On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Pocono for The Great American Getaway 400! Pocono is a big 2.5-mile flat track where horse power is king but pit strategy rules the day. Pocono races are often run backwards, so teams make as few pit stops as possible to position themselves to be up front at the end. The STARTING TIME has already been bumped up to 1PM due to inclement weather, so don’t miss it!

On Saturday, practice was held for Pocono. Teams had 25 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agenda’s Make sure you check out our Pocono Practice Notes, Pocono 5,10,15 and 20 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet, Pocono Group Speed Rankings and Pocono Practice Speeds and 10-Lap Averages.

Here’s the Pocono Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup. 

Pocono Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Denny Hamlin
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Pocono Outlook – Polesitter, Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at Pocono and in the Great American Getaway 400, the road to victory lane goes thru him as he vies for his 3rd straight 2026 win. Hamlin’s the winningest Pocono driver in NASCAR history (7-wins), and if you give him 2022 back where he crossed the finish line first but got DQ’ed, then he has 8-wins. In the Next Gen at Pocono (crediting him with the 2022 win), Hamlin’s finished in the top 2 every race, has 2-wins, a 1.5 average finish, the best Next Gen Speed Ranking and the best Driver Rating. Last year, Hamlin was stout but finished 2nd. In the race, Hamlin started on the pole, won Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2, had a race best 4.4 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, led 32 laps but then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In 2024, Hamlin had a race best 5.0 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, led 31 laps and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run. In 2023, Hamlin had a hot rod and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Hamlin started 8th, finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, had the 3rd best average running position (8.3), had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking, earned the 3rd best Driver Rating and of course finished 1st. In 2022, Hamlin crossed the finish line first but NASCAR DQ’ed him in post-race inspection (tape) which led to his 35th. In the race, Hamlin led 21 laps and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking.
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $14,000

Further Recommended Reading = Pocono Finish Projections, DraftKings Pocono Scoring Projections, FanDuel Pocono Scoring Projections, Pocono Next Gen RPM, Pocono Next Gen Average Finishes, Pocono Next Gen Speed Rankings

2) Tyler Reddick
Start 16th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Pocono Outlook – Tyler Reddick is one of the premiere performers at Pocono and in the Next Gen minus last year, Reddick has a pair of runner-ups, a 3.3 average finish and he’s had a result in the top 6 every race. Also in the Next Gen era, Reddick ranks 5th for Driver Rating and 6th for Speed. Last year, Reddick was arguably a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 32nd. In the race, Reddick started 8th, finished 3rd in Stage #1 but then in Stage #2 after Herbst and Wallace both had brake rotor issues, the #45 went into conservation mode and then eventually went to the garage, to do preventive maintenance to avoid a similar fate. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Reddick ranked 16th but take note his speed over the segments were 3rd, 28th, 27th and then 5th. In 2024, Reddick finished 3rd in Stage #1, 10th in Stage #2, had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking, earned the 10th best Driver Rating and then finished 6th overall. In 2023, Reddick finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2, earned the 5th best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed analytics, Reddick ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run and ranked 4th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, Reddick finished runner-up. Of course, take note both Hamlin and Busch who finished ahead of him got DQ’ed. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Reddick ranked 8th. In practice, Reddick said his car was stout and in Group 1 he ranked 1st for 5 and 10-lap averages.
DraftKings $10,300/ FanDuel $13,500

3) Kyle Larson
Start 2nd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Pocono Outlook – Kyle Larson is winless over the last year and he’s also winless at Pocono but look for him to be a contender. Larson nearly won in 2023 and if he didn’t have a flat tire while leading on the last lap in 2021 #1, he could’ve potentially won 2 of the last 6 races. Overall in the Next Gen at Pocono, Larson ranks 3rd for Driver Rating, 4th for Speed and has an 8.3 average finish minus 2023. Last year, Larson started 24th, had a 13.4 average running position, earned the 12th best Driver Rating, had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 7th overall. Over the last two segments in terms of speed, Larson was at his best and ranked 8th and 7th. In 2024, Larson didn’t have an incident free race and finished 13th. In the race, Larson finished 6th in Stage #2 but then early in the last Stage while running in the top five, Larson got a speeding penalty which dropped him to the back and he just never fully rebounded. In the race, Larson had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking and a 13.2 average running position. If his race would’ve been incident free, Larson was likely a top five contender. In 2023, Larson ranked as one of the best but finished an asterisk mark 20th. In the race, Larson led 24 laps but while leading late on lap 153, Hamlin ran him high on the track and Larson then had contact with the wall which led to his 20th place finish. If that didn’t happen, there’s no question he was poised for a top five or perhaps even win. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked 7th for Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed. In 2022, Larson won Stage #1, finished 8th in Stage #2, led 18 laps, had a 9.2 average running position and then finished 5th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked 2nd. In 2021, Larson finished 2nd in race #2 after starting in the back and then in race #1 on the last lap while leading, he had a flat tire and slammed into the wall which led to his 9th. Last year at big flat tracks over the combined races, Larson had a 4.5 average finish. In practice, Larson really liked his car more than he usually does at Pocono and had the best 10-lap average in Group 2.
DraftKings $10,500/ FanDuel $12,500