Chase Briscoe wins rain-delayed NASCAR Cup Series Pocono race
LONG POND, PA. — Chase Briscoe took home his first NASCAR Cup Series win for Joe Gibbs Racing in a rain-delayed race Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
Briscoe led twice for 72 laps, including the final 34, to get his third career win in the Cup Series. He led a 1-2 finish for JGR with Denny Hamlin in second.
With Stewart-Haas Racing shutting down, JGR signed Briscoe to take over the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota as Martin Truex Jr. planned to step away from full-time racing. JGR executives described Briscoe as someone “you can’t pass up” when he comes on the market. Briscoe ran well enough to be in a playoff spot on points but a win is huge with the cutline getting closer and closer to him — and to prove himself.
“It’s huge. I literally grew up racing my sprint car video game in a Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot uniform. To get Coach in Victory Lane after, like I said, them taking a chance on me, it’s so rewarding truthfully. Just a big weight off my shoulders. I’ve been telling my wife the last two weeks, I have to win. To finally come here and do it, it has been a great day,” Briscoe said.
TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 160): Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric.
JGR now has 18 wins at Pocono. Briscoe, who won the second stage, was short on fuel after a botched stop for fuel. He had to save extensively but made it to the end.
Hamlin ran the fastest lap of the race on lap 122 in pursuit of Briscoe. He ran around Pocono Raceway in 52.592 seconds on that lap and picked up a bonus point.
Hamlin also picked up 10 bonus points for winning the first stage.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 30): Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Zane Smith, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman.
After the first stage went caution-free, three cautions fell for drivers having brake rotor issues.
MORE: Brake issues hurt 23XI Racing in NASCAR Cup race at Pocono
On lap 84, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Dillon and Kyle Busch crashed in turn two.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 95): Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar.
Shane van Gisbergen spun on lap 126, shuffling strategies and putting Chase Briscoe in full-save mode after he took off took early. Briscoe saved enough and became the 11th winner this season.
With Briscoe winning, there are now five spots left for drivers to make the playoff on points. Here is how it shakes out heading into Atlanta:
- Chase Elliott +160
- Tyler Reddick +107
- Chris Buescher +38
- Bubba Wallace +29
- Alex Bowman +20
- Ryan Preece -20
- AJ Allmendinger -59
- Erik Jones -62
- Kyle Busch -63
NASCAR will take Elliott’s car and Christopher Bell’s car back to the R&D Center for further inspection.
Below are the live updates from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono.
Final Stage: NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono
LAP 158: Denny Hamlin is closing in on Chase Briscoe for the lead. Hamlin is tight in traffic and shows it as he wobbles exiting turn three to get two laps to go.
LAP 152: Denny Hamlin is told leader Chase Briscoe is “a half a lap short.” Briscoe is told he can make it.
LAP 145: Chase Briscoe is told he can make it to the end on fuel if he maintains his current fuel economy. He will have to hang on.
LAP 137: Chase Briscoe leads but he is likely short on fuel and saving fuel. Denny Hamlin runs second with Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric and Alex Bowman rounding out the top-10.
TOP-10 AT LAP 128: Briscoe, Hamlin, Blaney, Buescher, Elliott, Larson, Cindric, Nemechek, Berry, Preece. Briscoe has led a race-high 40 laps. Hamlin has led 32.
Caution flies for Shane van Gisbergen spinning on lap 125 as Ryan Blaney pitted with Nemechek, Suarez, Bell and Gibbs.
Leader Chase Briscoe radio: “We’re f-cked on fuel… Save fuel as much as you can.” Briscoe had a fast stop while others had a longer stop for fuel.
Brad Keselowski leads but is upset as this thwarts their strategy. Keselowski, Haley, Busch, Allmendinger, Gilliland, Ware also stayed out.
LAP 123: Blaney, Keselowski, Jones, Nemechek, Suarez, Haley, Bell, Busch, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Gilliland and Ware still stay out.
LAP 122: Leader Chris Buescher pits, as does Austin Dillon. Buescher comes out behind Chase Briscoe. Buescher waited on fuel whereas Briscoe seemingly did not. Denny Hamlin also cycled out ahead of Buescher.
LAP 121: Hamlin, Elliott pit. Logano, Chastain, Gragson, Custer, Stenhouse also pit.
LAP 120: Leader Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece pit for the final time. Carson Hocevar and William Byron too. Byron took two right-side tires.
LAP 119: Austin Cindric, Josh Berry and Alex Bowman pit to kick off green-flag pit stops.
The final pit stop is anticipated to come within the final 42 laps. That means stops could begin on lap 118-119.
LAP 115: Chris Buescher leads three RFK Racing cars in the top-10. Buescher is second, Brad Keselowski is ninth and Ryan Preece is 10th. Another Ford, Ryan Blaney, takes fourth from Chase Elliott. Blaney is the defending Pocono winner.
LAP 108: Josh Berry currently has the bonus point for running the fastest lap of the race. Berry ran around Pocono in 53.040 seconds on lap 90.
LAP 104: Austin Cindric goes to sixth ahead of Kyle Larson who slid Josh Berry up the track in an aggressive move in turn three. Larson hangs on after a big push from Ross Chastain.
