The Great American Getaway 400:
The NASCAR Cup Series drivers have had a lot of Mother Nature to deal with in recent weeks. It looks like the rain will stay away and it will just be hot in the Poconos on Sunday for the The Great American Getaway 400. The final six races of the regular season will all be run on ovals after last week’s messy Chicago Street Course race.
This isn’t your traditional oval, though, as the “Tricky Triangle” is 2.5 miles long and every turn has different degrees of banking. On the plus side, this has been a Cup Series stop since 1971 and was a twice-a-year stop up until 2021, so the drivers are very familiar with Pocono Raceway.
This is the 21st race of the season, meaning there are only five more regular season races after this and 15 races left for the season.
How to Watch The Great American Getaway 400
When: Sunday, July 14, 2024
Where: Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Channel: USA
2024 NASCAR Cup Series Standings
Another automatic berth in the postseason was claimed last week in Chicago when Alex Bowman snapped an 80-race winless streak to punch a ticket to the postseason. While his drought wasn’t as long, Joey Logano picked up an auto bid in Nashville two races ago. There are now 12 winners occupying the 16 playoff spots. If we get five or more different winners by the end of the regular season, then the points will come into play, but right now, there are five races left to grab four spots.
Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and William Byron all have three wins each. Bowman and Logano are the most recent additions to the “one win” group, which also includes Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Blaney. Nobody has exactly two wins on the season.
Bell’s 24 Bonus Playoff Points are the most. Larson is a close second with 23. Nobody else is in the 20s, but Hamlin is the closest with 19. There are 18 total drivers with playoff points, including street course ringer Joey Hand, who won Stage 2 last week and finished fourth. He won’t be eligible for the playoffs, though.
The first playoff race is the Quaker State 400 on September 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The Great American Getaway 400 Winners
Nine active drivers have a win at Pocono. Hamlin leads the pack by a lot with seven checkered flags, including last year’s win in this very race. Kyle Busch is a four-time winner at Pocono, with his most recent win coming in 2021. His brother, Kurt, had three, but he isn’t racing this year after concussion-related symptoms.
Martin Truex Jr. is fifth in points, but doesn’t have a win. He also doesn’t have a top-five finish in his last eight races, but we’ll see if Pocono provides him a little magic to secure a playoff berth. The other winners are Blaney, Bowman, Keselowski, Logano, Elliott, and Chris Buescher.
The Great American Getaway 400 Predictions
For the latest odds and VSiN’s NASCAR Best Bets, head to our NASCAR Hub to see Steve Makinen’s simulation results and more stats on the drivers.
