Race Lineup

The official 2022 Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 NASCAR XFINITY Series race lineup, determined by qualifying results, shows the starting positions of all drivers at Pocono Raceway.

Explore The Pocono Mountains 225

Saturday, July 23rd, 2022

Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA

  • 27 Chevrolet
  • 7 Toyota
  • 5 Ford

  • Pocono Raceway
  • 7th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
  • Pole Winner: Justin Allgaier
  • Age: 36
  • Team : No. 7 - Hellmann's Chevrolet
  • Owner: JR Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Jason Burdett
  • Justin Allgaier won the Pole Award for the 7th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 with a lap of 53.359 seconds, 168.669 mph.
  • This is his seventh pole in 391 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his first pole and 12th top-10 start in 2022.
  • This is his first pole in seven races at Pocono Raceway. He becomes the fourth different driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to win a pole at Pocono Raceway.
  • Ty Gibbs (second) posted his 14th top-10 start of 2022 and his first in two races at Pocono Raceway.
  • Brandon Jones (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. It is his 13th in 19 races this season.
  • Sheldon Creed (sixth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Saturday, July 23rd, 2022
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
Gragson holds off Gibbs to win wild Xfinity race at Pocono

Two of the most determined, talented, young drivers in NASCAR put on a show for the ages in the closing laps of Saturday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway with 24-year-old Noah Gragson ultimately holding off Ty Gibbs, 19, by the blink of an eye to take the victory.

Gragson’s No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line at the storied 2.5-mile track by a mere .281-seconds ahead of Gibb’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – the last 15 laps the duo staying within .3-seconds of one another.

Gibbs earned three of his four race wins this season on a last lap pass, but Gragson didn’t allow it Saturday – so happy with the effort he climbed out of his car and joined his team scaling the fencing in front of a boisterous and approving crowded frontstretch grandstand.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever driven there," said the Las Vegas native Gragson, whose three wins this season already ties his single season high mark. “I’m worn out. Working my ass off out there to keep the 54 back. He’s pretty fast.

“I had to work for it," Gragson said still catching his breath from climbing the fence. “It was tough. Kept getting tight, tight, tight and with 15 to go I didn’t think I could hold him off. But we just keep digging."

That summed up a dramatic ending to an action-packed day.

Gragson’s JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier started from pole position and led the first 23 laps to win Stage 1. Gragson was seventh and Gibbs’ fourth in the opening run. But Gragson took the lead on the ensuing pit stop and won Stage 2 – his seventh and the JR Motorsports series’ best 21st stage win of the year.

Ultimately, good pit strategy made the difference for Gragson, whose Chevrolet was able to benefit from a four-tire and gas stop with 38 laps to go. He re-started sixth – behind Gibbs’ who did not take tires – and worked his way forward, taking the lead for good with 22 laps to go.

“It definitely hurt us giving him a tire advantage," Gibbs said. “But I was so surprised to be able to hang with the 9 (car) when he was on [fresh tires]. Had a great car, just didn’t put it together. I just made some mistakes and we’ll come back next weekend."

Gragson’s teammate Berry finished third, followed by Xfinity Series driver standings leader Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and Richard Childress Racing's rookie Sheldon Creed.

Two more JR Motorsports drivers, Sam Mayer and Allgaier finished sixth and seventh – a particularly impressive comeback for Allgaier who was penalized for speeding on pit road during his last pit stop.

RCR’s Austin Hill, Kaulig’s Daniel Hemric and NASCAR Cup Series regular Cole Custer rounded out the top 10.

It was a dramatic race from start to finish, including a red flag period during Stage 2 for a for a high-speed accident involving five cars. Santino Ferrucci’s car got loose exiting Turn 3 and was hit from behind by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. whose car catapulted toward the pit road wall, colliding with Jeb Burton’s car, spinning and flipping Burton’s car over on its hood.

The NASCAR AMR Safety Crew immediately responded, checked that Burton was okay and then carefully right-sided his car back onto its tires. Burton climbed out un-assisted and the wreckage was cleaned up. The red flag lasted a little more than eight minutes and the race resumed.

“Man, that was not good," said Burton, driver of the No. 27 Our Motorsport Chevrolet. “Hate if for my guys, those guys work hard on these race cars.

“But appreciate the safety crew, they got to me fast," he added. “It’s been a tough year, but we’ll keep digging.”

Gragson’s victory marked the seventh win in the last 11 races for JR Motorsports, which is enjoying a summer of success. And Allmendinger now leads Allgaier by 16 points atop the series driver standings.

  • Drivers Entered: 39 (1 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 90
  • Margin of Victory: 0.281 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 1 Hours 49 Minutes 22 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 123.438
  • Cautions: 5 for 18 laps
  • Lead Changes: 9
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,022 (14.2 passes per green flag lap)

