The 2023 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 was the 19th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 29th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 22, 2023, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania at Pocono Raceway, a 2.0 miles (3.2 km) permanent triangular-shaped racetrack. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 90 laps, but was extended to 92 laps due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would have a wild battle with Josh Berry on the final lap, and held on to win the race after the final caution came out. This was Hill's sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his fourth of the season.[1] Berry had dominated the entire race, leading a race-high 51 laps, until he hit the wall on the final lap, dropping him back to the 24th position.[2] To fill out the podium, Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, and Chase Elliott, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Background
Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) oval speedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1970s. Nicknamed "The Tricky Triangle", the speedway has three distinct corners and is known for high speeds along its lengthy straightaways.
From 1982 to 2019, the circuit had two race weekends. In 2020, the circuit was reduced to one race meeting of two races. The first race was moved to World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis starting in 2022.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, July 21, at 3:35 PM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.[3]Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 54.721, and an average speed of 164.471 mph (264.690 km/h).[4]
Qualifying was held on Friday, July 21, at 4:05 PM EST.[3] Since Pocono Raceway is a superspeedway, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[5]Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 53.587, and an average speed of 167.951 mph (270.291 km/h).[6]
