The 2022 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 was the 19th

stock car race Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It or ...

of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the seventh iteration of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

. The race was held on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in

Long Pond, Pennsylvania Long Pond is an unincorporated community in Monroe County in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, a part of the Appalachian Mountains. Long Pond is located within the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed. Its ZIP code is 18334. Geography Long Po ...

at Pocono Raceway, a permanent triangular-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 90 laps to complete.

Noah Gragson Noah Quinn Gragson (born July 15, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports. He previously drove full-time in the N ...

, driving for JR Motorsports, held off

Ty Gibbs Tyler Randal Gibbs (born October 4, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs was the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion ...

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. To fill out the podium,

Josh Berry Joshua W. Berry (born October 22, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. Berry has also competed for JRM in late model ...

, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 3rd, respectively. The race was marred by a wreck on lap 45.

Santino Ferrucci Santino Michael Ferrucci (born May 31, 1998) is an American professional racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No 14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Care ...

would get spun coming out of turn 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with nowhere to go, would

t-bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

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 John Edward "Jeb" Burton IV (born August 6, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. He is the son of Ward 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. His car would come to rest right after the start-finish line. Ronnie Bassett Jr. and

Jeremy Clements Jeremy Wayne Clements (born January 16, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the son of Tony Clements, owner of Clements Racing Engines. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 51 Chevrole ...

would also be involved in the crash. All drivers were released from the infield care center several minutes later.

Background

Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, ...

. It is the site of three

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

national series races and an

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...

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 INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

race, currently sanctioned by the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

. 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 Speedway Motorsports, LLC is an American company that owns and manages auto racing facilities that host races sanctioned by NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, World of Outlaws and other racing series. The company was founded by Bruton Smith and has ...

, 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. Mattco also owns

South Boston Speedway South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...

South Boston, Virginia South Boston, formerly Boyd's Ferry, is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census, down from 8,491 at the 2000 census. It is the most populous town in Halifax County. History On December ...

. 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

Practice

The only 30-minute practice session was held on Saturday, July 23, at 9:30 AM EST. Brandon Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the fastest in the session, with a lap of 54.339, and an average speed of .

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 23, at 10:00 AM EST. 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.

Justin Allgaier Justin M. Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. He is the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series champion and ...

, driving for JR Motorsports, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 53.359, and an average speed of .

Race results

Stage 1 ''Laps: 20'' Stage 2 ''Laps: 20'' Stage 3 ''Laps: 50''

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{2022 NASCAR Xfinity 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR races at Pocono Raceway

Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 The Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series Stock car racing, stock car race held at Pocono Raceway. History The inaugural Xfinity Series race at Pocono was held on June 4, 2016 with a scheduled distance of 100 laps/. Howeve ...

2022 in sports in Pennsylvania