Denny Hamlin scored his fourth victory of 2026 Sunday (June 14) at Pocono Raceway, passing Christopher Bell for the lead with four laps to go as Bell saved fuel.
Bell finished 26th after running out of fuel with two laps to go. He and crew chief Adam Stevens were trying to save enough to get to the end of the race.
Hamlin, who started on the pole, led William Byron after the final round of green flag pit stops with just under 40 laps to go. Byron closed the gap to Hamlin to under a second during the race’s final run but didn’t have enough to get around him.
“So special here,” Hamlin told Prime Video. “Pocono has mastered the fan experience. This whole team has done an amazing job. So happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team. The pit crew is flawless right now. We just have it all going.”
Hamlin passed Busch for ninth on the all-time wins list.
Tyler Reddick, Byron, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Reddick fought his way to second but lost 32 points to Hamlin in the points standings.
“When you go that long, it all kind of falls to how you catch cars,” Reddick said. “I think we definitely lost a second and a half there when we just took the tires and caught the 9 and 17. Lap down cars side by side. We definitely lost time, a couple spots there. Everyone is racing hard for track position. Some of it’s just bad luck, I guess, where you catch cars. I mean, if the 11 wasn’t the winner, you could consider this a good day. 35 points just aren’t enough right now.”
“I think this is probably the first time in four months that I’ve been able to drive the car this way, just to be able to make moves and have the balance stay with me,” Byron said. “Yeah, just really appreciate everybody on our race team. The 24 group has been working really hard. Appreciate everyone back at Hendrick Motorsports, trusting our tools, the things we can use.”
Hamlin passed Kyle Larson for the race lead with five laps left in stage one and went on to earn the stage victory.
Zane Smith crashed while racing Hamlin on lap 41.
On lap 47, a multi-car crash occurred on the exit of turn 4 after Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Berry tangled. Brad Keselowski hit the wall hard, while Bubba Wallace spun but was able to continue. Joey Logano, Noah Gragson and Connor Zilisch were also involved.
“Tore the front end off, I didn’t have a chance to do anything,” Keselowski said.
Todd Gilliland went on to win stage two after saving enough gas to earn the first stage victory of his Cup Series career.
Casey Mears brought out the first yellow of stage three after losing a wheel on lap 106.
NASCAR Cup Series Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Results
The Cup Series will compete in San Diego on a street course at Naval Base Coronado on June 21. Race coverage will begin at 4 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.
Most boring track on the schedule. Took a nap after stage 1. Wont bother to watch the rest.