The Great American Getaway 400 Preview: The Tricky Triangle

With the conclusion of the Michigan event, we're now entering the hot summer months of racing as the series will pay a visit to Pocono Raceway for the first and only time in the 2026 season. The three-turn oval located in the mountains of Pennsylvania is unlike any other oval track on the circuit. Pocono has been referred to many times over the years as the oval that races like a road course. The extremely long straight-aways and the three distinctly different corners are the primary reason why we have more of a road course feel. You can't hit the set up on your stock car to optimize all three turns, so the crew chiefs have to make their cars as comfortable for the drivers as possible. This usually means making the car easier to turn in two of the three corners and sacrificing the other.  These factors make this track race not like an oval at all, but more like a road course due to the relatively flat banking and three distinctly different turns. 

Now that we've completed 15 races of the 26 that determines the field for the Chase for the Cup, we're on the downhill run towards NASCAR's postseason. The Tricky Triangle in Pocono makes a good, challenging track to mark the beginning of the stretch run in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. We're racing for the first and only time this year at Pocono Raceway and that's a break with history. For many years we raced two events at the huge Pennsylvania track. We broke with that history and tradition four seasons ago and now race a lone, 400-mile event at Pocono.

Since we'll be racing just one time at Pocono Raceway we need to take a quick look at the loop stats for this unique facility. Coming off the races at Charlotte, Nashville and Michigan, we could see some shakeup in our driver group for this event. This track is so unlike any other on the circuit that we'll really need to focus on recent races at Pocono for this weekend's drivers. Current trends at this track should hold pretty true to form for this race, and we'll factor in the current hot streaks as needed as a predictive modifier. As you'll see in the table below, we have an easily identifiable group of drivers that love to race on the three-turn, 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track. The loop stats shown below cover the last 21 years or 38 races at Pocono Raceway.

Pocono Raceway had been a NASCAR track up for grabs for years. With Kyle Busch's victory here in 2017, we saw the Toyota camp run away with five-straight victories at the Tricky Triangle. However, the last several seasons have seen the Pocono track tilt back towards more of a parity among manufacturers. Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet drivers have each won in the last four events at Pocono Raceway, and that will be an interesting statistic heading into this weekend's Great American Getaway 400. Since Ford has been a bit down compared to Toyota and Chevrolet this season, it will be interesting to see if there's a changing of the manufacturer guard at Pocono or if we will still stay with this trend of parity. With the ball squarely in Toyota's court due to recent wins on ovals, this weekend is a timely visit to Pocono Raceway for drivers of this brand. Chevrolet drivers had won four straight events in April and May before Toyota won at Nashville and snapped that streak. They should be on their game for the Tricky Triangle.

With Chase Briscoe's victory here last season, Toyota will be charged with defending their turf this Sunday afternoon. Briscoe's win was Toyota's second victory at Pocono in the last three races there. Toyota is fresh off the win this past weekend (Denny Hamlin) at Michigan International Speedway and will carry the momentum into Pennsylvania this week. The best positioned Chevrolet drivers to challenge the Toyota camp will be Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. They've been the top two performers for this camp most of the spring and summer and will continue to be top contenders going forward. We'll examine the recent trends as well some historical stats at Pocono and give you the drivers that you need to dominate this weekend's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.

The Contenders – Drivers in the Hunt for the Win

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 2:00 PM ET Wednesday

Denny Hamlin (+275) – Hamlin leads the driver rating in the table above thanks to his seven-career Pocono wins. Three of those have come since the 2019 season along with three runner-up finishes at Pocono. Runner-up in the last two straight. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is just as sharp at this track as a veteran as he was as a young NASCAR star over 15 years ago. In this event one year ago, Hamlin led 32 laps from the pole position and finished runner-up to Chase Briscoe for his third runner-up finish at Pocono since the 2020 season. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota will vigorously race for the win this Sunday as this is one of his better tracks on the circuit. Hamlin loves racing at this unique oval and his incredible 67-percent Top-10 rate and near 900 laps led at this track speaks to his excellence at Pocono Raceway. 

