Immediately after Ty Gibbs on Saturday captured the pole position for Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com, NASCAR Cup Series insiders and fans at Pocono Raceway started asking the question that’s beginning to become routine.
When will Gibbs, the 2022 Xfinity Series champion, capture his first Cup event? In 71 career starts, Gibbs posted nine top-five finishes and 20 top-10s, but zero trips to Victory Lane.
After earning his second career pole during Saturday’s qualifying session, Gibbs likely will have to fend off Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell at some point Sunday. Reddick, coming off consecutive top-3s, and Bell, who has paced the field for 29 percent of the laps during the previous seven outings.
Is Gibbs, who turned a hot lap of 170.039 mph Saturday, positioned for his first Cup win?
“The car is really good, so we’ll see what we can do (Sunday),” Gibbs told NBC Sports.
William Byron (169.661 mph) will start on the outside of the front row, followed by Martin Truex Jr. (169.221), Denny Hamlin (169.049) and Josh Berry (169.049).
A victim of the Turn 2 “bumps,” Tyler Reddick spun out without colliding with anything during a practice run, then topped the 36-machine field with a lap time of 53.498 seconds. He qualified P7.
Ty Gibbs wins the pole at Pocono. 📐 pic.twitter.com/KQRNcm7XxN
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 13, 2024
Winning Drivers Tend To Rally At Pocono Raceway
Before Denny Hamlin last year and Chase Elliott in 2022, racing with the lead pack during Stage 1 of events at the “Tricky Triangle.” Beginning with Kyle Busch’s win in June 2019 and concluding with his June 2021 trip to Victory Lane, five of the six races ended with the winning driver placing P29 or lower during the opening stage.
Kevin Harvick and Hamlin did it in 2020 and Alex Bowman accomplished the feat in ‘21.
The winning drivers made up significant time during Stage 2. Could the scenario repeat itself Sunday with Bell qualifying P13 and Busch P24?
Hamlin, who won at Pocono last summer, remains the winningest Cup driver at the 2.5-mile tri-oval track. Among his seven trips to Victory Lane, three have developed during his past seven starts. He also has led at least one lap in nine consecutive outings in Pennsylvania.
“EXPOSED” Denny Hamlin is a seven-time beast at Pocono Raceway! 😎🇺🇸 #NASCAR #Speed #Racing #InternetSegura2024 #NASCARGilles017https://t.co/d62PPe4c2T
— Gilles017 🇺🇸 (@NASCARGilles017) July 11, 2024
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ The Great American Getaway 400
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com at Pocono Raceway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, Ty Gibbs, 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 2, William Byron, 24, Hendrick Motorsports
- 3, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 4, Denny Hamlin, 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 5, Josh Berry, 4, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 6, Alex Bowman, 48, Hendrick Motorsports
- 7, Tyler Reddick, 45, 23XI Racing
- 8, Ryan Blaney, 12, Team Penske
- 9, Zane Smith, 71, Spire Motorsports
- 10, Joey Logano, 22, Team Penske
- 11, Chase Elliott, 9, Hendrick Motorsports
- 12, Kyle Larson, 5, Hendrick Motorsports
- 13, Christopher Bell, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 14, Brad Keselowski, 6, RFK Racing
- 15, Carson Hocevar, 77, Spire Motorsports
- 16, Daniel Suarez, 99, Trackhouse Racing
- 17, Austin Dillon, 3, Richard Childress Racing
- 18, Chris Buescher, 17, RFK Racing
- 19, Ross Chastain, 1, Trackhouse Racing
- 20, Austin Cindric, 2, Team Penske
- 21, Michael McDowell, 34, Front Row Motorsports
- 22, Harrison Burton, 21, Wood Brothers Racing
- 23, Erik Jones, 43, Legacy Motor Club
- 24, Kyle Busch, 8, Richard Childress Racing
- 25, Noah Gragson, 42, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 26, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 27, Daniel Hemric, 31, Kaulig Racing
- 28, Chase Briscoe, 14, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 29, Bubba Wallace, 23, 23XI Racing
- 30, Corey LaJoie, 7, Spire Motorsports
- 31, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, JTG Daugherty Racing
- 32, John Hunter Nemechek, 42, Legacy Motor Club
- 33, Todd Gilliland, 38, Front Row Motorsports
- 34, Justin Haley, 51, Rick Ware Racing
- 35, Cody Ware, 15, Rick Ware Racing
- 36, Ryan Preece, 41, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 37, JJ Yeley, 44, NY Racing Team
Now it’s @TylerReddick who goes around! pic.twitter.com/yhlsub0RIn
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 13, 2024
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