Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Pocono Media Availability
Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is coming off his first top 10 finish of the season after an eighth-place run last weekend in Mexico City. Custer was part of a media Q&A session this afternoon where he talked about that race and what’s coming up next at Pocono Raceway, where he has a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series wins on his resume.

COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT MEXICO CITY AND HOW THINGS WENT FOR YOU? “It was great for our team being able to go there and get an eighth-place finish, our first top 10 of the year. We just had a solid car all day and good strategy. I didn’t make any mistakes. The pit crew did well and didn’t make any mistakes, so, overall, it was just a really solid day for us. Hopefully, at the halfway point of the season we’re able to start clicking off some good finishes and moving in the right direction.”

WHAT IS BUILDING A NOTEBOOK LIKE AND WHAT IT TAKES FOR YOU TO KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING? “Unfortunately, a lot of things that we do in racing is trial by error, so you go out there and try to make a change to the car to see if it’s better or worse. If it’s worse, you don’t do it. If it’s better, you keep working on that. With the limited times that we get to practice and having a practice this past weekend in Mexico definitely helped our team, being able to build our notebook and figure out what we want in our road course cars and what I need in the car. I think from there throughout the year we’ll get better and better, but it can get frustrating because it is pretty much trial by error of trying to figure out what we need to do with the cars. You try to rely on simulation as much as you can to work in the right direction, but there’s nothing like those real life experiences.”

WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS AT RIGHT NOW AND HOW MUCH DID MEXICO HELP? “I think at the end of the day the start of the season didn’t go how we started. We wanted to be in a better spot, but I feel like we’ve been starting to bring better cars to the racetrack. The intermediates have definitely been tough on us, so, hopefully, as the year goes we’re able to work better and better and get all of the aero stuff figured out for those tracks because it’s just so important when you go there. I feel like we’re moving in the right direction, it’s just a matter of putting races together. I feel like the road courses, the short tracks, the superspeedways, all of those should be strong suits for our team. I think we’re still working on the intermediate stuff, but I think we’re rolling in the right direction.”

HOW MUCH OF A NOTEBOOK DID YOU GUYS KEEP FROM SHR? DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THOSE OR IS NONE OF THAT APPLICABLE? “We have a lot of notes to look at, I’m not gonna lie on that, it’s just a matter of for what our cars currently are right now and what our team currently is right now, there’s a lot of moving parts. We have different simulation than we had last year and different tools to work with, so there’s a lot of different moving parts that it’s not as simple as just plugging one thing in and hoping it works. We actually found that out at the start of the season, so you really have to tailor it around your team because it’s all new people, all new tools, so we’re really having to work through that stuff and I think we’re starting to get in the flow of things halfway through the year.”

CAN YOU GIVE SOME PERSPECTIVE ON HOW THE NEXT GEN CAR IS DIFFERENT FROM WHEN YOU DROVE IT IN 2022 TO NOW? ARE YOU DOING A LOT OF THINGS DIFFERENTLY NOW? “I think the biggest thing I noticed when I first came back is just how good the cars drive, honestly. That’s kind of a hard thing to say because it’s not like we’re really up there in points, but that first year was so many unknowns. You’d show up at the racetrack and really didn’t know what you were gonna have. If you were gonna hit limiters, or hit road blocks. It was the wild west really at figuring this car out, where now everybody has dialed in these cars so good that it’s just a game of thousandths, literally thousandths of trying to figure out ways to make gains and beat the guy next to you. The field has really gotten a lot tighter. The cars have gotten to drive better, so you really just have to be 100 percent in every single area.”