Kyle Larson (+650) – The Hendrick Motorsports star is still trying to break into the win column this season. Despite leading 573 laps thus far and having five Top-5 finishes in the campaign, he's drawing closer. Larson has never won at the Pennsylvania oval, but he has finished runner-up there twice in his career and has five-career Top-5 finishes at the Tricky Triangle (28-percent). The Top-10 rate stands at a strong 56-percent for Larson at Pocono Raceway. Coming off the encouragement of a fourth-place finish at Michigan this past week, the veteran driver would seem to be motivated for a big performance this weekend. Larson has been strong on the intermediate ovals this season, now he just needs to step up his game on the larger ovals to propel him into victory lane.   

Tyler Reddick (+750) – With five victories already this season coming to Pennsylvania this week, we have high expectations for Reddick and his Toyota team. The 23XI Racing youngster looks poised for another strong challenge for victory lane in the American Getaway 400. He has been consistent on the intermediate and larger ovals of late with a pair of fourth-place finishes at Texas and Charlotte recently. Reddick also likes Pocono Raceway and he's finished runner-up in two of the last four races at the Tricky Triangle. He has increased his Top-10 rate to 50-percent with this recent success and lowered his average finish to a reasonable 15.9. Reddick will be a driver to watch closely at the Tricky Triangle.         

Ryan Blaney (+900) – The Penske Racing driver has reversed some of his early season struggles in the last few weeks. Blaney has grabbed four Top 10's in the last five races to climb from fourth- to third-place in the driver standings in the last few weeks. Blaney is a two-time Pocono Raceway winner and has a steady 50-percent Top-10 rate over 16 starts. In this event one year ago, he led 3 laps and forged a convincing third-place finish in the Great American Getaway 400. The 12.8 career average finish at the Tricky Triangle is another good indicator for this weekend. Given the No. 12 Ford team's recent surge in performance, we believe the Penske Racing youngster is a top contender to win in Sunday's 400-mile battle at Pocono Raceway.

Solid Plays – Near Locks for Top 10 with an Outside Shot to Win

Chase Elliott (+1200) – Elliott finally snatched his first-career victory at the Tricky Triangle in 2022. It would come by way of disqualification of both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch who finished 1-2, but it was a victory, nonetheless. The Hendrick Motorsports star also sports a strong 69-percent Top-10 rate at Pocono and career 12.9 average finish. He's been a consistent producer and good finisher here right up to his win of four seasons ago. Elliott rides a four-race Pocono Top-10 streak into this Sunday's action. He had a strong car this past weekend at Michigan and led a lot of laps before an unfortunate crash. Elliott and the No. 9 Chevrolet team will be reliable performers in the Great American Getaway 400.     

Chase Briscoe (+1000) – Briscoe has put together three Top 10's in the last four races and has shaken off some bad luck that he had in the month of May. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is looking to keep it going at the Tricky Triangle this weekend. Briscoe won this event one year ago in a bit of a shocking upset. He had never posed a Top 10 at the track in five prior starts but led 72 laps and captured the victory in his No. 19 Toyota. It should be a sign of things to come from this driver and team at Pocono Raceway. Despite Briscoe's lack of record at this tri-oval, that win will be provide valuable information to crew chief James Small about setup this weekend. Coming off a solid 10th-place at Michigan, Briscoe looks like a good bet for another Top 10 at Pocono.    

Christopher Bell (+850) – Bell had a pair of consecutive runner-up finishes at Charlotte and Nashville halted with his misfortune and crash at Michigan this past weekend. He should rebound nicely at Pocono Raceway. Although Bell's yet to have big impact at the three-turn oval, this could be his best start at the track in his Cup Series career. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota has a good enough resume at the Tricky Triangle with three Top 10's (38-percent) and he's nabbed two Top 10's in his last four starts at Pocono Raceway to lower his average finish here to 16.4. Joe Gibbs Racing has put consistently fast cars under him all season with near 400-laps led to-date in 2026. Bell hasn't cashed in on any victories yet this season, but he's a good bet for a Top 10 in The Great American Getaway 400. 

