HFT Weekend Preview: Pocono Raceway.
Saturday O’Reilly Series Action:
Date: Saturday, June 13th, at 4 p.m. ET
Track: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA
Race Distance: 100 laps / 250 miles
Broadcast: CW | MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday Cup Series Action:
Date: Sunday, June 14th at 3 p.m. ET
Track: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA
Race Distance: 160 laps / 400 miles
Broadcast: Prime | MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
On-Track Activity:
Saturday:
10:30 a.m. ET – O’Reilly Practice
CW App | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
11:35 a.m. ET – O’Reilly Qualifying
CW App | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
1 p.m. ET – Cup Practice
Prime | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2:10 p.m. ET – Cup Qualifying
Prime | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
4 p.m. ET – O’Reilly Race
CW | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday:
3 p.m. ET – Cup Race
Prime | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race Weekend Quick Hits:
NASCAR heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend, as “The Tricky Triangle” hosts its lone event on the 2026 schedule at the 2.5-mile track in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
Sheldon Creed (532 points) enters the weekend fourth in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings, trailing only Corey Day (574), Jesse Love (591), and Justin Allgaier (770).
Creed owns the fifth-best average finish in the series this season (10.7) and is one of just four drivers with 10 or more top-10 finishes.
Vielight will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 00 for the first time this season and will continue as an associate partner for the remainder of the 2026 campaign.
Sam Mayer ranks fifth in the series with an average starting position of 8.8 and has qualified inside the top six in three of the last four races.
Cole Custer is coming off a season-best 12th-place finish at Michigan last weekend and has posted a 16.0 average finish over his last four starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Custer will make his fourth O’Reilly Series start of the season with Sysco this weekend.
He is the only two-time Pocono winner in the NOAPS, earning victories in 2019 and 2024.
Cup Driver Lineup:
No. 41 Driver: Cole Custer
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, CA
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: Haas / Autodesk
Custer’s Pocono Cup Series History:
Starts: 8
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
Key Numbers:
Custer will make his ninth Cup Series start at Pocono this weekend, carrying a 23.1 average finish at the track. His best result came in 2020, when he finished 16th.
His highest starting position at Pocono was fifth last season, and he holds a 23.8 average starting spot.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Driver Lineup:
No. 00 Driver: Sheldon Creed
Hometown: Alpine, CA
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: VieLight
Creed’s Pocono O’Reilly Series History:
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: 2
Poles: 1 (2024)
Key Numbers:
Creed will make his fifth O’Reilly Series start at Pocono on Saturday, where he owns two top-five finishes. He finished fourth in 2024 after leading seven laps and placed fifth in 2022.
He started from the pole in 2024, one of four career poles, and enters the weekend with a 5.5 average starting position at the track.
No. 41 Driver: Sam Mayer
Hometown: Franklin, WI
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Audibel
Mayer’s Pocono O’Reilly Series History:
Starts: 5
Wins: —
Top-10s: 4
Poles: —
Key Numbers:
Mayer is set to make his sixth O’Reilly Series start at Pocono this weekend. He finished seventh in last year’s race for his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at the track dating back to 2022.
He has started inside the top 10 twice, including a career-best sixth last season, and carries an average starting position of 11.6 at the track.
HFT Michigan Recap:
Cole Custer delivered his best performance of the season at Michigan, qualifying a season-best 15th and finishing a season-best 12th in the No. 41 Air Lift Chevrolet. After steadily improving throughout the race, Custer gained several positions during the final stage and held strong inside the top 15 to secure his top result of 2026.