The Great American Getaway 400: Chase Briscoe dominates Pocono, wins first race with JGR

LONG POND, Pa. — After leading 72 of 160 laps in The Great American Getaway 400, Chase Briscoe dominated the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway en route to his third career win and first victory with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Briscoe earned his first stage win since Watkins Glen in 2022 and held off JGR teammate Denny Hamlin to bring the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota to Victory Lane at the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle.”

“I was just making sure he didn’t get close enough to do something with me,” Briscoe said about the fuel mileage finish. “It was hard because I was only running 50%. You are running hard enough to maintain the lead, but also to save fuel. The truth is I’ve never been in that position before, it was kind of trial by fire. Amazing job by all the Bass Pro Shops guys, we had a really, really good car. I think I had James (Small, crew chief) was a bit worried when I went too early and I just did everything I could to make it back up and I’m glad we are finally in Victory Lane.

“It’s huge. Anytime you go to a new team you want to show them why they picked you — especially with Christopher (Bell) and Denny (Hamlin) winning three races already this year. I’ve been kind of miserable the last two weeks and Marissa (wife) was asking me what was wrong, and I needed to win. I can’t miss the playoffs in this car, but to finally be able to win a race and lock ourselves into the playoffs is definitely a huge relief. Just a great day for us, just super thankful for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops who took a shot on me and I’ve finally been able to pay him back.”

Hamlin, the most successful driver in Pocono history, came ever so close to winning his eighth race at the Pennsylvania track. However, after leading the first 32 laps and winning Stage 1, he was unable to regain the lead and ultimately finished runner-up to his teammate.

“When five cars pitted and then the caution came and the No. 19 and a bunch of guys jumped in front of us, I knew it would be really hard to give that track position back,” Hamlin said. “It was just so hard to pass, so we did all we could we were just next best in line.”

Hamlin also discussed the fuel mileage and how he tried to push Briscoe hard enough so that he would run out of fuel. He also mentioned that he was racing with a heavy heart.

“It was the best option,” Hamlin said. “It definitely was going to be difficult. There was a key moment when the No. 19 and some other guys pitted and the caution came out and leaped him in front of us. At that point, we knew it was going to be really hard to pass those guys back on the race track. Team did a great job, next best in line there of our strategy, it just didn’t work out. I want to send my condolences to the FedEx family and the Smith family for the loss of Fred Smith. He was such a big part of Joe Gibbs Racing since the inception of this No. 11 car and my career, so thank you to the FedEx family and Fred Smith’s family.”

This was also Hamlin’s first race back after missing Mexico City due to the birth of his son, Jameson. Hamlin said he felt rusty initially after taking the week off, but a second-place finish was a great result for the No. 11 team.

Ryan Blaney was quiet for most of the race, but the Team Penske driver fought through the field after starting from the rear to finish third.

It did not come easily for Blaney, as his cool suit failed early during the race on a humid day after a long rain delay. Blaney struggled post-race and had to be assisted by safety personnel.

“It was hot,” Blaney said. Yeah, I flipped it on [cool suit] probably Lap 15 and was like, oh, it’s going to be a long day. It was warm. Was able to just keep going. Really proud of the whole 12 guys from starting in the back, making good ground. Then, me speeding set us back again. Having to come back up there.

“Jonathan [Hassler] and the whole 12 team did a good job of kind of figuring out what to do from the start of the race and after my mistake. Yeah, just kind of stuck really there at the end, all three of us just kind of running the same pace. Overall, I appreciate Wabash, Ford Mustang Performance, Menards, Body Armor, DEX Imaging, Advance Auto Parts. Really good day for us.”

Results from The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM at Pocono Raceway are listed below:

Other Race Facts

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher has shown incredible pace over the past few weeks. Buescher scored 48 points at Pocono Raceway (third most of all drivers) en route to a fourth-place finish, which is his third straight top-10 finish and ninth of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

23XI Racing had one of its worst races ever as an organization, as all three of the team’s cars had brake rotor issues that ruined each driver’s day. Riley Herbst and Bubba Wallace both had their right-front brake rotors blow, causing both drivers to slam hard into the wall. Tyler Reddick started to experience issues with his brake rotors and had to come down pit road to get them worked on.

Each 23XI driver finished 32nd (Reddick), 36th (Wallace) and 37th (Herbst).

John Hunter Nemechek put together another incredible performance for Legacy Motor Club. Nemechek finished sixth after starting fourth, and earned not only his second straight top-six finish, but his sixth top 10 of the year, adding to the most he has ever had in a Cup Series season.

“Both cars had speed this weekend right off the truck and qualified really well,” Nemechek said. “It was my best qualifying effort in the Cup Series and we raced well also. I’m proud of everything they’ve put in at Legacy Motor Club — all the men and women with all the effort they’ve been putting in. Looking forward to continuing to come to the race track when you have the speed.

“Just a testament to this 42 team. Travis Mack (crew chief), and I have been working really hard and we’ve been communicating well. Sydney, our primary engineer, Dex, Carl, Josh, and everyone who works on this thing. I’m just proud of the effort.”

This was the last race on Amazon Prime Video for the 2025 season, which means it was the final seeding race before the NASCAR In-Season Challenge that begins next weekend at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.

 

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