The 2022 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 was the 19th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the seventh iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 90 laps to complete. Noah Gragson, driving for JR Motorsports, held off Ty Gibbs in an outstanding battle with 22 laps to go, and earned his eighth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his third of the season. Gragson would also dominate most of the race, leading 43 laps.[1] To fill out the podium, Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 3rd, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 19 of 33 of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | July 23, 2022 | ||
| Official name | Seventh 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 (362.102 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 90 laps, 225 mi (362.102 km) | ||
| Average speed | 123.438 mph (198.654 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | JR Motorsports | ||
| Time | 53.359 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 43 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA Network | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The race was marred by a wreck on lap 45. Santino Ferrucci would get spun coming out of turn 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with nowhere to go, would t-bone the side of Ferrucci's car. Stenhouse came back down onto the racetrack, as everyone was attempting to make it through the wreck. Jeb Burton had attempted to go lower down the track to avoid the wreck, but was unsuccessful. Burton would clip the front of Stenhouse's car, causing him to flip on his roof, in turn becoming the 500th confirmed flip in NASCAR history.[2][3] His car would come to rest right after the start-finish line. Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Jeremy Clements would also be involved in the crash. All drivers were released from the infield care center several minutes later.[4]
Background edit
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as The Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA Menards Series event in July: a NASCAR Cup Series race with support events by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. From 1971 to 1989, and from 2013 to 2019, the track also hosted an Indy Car race, currently sanctioned by the IndyCar Series. Additionally, from 1982 to 2021, it hosted two NASCAR Cup Series races, with the traditional first date being removed for 2022.
Pocono is one of the few NASCAR tracks not owned by either NASCAR or Speedway Motorsports, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. Pocono CEO Nick Igdalsky and president Ben May are members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.[5] Mattco also owns South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia.
Outside NASCAR and IndyCar Series races, Pocono is used throughout the year by the Stock Car Experience, Bertil Roos Driving School, Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) as well as many other clubs and organizations. The triangular track also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – the north course, east course and south course. Each of these infield sections use separate portions of the track or can be combined for longer and more technical course configurations. In total Pocono Raceway has offers 22 different road course configurations ranging from .5 miles to 3.65 miles in length. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs or driving schools can use the track simultaneously by running on different infield sections. All of the infield sections can also be run in either clockwise or counter clockwise direction which doubles the 22 course configuration to 44 total course options.
Entry list edit
Practice edit
The only 30-minute practice session was held on Saturday, July 23, at 9:30 AM EST.[6] Brandon Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the fastest in the session, with a lap of 54.339, and an average speed of 165.627 mph (266.551 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 54.339 | 165.627 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 54.383 | 165.493 |
| 3 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 54.409 | 165.414 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying edit
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 23, at 10:00 AM EST.[6] Since Pocono Raceway is a tri-oval track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in the round wins the pole.[7]
Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 53.359, and an average speed of 168.669 mph (271.446 km/h).[8]
Race results edit
Stage 1 Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 50
| Fin. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 43 | Running | 54 |
| 2 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 90 | 3 | Running | 51 |
| 3 | 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 9 | Running | 45 |
| 4 | 4 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 45 |
| 5 | 6 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 45 |
| 6 | 12 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 22 | Running | 45 |
| 8 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 4 | Running | 31 |
| 9 | 13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 10 | 16 | 07 | Cole Custer (i) | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 90 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 11 | 21 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 12 | 14 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 90 | 4 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 26 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 28 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 15 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 90 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 24 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 3 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 90 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 18 | 17 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 2 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 25 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 27 | 45 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 33 | 78 | Josh Williams | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 20 | 38 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 90 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 30 | 5 | Stefan Parsons (i) | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 24 | 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 35 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 23 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 34 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 89 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 38 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 89 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 36 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 89 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 37 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 89 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 31 | 5 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53 | 0 | Accident | 9 |
| 32 | 18 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 48 | 0 | Accident | 5 |
| 33 | 19 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 46 | 0 | Accident | 4 |
| 34 | 10 | 48 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | Accident | 0 |
| 35 | 11 | 26 | Santino Ferrucci | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 45 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 31 | 77 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 22 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 32 | 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 0 | Accident | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race edit
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References edit
- ^ "Noah Gragson Holds off Ty Gibbs to Win at Pocono". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Konareski, Dominic (2022-07-25). "Jeb Burton Makes NASCAR History Upside Down". New York Sports Show.
- ^ "The NASCAR Flip List Project". The Fastlane Racing Forum.
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (2022-07-23). "Video: Jeb Burton Launched Upside Down in Vicious Multi-Car Accident at Pocono". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Pocono Raceway Staff
- ^ a b "2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Race Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ "NASCAR announces practice, qualifying return in 2022". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ Srigley, Joseph (2022-07-23). "Justin Allgaier Edges Out Ty Gibbs for Xfinity Series Pole at Pocono". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved 2022-07-23.