SO HOW DO YOU BECOME A BETTER DRIVER? “I think the biggest thing is really taking your sim time seriously and using all the notes that you can to rely on and try to make sure you’re prepared for the weekend, and I think working with your team to get what you need in the race car to try to go faster. I think those are the biggest things that you can try to work on as a driver and studying to get better.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW ATLANTA DIFFERS FROM TALLADEGA AND DAYTONA, AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE UPCOMING ROAD COURSES AFTER SUCH A GOOD RUN IN MEXICO? “I think the first question, going to Atlanta, comparing that to Daytona and Talladega, the biggest thing is just the handling, especially when we go back there for the summer race. It’s just so hot that you really have way more handling involved than you do at Daytona or Talladega. You still have the drafting aspect, but everybody is hanging on for dear life a little bit, so the field gets a little bit more spread out just because you can’t race as tight. You have to worry about the handling, so it’s definitely a different dynamic where you see a little bit of a mix of a mile-and-a-half and superspeedway racing. The second question about going to the road courses, I’m definitely looking forward to those places. I feel like that practice in Mexico did us good as far as figuring out what we want in the cars, and I think having a solid finish definitely gives us some confidence going to the rest of them.”

HOW WAS LAST WEEKEND AS FAR AS THE TRACK AND SETUP, AND WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME BACK TO MEXICO CITY FOR ANOTHER RACE? “I thought the track raced really well. It had some really good passing zones with turn one, turn four, turn 11, turn 12, so it’s a racy track. There’s fall off in the cars. It’s not an easy place to get around. I thought the track was awesome, so I wouldn’t mind going back. It is logistically hard at times. We found that out as a team this week with our flights getting cancelled, but I feel like the second time around everything would be easier. I wouldn’t mind going back.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE DRIVING THROUGH THE STADIUM? “It was cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a setup that was legitimately, I think it used to be a baseball stadium, and now you have a racetrack running through it, so it was pretty awesome. I’ve never been a part of something like that, where it was so tailored around the fans and how they encapsulate the whole area. It was almost like you’re in Bristol but a road course. It was a pretty cool dynamic.”

WAS THERE ANY SENSE OF ADDED PRESSURE BEING THE ONLY TEAM THAT HAS TIES TO SHR? “I think we all put the pressure on ourselves. At this level, we all want to go win. Everybody on our team, there are a lot of people who have won races on our team that expect to go run up front, so I feel like that’s our end goal is to go and compete for wins. We’re putting that pressure on ourselves. We know we need to get better. I think at the end of the day, our guys aren’t gonna stop working until we get there.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE PERSPECTIVE OF SHIFTING FROM XFINITY TO CUP AND HOW YOU GO FROM CHASING A TITLE IN ONE TO BUILDING A NOTEBOOK IN THE OTHER? “It’s definitely a reset. I think of us as a new team, so we have to be smart about how we try and go out there and get solid finishes and try to maximize our days. Sometimes that’s not for a win, but it’s a matter of just how we build our notebook and how we move in the right direction is the biggest thing. You don’t want to be tearing up cars when you’re trying to build a program and trying to get things better. You have to be smart about things, but I think it’s a great challenge for us. I think there’s a lot of people that want to prove some people wrong and we want to go out there and compete with the best of them. I feel like we have the tools to do that, we just have to keep working and get our notebook better and better. Hopefully, in the second half of this season we’re able to hit our stride a little bit.”

HOW ARE THINGS DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND COMPARED TO THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN THE SERIES? “I wouldn’t say the cars drive comfortably, but I would say they drive better. That first year, everything was just so crazy with everybody trying to figure out the car that I think everybody has just really fine-tuned it to now. It’s really just brought the field a lot closer and closer together. For us, expectation-wise, I feel like we want to go out there this second half of the season and try to live in the top 20, live in the top 15, get some top 10 finishes and if you’re able to live in that top 15 or so, you’re gonna compete for wins at some point because the field is so tight. We just have to keep trying to work at that and try to get in that area.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES POCONO PRESENTS FOR A DRIVER WITH THREE DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT TURNS? “Pocono is so tough with three different corners, such long straightaways. You have to have everything working. You have to have good strategy, good pit stops, a great car that can work in all three corners. The driver has to be on their game because it’s a tough place to get around with how fast it is and how flat it is, so you just have to really be 100 percent in every single area. I feel like we’re working in the right direction, so hopefully we can have a solid weekend.”

