Denny Hamlin wins third straight NASCAR race and 8th career at Pocono

Denny Hamlin continued his mastery of Pocono Raceway, overtaking Christopher Bell with five laps to go to win the Great American Getaway 400.

It was Hamlin's record eighth career win at Pocono – and his third consecutive checkered flag this NASCAR Cup season, following wins at Nashville and Michigan.

At age 45, Hamlin is the oldest full-time driver in the Cup series, but he's showing no signs of slowing down.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver now has four wins this season, including a victory at Las Vegas in March. It was also the 64th win of his NASCAR Cup Series career, breaking a tie with his former teammate Kyle Busch for ninth on the all-time list.

"(I got my) first win here, so special here," Hamlin said. "Just so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team. The pit crew is flawless right now. We got it all going."

The race was moved up two hours to a 1 p.m. ET start with inclement weather forecasted for the area. Hamlin ended up beating the rain and the rest of the field as he also won the race's first stage.

"We come to the racetrack every week knowing we got a great shot to win," Hamlin said. "The team’s doing an amazing job giving me exactly what I need in the car every single week. That’s why we’re winning."

He's now only 19 points behind leader Tyler Reddick in the season standings. The 23XI Racing driver finished second at Pocono behind Hamlin and leads the series with five wins this season.

William Byron finished third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Larson.

Here's how the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway unfolded:

Final standings for Great American Getaway 400

Here are the leading finishers at Pocono Raceway, with starting positions in parentheses, driver, car number and car make:

1. (1) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
2. (16) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
3. (9) William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
4. (8) John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
5. (5) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet

▶ POCONO RESULTS: Click here for full results from The Great American Getaway 400.

NASCAR Pocono race highlights

Watch extended highlights from Sunday's Great American Getaway 400:

Christopher Bell hoping to win on fuel mileage

By conserving fuel, Christopher Bell may have a chance to outsmart the rest of the field by bypassing a final pit stop and stretching his fuel supply to the limit.

It appears Bell will attempt to go the final 51 laps on one tank of gas − without the benefit of a caution − to outdistance Denny Hamlin and William Byron to the checkered flag.

This may go down to the wire and create a dramatic finish.

Hamlin moves back into the lead

On a track where he's dominated throughout his NASCAR Cup career, Denny Hamlin back is in a familiar spot.

The seven-time winner at Pocono moved ahead of John Hunter Nemecheck on the restart at Lap 111 and extended his margin to five seconds as he made his way into clean air. It appears to be Hamlin's race to lose now with 40 laps remaining and one more round of pit stops to go.

Todd Gilliland wins Stage 2

The drivers are setting themselves up for the stretch run with a series of pit stops right before the conclusion of the race's second stage.

That jockeying opened the door for Todd Gilliland to win a stage for the first time in his NASCAR Cup career.

Stage 2 results

1. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
2. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
3. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
4. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
5. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet

Major pileup on Lap 47

Josh Berry creates a big mess exiting Turn 3 by bumping Shane Van Gisbergen and creating a multicar crash.

Noah Gragson, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch were all collected in the aftermath.

Zane Smith hits the inside wall

While battling in the top five, Zane Smith wobbled in his Ford and lost control in Turn 1. He skidded down the track and hit the inside wall to bring out the caution flag.

Denny Hamlin wins Stage 1

As many of the drivers decided to pit just before the end of the first stage, pole-sitter Denny Hamlin remained on the track to earn the 10 bonus points in the season standings.

Hamlin lost the lead on the opening lap as Kyle Larson jumped out in front, but when the pair came up on lapped traffic on Lap 24, Hamlin took advantage to move past Larson.

Stage 1 results

1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
3. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
4. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
5. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford

What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Pocono start?

The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Pocono on?

The Great American Getaway 400 will be broadcast exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. That means there is no national TV broadcast for the race. MRN will carry live radio coverage.

Pocono pays tribute to Kyle Busch, Ned Jarrett

The NASCAR community is still mourning the recent losses of past champions Kyle Busch and Ned Jarrett. There were several tributes to the men at Pocono Raceway on Sunday before the checkered flag dropped.

Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Pocono?

Yes, the Great American Getaway 400 will be streamed on Prime Video, with pre-race coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET. Individual driver cameras can be watched on HBO Max.

How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Pocono?

The Great American Getaway 400 is 160 laps around the 2.5-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: Ends on Lap 30 (30 laps); Stage 2: Ends on Lap 95 (65 laps); Stage 3: Ends on Lap 160 (65 laps_.

Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Pocono last year?

Following a weather delay, Chase Briscoe outdueled JGR teammate Denny Hamlin for the victory. Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota led 72 laps on the day, and it would be the first of three races that he would win in the 2025 season, later taking checkered flags at Darlington and Talladega.

What is the lineup for the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono?

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
3. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevroelt
4. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
6. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford
7. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota
8. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
9. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
10. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
12. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
13. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
14. (33) Austin Hill, Chevrolet
15. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet
16. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
17. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford
18. (38) Zane Smith, Ford
19. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
20. (21) Josh Berry, Ford
21. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
22. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
23. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
24. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
25. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
26. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
27. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
28. (88) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet
29. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
30. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford
31. (97) Shane van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
32. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
33. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet
34. (78) Daniel Dye, Chevrolet
35. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford
36. (62) Casey Mears, Chevrolet
37. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
38. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota