A look at the winners and losers from Pocono Raceway:
WINNERS
Denny Hamlin — Winning at Pocono automatically puts Hamlin at the top of the list. He became the winningest Cup racer at the 2.5-mile track with seven victories and one of only 15 drivers in NASCAR history with 50 or more career wins. Moved to third in the standings while putting himself in a position to lock up more playoff points.
Erik Jones — Entered the Pocono weekend with three top-10 finishes on the season. Jones delivered another top-10 finish at Pocono after using strategy to get the No. 43 near the front of the pack and keeping it clean during a race that featured 11 cautions.
Ty Gibbs — Returned to the site of his first career Cup start and turned in a career-best performance. He scored points in stage 2 and finished fifth. This was his first career top-five finish in the Cup Series, and it helped him move within 28 points of the playoff cutline.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — The Daytona 500 winner, Stenhouse had a secure spot in the playoffs. His goal since the opening race has been to have an average finish around 15th and score points before the playoffs. Made his 20th career start at Pocono and finished seventh after taking advantage of restarts on late cautions. This was his first top-10 at the 2.5-mile track.
LOSERS
Daniel Suarez — Entered the Pocono weekend only one point below the cutline. Crashed on the stage 2 restart and finished 36th. Lost a spot in the standings to AJ Allmendinger. Still within reach of the playoffs, but he is 23 points below the cutline.
A BIG crash at Pocono involving Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 23, 2023
📺: @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/Ax8ngWWP4f
Alex Bowman — Raced inside the top 10 at a track where he has a previous win. Moved as high as third and put himself in position for his first top-10 finish since Richmond in April. Spun after getting loose in front of Hamlin and had to replace flat tires. Finished 24th and remained four spots below the cutline.
Austin Dillon — Struggled early at Pocono and spun on Lap 42. Returned to the track after his team made adjustments, and he put himself in position for a potential top-10 finish. Spun after making contact with Tyler Reddick and had a hard collision with the outside wall. Finished 34th.
Kyle Larson — Started the Pocono race third and won stage 2 after recovering from a spin on Lap 46. Hit the wall during the final stage while battling Hamlin for the lead. Finished 20th.