WHEN YOU FIRST WENT TO POCONO AS A YOUNG DRIVER HOW CHALLENGING WAS IT AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THROUGH THE YEARS THERE? “I remember going there the first time and trying to go through the tunnel turn and I was scared to death. It can be such a hard place to get comfortable at because it is so fast and at the same time you’re going into a corner at 180-190 and it looks dead flat when you’re going into it, and there are big bumps in the center of turn two, so there’s just a lot of things you have to get comfortable with there. I feel like it’s been a solid place for me. I’ve won a couple Xfinity races there and an ARCA race, but I feel like it’s always a place that challenges you that you can always do better. You don’t ever feel like you leave that place and did an absolutely perfect job because it’s so hard to really hit perfect laps around that place every single time.”

HOW DO YOU WALK INTO IT THIS TIME THEN? “I think I understand it, it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with it, especially since I haven’t driven a Next Gen car there in a year or two. Just being able to go there and be really aggressive through turn two and everywhere you need to go, it takes a lot of commitment, so I think for me in practice just getting used to how far I can get into the corner and how much I can get away with.”

• In 15 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Spire Motorsports has logged three top-20 finishes. Carson Hocevar, driver of the team’s No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1, posted a team-best 17th-place finish in last season’s 400-mile event at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the Cup Series for Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Hocevar, respectively.
• The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com will be streamed live on Amazon Prime, Sunday, June 22 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 17th of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Dorman Products Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.
• Dorman Products celebrates their fifth season as Spire Motorsports partner with their first appearance as the primary sponsor on the No. 7 Chevy. The Colmar, Pa.-based company gives professionals, enthusiasts and owners greater freedom to fix motor vehicles. For over 100 years, Dorman has been driving new solutions, releasing tens of thousands of aftermarket replacement products engineered to save time and money and increase convenience and reliability. Founded and headquartered in the United States, Dorman is a pioneering global organization offering an always-evolving catalog of products, covering cars, trucks and specialty vehicles, from chassis to body, from underhood to undercarriage, and from hardware to complex electronics.
• The 26-year-old driver has four Cup Series starts under his belt at “The Tricky Triangle,” earning a venue-best 21st-place result in 2022. His average finishing position at the 2.5-mile triangle is 25.8.
• In NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, Haley has three Pocono starts, resulting one top-10 finish. He recorded both his best qualifying effort (ninth) and finish (15th) in 2022.
• Haley earned one top five and two top 10s in a pair of CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Pocono between 2017 and 2018.
• In the ARCA Menards Series, Haley captured the win in the 2017 ModSpace 150 at Pocono after starting second and leading 28 laps. He made two starts in the series at the Long Pond, Pa., venue, earning one top-five and two top-10 finishes.
• Last week in Mexico City, Haley was competing for position in the top 10 when he was tagged from behind by a spinning competitor on Lap 7, causing significant damage to the rear end of the No. 7 Chevy. After making adequate repairs to the severely-bent black-and-yellow Gainbridge machine, the team returned to the track one lap behind the leaders. The team received the lucky dog during the Stage Two break to return to the lead lap and nurse the damaged No. 7 home to a 24th-place finish.

Justin Haley Quote
Coming off of Mexico, how do you feel about Dorman aboard your Chevy and thoughts on Pocono?
“I’m excited to have Dorman on our No. 7 Chevrolet. Dorman has been a great partner for Spire and it’s really cool to give them their first chance to be on the car at their home track where I’ve had success in the past. We learned a lot over the past couple of weekends on the No. 7 car and I’m looking forward to a solid weekend in Pocono.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Ryan Sparks