Berry has lost so much momentum he now drops to 10th.
LAP 103: Chris Buescher goes for the lead on Chase Briscoe. Buescher has one of the best cars along with Denny Hamlin who runs third.
LAP 102: Chase Briscoe hangs on to the lead. Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain and Ryan Preece round out the top-10. Carson Hocevar runs 11th. Christopher Bell is 24th after getting the free pass.
Tyler Reddick’s team confirmed no cracks in the rotors.
LAP 98: William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Daniel Suarez pitted under the final stage to hopefully take less fuel for their final stop coming.
NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Stage Two Winner: Chase Briscoe
Chase Briscoe wins the second stage in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. It is Briscoe’s first stage win since 2022.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 95): Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar.
LAP 92: Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Dillon pit before the end of the stage. They could restart in the top-four positions when the final stage goes green.
Chase Briscoe hangs on to the lead after a wild restart. He leads Josh Berry, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones and Kyle Larson.
Tyler Reddick is somehow only two laps down after his team changed the right-front brakes. He is not eligible for the free pass as Christopher Bell is ahead of him, one lap down.
LAP 85: Tyler Reddick goes to the garage with a possible brake issue. They are working on the right-front. His teammates had brake issues earlier in the race.
CAUTION AT LAP 84: Kyle Busch slid while racing underneath Zane Smith. Busch spun and collected Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen and Ty Dillon. Bell hit the wall while Dillon sustained damage after getting into Busch. Briscoe, Stenhouse, Hocevar, Byron, Berry, Keselowski, Elliott, Buescher, Jones and Larson is the top-10 with 12 to go in the stage.
Chase Briscoe goes to the lead a lap after the restart — on lap 81. He pitted before the caution, along with Josh Berry who runs fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. grabs second over Carson Hocevar, who took it easy on Stenhouse given their history. Berry now loses fourth to William Byron. Behind them is Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones and Ross Chastain in 10th. Denny Hamlin is stuck in 12th.
OFF PIT ROAD: Logano, Buescher, Hamlin, Jones, Byron, Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Chastain, Gilliland, Zane Smith, Suarez, Kyle Busch.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski stay out as many of the leaders pit, setting up for an interesting end to the second stage considering the top-two’s history. Austin Dillon stayed out too.
TOP-10, CAUTION AT LAP 78: Bowman, Logano, Stenhouse, Hocevar, Buescher, Cindric, Hamlin, Jones, Byron, Larson. Keselowski is up to 16th after a pit-road penalty. Reddick is stuck in 30th after having a longer pit stop to adjust for possible brake issues his teammates had. Three drivers have had brake issues, including Michael McDowell.
LAP 73: Michael McDowell exploded a brake rotor on the frontstretch. No caution flies but Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry pitted in anticipation of one. McDowell said, “Yea it was rotor. Exploded.” He added, “We’re done guys, they won’t let us change rotors.”
TOP-10 AT LAP 71: Bowman, Logano, Stenhouse, Hocevar, Cindric, Buescher, Berry, Hamlin, Haley, Briscoe. Then Jones, Larson, Byron, Chastain and Gilliland run 11th through 15th. Logano, Cindric and Berry will need to pit before the end of the stage — set for lap 95.
Alex Bowman to the lead over Joey Logano on lap 63. Bowman hasn’t won yet this season.
Bowman last pitted on lap 45 and could make it to the end of the stage on fuel. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who pitted on lap 47, could also make it to the end of the stage on fuel.
Behind Stenhouse is arch-nemesis Carson Hocevar, who pitted on lap 58.
OFF PIT ROAD (LAP 59): Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Todd Gilliland, Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Christopher Bell.
Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Haley, Chris Buescher, Todd Gilliland and Michael McDowell stayed out and restarted in front of them.
Blaney topped off on fuel a lap after pitting. He incurred a speeding penalty. Also not up front is Brad Keselowski, who pitted before pits opened. The team claimed they didn’t know pit road was closed and pitted.
CAUTION, LAP 55: Bubba Wallace blows a brake rotor and slams the outside wall in turn two. Before he could even get to pit road, Wallace put the window net down. The caution will set up an opportunity to make it to the end of the stage on fuel.
Denny Hamlin ran teammate Ty Gibbs up the track, shoving Hamlin to fourth and Gibbs to sixth. William Byron takes third behind Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar. Gibbs is being coached by his team to take it easy after the incident.
TOP-10 (LAP 51): Keselowski, Hocevar, Byron, Hamlin, Elliott, Gibbs, Nemechek, Custer, Logano, Bell.
TOP-10 LAP 48: Keselowski, Hocevar, Gibbs, Hamlin, Nemechek, Custer, Elliott, Byron, Suarez, Logano.
LAP 46: Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher and Austin Dillon pitted under caution to top off on gas and not have to take as much fuel when they stop next. Ryan Blaney also pitted. All of those drivers are 18th on back. The stage ends on lap 95, 49 laps from now. Their fuel window is 42 laps. Although, with a couple of cautions to give them better fuel mileage, they may be able to make it to the end of the stage on fuel.
