NASCAR Xfinity Series Predictions at Pocono
Noah Gragson celebrates his win at Pocono with a burnout in Jul 2022.
NASCAR Xfinity Series competition returns to Pocono Raceway for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at 5:30 PM EST on USA.
Last year’s race had some heavy crashes, a flip on the frontstretch, and a thrilling battle between Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs, where Noah Gragson won with a last lap pass heading into the tunnel turn.
Chase Elliott headlines this race as the favorite, racing for Hendrick Motorsports in the #17 HendrickCars.com Camero. He’s only ran one race in the Xfinity Series at Pocono, which resulted in a 2nd place finish in 2018. He isn’t the only Cup driver that will be double dipping this weekend, but he has the best chance of winning out of the Cup drivers racing this Saturday.
John Hunter Nemechek enters as the favorite amongst the Xfinity regulars on Saturday. Coming off a win last week at New Hampshire, Nemechek continues to build momentum at a track where he’s had success in the past. He has an average finish of 6th with one win, three Top 5’s, and four Top 10’s in five starts in the Trucks Series. Since switching to Toyota, Nemechek has a win in ‘21 and a 3rd place run last year. Expect the #20 to contend for the win once more at Pocono.
Cole Custer finished 22nd last week at New Hampshire, his first finish outside the Top 10 since COTA. Looking for a bounce back week, Pocono serves as a track that Custer has run well at. In Custer’s four Xfinity starts at the Tricky Triangle, he has never finished outside the Top 10. He finished 7th in ‘17, 5th in ‘18, won in ‘19, and finished 10th in last year’s race. Expect the #00 for Stewart-Haas Racing to get back on track this Saturday.
Chandler Smith is looking for his third straight pole in the Xfinity Series, and Pocono is a track that serves him well. He finished 8th and 2nd in his two ARCA starts along with a win in last year’s Truck Series race. Following a 2nd place run last week at New Hampshire, he’s more eager than ever to return to victory lane this Satuday.
Sheldon Creed hasn’t scored a Top 10 finish in his last five starts, but that could change following Pocono. He’s finished 3rd in his last two Truck Series starts in ‘20 and ‘21. Last year in his first Xfinity Start at Pocono, he qualified 6th and came away with a 5th place run. He’s led 159 laps this season, the most for any Xfinity driver without a win. There is race winning speed under that #2 Camero, it’ll be shown on Saturday.