WHAT: NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 225, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150 and ARCA Menards Series Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150.
WHERE: Pocono Raceway, a 2.5-mile tri-oval in Long Pond, Pa.
WHEN: Friday-Saturday.
BROADCASTS:
- AMS Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 | Friday @ 6 p.m. ET | TV – FS1 | Radio – MRN, SiriusXM.
- NCTS CRC Brakleen 150 | Saturday @ Noon | TV – FS1 | Radio – MRN, SiriusXM.
- NXS Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 | Saturday @ 5:30 p.m. | TV – USA Network | Radio – MRN, SiriusXM.
RACE LENGTHS:
- AMS Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 | 60 laps | 150 miles.
- NCTS CRC Brakleen 150 | 60 laps | 150 miles.
- NXS Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 | 90 laps | 225 miles.
FEATURED WEEKEND EVENT: HighPoint.com 400 NASCAR Cup Series race, Sunday (2:30 p.m., TV: USA, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM).
ENTRY LIST LINKS:
- AMS Sunset Hill Shooting Range (driver list)
- NCTS CRC Brakleen 150
- NXS Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
2022 RACE WINNERS:
- AMS Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 | Taylor Gray | David Gilliland Racing
- NCTS CRC Brakleen 150 | Chandler Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports
- NXS Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports
2022 POLE WINNERS:
- AMS Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 | Sammy Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports
- NCTS CRC Brakleen 150 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports
- NXS Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports
2022 RACE RECAPS:
- AMS General Tire Delivers 200: Taylor Gray, the 17-year-old driver for David Gilliland Racing, was declared the winner of the General Tire Delivers 200 when the ARCA Menards Series race was called 16 laps early due to encroaching darkness. Gray was in the lead when the final caution came out with 64 of the 80 laps complete and officials made the decision to call the race at that point. He was a worthy winner, having dominated the race after going a lap down after a slow pit stop during the first of two scheduled race breaks. He would rebound to lead a race-high 38 laps en route to his third win of the season. Nick Sanchez of Rev Racing finished second and Xfinity Series fulltime competitor Brandon Jones finished third for Joe Gibbs Racing. Full race results
- NCTS CRC Brakleen 150: Chandler Smith, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, turned in a dominant performance in the CRC Brakleen 150 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race for his second win of the season. Smith started second and led 49 of the 60 laps to become just the second multiple race winner on the season. He took the lead from Ryan Preece of David Gilliland Racing on Lap 47 and held him off by .262 of a second at the line after leading the final 14 laps. John Hunter Nemechek took third for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Polesitter Zane Smith finished 13th but it was enough to allow him to clinch the regular-season series championship. Full race results
- NXS Explore the Pocono Mountains 225: Noah Gragson outlasted Ty Gibbs in a dramatic duel in the closing stages of the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 by .281 of a second to secure the victory. Gragson, driving for JR Motorsports, and Gibbs, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, went toe to toe in the final 15 laps with the duo staying within .3 of a second of each other. Gragson was able to stave off Gibbs to claim his career-high third win on the season. It also marked the seventh win in the last 11 NXS races for JR Motorsports. Led by Gragson, the organization also took four of the top seven finishing positions in the race with Josh Berry third, Sam Mayer sixth and polesitter Justin Allgaier seventh. Full race results
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES NOTES
John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing is coming off his series-leading fourth win – and second in a row – this past Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Nemechek also leads the series in top-10 finishes (15) and laps led (597) and co-shares the lead in top-five finishes (10) with Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing. Nemechek is the Xfinity Series points leader by 33 over Hill and 60 over third-place Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports. … There have been 11 different winners through 18 races, including four multiple-race winners consisting of Nemechek, Hill (3), Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer (2) and Cup Series fulltime competitor AJ Allmendinger (2). The other winners are full-time NXS competitors Allgaier, Chandler Smith of Kaulig Racing, Sammy Smith of Joe Gibbs Racing and Jeb Burton of Jordan Anderson Racing along with Cup regulars Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola and part-time NXS driver Ryan Truex of JGR. … Chase Elliott will be making his first Xfinity Series start in nearly two years as he is scheduled to drive the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225. His last start came in August of 2021 for JR Motorsports in the Indianapolis Grand Prix, where he finished fourth on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. In 82 Xfinity Series career starts, Elliott has five victories, 34 top-five finishes, 66 top 10s and two poles.
RACE HISTORY NOTES
The NASCAR Xfinity Series has competed seven times at Pocono Raceway. The first race was held in 2016 and won by Kyle Larson. … There have been seven different winners through the first seven races at Pocono. … Justin Allgaier, Jeremy Clements, Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones have competed in all seven races. … Cole Custer has been dominant in his four career starts, with an average starting position of 5.3 and average finishing position of 5.8. He owns a win, two pole positions, a pair of top-five efforts and a perfect 4-for-4 in top-10 finishes. … Custer and Allgaier lead active drivers in top-five finishes with two each. Allgaier, Custer and Daniel Hemric are tops in top-10 finishes with four each. … Six of the seven race winners have started among the top nine. The only driver to start outside of that was Austin Cindric, who won after starting 13th in 2021. … Ford owns the most manufacturer wins with four. Chevrolet has two and Toyota one. … Six of the previous seven winners of this race currently are competing in the NASCAR Cup Series – Larson (2016), Brad Keselowski (2017), Kyle Busch (2019), Chase Briscoe (2020), Cindric (2021) and Noah Gragson (2022). Custer, the 2018 winner, competed in the Cup Series as recently as 2022.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES NOTES
The CRC Brakleen 150 is the first of two remaining regular-season races in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The season finale is Saturday, July 29, at Richmond. … Despite missing a race due to illness, Corey Heim of TRICON Garage is leading the regular-season championship by 26 points over Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports. Ty Majeski of ThorSport Racing is third, 51 points behind. … Heim is the series leader for top-10 finishes (11), laps led (372), stage wins (5) and co-leader for victories (2). Smith leads the series in top-five finishes (7) and a co-leader for wins (2). … Six of the 10 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff berths already have been secured by virtue of victories. Two-time winners Heim, Smith, Grant Enfinger of GMS Racing, Christian Eckes of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and Carson Hocevar of Niece Motorsports, along with solo winner Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing, have clinched spots. Currently in the 7-10 positions, respectively, in the projected Playoffs are Ty Majeski of ThorSport, Nicholas Sanchez of Rev Racing, Matt DiBenedetto of Rackley WAR Racing and Matt Crafton of ThorSport. … Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will be competing in the CRC Brakleen 150, driving the No. 51 Zariz Transportation Chevrolet Silverado for Kyle Busch Motorsports. The organization has dominated at Pocono Raceway as KBM enters this weekend having won three consecutive NCTS races and seven of the last eight at “The Tricky Triangle.” Busch has two of those victories, winning in 2015 and again in ’18. The only blemish since 2015 was a victory by Ross Chastain for Niece Motorsports in 2019.