CAUTION, LAP 43: Riley Herbst crashed in turn one and has heavy right-front damage. Herbst blew a tire after letting off for the turn. He is likely done for the day after taking a hard hit, saying “Ohhhhh wow” over the radio. The team will go to the DVP area but they doubt they can fix the car.
TOP-10: Keselowski, Hocevar, Gibbs, Hamlin, Nemechek, Elliott, Custer, Buescher, Suarez, Byron. Keselowski has led since Hamlin led the first 32 laps. The caution comes just outside of everyone’s fuel window.
LAP 42: William Byron cracks the top-10 after starting in the rear of the field. He took 10th from Christopher Bell.
Brad Keselowski grabbed the lead in a crazy start to stage two that saw plenty of two-, three- and even four-wide racing.
TOP-10 on LAP 37: Keselowski, Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek, Denny Hamlin (stage one winner), Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher.
Stage two will end on lap 95.
Carson Hocevar, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Cole Custer, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez stayed out and will lead the field to the green flag in first through seventh. They pitted before stage one ended on lap 30.
Behind them, in eighth through 17th, are Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, Zane Smith, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick.
NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Stage One Winner: Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin won stage one in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 30): Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Zane Smith, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman.
LAP 27: Carson Hocevar, Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer and Ty Gibbs, who ran fifth through eighth now pit. Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek also pit from the fringe of the top-10.
LAP 26: Daniel Suarez pits from just outside of the top-10.
Biggest movers: William Byron +14, Alex Bowman +9, Brad Keselowski +7
LAP 24: Carson Hocevar loses fourth and fifth to Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer after getting so sideways in turn three that the roof flaps deployed. Hocevar battles back but is too unsteady in the turn where he nearly lost it all. He hangs on but Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski now close. Hocevar hangs on to fifth.
LAP 19: Carson Hocevar reports he “is starting to get loose in [turn] 3.” He is back to fourth after a moment in the corner. “Back to work, you were two to three tenths better than these guys, the 45.” He is seven laps away from pitting.
NASCAR CUP SERIES TOP-10 AT LAP 15: Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski.
LAP 13: Chris Buescher is hanging with Denny Hamlin and incrementally closing in on him. The key difference is Buescher is running lower than Hamlin in turn three. That gives him clean air to get more grip and exercise the strength of his car. The only concern is the wear on the tires running a land that requires more wheel in it.
As this update goes through, Buescher runs high and gets a run that carries himself to Hamlin’s rear bumper.
LAP 9: William Byron is up to 20th on lap nine after starting 31st. He has made up the most ground of anyone who started in the rear. Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Ty Dillon, Cody Ware and Brennan Poole also started in the rear. Poole had a pass-through penalty after the first lap.
LAP 5: Chase Briscoe takes fifth from Cole Custer. He is fast but not as fast As Carson Hocevar, who has run the fastest lap of any driver in the first five laps. Hocevar runs behind Chris Buescher who has closed on Denny Hamlin for the lead.
LAP 1: Denny Hamlin leads lap one over Chris Buescher and Carson Hocevar who made a three-wide move into turn one to get to third. Rounding out the top-10 is Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell.
Nemechek dropped from fourth to ninth after getting shuffled out in turn one. Reddick made up spots after a big move editing turn one.
Stage one is 30 laps long.
According to NASCAR, the predetermined race end time is 8:25 p.m. ET. If they are still racing at that time, the leader will hit the line and have two laps to go — no matter what lap they are on (as long as it is after halfway).
Kurt Busch gave the command to start the engines for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono. The honor is some redemption for Busch, who unexpectedly saw his career come to an end after a qualifying crash at Pocono in 2022. Busch will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January.
NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Rain Delay
The rain has lifted and the sun is out, according to NASCAR.
Here is the schedule NASCAR provided to TRE:
- Driver Introductions: 3:50:00 p.m. (all times Eastern)
- Anthem Package: 4:11:00 p.m.
- Command: 4:19:00 p.m.
- Green Flag: 4:30:00 p.m.
- The sun sets at 8:38 p.m. ET.
As of 2:19 p.m. ET, the rain is dissipating as it gets closer to the track, according to RaceWeather. That is making the hopeful race start time more likely. Track drying is underway, according to NASCAR.
Pocono has been notorious for rain, especially when the races run in June. The 2000s and early-2010s saw a multi-year stretch where races were either delayed or postponed.
Once the race goes green, this will be the 17th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Nine races remain until the playoffs.
STAGE ONE
The race is 160 laps with the stages ending on laps 30, 95 and 160. Ryan Blaney is the defending winner.
Denny Hamlin will start on the pole with Chris Buescher starting second. Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez round out the top-10 starters.
William Byron paced the field in practice but crashed in qualifying and will start in the rear of the field. Blaney, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Ty Dillon, Cody Ware and Brennan Poole will also go to the rear of the field.
Poole’s No. 44 car failed pre-race tech inspection three times and passed on the fourth attempt. NASCAR ejected car chief Mark Labretone, revoked pit selection for the team, didn’t allow Poole to qualify and mandated he receive a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag Sunday.
Here is the lineup and practice results:
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com