• Ryan Sparks has called seven races at Pocono Raceway, earning a pair of event-best 19th-place finishes with Corey LaJoie in 2022 and 2024.
• The Winston Salem, N.C., native has called 182 NASCAR Cup Series races where he’s earned three top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.
• The Glendale, Ariz., native owns 22 starts at “The Tricky Triangle,” earning two top tens and leading 14 laps in NASCAR Cup Series competition. He registered a venue-best sixth-place finish in 2022 after starting 25th.
• Last Sunday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, McDowell qualified fifth and remained within the top 10 for the duration of Stage One and Stage Two. Unfortunately, an untimely caution scrambled the team’s long-run strategy, pinning McDowell in 13th with 32 laps remaining. The road-course ace made several tactical passes on his competitors to drive inside the top 10, eventually cracking the top five with two laps remaining.
• With ten races remaining before the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, McDowell sits 18th on the grid, 43 points below the cutline. He entered last week’s Viva Mexico 250 23rd in the playoff picture.
• Through the first 16 races of the 2025 campaign, McDowell owns an average starting position of 14.8, including six starts inside the top 10. 
• The No. 71 team earned a $100,000 payday and a trip to Victory Lane after winning the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge during last month’s visit to North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The crew’s blazing 12.587-second stop topped all entries for both the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race, earning the title of the fastest team on pit road.
• McDowell has claimed three Xfinity Fastest Lap awards this season, clocking the fastest lap in the Daytona 500, Phoenix Raceway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The No. 71 stands as the only Cup Series team to earn the award three times.
• McDowell secured Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. His 28.833-second lap marks the fastest lap in NASCAR’s seventh-generation Cup Series car (2022-present) at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.

Michael McDowell Quote
Coming off your first top five as a Spire Motorsports driver last week in Mexico, what are your thoughts heading into Pocono?
“I think Pocono is another great opportunity to put together a strong week. It is a unique place, especially over the tunnel turn with how narrow the track gets, but it is a track we have had success at in the past. I hope that we can continue to build off of our top-five run in Mexico and if you look at the next couple of tracks, there are a lot of places where we have had success. Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma are real opportunities for us to earn some points, shake up the in season tournament, and win races for Spire Motorsports. I am really looking forward to this stretch.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

• Crew chief Travis Peterson heads to Pocono to call his fourth Cup Series event at “The Tricky Triangle.” He earned a venue-best 19th-place result with McDowell in 2023.
• As a race engineer at Hendrick Motorsports, the West Bend, Wisc., native helped Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and the No. 88 team to a runner-up finish at Pocono in June 2016.
• Peterson has called 92 races in NASCAR’s premier series, securing one win, five top fives, 19 top 10s and seven pole awards.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

• Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, is set to make his second NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400.
• Hocevar started 15th in last year’s event at Pocono and finished 17th in the 160-lap event.
• The 22-year-old driver will also return to the No. 7 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series on Friday. Hocevar owns three prior starts in the series at the Tricky Triangle, with a best finish of fifth in the 2022 race.
• Friday’s race will mark the fourth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event for Hocevar, who took home the win six weeks ago at Kansas Speedway.
• Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings LLC, Delaware Life focuses on delivering a seamless experience for advisors. The company understands how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation and every individual need. Delaware Life is passionate about equipping advisors with annuities that give their customers peace of mind and a successful future, allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next.

Carson Hocevar Quote
How will another double-duty weekend help you at a track as tricky as Pocono?
“Track time is going to be an advantage this weekend. Pocono can be really difficult, you have to be able to get through each corner and they’re all different. The way the car or truck gets through the tunnel turn is going to feel completely different from how it gets through Turn One or Three. Then there’s the long straightaway and the bumps, and all the unique things that can impact a race at Pocono. I think we’ll do well. We’ve been able to find things at each type of track that play in our favor and I feel like we’ll be able to build on all of those things to make the adjustments we need.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

• Crew chief Luke Lambert will call his 20th Cup Series race from Pocono this Sunday. The crew chief has led drivers to five top-10 finishes at the three-turn, 2.5-mile track, with the most recent of those coming in 2020 with Christ Buescher.
• In one NASCAR Xfinity Series start, Lambert led Noah Gragson to victory on the strength of 43-laps led in the 90-lap event.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team also fields the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.

