Overview
- Qualifying on Saturday produced a 38-car starting field with Denny Hamlin claiming the pole at Pocono Raceway and Kyle Larson joining him on the front row.
- NASCAR announced Saturday that Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 will start at 1 p.m. ET, moving the green flag two hours earlier to improve the chance of completing the full race before storms arrive.
- Carson Hocevar and Bubba Wallace hit the wall during qualifying and have been moved to the rear of the field, while Brad Keselowski experienced an engine issue that affected his starting position.
- Christopher Bell, who suffered a fractured wrist in a heavy crash at Michigan, has been cleared to race and will start the event from the midpack.
- Hamlin arrives at Pocono on the back of consecutive wins and a tightened points battle with Tyler Reddick, and the earlier finish could affect race strategy, fan travel plans, and teams heading to next week’s San Diego event.