Pocono Raceway was the site for Round No. 12 of the 2020 Xfinity Series season and just like the Truck Series race earlier in the day, the Pocono Green 250 had its fair share of yellows.
In the final race report, there were 31 laps run under yellow, which was slightly more than the Truck Series race. Even so, the percentage of laps run was 34.1%, lower than the Truck Series who had 48.6% laps run under yellow.
As the Xfinity Series saw more green flag laps, nobody really had a dominating car to run away with the lead. The two regulars who were able to do that were Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain, who led a combined 55 laps of 91.
However, Briscoe fended off battles from Chastain and a late surge from Jeremy Clements, to take home the fourth win of his 2020 season.
Though, there were some other competitors who also had a decent day at “The Tricky Triangle.”
Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Pocono Green 250.
- Chase Briscoe- Briscoe had a disappointing ending last week at Talladega, when he got caught up in a small accident that ended his run early. This week however, Talladega was behind the Stewart Haas team and they were focused on redemption at Pocono. With no qualifying, Briscoe started third via a draw, which gave him solid track position. He was consistent in Stage 1, where he placed the No. 98 machine sixth when the stage was completed. Briscoe pitted late in Stage 2, but received a penalty. Though, he caught a lucky break when a caution came out, which saw the stage end under yellow. The Indiana native restarted 21st and battled his way back to the front. With around 40 to go, the Stewart Haas driver was back in the top 10. Briscoe continued to work at it and got the lead on lap 54, after a fun battle with rival Ross Chastain and led for 15 laps. Not too long after, a caution flew setting up an overtime finish. Chastain tried to hold him off, but he was no match for Briscoe who earned his sixth win of his Xfinity Series career. A good bounce back from Talladega the week before. Not too mention Briscoe also rebounded from a flat tire while leading the race.
Previous Week Ranking- Fifth - Ross Chastain- Chastain fell short once again this week, but it wasn’t without effort. He had a fast No. 10 Kaulig machine, where it ran up front after pit stops cycled out. Chastain picked up points in Stage 1 by finishing second. Later on, he would take the lead for a short while, before someone else would take over. The Kaulig driver kept Briscoe at bay, whenever Briscoe would make a run for the top spot. Eventually, Briscoe got around Chastain, which put him in second. As the checkers flew, it was all she wrote, as Chastain placed second in the final running order, his fourth top five finish of the year. Not to be overlooked, the team also picked up another $100,000 “Dash 4 Cash” prize money.” Though, I’m sure they would have also liked the victory to go with it.
Previous Week Ranking- Second - Myatt Snider- There tensions during mid-race between him and rival Noah Gragson. If you remember, the two ran into each other earlier in the year at Las Vegas, which saw Gragson spin Snider costing him a good finishing position. The favor was repaid at Pocono, as Snider turned Gragson on the backstretch causing Gragson to crash. Rightfully, Gragson was frustrated and showed it after pit stops. Despite that incident, Snider had a solid showing at the Poconos. He managed to lead eight laps late and actually could have had a chance to win. Unfortunately, a late caution ruined his chances, but did take home a fourth place outing. By finishing in the top five, it was his second top five of the season. Snider also placed fourth and sixth in both stages, respectively.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked - Justin Allgaier- Before the accident on lap 54, which was caused by Snider, Allgaier had a great car up until that point. He finished third in Stage 1, but did pick up the maximum points earned (10) by winning the second stage. The JR Motorsports driver averaged seventh place until getting caught up in the accident. Allgaier did receive some damage, but still came home to a sixth place result.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked - Michael Annett- With the disappointing finishes at Homestead and Talladega, Annett and the No. 1 team got out of Pocono with a top five finish after finishing fifth. The Iowa native was mainly quiet, but did get some stage points in both stages, where Annett finished fifth and seventh. Believe it or not, the fifth place finish was his first top five of the year and his first top five since Kansas last fall.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
Fell Out
- Austin Cindric- Won Stage 1 and led 11 laps, but was caught up in the incident and had major damage to the No. 22 Ford. Cindric was done for the day and finished 29th.
Previous Week Ranking- Third - Noah Gragson- Finished seventh in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2, but the wreck from Snider ruined his day and could never rebound. Ultimately, this left Gragson 22nd in the results, one lap down.
Previous Week Ranking- Fourth
