NASCAR Cup drivers to watch at Pocono

Six races remain in the regular season as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for its yearly visit.

Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner and the track’s all-time Cup winner with seven victories at the 2.5-mile speedway.

USA Network will have coverage of practice and qualifying Saturday and Sunday’s race.

Here are the drivers to watch at Pocono:

FRONTRUNNERS

Denny Hamlin

Points position: 4th

Best finish this season: 1st (Bristol I, Richmond I, Dover I)

2024 stats: Three wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s. Has led 720 laps and has an average finish of 15.0.

Going into the weekend: Hamlin is the winningest driver at Pocono, scoring seven Cup victories at that track, including last year’s race. This track comes at a perfect time for him. He’s finished outside the top 10 in the last five races this season.

Kyle Larson

Points position: 1st

Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Sonoma)

2024 stats: Three wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s. Has led a series-high 755 laps and has an average finish of 13.7.

Going into the weekend: Larson was headed for his fifth consecutive top 10 at Pocono (and possibly a win) until Denny Hamlin forced him up the track and Larson hit the wall. That has been a flashpoint in the Hamlin/Larson rivalry that continues.

Tyler Reddick

Points position: 3rd

Best finish this season: 1st (Talladega I)

2024 stats: One win, eight top fives and 13 top 10s. Has led 409 laps and has an average finish of 12.0.

Going into the weekend: Reddick has scored back-to-back top-five finishes, placing third at Nashville and second on the streets of Chicago. He has finished second in each of the last two Pocono races.

Christopher Bell

Points position: 8th

Best finish this season: 1st (Phoenix I, Coca-Cola 600, New Hampshire)

2024 stats: Three wins, six top fives and 11 top 10s. Has led 596 laps and has an average finish of 16.4.

Going into the weekend: Bell has led nearly 29% of the laps run in the last seven races. He has two wins and five top 10s during that stretch. He has scored top-10 finishes in the last two Pocono races.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Ross Chastain

Points position: 12th

Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I)

2024 stats: No wins, two top fives and seven top 10s. Has led 163 laps and has an average finish of 13.9.

Going into the weekend: Chastain’s 13th-place finish last year at Pocono was his best result there. He has back-to-back finishes outside the top 20 coming into Pocono. Chastain is eight points ahead of Chris Buescher, who holds the final playoff spot. 

Chris Buescher

Points position: 13th

Best finish this season: 2nd (Phoenix I, Kansas I)

2024 stats: No wins, five top fives and nine top 10s. Has led 148 laps and has an average finish of 14.1.

Going into the weekend: Buescher scored his first career Cup win at Pocono in 2016. He has three top-five finishes in the last five races this season. Alex Bowman’s win last weekend at Chicago dropped Buescher to the final playoff spot in the standings with six races left in the regular season.

Bubba Wallace

Points position: 15th

Best finish this season: 4th (Martinsville I)

2024 stats: No wins, three top fives and six top 10s. Has led 35 laps and has an average finish of 17.2.

Going into the weekend: Wallace has finished 11th or better in each of the last three Pocono races. He enters Sunday’s event the first driver outside a playoff spot. Wallace trails Chris Buescher by 45 points. Wallace has placed in the top 15 in the past two weekends.

Todd Gilliland

Points position: 19th

Best finish this season: 7th (Chicago Street Race)

2024 stats: No wins, no top fives and three top 10s. Has led 120 laps and has an average finish of 18.9.

Going into the weekend: Gilliland has the fourth-best average finish (12.3) over the past six races. He enters the weekend after his season-best result at Chicago. Gilliland has nine consecutive top-20 finishes this season. He finished 15th in last year’s Pocono race.