  • Pocono Raceway
  • 7th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
  • Race Winner: Noah Gragson
  • Age: 24
  • Team : No. 9 - Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet
  • Owner: JR Motorsports
  • Crew Chief: Lucas Lambert
  • Noah Gragson won the 7th Annual Explore the Pocono Mountains 225, his eighth victory in 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his third victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2022.
  • This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Pocono Raceway.
  • Ty Gibbs (second) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Pocono Raceway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2022.
  • Josh Berry (third) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at Pocono Raceway.
  • Sheldon Creed (fifth) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • AJ Allmendinger leads the point standings by 16 points over Justin Allgaier.
Justin Allgaier poses for photos after winning the pole award
Long Pond, Pennsylvania - July 23, 2022 : Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 Hellmann's Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 22 at Pocono Raceway.
Tim NwachukwuGetty Images
Race lineup for the Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway
ST # DRIVER MAKE SPD TIME BHND SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 7 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 168.669 53.359 0.000 Hellmann's Jr Motorsports Jason Burdett
2 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 168.319 53.470 0.111 Monster Energy Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle
3 19 Brandon Jones Toyota 167.948 53.588 0.229 Menards\Pelonis Joe Gibbs Racing Jeff Meendering
4 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 167.898 53.604 0.245 Action Industries Kaulig Racing Bruce Schlicker
5 18 Sammy Smith Toyota 167.848 53.620 0.261 Pilot Flying J Joe Gibbs Racing Jason Ratcliff
6 2 Sheldon Creed Chevrolet 167.779 53.642 0.283 Whelen Richard Childress Racing Jeff Stankiewicz
7 8 Josh Berry Chevrolet 166.942 53.911 0.552 Tire Pros Jr Motorsports Mike Bumgarner
8 21 Austin Hill Chevrolet 166.716 53.984 0.625 Global Industrial Richard Childress Racing Andy Street
9 9 Noah Gragson Chevrolet 165.945 54.235 0.876 Bass Pro Shops TrueTimber BRCC Jr Motorsports Luke Lambert
10 48 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Chevrolet 165.837 54.270 0.911 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Big Machine Racing Patrick Donahue
11 26 Santino Ferrucci Toyota 165.767 54.293 0.934 Freedom Alliance Sam Hunt Racing Allen Hart
12 1 Sam Mayer Chevrolet 165.657 54.329 0.970 Accelerate Pros Talent Jr Motorsports Taylor Moyer
13 11 Daniel Hemric Chevrolet 165.545 54.366 1.007 AG1 - Athletic Greens Kaulig Racing Alex Yontz
14 98 Riley Herbst Ford 165.502 54.380 1.021 Monster Energy Stewart-haas Racing Richard Boswell
15 39 Ryan Sieg Ford 165.226 54.471 1.112 A-GAME Rss Racing Kevin Starland
16 07 Cole Custer Ford 165.171 54.489 1.130 G Coin Ss-glr W/jeff Lefcourt Joe Williams
17 02 Brett Moffitt Chevrolet 165.113 54.508 1.149 Half Off Wholesale Our Motorsports Kris Bowen
18 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 164.555 54.693 1.334 Fly & Form Concrete Structures Jeremy Clements Racing Mark Setzer
19 27 Jeb Burton Chevrolet 164.357 54.759 1.400 Puryear Tank Lines Our Motorsports Chad Walter
20 38 Kyle Sieg Ford 164.309 54.775 1.416 US Hydrations/ Sparkling Ice Rss Racing Steve Addington
21 10 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 163.914 54.907 1.548 Carnomaly Kaulig Racing Jason Trinchere
22 36 Alex Labbe Chevrolet 163.878 54.919 1.560 Unsponsored Dgm Racing Nathan Kennedy
23 4 Bayley Currey Chevrolet 163.785 54.950 1.591 Alka-Seltzer Jd Motorsports Wayne Carroll Jr
24 23 Anthony Alfredo Chevrolet 163.541 55.032 1.673 John Civetta & Sons Our Motorsports Pat Tryson
25 Kyle Weatherman 163.280 55.120 1.761
26 68 Brandon Brown Chevrolet 163.259 55.127 1.768 Brandonbilt Foundations Brandonbilt Motorsports Doug Randolph
27 45 Sage Karam Chevrolet 162.805 55.281 1.922 CRC Brakleen Alpha Prime Racing Frank Kerr
28 31 Myatt Snider Chevrolet 162.613 55.346 1.987 Bommarito Automotive Group Jordan Anderson Racing Shane Whitbeck
29 91 Mason Massey Chevrolet 162.596 55.352 1.993 Rich Mar Florist Dgm Racing Mario Gosselin
30 5 Stefan Parsons Chevrolet 162.566 55.362 2.003 Kelly Bj Mcleod Motorsports David Ingram
31 77 Ronnie Bassett Jr Chevrolet 162.555 55.366 2.007 Jerry Hunt Supercenter Bassett Racing TBA
32 44 Rajah Caruth Chevrolet 162.549 55.368 2.009 Martin De Porres Alpha Prime Racing Michael Brandt
33 78 Josh Williams Chevrolet 161.900 55.590 2.231 Alloy Employer Services Bj Mcleod Motorsports Mike Tyska
34 08 David Starr Ford 161.699 55.659 2.300 TicketSmarter Ss-glr W/jeff Lefcourt Jason Miller
35 6 Ryan Vargas Chevrolet 161.400 55.762 2.403 KSDT Jd Motorsports Kase Kallenbach
36 35 Patrick Emerling Toyota 160.944 55.920 2.561 Kitty Kat Coin Emerling Gase Motorsports Rick Bourgeois
37 13 Timmy Hill Toyota 160.108 56.212 2.853 Unsponsored Motorsports Business Management Jason Houghtaling
38 66 JJ Yeley Toyota 0.000 0.000 53.359 Unsponsored Motorsports Business Management George Church
*39 47 Brennan Poole Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 53.359 Unsponsored Mike Harmon Racing Ryan Bell

* Did Not Qualify (DNQ) for race.