is in one of the best driving type of his profession.
on June 14 at Pocono Raceway, his third victory in a row. The motive force of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is now with 10 regular-season races to go.
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Hamlin once more was the quickest all through the race, velocity that erased some other strategical benefit from others within the subject.
Because the narrative continues in 2026 about Toyota’s dominance, perhaps there ought to be a shift. It isn’t essentially Toyota et al, however Hamlin and Tyler Reddick are the drivers dominating this season.
Reddick, who completed second at Pocono, and Hamlin have mixed to win 9 of 16 races to date plus the All-Star Race. 5 different Toyota drivers are inside the highest 15 in factors, however Reddick and Hamlin are in a category of their very own proper now.
Listed here are the winners and losers from the NASCAR Pocono race:
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POINTS AFTER POCONO:
NASCAR Pocono winners and losers as Denny Hamlin continues on career-best runWinner: Denny Hamlin because the 2026 title favourite
And whereas Reddick owned February and March, Hamlin is dominating Could and June.
Hamlin is on a three-race successful streak going into subsequent week’s race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego. Highway programs are usually not Hamlin’s energy, and the Cup Sequence have two such races in a row arising.
The purpose ought to be made now, then. Hamlin is the 2026 Cup Sequence championship favourite by 16 weeks.
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Overlook that the Chase format will probably be in Hamlin’s favor, and that 4 1.5-mile tracks within the 10-week race to the championship offers him a transparent benefit.
Hamlin is on tempo to set profession highs in wins, laps led and common end in his age-45 season. The No. 11 Toyota has unloaded nicely this 12 months. And Hamlin has however yet another profession checkmark to make — a Cup Sequence title.
Reddick vs. Hamlin ought to be a enjoyable showdown to observe this fall. As of now, Hamlin has the benefit.
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Our greatest footage from NASCAR Pocono race Nice American Getaway 400
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 14: NASCAR followers take photographs of a rock painted “18 8”, in tribute to the late Kyle Busch previous to the NASCAR Cup Sequence Nice American Getaway 400 offered by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026 in Lengthy Pond, Pennsylvania. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
(David Jensen, Getty Photographs)
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Our greatest footage from NASCAR Pocono race Nice American Getaway 400
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 14: NASCAR followers take photographs of a rock painted “18 8”, in tribute to the late Kyle Busch previous to the NASCAR Cup Sequence Nice American Getaway 400 offered by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026 in Lengthy Pond, Pennsylvania. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
(David Jensen, Getty Photographs)
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Our greatest footage from NASCAR Pocono race Nice American Getaway 400
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 14: NASCAR followers arrive for the NASCAR Cup Sequence Nice American Getaway 400 offered by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026 in Lengthy Pond, Pennsylvania. (Picture by James Gilbert/Getty Photographs)
(James Gilbert, Getty Photographs)
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Our greatest footage from NASCAR Pocono race Nice American Getaway 400
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 14: NASCAR followers arrive for the NASCAR Cup Sequence Nice American Getaway 400 offered by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway on June 14, 2026 in Lengthy Pond, Pennsylvania. (Picture by James Gilbert/Getty Photographs)
(James Gilbert, Getty Photographs)
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Our greatest footage from NASCAR Pocono race Nice American Getaway 400
Jun 14, 2026; Lengthy Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Denny Hamlin (11) leads the sector to the inexperienced flag to start out The Nice American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Obligatory Credit score: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Photographs
(Matthew O’Haren, Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Photographs)Winner: Legacy Motor Membership
The entire Hamlin-Reddick discuss apart, the subsequent greatest story is the latest surge by Legacy Motor Membership and its two automobiles.
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Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek have every proven top-five velocity during the last three weeks, and Pocono was their greatest mixed runs on velocity within the group’s present make-up.
Nemechek led a race-high 42 laps and completed fourth, whereas Jones ran within the high 10 for many of the race earlier than ending sixth. Jones vaulted to fifteenth within the factors standings, on the correct facet of the bubble with 10 races to go earlier than the cutoff.
Nemechek is just too far off the Chase cutline to make that sort of affect this 12 months (even when the Chase bubble could be very tender), however he and Jones are gifted sufficient to drive good race automobiles into competition every week. If Jones can handle a pair strong runs on the highway course races arising, he will probably be in an ideal spot to get into the 16-driver Chase.
Loser: Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing has featured too usually on this part during the last six weeks, and Keselowski is again right here after a no-good, very-bad weekend at Pocono.
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Keselowski’s issues started on June 13 with an engine situation throughout his qualifying run, forcing him to start out in the back of the sector.
The No. 6 Ford made OK progress by 46 laps, however was nonetheless mired outdoors the highest 20 when it was caught up in a multi-car crash brought on by contact from Austin Hill to Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Berry. Keselowski hit a spinning Bubba Wallace sq. within the door and suffered main harm.
No driver needs to be operating towards the again of the pack, however there’s further threat concerned by being round slower automobiles in visitors. For the third straight week, Keselowski had a DNF after a crash whereas operating outdoors the highest 20.
Keselowski was ninth in factors, 41 factors above the cutline after Watkins Glen. Now? Keselowski is seventeenth, 4 factors behind sixteenth.
Loser: Joey Logano
Logano’s mini-run of strong outcomes ended with a Thirty fourth-place end at Pocono after being concerned in the identical Lap 46 crash that knocked Keselowski out of the race.
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Logano made a pit cease for a method play and was towards the again after incomes factors in Stage 1. However he was caught up in different individuals’s points, struggling harm to the splitter within the crash after making contact with Connor Zilisch and not less than one different automobile.
Logano misplaced a lap below warning for repairs, then was nicely off of race tempo all through the ultimate 100 laps.
The No. 22 had recorded finishes of eighth, 14th and seventh during the last three weeks to maintain tempo with the Chase bubble. Logano’s struggles at Pocono had been offset considerably by different drivers’ points, however he has not proven the tempo and race execution to constantly run up entrance and erase a factors deficit.
