NASCAR race weekend at Pocono: How to watch, starting lineup and weather forecast

A chaotic week in NASCAR will be capped with a weekend full of racing at Pocono.

After NASCAR announced details of an investigation into a garage pull shaped like a noose in the garage stall of Black driver Bubba Wallace at Talladega last weekend — an act the FBI determined was not a hate crime — the sport is moving ahead with Cup Series racing on back-to-back days at the same track for the first time in the sport’s modern era (1972-present).

“I think without a doubt it will be difficult for someone to win both races,” five-time Pocono race winner Denny Hamlin said. “Simply because that track is a little bit hard to pass at unless you have a dominant car over the field.”

Hamlin said he’s expecting to see “strung-out cars” and “crazy restarts” based on past races at the 2.5-mile track in Long Pond, Pa. He also noted that all three corners of the raceway, often called the “Tricky Triangle,” are “all so different,” making it more difficult for drivers to adjust to the turns without any practice or qualifying laps.

“If you get out of there with a couple top-fives, you’ve had a pretty good weekend,” Hamlin said. “... I think you’ll see some guys who have flip-flop days between the two races.”

Aric Almirola will start on the pole for Saturday’s race via random draw, along with Monday’s Talladega race winner Ryan Blaney in the front row. The finishing order of Saturday’s race will determine the starting order for Sunday’s race; that starting lineup will be set by inverting the top 20 finishers from the first race. Drivers that finish in positions 21-40 on Saturday will start in the position they finished for the following day.

What’s the weather like for NASCAR’s races at Pocono?

Showers and thunderstorms are possible both days, according to the National Weather Service, but they could miss the race windows. On Saturday, there is a 60 percent chance of precipitation between 5 and 7 p.m. On Sunday, the chance of showers drops to 30 percent, mainly after 3 p.m., but that more directly aligns with the race’s 4 p.m. start time.

WHO TO WATCH

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have historically dominated at Pocono. The last five races at that track have been won by Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch (three times). Reigning Cup champion Busch still needs a win this season, as does seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

Team Penske, however, is looking sharp so far. All three drivers — Blaney, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski — have already guaranteed their spot in the playoffs with race wins this season; Blaney at Talladega, Logano at Las Vegas and Phoenix and Keselowski at Bristol and Charlotte.

While points leader Kevin Harvick and Charlotte race winner Chase Elliott are also safe bets this weekend, a first time win this season could come for Erik Jones or William Byron. Jones finished second at the last Pocono race (and third before that), while Byron finished fourth at the track last July.

Also worth mentioning are the increasingly “woke” paint schemes drivers are sporting as NASCAR and the nation grapples with conversations around racial injustice. Saturday, Ryan Preece will run a paint scheme from P&G sponsor that features a link on the hood of his No. 37 Chevrolet directing fans to resources to learn about racial inequality in America.

Hamlin’s longtime FedEx sponsor deferred its usual space on the No. 11 Toyota at Talladega for an all-black paint scheme honoring the National Civil Rights Museum as part of Joe Gibbs Racing team’s mission to “listen and learn.”

Hamlin said he visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., before the race weekend in Alabama. Hamlin, JGR and the team’s sponsor — Memphis-based FedEx — decided to give advertising space on the No. 11 car to the museum, formerly the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

“I encourage anyone who wants to broaden their perspective on African American history to please visit this historic museum,” Hamlin tweeted last week. “Let’s all come together to make a difference.”

Wallace made waves at the Martinsville race driving a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme on his No. 43 Chevrolet with the words “Compassion, Love, Understanding” on the hood. Wallace said there was no sponsor for that scheme, and was a design choice he initiated.

“We’re in a sport where money drives our careers,” Wallace said Friday. “Sponsors, they don’t want you to touch it (racial injustice). I say this with the utmost respect, but ever since I’ve been speaking out, I haven’t been thinking about my sponsors. I’ve been thinking about me being a human being.”

HOW TO WATCH NASCAR CUP RACE WEEKEND AT POCONO

SATURDAY

• Race: Pocono Organics 325

• Distance: 325 miles, 130 laps (stages end on laps 25, 77, 130)

• When: 3:30 p.m.

• TV: FOX (broadcast starts at 3 p.m.)

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Also Saturday: Trucks race at Pocono runs 12:30 p.m. on FS1

SUNDAY

• Race: Pocono 350

• Distance: 350 miles, 140 laps (stages end on laps 30, 85, 140)

• When: 4 p.m.

• TV: FS1 (broadcast starts at 3:30 p.m.)

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Also Sunday: Xfinity race at Pocono runs 12:30 p.m. on FS1

STARTING ORDER FOR NASCAR’S SATURDAY RACE AT POCONO

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription