5 NASCAR drivers who left Pocono 2025 as the weekend's biggest losers

NASCAR completed its 17th Cup Series race of the season – the 2025 The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, June 22. Chase Briscoe claimed his first win as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing after saving enough fuel in the final 30 laps and beating his teammate Denny Hamlin in the closing laps to clinch his playoff berth.

Last year’s winner, Ryan Blaney of Team Penske, finished the race in third place, ahead of Chris Buescher. Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott came home in fifth, ahead of John Hunter Nemechek. Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, and Austin Cindric wrapped the top 10.

While the aforementioned drivers had a decent outing this past Sunday at Pocono, a few drivers had the opposite. Let’s take a look at five NASCAR Cup Series drivers who walked away from the Pocono race as the weekend’s biggest losers.

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Five NASCAR drivers who lost big in the 2025 The Great American Getaway 400

#5. Cole Custer

Cole Custer, the Haas Factory Team driver, started the Pocono race from the season’s best fifth place, behind pole sitter Denny Hamlin and second- and third-placed Chris Buescher and Carson Hocevar. However, he lost his spot as the race started and finished Stage 1 in 32nd place.

Custer failed to make a comeback in Stage 2, as he could only improve to 24th place. In the end, the #41 Ford driver came home in the final stage in 22nd place. It marked his 13th outside top-20 finish in 17 starts, plunging him outside the playoff picture, 34th in standings, more than 150 points shy of a playoff ticket.

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#4. Carson Hocevar

Carson Hocevar started his NASCAR Cup Series race from third place behind Chris Buescher and ahead of John Hunter Nemechek. However, he could not hold on to his advantage as the Spire Motorsports driver dropped to 30th place in Stage 1.

Hocevar made a slight comeback to finish in 10th place by the end of Stage 2. However, in the final stage, he lost momentum and came home in 18th place. As a result, what could have been an impressive outing for the Spire Motorsports driver turned out to be underwhelming.

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#3. Christopher Bell

Unlike the other Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell didn’t have a fruitful outing at Pocono. Bell started ninth, behind Tyler Reddick and ahead of Daniel Suarez. He looked off the face and finished Stage 1 in 34th place.

Bell's return seemed out of the question as the #20 Toyota struggled to get going and only managed to gain two spots, finishing 32nd by the end of Stage 2. However, the JGR managed to bounce back in the final stage and crossed the finish line in 17th place.

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#2. Riley Herbst

Riley Herbst, the driver of the #35 Toyota for 23XI Racing, had an unfortunate NASCAR Cup Series outing at Pocono Raceway. On Lap 41 of the 160, the 26-year-old Las Vegas native running in 30th position caused the first caution as his car slammed into the wall in Turn 1. Initially, it looked like a flat tire, but it turned out to be a brake failure. It marked his second DNF this season, and the issue undermines his climb into playoff contention.

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#1. William Byron

William Byron’s woes started even before he started the Pocono NASCAR Cup Series race. He started from the rear of the field (31st place) after a qualifying accident. Despite starting from the back, he showed speed in his #24 repaired car, finishing ninth and fourth in Stages 1 and 2, respectively. However, the HMS driver ended up finishing 27th.

Despite the poor results, Byron still leads the NASCAR Drivers' Championship by 54 points over his teammate Larson.