This Week in Motorsports: June 16 – 22, 2025

• NCS/NXS/NCTS: Pocono Raceway – June 20-22
• ARCA: Elko Speedway – June 21
• NHRA: Virginia Motorsports Park – June 21-22
• FORMULA DRIFT: Old Bridge Township Raceway Park (Englishtown, NJ) – June 19-21

PLANO, Texas (June 18, 2025) – It’s a busy weekend for Team Toyota in motorsports, starting off with NASCAR heading to Pocono Raceway for its annual summer visit with all three national series. The ARCA Menards Series continues its stretch of races with a visit to Elko Speedway in Minnesota. The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads to Virginia Motorsports Park for its ninth race of the 2025 season. Finally, Formula DRIFT is back on track at Englishtown Raceway Park in New Jersey.

NASCAR National Series – NCS/NXS

Camry drivers look to continue Pocono prowess … Pocono Raceway has been a strong track for multiple Toyota drivers who are eager to return to the “Tricky Triangle” this weekend, including Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Hamlin, who returns to his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota Camry XSE this weekend, is the all-time leader in career wins at Pocono with seven – most recently winning in 2023. He also has 16 top-fives and 23 top-10s in 35 career starts in the Pocono Mountains. Reddick comes into this weekend with four straight top-10s at Pocono and his 23XI Racing teammate, Wallace, has three top-10s in the last four Pocono races.

Nemechek posting career-best numbers early in 2025 … Last weekend’s sixth-place result in Mexico City continued the strong start to the 2025 Cup Series season for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s John Hunter Nemechek. The driver of the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE has earned a career-best five top-10 finishes in 16 races this season, including a top-five at the season-opening Daytona 500. Nemechek makes his fourth career Cup Series start at Pocono this weekend and is a former winner there with his victory in the Truck Series in 2021.

Sawalich comes to Pocono after career-best result … The sixth-place finish for William Sawalich in last weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Mexico City was the best of his young career. The finish was the Minnesotan’s third top-10 finish this season, as he now enters his debut at the “Tricky Triangle” of Pocono Raceway this weekend.

Bonsignore returns to the No. 19 … For the first time since Rockingham in April, Justin Bonsignore is back behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for JGR this weekend in Pocono. Saturday will be the fifth start of the season for Bonsignore and the sixth of his career as he looks to improve upon his career-best finish of 16th, which he earned at Homestead back in March.

Friesen back in truck after milestone win … Last time out for the NASCAR Truck Series, Stewart Friesen drove his No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to victory lane at Michigan in dramatic fashion for his first win since 2022. The Canadian is now locked into the 2025 Truck Series Playoffs and looks for another solid run at Pocono this weekend after finishing seventh last year.

NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA Menards Series

Reaves aims for another solid night … In his national ARCA Menards Series debut at Berlin Raceway last weekend, Max Reaves finished in the runner-up position, continuing his strong start to 2025. Reaves returns to the No. 18 JGR Camry this weekend at Elko Speedway in hopes of capturing his first national ARCA Menards Series win to go along with his three ARCA Menards Series East victories from earlier this season.

NHRA – Top Fuel/Funny Car

Capps, Torrence coming off big victories … Last time out for NHRA, Toyota earned a sweep in the nitro categories with victories by Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car), the first triumph by Torrence since Seattle 2024 and the first for Capps since the U.S. Nationals in 2023. Wins by both drivers aided them dearly in the series points standings as the summer stretch of races continues this weekend.

Kalitta seeks Virginia repeat … Former Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta comes back to Virginia Motorsports Park in search of a second straight victory after his triumph a season ago. The Michigan native also seeks to continue his dominance in qualifying this season, aiming for his sixth No. 1 qualifier spot and sixth in the last eight races.