RACE HISTORY NOTES
The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series has competed 13 times at Pocono, with the first race being in 2010 and won by Elliott Sadler. … Matt Crafton is the only driver to start in all 13 races. Norm Benning and Johnny Sauter are tied for second with 12. … Crafton also is the all-time leader in top-10 finishes with eight. … Kyle Busch is the only multiple winner of this race, earning victories in 2015 and ’18. He is the all-time leader in top-five finishes (4) and laps led (148). … There have been 13 different pole winners in 13 races. … Zane Smith, last year’s pole sitter, has an average starting position of 3.3 in three career starts. … Tyler Ankrum has three top-10 finishes, including a pair of top-five efforts, in four career starts. His best finish is second in 2019. … Toyota has won seven of the last eight. Overall, Toyota has seven wins, Chevrolet five and Ford one.
ARCA MENARDS SERIES NOTES
The Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 marks the midway point of the 20-race ARCA Menards Series season. … Jesse Love, an 18-year-old Californian who drives the No. 20 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports, has been dominant through the first nine races of the season. Love is the championship points leader and paces the series in wins (4), top-five finishes (7), top-10 finishes (8) and laps led (674). Love’s laps led are nearly 400 more than his closest competitor. He also co-shares the lead for pole positions (3) with William Sawalich of Joe Gibbs Racing. The two-time AMS West champion has an average starting position of 4.0 and finishing position of 5.2. … Luke Fenhaus of the Pinnacle Racing Group became the sixth different winner in nine events with this past Saturday’s victory at Iowa Speedway. Fenhaus took advantage of a late restart to overtake a dominant Sawalich and lead the final two laps for the win. Up to that point, Sawalich had led all 154 laps. … Former “Malcom in the Middle” television star Frankie Muniz is contending for rookie-of-the-year honors as well as the series championship. Muniz, the 37-year-old actor who drives the No. 30 Ford for Rette Jones Racing, is second in the championship as he trails Love by 49 points. Muniz has seven top-10 finishes, with a best of sixth on four occasions, through the first nine races. He has been solid in both qualifying and finishes, averaging a 9.0 starting position and 8.6 finishing position. … Andres Perez De Lara, an 18-year-old native of Mexico City, is third in the series championship, trailing Love by 63 points and Muniz by 14. Perez De Lara, who drives the No. 2 Chevrolet for Rev Racing, is still looking for his first win but has posted seven top-10 finishes, including four among the top five. His best finish is fourth on three occasions. … Toni Breidinger, who has made three starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series this season with TRICON Garage, returns again to the ARCA Menards Series to compete in the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150. The 23-year-old Californian, who drives the No. 55 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports, is coming off a strong performance last week at Iowa, where she matched her career-best start (fourth) and finish (fifth). She established both career bests at Berlin (Conn.) Raceway in June. She becomes the fourth female driver in ARCA Menards Series history to have multiple top-five finishes, joining Erin Crocker-Evernham, Hailie Deegan, and Natalie Decker.
RACE HISTORY NOTES
This will be the 70th ARCA race held at Pocono Raceway. The first was held in 1983 and won by Bob Schacht. … Brad Smith is the active leader in starts with 38. His first came in 1988. Smith’s best finish is 12th (2005). … Bret Holmes has four top-10 finishes, including a pair in the top five, in his last four starts. His best finish of fourth came in his last appearance in 2020. … The race winner has started among the top three in five of the last six races. In the last 10 races, Harrison Burton is the only driver to start outside of the top five and win this race. He started 12th en route to his victory in 2018. … Tim Steele holds the all-time records for wins (9) and poles (6) while Frank Kimmel holds the records for top-five (21) and top-10 (31) finishes. Bobby Gerhart is the all-time starts leader with 61. … Toyota has won five of the last seven races.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, July 21
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice
12:30 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series qualifying
1:35 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series practice
2:05 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series qualifying
3:35 p.m. – 4:05 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice
4:05 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying
6:00 p.m. – ARCA Menards Series Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 (60 laps | 150 miles)
Saturday, July 22
12:00 p.m.: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150 (60 laps | 150 miles)
2:35 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series practice
3:20 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series qualifying
5:30 p.m. – NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 (90 laps | 225 miles)
Sunday, July 23
2:30 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series HighPoint.com 400 (160 laps | 400 miles)
Note: All times are Eastern/local.
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