Brad Keselowski (+4000) – The owner/driver of the No. 6 Ford has been mired in a slump of late, but signs for a turnaround are hopeful this weekend. This is one of Keselowski's better ovals. He's had a long and very successful career racing at this three-turn oval. Keselowski is a one-time Pocono winner and he's finished runner-up here four different occasions. He's led well over 270 laps for his career at the Tricky Triangle. The veteran driver owns 11 Top-5 (40-percent) and 17 Top-10 (61-percent) finishes at Pocono Raceway. The 10.7 average finish across 28-career starts speaks volumes of his production and consistency here. Keselowski has only finished off the lead lap twice here in 16 seasons.

Sleepers – Drivers with Good History at Pocono & Solid Upside

Joey Logano (+2200) – The Penske Racing star is a one-time Pocono winner, but his consistency at this three-turn, 2.5-mile track has been spotty over the years. Logano's 11 Top-10 finishes in 30-career starts works out to a questionable 37-percent rate. That's a lower percentage than we like to see in star drivers. However, the driver of the No. 22 Ford has been on the surge of late. Logano has Top 10's in two of his last three races and is carrying that momentum into Pennsylvania this week. This driver and team are turning up their performance as the summer heats up and this is a timely visit to Pocono Raceway. Logano has Top 10's in three of his last six Pocono Raceway starts. We believe the Penske Racing star will be a Top-10 threat in the Great American Getaway 400.  

Bubba Wallace (+2800) – Wallace has just three-career Top-10 finishes in 13-career starts at the Tricky Triangle. However, the great news is that each of those performances have come in his last five starts in Pennsylvania. Wallace finished fifth-place in this event in 2021 and he finished a strong eighth-place in this event in 2022. The 23XI Racing veteran wasn't a major threat to win either of those starts, but the No. 23 Toyota team seemingly figured this place out. Wallace just snapped a soft patch in his recent performance with a strong third-place finish at Michigan International Speedway this past Sunday. That track is a good comp for Pocono with it's big size and high speeds. We believe the driver of the No. 23 Toyota will be strong this Sunday at the Tricky Triangle. 

Ty Gibbs (+1600) – Gibbs rides fifth in the driver standings coming to the Pocono Mountains. He's had a pretty good season to this point. Gibbs looked fast at Michigan this past week but would have the misfortune of being rolled up in a late-race crash. The driver of the No. 54 Toyota has qualified well in the past at Pocono with one pole position (2024) and a stellar 7.3 average start position. That good starting track position will begin to lead to some great performances for this young driver. Gibbs has just one Top 10 in his four prior Pocono Raceway starts, but that number will improve in time. All the indicators seem to point towards a big performance for Gibbs in the Great American Getaway 400. 

Carson Hocevar (+1800) – The Spire Motorsports youngster may be controversial for his aggressive driving style, but you can't argue with results. Hocevar led 21 laps last Sunday in Michigan and fetched a strong fifth-place finish in the FireKeepers Casino 400. He'll ride that momentum into Pennsylvania this week. Hocevar has just two prior starts at Pocono Raceway but they're reasonably good 17th- and 18th-place finishes. This Spire program has improved a lot since those efforts. Given some of Hocevar's best performances this season have come on the bigger tracks (Talladega, Atlanta, Darlington and Michigan) it would seem this team's strength is pure speed and top end pace. Pocono Raceway provides the perfect backdrop for that strength.   

