Hamlin Wins Third Straight at Pocono

Denny Hamlin, a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, secured his record-setting eighth NASCAR Cup Series victory at the 2.5-mile Pocono track during the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA. Hamlin's No. 11 JGR Toyota triumphed over Tyler Reddick's No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota by 1.678 seconds in a strategic fuel-saving finish.

This victory marks the first time in Hamlin's 21-year full-time career that he has won three consecutive races—following successes in Nashville, Michigan, and now Pocono. The 45-year-old Virginian now boasts 64 series wins, placing him ninth on NASCAR's all-time list and surpassing his former teammate, the late two-time series champion Kyle Busch.

"I’m incredibly happy for the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team," Hamlin stated. "This success is a team effort. They've provided me with fast cars, and the pit crew has been flawless. Everything is coming together perfectly."

Hamlin expressed his team's confidence, noting, "This is certainly the best we've been. We arrive at the track each week knowing we have a great chance to win. The team excels at understanding what I need in the car, which is why we're achieving these victories."

With only 10 races remaining to determine the 16-driver Chase field, Hamlin's winning streak has significantly reduced Reddick's previous triple-digit lead in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Reddick now leads by just 19 points over Hamlin, who co-owns

Reddick's team with NBA legend Michael Jordan. This marks the narrowest margin atop the standings this year for the five-race winner Reddick.

"It's disappointing," Reddick admitted, after advancing from fifth to second place in the final laps despite concerns about a tire issue during a late-race restart.

"We lost time in several areas. Some of it was due to everyone racing hard for position, and some was just bad luck with car placements," he explained.

"Qualifying was challenging, and we couldn't secure stage points. The points we earned weren't enough," Reddick added.

Hamlin's JGR teammate, Christopher Bell, employed a fuel-saving strategy in the closing laps but was overtaken by Hamlin with four laps to go and ran out of fuel just as the field took the white flag, finishing 26th. Bell was competing with a broken left wrist from a previous accident in Michigan.

"We were stuck in the 20s, so it was an impressive call," Bell said of the strategy, describing the risk as "worth it."

William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports finished third in the No. 24 Chevrolet, followed by John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club, achieving his best finish of the season. Nemechek led a race-high 42 laps, surpassing his total from the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined.

Kyle Larson from Hendrick Motorsports finished fifth, leading early laps. Erik Jones from Legacy Motor Club claimed sixth—his second consecutive top-10 finish—followed by Chris Buescher from Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Ross Chastain from Trackhouse Racing, Ty Gibbs from JGR, and Ryan Blaney from Team Penske.

Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports finished 11th, narrowly missing a fifth consecutive Pocono top 10. Hamlin won Stage 1, while Todd Gilliland from Front Row Motorsports secured his first career stage victory by winning Stage 2.

As the regular season nears its conclusion, the battle for the 16 championship spots is intense. Shane van Gisbergen from Trackhouse Racing is 14th, 10 points ahead of 17th-place Brad Keselowski. Jones and Austin Cindric are 15th and 16th, respectively, only four points above the cutoff. Joey Logano from Team Penske is 21 points behind the 16th position.

The NASCAR Cup Series will feature a tripleheader weekend in Southern California, culminating in the inaugural Anduril 250 next Sunday at the Qualcomm Circuit on Naval Base Coronado.

Note: Post-race inspection for the NASCAR Cup Series confirmed Hamlin as the race winner. Six cars will undergo further inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, this week: the Nos. 5, 7, 12, 17, 42, and 45.

Stage 2 Recap

Todd Gilliland managed to stretch his fuel over the final 44 laps to win Stage 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono, marking his first career stage win.

Chase Briscoe secured second place, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to complete the top five. Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suárez, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott finished in the top 10.

After short-pitting the opening stage, Nemechek led the second stage briefly before Tyler Reddick took the lead at Lap 39.

In a battle with Hamlin for a top-five position, Zane Smith spun at Turn 1, hitting the inside

Following the restart, Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Berry collided exiting Turn 3, leading to a multi-car crash. Bubba Wallace spun in front of Keselowski, resulting in a collision. Noah Gragson, Christopher Bell, Austin Hill, and Connor Zilisch were also involved. Keselowski and Gragson retired from the race.

During the caution, over half the field pitted, including Reddick, handing the lead back to Nemechek.

Nemechek led 33 laps until pitting at Lap 78, with 17 laps remaining in Stage 2. Most cars that pitted earlier stayed on track, cycling those on a different strategy to the rear, giving Elliott the lead. Hamlin reclaimed the lead at Lap 88, but pit stops began soon after.

Kyle Larson was the first to pit, followed by leaders Hamlin and Elliott at Lap 91. Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs pitted a lap later, with Austin Cindric and Bell pitting before the stage break.