The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be making the trek to Long Pond, Pennsylvania this weekend for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 on Saturday, July 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET (USA Network, the NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Pocono Raceway is a relatively new track on the Xfinity Series schedule, having only hosted seven races. There has been seven different race winners and four different pole winners. Only one race has been won from the pole position – Cole Custer in 2019.
Erik Jones set the qualifying record at the track in 2016 with a speed of 175.926 mph and Brad Keselowski set the race record in 2017 with a speed of 135.583 mph.
Amongst those entered this weekend, Justin Allgaier, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones are the only full-time Xfinity Series drivers that have made every start at the track and will make their eighth start at the track this weekend.
NASCAR Xfinity drivers will kick off with practice on Friday, July 21 at 3:35 p.m. ET followed by Pole Qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET on the USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Explore The Pocono Mountains 225
The Place: Pocono Raceway
The Date: Sunday, July 22
The Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,411,027
TV: USA, 5 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 225 miles (90 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 90)
Will the Xfinity Series different winners streak at Pocono Raceway continue?
It appears no one has been able to conquer the Tricky Triangle more than once as Pocono Raceway has yet to see a repeat winner in Victory Lane. Only one of the seven former winners will have the opportunity to break the streak, Cole Custer, as he is the only previous winner entered in this weekend’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 (Saturday, July 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The three-turn, 2.5-mile paved Pocono Raceway has seen a different driver in Victory Lane every year since Kyle Larson won the inaugural event in 2016. Since then, Brad Keselowski (2017), Kyle Busch (2018), Cole Custer (2019), Chase Briscoe (2020), Austin Cindric (2021) and Noah Gragson (2022) have all hoisted a trophy in the famed Victory Lane.
Custer heads into the weekend with four Pocono starts under his belt, posting one win (2019), two top fives and four top 10s. Although he has done well in all of his starts, they don’t call Pocono Raceway the Tricky Triangle for nothing, and he will have his work cut out for him if he plans to become the track’s first repeat winner in the Xfinity Series.
One driver striving to keep the streak alive is JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier. The 37-year-old driver has proved he has speed on the 2.5-mile track, snagging the pole in last year’s race. In his seven starts, he’s posted two top fives and four top 10s.
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric is another driver who is sure to push to keep the Pocono different winners streak alive this weekend and break his own 51-race winless streak (his last win was the Championship Race in Phoenix in 2021). In his five starts at the Tricky Triangle, he’s posted one top-five and four top-10 finishes.
Last season, the JR Motorsports team, which consisted of Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Sam Mayer, was one to be reckoned with, winning 14 of the 33 races (42.4%) on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule. This season, it seems that the team, which includes Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones, is having some trouble finding their footing and landing in Victory Lane, having only recorded one win thus far (Justin Allgaier – Charlotte). But their luck might turn around this weekend as the drivers have performed well at the track in their respective starts.
Allgaier has posted two top fives and four top 10s in his seven starts. He’s come extremely close to tasting victory at the 2.5-mile track, finishing runner-up in 2017.
Berry doesn’t have quite the experience that Allgaier has at Pocono Raceway but has proved his skill at the track. In his track debut in 2021, he raced his way up to a ninth-place finish after starting in the 33rd position and last season, he finished in third.
Like Berry, Mayer is still new to racing at the three-turn track. In his first year running in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a part time schedule (2021), he posted an 18th-place finish then came back last season with a little more experience under his belt and finished sixth.
Jones is still figuring out how to conquer the Tricky Triangle. In his seven starts, he’s posted two top 10s (best finish of seventh in 2021).
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Standings: Five spots still sit open with eight to go
With yet another win by Joe Gibb’s Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his fourth of the season, drivers now have eight opportunities to snag one of the five remaining Playoff spots.
The following seven drivers have already earned their spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by virtue of their wins: John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton.
Currently in the eighth spot in the Playoff outlook is JR Motorsport’s Josh Berry, who made it the Championship 4 Round of the Playoffs last season. Berry has posted seven top fives and 11 top 10s this season thus far and is currently 105 points above the postseason cutline. Berry has made two starts at Pocono in the Xfinity Series posting one top five and two top 10s.
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric moved up a slot in the standings after posting a top five-finish last weekend at New Hampshire. He is now in the ninth spot, up +71 points on Parker Kligerman in the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff (13th). The 2021 Xfinity Series champion has put up three top fives and 10 top 10s this season, and if he can hold on to a postseason spot, he will look to make the Playoffs for the fifth time in his career (2017-18 and 2012-22).
Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed slides into the 10th position in the Playoff outlook, up +45 points on the postseason cutline. This season, he has collected two top fives, six top 10s and a pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 25-year-old has only made one start at Pocono Raceway, posting a fifth-place finish.
JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer, now sitting in the 11th spot in the Playoff outlook, is +63 points above the cutline. He’s made two starts at the Tricky Triangle, posting one top 10-finish.
Sitting in the final transfer spot on points (12th) in the Playoff outlook is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst, who is still on the hunt for his first win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He’s made three starts at Pocono with a best finish of ninth (2020).
Parker Kligerman, who is right below the cutline, sits 18 points back from Herbst. He will be making his debut at the track this weekend.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Cole Custer heads to his third Cup Series start of 2023 – SHR’s Cole Custer, who ran a full-time Cup Series schedule last season, made a deal to pilot the No. 51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing for three Cup Series races this season. His first race came a couple of weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway where he finished 32nd and his second came last weekend at New Hampshire, where he fell victim to a crash and finished 35th.
He will join the No. 51 Ford team again this weekend at Pocono Raceway. He’s made six Cup Series Pocono starts with a best finish of 17th twice (2020 & 2022).
Daniel Suárez to join Kaulig Racing at Pocono – NASCAR Cup Series regular Daniel Suárez will be joining the Kaulig Racing team to pilot the No. 10 Chevrolet at Pocono Raceway this weekend. This will be Suárez’s second Xfinity Series start of the 2023 season.
The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, Suárez, has made two Xfinity Series starts at Pocono Raceway, posting one top five and two top 10s.
Ryan Vargas to join 3F Racing – Ryan Vargas, who runs a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series, has signed with 3F Racing as Director of Team and Driver Development. He will also be the team’s reserve driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“3F Racing is committed to growing their footprint in the NASCAR environment and this Late Model program is their first step in doing so,” said Vargas. “I’m very excited to go to work with these young drivers as well as have the opportunity to travel and be a part of the organization’s Cup Series endeavors.”
The team has partnered with Lee Faulk Racing, a Late Model program out of Denver, NC, to prepare cars for tests and races.