Daniel Suarez (+6500) – The Spire Motorsports veteran is enjoying a rebound season in 2026. Suarez is posting some of his best performance numbers in several seasons. He won three weeks ago at Charlotte and finished a strong sixth-place this past Sunday in the Irish Hills of Michigan. Now the No. 7 Chevrolet team will set their sights on the Tricky Triangle. Suarez has 14 Cup Series starts of experience at this three-turn oval. Although he has just four Top 10's (29-percent) some of his best performances came when he had Joe Gibbs Racing horsepower at his disposal. Now that Spire is closing that performance gap to the bigger teams, we have high expectations of him at Pocono Raceway. Suarez certainly has sleeper Top-5 potential for this 400-mile race.

Erik Jones (+5000) – This LEGACY Motor Club driver and team have certainly flexed their muscles over the last several races. Jones has grabbed 12th-, 19th-, 13th-, 11th- and second-place finishes over the last five events. He's moved from 25th- to 18th-place in the driver standings over that span. Jones should be on tap for more success this weekend at the big tri-oval of Pocono. The veteran driver has always performed well here (57-percent Top-10 rate and 13.5 career average finish). Jones rides a string of ninth-, ninth-, 14th- and 13th-place finishes in his last four Pocono Raceway starts. Coming off the brilliant runner-up finish at Michigan this past weekend, we have high hopes for Jones at Pocono Raceway.   

Slow Down - Drivers to Avoid This Week

William Byron (+1100) – Despite being a two-time Pocono pole winner and sporting a 50-percent Top-10 rate at the three-turn track, we're recommending the bench for Byron this week. His 2026 season has been woefully underwhelming. He sits 12th in the driver standings with a subpar 47-percent Top-10 rate on the season. Byron has just one Top 10 in his last four races and is coming off a mildly disappointing 18th-place finish at Michigan. The season has lacked pace and laps led with just 41 thus far in 15 races. Something is wrong at the No. 24 team. Byron qualified poorly in this event one year ago and finished a career-worst 27th-place at Pocono Raceway. We have bad vibes over his prospects this weekend. 

Ross Chastain (+3500) – The long, tough season for Chastain and the No. 1 Chevrolet team doesn't promise to get any better this weekend. The veteran Trackhouse Racing driver is currently mired in a five-race Top-10 drought and his career numbers at Pocono Raceway are not good. He has 10-career starts at the Tricky Triangle and no Top-10 finishes to this point. The average finish sits somewhere around 28.3 with two DNF's in his last four starts at Pocono. Chastain would finish on the lead lap in this event one year ago, but in a distant 26th-place after 400-miles of action. That's pretty much in line with his career average at this facility and reason to exclude him from any fantasy racing expectations in The Great American Getaway 400.  

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+20000) – While most of Stenhouse's Cup Series success has come on larger ovals (Daytona and Talladega) it seems he's immune to that success carrying over to the 2.5-mile tri-oval in Pennsylvania. In 22-career starts the HYAK Motorsports driver has just one Top-10 (5-percent) and seven Top-15 (32-percent) finishes to his credit. The average finish sits around 22.6. His most recent two Pocono outings have been forgettable with poor qualifying efforts and 33rd- and 30th-place finishes. Stenhouse crashed out late in the Michigan race this past Sunday and finished 29th-place in the FireKeepers Casino 400. That's not a good look going into one of his tougher ovals.   

Austin Cindric (+7000) – Cindric has just four Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway but the results have been unimpressive to this point. One Top-10 finish to his credit and a lofty 20.5 average finish across that four-race span. The Penske Racing driver is in the middle of what we would term a challenging season. Despite a surprise Top-5 finish at Darlington earlier in the campaign, Cindric has only collected four Top 10's in the first 15 races of the season. Of late he's posted just one Top 10 in the last five events and has slumped to 16th-place in the point standings as a result. The driver of the No. 2 Ford has been wildly inconsistent this season with a 19.5 average finish for the campaign and that hangs like a cloud over any expectations for Pocono Raceway this weekend.