2025 Explore the Pocono Mountains 250
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| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 33 of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | June 21, 2025 | ||
| Location | Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 100 laps, 250 mi (402 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 100 laps, 250 mi (402 km) | ||
| Average speed | 103.722 mph (166.924 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 54.209 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 38 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Connor Zilisch | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | The CW | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Ryan Blaney, and Jamie McMurray | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
The 2025 Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 was the 16th stock car race of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 10th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 100 laps to complete.
Connor Zilisch, driving for JR Motorsports, would make a late race pass on Jesse Love for the lead with four laps to go to earn his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, his second of the season, and his first win on an oval track.[10] To fill out the podium, Christian Eckes, driving for Kaulig Racing, would finish in 3rd, respectively.
This marked the first win for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a crew chief, filling in as a substitute for Mardy Lindley, who was serving a one-race suspension for improperly secured lugnuts found in post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway. Earnhardt would join a select group of history to win as both a driver and crew chief.[11]
Background
Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) oval speedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1970s. Nicknamed "The Tricky Triangle", the speedway has three distinct corners and is known for high speeds along its lengthy straightaways.
From 1982 to 2019, the circuit had two race weekends. In 2020, the circuit was reduced to one race meeting of two races. The first race was moved to World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis starting in 2022.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
For practice, drivers were separated into two groups, A and B. Both sessions were 25 minutes long, and was held on Saturday, June 21, at 10:00 AM EST.[12] Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would set the fastest time between both groups, with a lap of 55.138, and a speed of 163.227 mph (262.688 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.138 | 163.227 |
| 2 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 55.190 | 163.073 |
| 3 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.194 | 163.061 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, June 21, at 11:05 AM EST. Standard intermediate track qualifying was in effect, although at Pocono, a hybrid road course qualifying rule was used. The timing line was set in the North Straight, exiting Turn 2, where cars exited pit road, drove two-thirds of a lap, then took the green flag at the timing line exiting Turn 2, and completing their lap there the next time by. Teams then immediately pitted the car, meaning only two laps were run. In addition, up to three cars could be at the track at one time, separated by considerable intervals (about 20 seconds) to ensure drafting was prohibited.[12]
Chase Elliott, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 54.209, and a speed of 166.024 mph (267.190 km/h).[13]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
