2020 Pocono 350 Explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 15 of 36 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:	Pocono 350
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]
Year:	2020
Location:	Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Mi:	2.5
Course Km:	4
Distance Laps:	140
Distance Mi:	350
Distance Km:	563
Avg:	122.879mph
Pole Driver:	Ryan Preece
Pole Team:	JTG Daugherty Racing
Grid From Inversion:	yes
Most Driver:	Denny Hamlin
Most Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Most Laps:	49
Car:	11
First Driver:	Denny Hamlin
First Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Network:	FS1
Announcers:	Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon
Ratings:	2.660 million^[7]
Radio:	MRN
Booth Ann:	Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle
Turn Ann:	Dave Moody (1), Mike Bagley (2) and Kurt Becker (3)

The 2020 Pocono 350 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 28, 2020 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 140 laps on the 2.5miles triangular racecourse, it was the 15th race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
00	Quin Houff (R)		Chevrolet
1			Chevrolet
2			Ford
3			Chevrolet
4			Ford
6			Ford
7	Josh Bilicki (i)		Chevrolet
8	Tyler Reddick (R)		Chevrolet
9			Chevrolet
10			Ford
11			Toyota
12			Ford
13			Chevrolet
14			Ford
15	Brennan Poole (R)		Chevrolet
17			Ford
18			Toyota
19			Toyota
20			Toyota
21			Ford
22			Ford
24			Chevrolet
27	J. J. Yeley (i)		Ford
32			Ford
34			Ford
37			Chevrolet
38	John Hunter Nemechek (R)		Ford
41	Cole Custer (R)		Ford
42			Chevrolet
43			Chevrolet
47			Chevrolet
48			Chevrolet
51	Joey Gase (i)		Ford
53	Garrett Smithley (i)		Chevrolet
66	Timmy Hill (i)		Toyota
77			Chevrolet
78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet
88			Chevrolet
95	Christopher Bell (R)		Toyota
96			Toyota
Official entry list

Qualifying

Ryan Preece was awarded the pole for the race as determined by the top 20 from Saturday's finishing order inverted.

Starting Lineup

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	37			Chevrolet
2	3			Chevrolet
3	1			Chevrolet
4	47			Chevrolet
5	41	Cole Custer (R)		Ford
6	6			Ford
7	24			Chevrolet
8	21			Ford
9	12			Ford
10	42			Chevrolet
11	17			Ford
12	2			Ford
13	34			Ford
14	14			Ford
15	19			Toyota
16	18			Toyota
17	95	Christopher Bell (R)		Toyota
18	10			Ford
19	11			Toyota
20	4			Ford
21	48			Chevrolet
22	43			Chevrolet
23	32			Ford
24	38	John Hunter Nemechek (R)		Ford
25	9			Chevrolet
26	13			Chevrolet
27	88			Chevrolet
28	96			Toyota
29	15	Brennan Poole (R)		Chevrolet
30	8	Tyler Reddick (R)		Chevrolet
31	27	J. J. Yeley (i)		Ford
32	7	Josh Bilicki (i)		Chevrolet
33	53	Garrett Smithley (i)		Chevrolet
34	77			Chevrolet
35	66	Timmy Hill (i)		Toyota
36	22			Ford
37	51	Joey Gase (i)		Ford
38	20			Toyota
39	78	B. J. McLeod (i)		Chevrolet
40	00	Quin Houff (R)		Chevrolet
Official starting lineup

Race

Stage Results

Stage OneLaps: 30

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	10
2	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	9
3	95	Christopher Bell (R)	Leavine Family Racing	Toyota	8
4	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	7
5	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	6
6	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	5
7	17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	4
8	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	3
9	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	2
10	41	Cole Custer (R)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 55

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	10
2	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	9
3	6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	8
4	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	7
5	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	6
6	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	5
7	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	4
8	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	3
9	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	2
10	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage ThreeLaps: 55

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	19	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	140	41
2	20	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	140	47
3	38	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	140	34
4	25	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	140	33
5	18	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	140	41
6	8	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	140	38
7	7	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	140	30
8	14	14	Clint Bowyer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	140	29
9	27	88	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	140	28
10	15	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	140	37
11	12	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	140	42
12	10	42	Matt Kenseth	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	140	25
13	3	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	140	37
14	2	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	140	27
15	4	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	140	28
16	21	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	140	21
17	5	41	Cole Custer (R)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	140	21
18	6	6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	139	27
19	24	38	John Hunter Nemechek (R)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	139	18
20	22	43	Bubba Wallace	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	139	17
21	23	32	Corey LaJoie	Go Fas Racing	Ford	139	16
22	9	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	139	24
23	26	13	Ty Dillon	Germain Racing	Chevrolet	139	14
24	36	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	139	13
25	1	37	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	139	12
26	28	96	Daniel Suárez	Gaunt Brothers Racing	Toyota	139	11
27	29	15	Brennan Poole (R)	Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet	138	10
28	31	27	J. J. Yeley (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	138	0
29	35	66	Timmy Hill (i)	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	137	0
30	34	77	James Davison	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	136	7
31	40	00	Quin Houff (R)	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	136	6
32	33	53	Garrett Smithley (i)	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	136	0
33	37	51	Joey Gase (i)	Petty Ware Racing	Ford	136	0
34	32	7	Josh Bilicki (i)	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	136	0
35	30	8	Tyler Reddick (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	135	2
36	11	17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	135	5
37	39	78	B. J. McLeod (i)	B. J. McLeod Motorsports	Chevrolet	133	0
38	16	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	74	3
39	17	95	Christopher Bell (R)	Leavine Family Racing	Toyota	39	9
40	13	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	15	1
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 12 among 8 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 8 for 32
• Red flags: 1 for 50 minutes and 50 seconds
• Time of race: 2 hours, 50 minutes and 54 seconds
• Average speed: 122.879mph

Media

Television

Fox Sports televised the race in the United States on FS1. Mike Joy and six-time Pocono winner Jeff Gordon will cover the race from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte. Jamie Little handled the pit road duties. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Kurt Becker called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post and Kim Coon worked pit road for the radio side.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Kevin Harvick	581
	2	Ryan Blaney	529 (–52)
2	3	Brad Keselowski	514 (–67)
	4	Chase Elliott	510 (–71)
1	5	Denny Hamlin	506 (–75)
3	6	Joey Logano	500 (–81)
	7	Martin Truex Jr.	500 (–81)
	8	Alex Bowman	464 (–117)
2	9	Aric Almirola	431 (–150)
	10	Kurt Busch	430 (–151)
2	11	Kyle Busch	423 (–158)
	12	Jimmie Johnson	390 (–191)
	13	Clint Bowyer	387 (–194)
	14	Matt DiBenedetto	384 (–197)
	15	William Byron	372 (–209)
1	16	Erik Jones	341 (–240)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Ford	559
	2	Toyota	527 (–32)
	3	Chevrolet	502 (–57)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

. – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 schedule . Jayski.com. . June 4, 2020. January 17, 2020.
2. Web site: Pocono Raceway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. June 4, 2020. January 3, 2013. April 29, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170429055158/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/pocono-raceway.html. dead.
3. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 22, 2020. June 22, 2020.
4. Web site: Starting Lineup. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. June 27, 2020. June 27, 2020.
5. Web site: Pocono 350 Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. June 28, 2020. June 28, 2020.
6. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 28, 2020. June 28, 2020.
7. Web site: Pocono 350 ratings. https://web.archive.org/web/20200702020659/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-6-22-6-28-2020.html. dead. July 2, 2020. ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. June 30, 2020.