Trick or treat?
Pocono Raceway has long proved a worthy foe for the Cup Series' best and brightest drivers. Triangle-shaped and with all the stylings of your typical superspeedway, Pocono can turn gleaming chariots into rubble with one wrong move. Just ask Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson, two drivers fighting tooth and nail for postseason qualification who saw their chances of a checkered flag at the Tricky Triangle collapse in separate collisions Sunday.
Sunday's race at the Appalachian oasis proved an eventful one, filled with thrills, spills, and plenty of burnt rubber. In the end, only one jockey could take his humble steed to victory lane.
Here's what you need to know about the results of the Cup Series race at Pocono, The Great American Gateway 400.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
Ryan Blaney took home the crown at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, outgunning the likes of Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin to pick up his second win of the season.
Blaney, the reigning Cup Series champion, came into the day on the outside looking in of another checkered flag. He qualified with the eighth-fastest lap on Saturday, better than the majority of the field but still lagging from speed demons like Hamlin, Ty Gibbs and William Byron.
Things changed as the race wore on, however. A third of the field were knocked out of Sunday's contest, including Gibbs.
Blaney kept on chugging along, giving himself a chance at a stage victory by the end of Stage 2. However, his team opted to send him to pit road, hoping to maximize his opportunity to take home his second-career win at the Tricky Triangle.
It was an inspired decision. Blaney outpaced Hamlin during the final stage. And despite the Joe Gibbs Racing star's best efforts, it was Blaney, not Hamlin, who picked up another race win, the 12th of his Cup Series career.
The Great American Gateway 400 NASCAR results
| Pos | Driver | Car Make |
| 1 | Ryan Blaney | Ford |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota |
| 3 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet |
| 4 | William Byron | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Joey Logano | Ford |
| 6 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | Ford |
| 8 | Martin Truex | Toyota |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota |
| 11 | Chris Buescher | Ford |
| 12 | Christopher Bell | Toyota |
| 13 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Erik Jones | Toyota |
| 15 | Chase Briscoe | Ford |
| 16 | Daniel Suárez | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Austin Cindric | Ford |
| 19 | Corey LaJoie | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Josh Berry | Ford |
| 21 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Justin Haley | Ford |
| 23 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | Ford |
| 25 | Daniel Hemric | Toyota |
| 26 | Cody Ware | Ford |
| 27 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota |
| 28 | John H. Nemechek | Toyota |
| 29 | Zane Smith | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Ryan Preece | Ford |
| 31 | Harrison Burton | Ford |
| 32 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Ricky Stenhouse | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | Ford |
| 35 | JJ Yeley | Ford |
| 36 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet |
| 37 | Noah Gragson | Ford |
| 38 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet |
| 39 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet |
| 40 | Shane van Gisbergen | Chevrolet |
NASCAR playoff standings 2024
Here's a look at the Cup Series playoff standings heading into Sunday's race.
| Rank | Driver | Points | Wins |
|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 671 | 3 |
| 2 | Chase Elliott | 660 | 1 |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick | 648 | 1 |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | 629 | 3 |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 601 | 0 |
| 6 | William Byron | 599 | 3 |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | 587 | 1 |
| 8 | Christopher Bell | 586 | 3 |
| 9 | Ty Gibbs | 560 | 0 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 558 | 1 |
| 11 | Alex Bowman | 553 | 1 |
| 12 | Ross Chastain | 529 | 0 |
| 13 | Chris Buescher | 521 | 0 |
| 14 | Joey Logano | 484 | 1 |
| 15 | Bubba Wallace | 476 | 0 |
| 16 | Chase Briscoe | 433 | 0 |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | 423 | 0 |
| 18 | Daniel Suarez | 410 | 1 |
| 19 | Todd Gilliland | 400 | 0 |
| 20 | Austin Cindric | 389 | 1 |
| 21 | Josh Berry | 369 | 0 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell | 365 | 0 |
| 23 | Noah Gragson | 353 | 0 |
| 24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 339 | 0 |
| 25 | Carson Hocevar | 338 | 0 |
| 26 | Ryan Preece | 311 | 0 |
| 27 | Daniel Hemric | 297 | 0 |
| 28 | Erik Jones | 290 | 0 |
| 29 | Justin Haley | 287 | 0 |
| 30 | John Hunter Nemechek | 284 | 0 |
| 31 | Corey LaJoie | 283 | 0 |
| 32 | Austin Dillon | 256 | 0 |
| 33 | Harrison Burton | 231 | 0 |
| 34 | Zane Smith | 220 | 0 |
| 35 | Kaz Grala | 166 | 0 |
| 36 | Joey Hand | 43 | 0 |
| 37 | Jimmie Johnson | 35 | 0 |
| 38 | Derek Kraus | 32 | 0 |
| 39 | David Ragan | 17 | 0 |
| 40 | Cody Ware | 17 | 0 |
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