2022 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
# 2022 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225

The 2022 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 was the 19th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the seventh iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 90 laps to complete. Noah Gragson, driving for JR Motorsports, held off Ty Gibbs in an outstanding battle with 22 laps to go, and earned his eighth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his third of the season. Gragson would also dominate most of the race, leading 43 laps. To fill out the podium, Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 3rd, respectively.

The race was marred by a wreck on lap 45. Santino Ferrucci would get spun coming out of turn 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with nowhere to go, would t-bone the side of Ferrucci's car. Stenhouse came back down onto the racetrack, as everyone was attempting to make it through the wreck. Jeb Burton had attempted to go lower down the track to avoid the wreck, but was unsuccessful. Burton would clip the front of Stenhouse's car, causing him to flip on his roof, in turn becoming the 500th confirmed flip in NASCAR history. His car would come to rest right after the start-finish line. Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Jeremy Clements would also be involved in the crash. All drivers were released from the infield care center several minutes later.

## Background

Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as The Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA Menards Series event in July: a NASCAR Cup Series race with support events by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. From 1971 to 1989, and from 2013 to 2019, the track also hosted an Indy Car race, currently sanctioned by the IndyCar Series. Additionally, from 1982 to 2021, it hosted two NASCAR Cup Series races, with the traditional first date being removed for 2022.

Pocono is one of the few NASCAR tracks not owned by either NASCAR or Speedway Motorsports, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. Pocono CEO Nick Igdalsky and president Ben May are members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli. Mattco also owns South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia.

Outside NASCAR and IndyCar Series races, Pocono is used throughout the year by the Stock Car Experience, Bertil Roos Driving School, Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) as well as many other clubs and organizations. The triangular track also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – the north course, east course and south course. Each of these infield sections use separate portions of the track or can be combined for longer and more technical course configurations. In total Pocono Raceway has offers 22 different road course configurations ranging from .5 miles to 3.65 miles in length. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs or driving schools can use the track simultaneously by running on different infield sections. All of the infield sections can also be run in either clockwise or counter clockwise direction which doubles the 22 course configuration to 44 total course options.

### Entry list

| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | AcceleratePros.com |
| 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | Half Off Wholesale |
| 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Whelen |
| 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | Alka-Seltzer |
| 5 | Stefan Parsons (i) | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kelly Benefits |
| 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | KSDT CPA |
| 07 | Cole Custer (i) | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | G Coin |
| 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Hellmann's |
| 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | TicketSmarter |
| 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tire Pros |
| 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops, Black Rifle Coffee Company |
| 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Carnomaly |
| 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | AG1 - Athletic Greens |
| 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | CrashClaimsR.US |
| 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | Action Industries |
| 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Pilot Flying J |
| 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Pelonis, Menards |
| 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Global Industrial |
| 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | John Civetta & Sons |
| 26 | Santino Ferrucci | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | Freedom Alliance |
| 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | Puryear Tank Lines |
| 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | Bommarito Automotive Group |
| 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | Equity Prime Mortgage |
| 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | Kitty Kat Coin |
| 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | DGM Racing |
| 38 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | US Hydrations, Sparkling Ice |
| 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | A-GAME |
| 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | Martin De Porres |
| 45 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | CRC Brakleen |
| 47 | Brennan Poole (i) | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | AutosbyNelson.com, Solid Rock Carriers |
| 48 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | Big Machine Spiked Coolers |
| 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | Fly & Form Concrete Structures |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Monster Energy |
| 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | Coble Enterprises |
| 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | Brandonbilt Foundations |
| 77 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | Jerry Hunt Supercenter |
| 78 | Josh Williams | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | Alloy Employment Services |
| 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | Rich Mar Florist |
| 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | Monster Energy |
| Official entry list |||||

## Practice

The only 30-minute practice session was held on Saturday, July 23, at 9:30 AM EST. Brandon Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the fastest in the session, with a lap of 54.339, and an average speed of 165.627 mph (266.551 km/h).

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 54.339 | 165.627 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 54.383 | 165.493 |
| 3 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 54.409 | 165.414 |
| Full practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 23, at 10:00 AM EST. Since Pocono Raceway is a tri-oval track, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in the round wins the pole.

Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, scored the pole for the race, with a lap of 53.359, and an average speed of 168.669 mph (271.446 km/h).

