June 23, 2025

Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing fell short of victory during Sunday's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. In the race's first stage, Hamlin started from the first position, took the lead immediately, and never looked back. Despite Chris Buescher challenging him for the lead, Hamlin went on to win the first stage. During the stage break between stages one and two, Hamlin lost the lead through pit stops and restarted within the pack. Although Hamlin had one of the fastest cars in the field and kept passing cars, several drivers using differing pit stop strategies to obtain track position would keep Hamlin from regaining the lead. He finished the second stage in sixth and nabbed five stage points. In the final stage, Hamlin used pit strategies of his own to get ahead of the pack during both green flag pit stops and cautions. This set up a scenario where Hamlin would spend the final green flag run chasing his teammate, Chase Briscoe, all the way to the finish as Briscoe was questionable to finish the race with fuel. Despite his best efforts, Hamlin could not get to Briscoe's bumper during the final green flag run, and Briscoe saved enough fuel to win while Hamlin settled for second. This was Hamlin's third time this season finishing a race as the runner-up. --Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com