THE CHASE IS OVER – BRISCOE EARNS FIRST WIN OF SEASON IN THE GREAT AMERICAN GETAWAY 400 PRESENTED BY VISITPA.COM

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Sunday in The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.com NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE CHASE IS OVER – BRISCOE EARNS FIRST WIN OF SEASON IN THE GREAT AMERICAN GETAWAY 400 PRESENTED BY VISITPA.COM

        Chase Briscoe holds off seven-time Pocono winner Denny Hamlin to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2 sweep in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

LONG POND, Pa. (June 22, 2025) – It was a very familiar organization in Victory Lane on Sunday at Pocono Raceway [2], but a very different face.

Chase Briscoe held off seven-time Pocono winner Denny Hamlin to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2 sweep in The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM NASCAR Cup Series race before a sold-out crowd for the third consecutive year.

The victory was Briscoe’s first of the season and his first in the last 26 races, dating to September of last season at Darlington Raceway. It also was the 18th Cup Series win for Joe Gibbs Racing at Pocono Raceway, one shy of the record held by Hendrick Motorsports.

Briscoe, driving the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, turned in an impressive performance as he masterfully conserved fuel while holding off the career victories leader at “The Tricky Triangle.”

“It was a lot (to process),” said Briscoe, who collected his third career Cup Series win. “It was kind of weird. I wasn’t driving hard, so it’s not like I was on the ragged edge. It was so hard, having a guy chasing you, especially a guy (Hamlin) who’s probably the greatest of all time here… to try and be able to save fuel and everything else, it was a lot. Just an unbelievable day for our race team.

“Thank you all you race fans. It’s sold out every single time we come (to Pocono) here. It’s unbelievable racing in front of a sold out crowd.”

After a two-plus-hour rain delay, Hamlin, who started on the pole, dominated the first stage as he led all 30 laps while Briscoe was fourth. Several teams were working different fuel strategies to grab a share of the lead before Briscoe took the point for the first time on Lap 81. He would win the second stage – with Hamlin sixth – and lead 38 laps as the race progressed into the third stage.

Briscoe relinquished the lead after his final green-flag pit stop on Lap 119 of 160. He had a quick 11.020-second stop, but was informed by his crew chief James Small that he could potentially be short on fuel to get to the checkered. Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (2 laps), Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (2 laps) and RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (3 laps) would all lead before Briscoe made his way back to the front on Lap 127.

On a restart with 30 to go, the top-five running order was Briscoe, Hamlin, Blaney, Buescher and Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports, respectively. It would set the stage for a battle among the JGR teammates, with the advantage seemingly to Hamlin given his dominance on this 2.5-mile tri-oval.

But Briscoe continually held Hamlin at bay and would maintain roughly a .5 of a second lead in those closing laps. Hamlin made a few runs during that period, including closing to .26 of second with three to go, but Briscoe would stretch it back out and win by .682 of a second.

“It was the best option,” Hamlin said in reference to pushing the pace and possibly running Briscoe out of fuel.  “It definitely was going to be difficult. There was a key moment when the 19 (Briscoe) and some other guys pitted, and the caution came out and leaped him in front of us. At that point, we knew it was going to be really hard to pass those guys back on the race track. Team did a great job, next best in line there of our strategy, it just didn’t work out.”

It was Hamlin’s second consecutive runner-up finish at Pocono and 17th career top-five effort, tops among active drivers. Blaney, last season’s winner, finished third for his fourth top-five finish at the track. Buescher took fourth for his first top-five performance at Pocono since winning there in 2016. Elliott, also a former Pocono winner, rounded out the top five.

“It’s huge (to get team owner Joe Gibbs to Victory Lane),” said Briscoe, who joined JGR this season after spending the last four with now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. “I literally grew up racing my Sprint Car video game in a Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot uniform. To be able to get Coach in Victory Lane after them taking a chance on me is so rewarding and such a huge weight off my shoulders. I’ve been telling my wife the last two weeks, ‘I have to win,’ so to be able to come here and do it, it’s been a great day.”

For more news on the NASCAR race weekend, please visit www.poconoraceway.com.

About Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway, also known as ‘The Tricky Triangle,’ is family-owned and situated in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. In business for over 60 years, the Raceway hosts multiple, national motorsports events including the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events each year. The facility’s calendar also consists of over 300 events including Elements Music & Arts Festival and a wide range of entertainment events, car clubs and racing schools. Pocono Raceway is recognized as the world’s first, privately-owned solar-powered sports facility. Their 25-acre, three-megawatt solar farm provides the energy needs of the Raceway, as well as, adds electricity to the local power grid. Each member of our raceway staff is committed to creating exciting experiences and lifelong memories. For more information, please visit www.poconoraceway.com.