heels in fourth. Meanwhile, the big conversation centered on Briscoe’s ability to finish given that he left his pit before the gas man fully fueled the car. It was looking as though Briscoe would be somewhere in the vincinity of a half lap short, so crew chief James Small coached Briscoe on how to save fuel while remaining in the lead. Although Hamlin made a late charge, he was able to make the pass. In the end, Briscoe held off the challenge and earned his first career win with Joe Gibbs Racing in the #19 Toyota.
Top 10 Finishers:
- Chase Briscoe
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Blaney
- Chris Buescher
- Chase Elliott
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Kyle Larson
- Ryan Preece
- Brad Keselowski
- Austin Cindric
Photo Credit: LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 22: A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 22, 2025 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)