LONG POND — The NASCAR Cup Series will hold the 2026 Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. This event marks the single Cup Series race scheduled for the track each season and is a playoff-impacting competition.

The 160-lap race is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET. Race practice is set for Saturday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 2:10 p.m. ET. Qualifying for the race consists of a single round where each driver completes one lap to determine the starting lineup, with the order established by individual lap times.

Denny Hamlin, who secured three race victories during the 2026 season at Michigan, Nashville, and Las Vegas, won the pole position at Pocono in 2025. Hamlin finished second behind Chase Briscoe at Pocono in 2025 and currently ranks second in the 2026 standings, trailing leader Tyler Reddick by 51 points. The 2026 championship playoffs select the top 16 drivers based on full-season consistency. Weather forecasts for the race weekend indicate a 50 percent chance of rain on Friday, clear conditions on Saturday with temperatures near 81 degrees, and a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms on Sunday.

Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske, has made four Cup Series starts at the track, with his best finish being 10th in 2025. Cindric holds 16th place in the standings, three points ahead of Joey Logano and 16 points ahead of Ryan Preece. Cindric experienced two crashes and finished 26th or worse in the first four races of the 2026 season. He recorded four top-10 finishes between races five and 12, then placed 38th at Charlotte, 26th at Nashville, and 11th at Michigan.

Pocono is a 2.5-mile track with three distinct turns. Cindric addressed the season's performance. "Definitely some downs, some ups and a few more downs. The ebbs and flows of a season in some respects I guess. I don't think there's been many weeks where we've had consistent speed." Cindric said. Regarding the track, Cindric stated that track position and restarts are important. "Track position is super important, restarts are crazy and strategy is all over the board. It's a unique challenge with all three corners and trying to string everything together."

The track added Kyle Busch to its Walk of Fame and installed ROWDY signage and track painting at the facility. Busch, who died on May 21, 2026, at age 41 following a diagnosis of pneumonia that progressed to sepsis, won four Cup Series races at Pocono in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.