LONG POND, PA – July 15, 2024 – Ryan Blaney won the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday marking his second win of the season, 12th of his career, and second at Pocono. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer also won the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 on Saturday in the Xfinity Series, completing a weekend sweep for the Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
“Congratulations to Ford Performance, Team Penske, and Stewart-Haas Racing on the wins at Pocono” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Pocono is a special track to Roush Yates Engines as we had our first win with the FR9 engine in 2010 with Greg Biffle. To see Ryan and Cole win these races showcases all the dedication and hard work by our Ford Performance teams.”
Sunday’s 160-lap race started with three Ford Performance drivers in the top-10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry in P5 along with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P8 and Joey Logano in P10. After the first stage ended, Team Penske’s Joey Logano and RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski started on the front row in Stage 2. Prior to the end of Stage 2, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher took fuel and fresh tires that lasted until the end of the race. As stage 3 began, Buescher took the lead with Blaney right behind him. With 40 laps remaining, Blaney took the lead and maintained it throughout multiple restarts. Blaney won over second place Denny Hamlin by 1.312 seconds.
“I think we are in a better spot at this time this year than where we were last year at this point. I feel like our speed is better. Our execution is great. We are doing everything as a 12 group the best that we can. We have had some other unforeseen circumstances that have hindered some finishes and possible wins. I am so proud of this Team Penske group. All the men and women at the race shop, they work their butts off to try to get better and deal with the drivers when they say we need to get a lot better. I appreciate them and Roush Yates Engines and all the work they do and continue to do. Go USA,” commented Blaney.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano finished in P5 and RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski finished in P7.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Pocono on Saturday. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer took the lead from Justin Allgaier on a restart with nine laps remaining and maintained the lead until the end of the race, beating Allgaier to the checkered flag by .670 seconds. The victory marked Custer’s first win of the 2024 season and second at Pocono. Custer becomes the first driver to win multiple Xfinity Series races at the track following his first win in 2019. The win also allowed Custer to extend his lead in the Xfinity Series point standings and now holds a 51-point advantage over second place Justin Allgaier.
“This means so much. These guys have worked so hard this year and just haven’t gotten that final result. It is awesome to get it here at Pocono. This is such an awesome race track that is hard to win at. I can’t thank all of them enough. An unbelievable car. Doug Yates gave us awesome Roush Yates horsepower,” commented Custer.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst finished Saturday’s race in P11 and RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg finished in P12.
The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series both compete this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.
39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 465 WINS – 432 POLES
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class AS9100 Rev D/ISO 13485 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.
Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine.
With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide race winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.