Formula DRIFT

Castro comes to Englishtown off career-best result … Jhonnattan Castro enters Englishtown this weekend after a career weekend three weeks ago in Orlando, finishing runner-up in Formula DRIFT’s “Scorched” round. The result boosted the Dominican to fourth in the Formula DRIFT PRO points standings where he sits just 30 points back of points leader and Toyota teammate, Fredric Aasbø.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 32 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Pocono Event Info:
Date: Sunday, June 22
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Format: 160 Laps, 400 Miles, Stages: 30-95-160
TV: Prime
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 12:35 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 1:45 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• The NASCAR Cup Series heads north to Pocono Raceway for the 17th points race of the season as ‘The Tricky Triangle’ hosts its lone race date on the calendar.
• Jack Roush has four Pocono wins all-time, while the three-turn track stands as one of Brad Keselowski’s best (former winner in 2011). Pocono was also the site of Chris Buescher’s first victory in the Cup Series, way back in 2016 in one of his first seasons in Cup.
• Chris Buescher recorded his second top-10 finish on a road course this season in Mexico City, along with Circuit of the Americas back in March (7th).
• Ryan Preece has won a stage in both road-course races this year, the only Cup Series driver to do so this season.

6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com

17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Esperion

• In its continued effort to promote heart health, RFK Racing partner Esperion will host a one-mile Wellness Walk at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, June 21, following the conclusion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
• Chris Buescher will lead the walk, which will take place on the front stretch and pit road, and is accessible to all fans, including those in the grandstands and the infield.

60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Kroger / Scott 1000

Keselowski at Pocono
Starts: 27
Wins: 1 (2011)
Top-10s: 16
Poles: 1 (2016)

• Keselowski enters the weekend in line for his 28th Cup start at Pocono. He carries a 10.8 average finish, his second-best of any track on the circuit.
• Most recently he finished seventh a season ago, and 16th in 2023. Overall, he has 16 top 10s, 11 of which were in the top five, with one win at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ in 2011.
• Keselowski has led laps in 15 different Cup races in Pocono, including a race-best 95 in 2014 when he ran second. That marked one of four P2 finishes at the track, with the other runner-up results coming in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
• Keselowski has finished top 10 in six of the last nine Pocono races, and in 12 of the last 16.
• He has one pole all-time (2016) with an average starting position of 12.0 and 11 starts inside the top 10.
• Outside of Cup action, Keselowski made one start each in the Xfinity and Truck Series, winning the 2017 Xfinity race in the No. 22.

Buescher at Pocono
Starts: 15
Wins: 1 (2016)
Top-10s: 2
Poles: 1 (2021)

• Pocono marks the site of Buescher’s first-ever Cup win, which came in 2016 while driving at Front Row Motorsports. After weather played a factor with 133 laps completed, NASCAR red-flagged and ultimately called the race early, giving Buescher his first-career victory in NASCAR’s top series.
• Overall, at Pocono, Buescher has two top 10s in 15 starts with an average result of 20.0. He finished 11th a season ago.
• Buescher’s average qualifying effort stands at 19.4 with two career top-10 starting spots – including the pole in 2021 when NASCAR inverted the field after race one of a doubleheader, and in 2022 when he qualified fifth.
• Buescher also made four ARCA starts at Pocono in 2011-12, recording one runner-up finish followed by a third-place run and two fifth-place finishes.

Preece at Pocono
Starts: 8
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: 1 (2020)

• Preece is set for his ninth Cup start at Pocono this weekend, where he posted a career-best finish of eighth at the track in 2021.
• He holds a 25.5 average starting position at Pocono, including the pole in 2020 when NASCAR inverted the field after race one of a doubleheader.
• Preece has also made two NXS starts, two NCTS starts, and two ARCA starts at Pocono, including a runner-up finish in the Truck Series in 2022.

