Points race tightening as drivers tackle Pocono's 'Tricky Triangle'

As the drivers move north to Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Cup Series continues an exciting stretch with the points race having tightened significantly.

Sunday's Great American Getaway 400 in Long Pond, Pa., will be the usual distance of 160 times around the odd, tri-cornered track design.

It also marks the fifth consecutive one-race season for the 2.5-mile speedway affectionately called the Tricky Triangle.

The 400-mile event will be the fourth one broadcast by Prime Video thus far, following the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte then Nashville and Michigan.

Prime has two more races on its schedule, Pocono and the inaugural road racing event at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on June 21.

The second-year broadcast team featuring Adam Alexander, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte has displayed its strength in its racing knowledge and in-depth racing analysis -- informative in the pre-race, race and post-race settings.

Last weekend's numbers in Michigan's Irish Hills were not as stunning as Denny Hamlin's 11.11-second victory over Michigan's Erik Jones. The No. 11 driver took control in the final 39 laps and zoomed away to the largest margin of victory since Davey Allison smoked the field by 11.72 seconds in 1991.

Prime's coverage did draw 2.07 million viewers, a 17% increase from last year's comparable figures and reinforcing the crew as the new gold standard in NASCAR broadcasting.

Hamlin's bid to win a third straight race for the first time in his career got off a good start on Saturday.

In the qualifying session for the 400-mile race, the No. 11 Toyota driver bumped Daniel Suarez's No. 7 Chevrolet off the pole by turning a lap in 51.948 seconds.

That time was good enough for his third consecutive top qualifying spot, his track record sixth at Pocono and 51st of his career.

Kyle Larson (52.003) will slot beside Hamlin on Row 1.

Rounding out the top-five qualifiers are Suarez plus Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe.

Hamlin, a 63-time winner, has seven victories at Pocono, one more than four-time series champ Jeff Gordon and the most all-time at the track. The Toyota driver's last win there was in 2023.

Briscoe is the defending race winner, while Ryan Blaney won two years ago. Toyota has left the honeymoon and vacation haven with nine of the past 13 checkered flags.

In the standings, second-place Hamlin closed his deficit to leader Tyler Reddick and is minus-51 after the No. 45 driver -- Hamlin's 23XI Racing driver -- finished a season-worst 35th at Michigan and admitted the margin may soon shrink more.

"All year long we've done a really good job of staying out of messes like this," Reddick said after wrecking out on Lap 83. "We were trying to open (the lead) up on the 11 after losing a little bit of ground. ... Pocono's not going to be great."

The biggest mover going up the grid was Reddick's teammate Bubba Wallace, whose third-place finish advanced him four spots to 11th.

Christopher Bell dropped three spots to 10th and also fractured his wrist in a violent wreck with Chase Elliott while fighting for the runner-up spot.

The accident was the hardest in the four-year history of the NextGen car and most vicious since the 2015 season, but the No. 20 is cleared for Sunday.

Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 Ford, revealed Wednesday that he and iconic Wood Brothers Racing will part ways after two seasons. NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champ Jesse Love, 21, may get that seat.

While the triangular track is known for gapped and lengthy green-flag runs, longstanding images of crazy clashes (see Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeremy Mayfield in 2000) and violent wrecks (Allison, Richard Petty, Steve Park and Jeff Gordon) are part of its history.

Memories are made in the Poconos.

--Field Level Media

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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 3:43 PM.