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.359 | 168.669 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.470 | 168.319 |
| 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.588 | 167.948 |
| 4 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 53.604 | 167.898 |
| 5 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.620 | 167.848 |
| 6 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 53.642 | 167.779 |
| 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.911 | 166.942 |
| 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 53.984 | 166.716 |
| 9 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.235 | 165.945 |
| 10 | 48 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 54.270 | 165.837 |
| 11 | 26 | Santino Ferrucci | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 54.293 | 165.767 |
| 12 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.329 | 165.657 |
| 13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 54.366 | 165.545 |
| 14 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 54.380 | 165.502 |
| 15 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 54.471 | 165.226 |
| 16 | 07 | Cole Custer (i) | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 54.489 | 165.171 |
| 17 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.508 | 165.113 |
| 18 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 54.693 | 164.555 |
| 19 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.759 | 164.357 |
| 20 | 38 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 54.775 | 164.309 |
| 21 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 54.907 | 163.914 |
| 22 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 54.919 | 163.878 |
| 23 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.950 | 163.785 |
| 24 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.032 | 163.541 |
| 25 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.120 | 163.280 |
| 26 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.127 | 163.259 |
| 27 | 45 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 55.281 | 162.805 |
| 28 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 55.346 | 162.613 |
| 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 55.352 | 162.596 |
| 30 | 5 | Stefan Parsons (i) | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.362 | 162.566 |
| 31 | 77 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | 55.366 | 162.555 |
| 32 | 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 55.368 | 162.549 |
| 33 | 78 | Josh Williams | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.590 | 161.900 |
| Qualified by owner's points |||||||
| 34 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 55.659 | 161.699 |
| 35 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 55.762 | 161.400 |
| 36 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 55.920 | 160.944 |
| 37 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 56.212 | 160.108 |
| 38 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | - | - |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 39 | 47 | Brennan Poole (i) | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | - | - |
| Official qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

Stage 1 Laps: 20

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |

Stage 2 Laps: 20

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |

Stage 3 Laps: 50

| Fin. | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 43 | Running | 54 |
| 2 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 90 | 3 | Running | 51 |
| 3 | 7 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 9 | Running | 45 |
| 4 | 4 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 45 |
| 5 | 6 | 2 | Sheldon Creed (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 45 |
| 6 | 12 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 22 | Running | 45 |
| 8 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 4 | Running | 31 |
| 9 | 13 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 10 | 16 | 07 | Cole Custer (i) | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 90 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 11 | 21 | 10 | Landon Cassill | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 12 | 14 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 90 | 4 | Running | 25 |
| 13 | 26 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 28 | 31 | Myatt Snider | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 15 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 90 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 24 | 23 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 3 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 90 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 18 | 17 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 2 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 25 | 34 | Kyle Weatherman | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 27 | 45 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 33 | 78 | Josh Williams | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 20 | 38 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 90 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 30 | 5 | Stefan Parsons (i) | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 24 | 29 | 91 | Mason Massey | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 90 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 35 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 23 | 4 | Bayley Currey | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 34 | 08 | David Starr | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 89 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 38 | 66 | J. J. Yeley | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 89 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 36 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Ford | 89 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 37 | 13 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 89 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 31 | 5 | 18 | Sammy Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53 | 0 | Accident | 9 |
| 32 | 18 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 48 | 0 | Accident | 5 |
| 33 | 19 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 46 | 0 | Accident | 4 |
| 34 | 10 | 48 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | Accident | 0 |
| 35 | 11 | 26 | Santino Ferrucci | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 45 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 31 | 77 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 22 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 32 | 44 | Rajah Caruth (i) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 1 | 0 | Accident | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | A. J. Allmendinger | 747 |
| | 2 | Justin Allgaier | 731 (-16) |
| | 3 | Ty Gibbs | 725 (-22) |
| | 4 | Josh Berry | 660 (-87) |
| | 5 | Noah Gragson | 657 (-90) |
| | 6 | Austin Hill | 600 (-147) |
| | 7 | Brandon Jones | 574 (-173) |
| | 8 | Sam Mayer | 543 (-204) |
| | 9 | Riley Herbst | 518 (-250) |
| | 10 | Daniel Hemric | 497 (-250) |
| | 11 | Ryan Sieg | 461 (-286) |
| | 12 | Landon Cassill | 451 (-296) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
