The NASCAR In-Season Challenge seedings will be set Sunday over 160 miles at Pocono Raceway. It’s the last Cup Series event before the beginning of an inaugural five-race exhibition for $1 million.
Denny Hamlin remains the top seed of the 32-driver field by virtue of his win at Michigan International Speedway.
Because Mexico City winner Shane Van Gisbergen failed to qualify for the In-Season Challenge, the next two seeds are Chris Buescher and Christopher Bell. An eligible Pocono winner would clinch the second seed for the In-Season Tournament, which will begin June 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Mexico City marked the second of three seeding races for the 2025 In-Season Tournament.
Here are the updated seeding positions following Mexico City, with one race remaining: pic.twitter.com/urQ0xsSbQn
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) June 16, 2025
Hamlin, who missed the inaugural race at Mexico City after the birth of his son, will return at Pocono, where he holds the Cup record with seven victories. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who finished runner-up to Ryan Blaney last year, is the only repeat winner in the past eight races at Pocono.
Four organizations have combined to win the past 10 Cup races at Pocono: JGR (six wins), Hendrick Motorsports (two), Team Penske and the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.
Denny Hamlin returns to the series this weekend after missing last weekend’s race in Mexico for the birth of his son.
Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Pocono Raceway
(All times Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given at 2:09 p.m. … The green flag will wave at 2:20 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 11 a.m. … Driver introductions are at 1:25 p.m. … The invocation will be given at 2:01 p.m. … The anthem will be performed by Generald Wilson, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Retired, at 2:02 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 160 laps (400 miles) on the 2.5-mile track.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 30. Stage 2 ends at Lap 95.
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 36 cars entered at Pocono Raceway.
TV/RADIO: Prime will broadcast the race starting at 1 p.m. … Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.
FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — A mixture of sunshine and clouds with a high of 86 degrees and winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph. It’s expected to be 83 degrees with a 5% chance of racing for the start of the Cup Series race.
LAST TIME: Ryan Blaney led a race-high 44 laps and won by 1.312 seconds over Denny Hamlin on July 14, 2024.
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