2024 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225

2024 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Race 19 of 33 of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date	July 13, 2024
Official name	9th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
Location	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance	90 laps, 225 mi (362 km)
Scheduled Distance	90 laps, 225 mi (362 km)
Average speed	105.113 mph (169.163 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Sheldon Creed	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	53.810
Most laps led
Driver	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports
Laps	30
Winner
No. 00	Cole Custer	Stewart–Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network	USA
Announcers	Rick Allen, Steve Letarte, and Jeff Burton
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The 2024 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 was the 19th stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania at Pocono Raceway, a 2.0 miles (3.2 km) permanent triangular-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 90 laps to complete. In an action packed race, Cole Custer driving for Stewart–Haas Racing, would come out on top, earning his 14th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and Fords first win of the season. To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, and William Byron, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

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.

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

The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, July 13, at 10:00 AM ET, and would last for 20 minutes.^[9] Ryan Sieg, driving for RSS Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 54.752, and a speed of 164.408 mph (264.589 km/h).

Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 13, at 10:30 AM ET.^[9] Standard intermediate track qualifying was in effect, although at Pocono and Indianapolis, a hybrid road course qualifying rule was used. The timing line was set in the North Straight, exiting Turn 2, where cars exited pit road, drove two-thirds of a lap, then took the green flag at the timing line exiting Turn 2, and completing their lap there the next time by. Teams then immediately pitted the car, meaning only two laps were run. In addition, up to three cars could be at the track at one time, separated by considerable intervals (about 20 seconds) to ensure drafting was prohibited.

Sheldon Creed, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 53.810, and a speed of 167.255 mph (269.171 km/h).

Stage 1 Laps: 20

Stage 2 Laps: 20

Stage 3 Laps: 52

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Cole Custer 716 2 Justin Allgaier 665 (-51) 3 Chandler Smith 657 (–59) 4 Austin Hill 640 (–76) 2 5 A. J. Allmendinger 564 (–154) 1 6 Jesse Love 563 (–153) 2 7 Riley Herbst 560 (–156) 8 Sheldon Creed 543 (–173) 9 Parker Kligerman 524 (–192) 10 Sam Mayer 501 (–215) 1 11 Sammy Smith 488 (–228) 1 12 Ryan Sieg 466 (–250) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 597 2 Toyota 574 (-23) 3 Ford 504 (–93) Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.