RFK Historically at Pocono
Cup Wins: 4 (Carl Edwards, 2005, 2008); Kurt Busch (2005); Greg Biffle (2010)

• It’s Tricky, it’s Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky): RFK has run 224 Cup races at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ dating back to 1988. An RFK Ford has visited victory lane on four occasions in the Cup series, with the first coming in 2005 with Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch followed with a win in the July race of that same year, one of his three victories for Jack Roush in 2005. Three years later, Edwards found winners circle again in 2008, and Greg Biffle carded the organization’s most recent win at the 2.5-mile track back in 2010.
• Runner-Up: RFK has finished in the second position 13 times at Pocono with six different drivers. All in all, RFK has finished first or second 17 times at the triangular track.
• Tale of the Tape: Overall RFK has 74 top-10 and 45 top-five results at Pocono along with three poles and the four wins. Mark Martin earned back-to-back poles in 1990 and 1991, before capturing his third in 1996.

RFK Pocono Wins

2005-1 Edwards Cup

2005-2 Busch Cup

2008-2 Edwards Cup

2010-2 Biffle Cup

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Mexico City: Buescher 10th, Preece 15th, & Keselowski 25th.

Points Standings (17: 16th, 60: 17th, 6: 32nd): Buescher sits 19 points above his teammate Preece for the final playoff spot. Keselowski is in 32nd after a 25th-place finish in Mexico City.

Pocono Event Info:
Date: Sunday, June 22
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Format: 160 Laps, 400 Miles, Stages: 30-95-160
TV: Prime
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 12:35 p.m. ET, Xfinity Practice (CW App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 1:40 p.m. ET, Xfinity Qualifying (CW App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 12:35 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 1:45 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 3:30 p.m. ET, Xfinity Race (CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• The NASCAR Cup Series heads north to Pocono Raceway for the 17th points race of the season as ‘The Tricky Triangle’ hosts its lone race date on the calendar.
• This weekend marks the fourth of five races in the “Driving 4 a Difference presented by the Gene Haas Foundation,” a new in-season Ford tournament within the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
• Sheldon Creed leads the tournament after four races with 112 points, followed by teammate Sam Mayer (97), Harrison Burton (70), Ryan Sieg (57) & Kyle Sieg (25).
• Mayer holds the third-best average finish (11.1) of full-time Xfinity drivers this season, behind Austin Hill (10.1) and Justin Allgaier (10.9).
• Cole Custer recorded his best finish of the season last weekend in Mexico City (8th), and best Cup Series result since Bristol of 2022 (8th).

Cole Custer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: HaasTooling.com

Sheldon Creed Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: Road Ranger

Sam Mayer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Audibel

Custer at Pocono (Cup)
Starts: 7
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —

• Custer makes his eighth Cup start at Pocono this weekend, where he has a 23.3 average finish. His best finish came in 2020 when he crossed the line in P16.
• His best start was fifth in 2020, when NASCAR inverted the field after race one of a doubleheader, and he boasts a 26.4 average starting position.
• Custer has also made six NXS starts at Pocono, where he has found victory lane twice in 2019 and 2024.

Creed at Pocono (Xfinity)
Starts: 3
Wins: —
Top-10s: 2
Poles: 1 (2024)

• Creed is set to make his fourth Xfinity start at Pocono on Saturday, where he has a pair of top-5 finishes. He finished P4 last season after leading seven laps, and came home in fifth in 2022.
• He started on the pole last season, one of three in his career, and carries an average starting position of 3.3 into this weekend.

Mayer at Pocono (Xfinity)
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —

• Mayer is in line for his fifth Xfinity start at Pocono this weekend, coming off a 10th-place finish in last season’s race. He recorded a runner-up result in 2023, and was P6 in 2022.
• He has started inside the top 10 once, a P8 start in 2023, and has an average starting position of 13.0.

Where They Stand

Cup Points Standings (41: 34th): Custer is 34th in the Cup Series points standings through 16 races this season with 204 points.

Xfinity Points Standings (41: 7th, 00: 8th): Mayer sits seventh in the Xfinity points standings with 487 total points on the season, behind the six winners, while Creed is in eighth place with 415 points heading into Pocono this Saturday.