Next Race: Gander RV 400 The Place: Pocono Raceway The Date: Sunday, July 28 The Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400 miles (160 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160) 2018 Race Winner: Kyle Busch Kyle Busch looking for a tricky triple of consecutive Pocono wins NASCAR fans have likely become accustomed to Kyle Busch’s domination at short tracks such as Bristol Motor Speedway, where he has a combined 22 victories in NASCAR’s three national series. But his recent work at the 2.5-mile Pocono (Pa.) Raceway – site of Sunday’s Gander RV 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been mighty impressive too. Busch is not only the defending race winner but has won three of the last four races at the Pocono track, including the June race this season. In fact, a victory on Sunday would make him just the third driver in history to win three consecutive races at “The Tricky Triangle” – joining an esteemed list that includes NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison (1982-83) and the late Tim Richmond (1986-87). A victory in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota would also make him only the eighth driver ever to sweep a season’s races at Pocono, joining Jimmie Johnson (2004) and Denny Hamlin (2006) as the only active drivers on that list. But Busch’s intentions this week are more fundamental than a place in history. It’s been seven weeks since his last Victory Lane celebration – which, coincidentally, happened at Pocono – and he’d like to win again. Busch enters the race a mere three-points behind championship leader Joey Logano with six races remaining before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoffs begin. With his four wins, Busch is safely in that 16-driver field, but he’d love to also earn the bonus points awarded to the regular season champion. As it stands, Busch has led the most laps (959) of any driver this season – by a substantial margin. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, a three-race winner, is next on the list with 790 laps out front. In addition to Busch’s four victories, he has three runner-up finishes, the most recent runner-up showing at Kentucky two weeks ago. He has 17 top-10s through the 20 races to date. Busch’s recent work at Pocono, in particular, has set the Monster Energy Series standard. He’s led the most laps in each of his three race wins and in 2017 won the race from the pole position. He’s finished top-10 in the last six races and led laps in the last eight. The lap total during just the last eight races (341) is 84.4 percent of his career laps led total (404) at Pocono. “Trying to pass people is the trickiest part because it’s so finicky there after getting your car set-up to run by yourself in practice, but also getting it good for the traffic during the race and being able to out-corner guys out there,’’ Busch explained. “Having a lot of horsepower is important there, as well. Hoping we can have all of those things go right for us this week with our Skittles Toyota.’’ Hamlin’s hamlet Four-time Pocono Raceway winner Denny Hamlin arrives in the idyllic Pocono Mountains for Sunday’s race understandably feeling on the verge of another victory. His past and present performance point to a good showing this weekend. Not only is he the winningest active driver at the track, Hamlin has led laps in the last eight straight races coming to Pocono and finished a dramatic runner-up to Kevin Harvick last week at New Hampshire. For this year’s Daytona 500 winner Hamlin, Pocono has been the Not-So-Tricky Triangle – a positive variation on its traditional nickname. Hamlin won the first two Cup races he competed in here – from the pole position – in 2006. Twice he’s won back-to-back races – the 2006 sweep and again in fall, 2009 and spring, 2010. Hamlin’s 694 laps led at Pocono is second only to Jimmie Johnson’s 740 and includes a spectacular 2006 showing of this race when he led 151 of the 200 race laps. He’s finished top-10 in four of the last six Pocono races and was sixth in June. And his 7.074 average start through 28 races is second best all-time to NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson out of drivers with more than one start, who averaged a 4.667 start, but in only six races. In the last five weeks of the 2019 schedule, Hamlin has three top-five finishes including that runner-up finish last week at New Hampshire. Six times he’s finished fifth place in a race. His 113 laps led at New Hampshire was second only to teammate Kyle Busch’s 118. In all, Hamlin has 12 top-10 finishes including his second Daytona 500 victory to open the season and then a win at Texas in April. The combination of his work in particular at Pocono, and in general during this season, has given the No. 11 JGR Toyota team every reason to feel optimistic about this weekend. “I’ve been fortunate to have had success in the past at Pocono and it’s a track where I’m always hopeful I can get a win for our team,’’ Hamlin said. “Our team is currently on a streak of some solid performances and I’m looking forward to continuing that this weekend.’’ Team Penske – Consistent and strong Pocono Raceway is a venue where all three Team Penske drivers have hoisted trophies in Victory Lane. And that feel-good may be the difference this week for the team which has five wins on the season but hasn’t won a race since June 9, when current Monster Energy Series points leader Joey Logano claimed his second victory of the year at Michigan. Logano (two) and veteran Brad Keselowski (three) have contributed multiple wins to the Penske team’s stellar work this season, and Pocono may well be the venue their 25-year old teammate Ryan Blaney joins the 2019 trophy club. Blaney has led 362 laps this season – the seventh most of any driver and the best output by any driver still winless at this point. He has six top-five and eight top-10 finishes in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, including four top 10s in the last six races. His best showings are third place results at both Phoenix and Sonoma. He was fourth at New Hampshire last week. Pocono is understandably a special place for Blaney. He won his first career Cup race there in 2017 and answered that with a pole position in 2018. He has finished 12th in the last two races at the track. His reigning series champion teammate Logano holds a slim three-point edge over Kyle Busch atop the points and has paced the standings for the last six weeks. He’s been ranked first or second for all but three weeks of the 20-race season to date. The last five-race stretch has been a little uncharacteristic of Logano’s No. 22 team. He’s had three top 10s – including a ninth place at New Hampshire last weekend, but he’s also had a pair of finishes outside the top-20. Logano, who dominated at Pocono winning from the pole position in the 2012 early summer race, was seventh at the track this June. Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, has three wins so far this year – but his last was May 11 at Kansas Speedway. Pocono has been a solid mark on his resume. He won the 2011 edition of this race and a pole position in 2016. He was runner-up to Kyle Busch earlier this summer – one of four runner-up finishes for the driver of the No. 2 Ford at the track. He’s led laps in the last six Pocono races and had an impressive streak of six top-five finishes snapped in this race last year when he crashed out. He’s had two top-10s in the last five races this season and is coming off a 10th-place showing at New Hampshire, where he started from pole position. Drivers looking to make a move to the Playoffs With six races remaining in the regular season, the championship points drama isn’t just dominating the top of the Monster Energy Cup standings, but is a very real situation for the final few drivers trying to earn one of the 16 playoff positions. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson is 13th in the points standings, only 31 points over Jimmie Johnson and Daniel Suarez, who are just outside the Playoff cutoff with 488 points each. Larson holds only a slim three-point edge over Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones in 14th. Jones is seven points up on 15th place Ryan Newman and 11 points up on 16th place Clint Bowyer. Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is 17th, tied in points with Suarez but holds a slim statistical advantage over Suarez with one more top-five. Johnson (three) and Newman (one) are the only drivers among this group of six with a previous win at Pocono. Jones was best among the group at the first Pocono race of 2019, finishing third. Bowyer was fifth and Suarez was eighth. Newman (16th), Johnson (19th) and Larson (26th) followed. Among the younger trio, Suarez, 27, started from pole and finished second in this race last year – his career-best effort in the Monster Energy Series. Jones, 23, has four top-10s in five starts at Pocono and Larson, 26, has five top 10s in 11 starts at the track – including a runner-up in 2018. Among the veterans, Johnson leads with 20 top-10 finishes in 35 starts at Pocono, but he’s had only one in the last seven races – an eighth-place finish in the June race of last year. Newman has 15 top10s in 35 starts, but only one in the last nine Pocono races. He was eighth in this race last year. Bowyer has 11 top 10s in 27 starts. However, he’s finished 11th or better in three of the last four Pocono races. His career best showing is fourth in 2014. Next Race: U.S. Cellular 250 The Place: Iowa Speedway The Date: Saturday, July 27 The Time: 5 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 5 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 218.75 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250) 2018 Race Winner: Christopher Bell Iowa natives Michael Annett & Joey Gase are coming home this weekend JR Motorsports driver Michael Annett and MBM Motorsports driver Joey Gase are the two Iowan drivers in the field for this weekend’s U.S. Cellular 250 (5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Annett, from Des Moines, heads to his home state eighth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings but is locked into the Playoffs this season by virtue of his season-opening win at Daytona. In 18 starts this season Annett has posted a pole, one win (Daytona-1), five top fives and 12 top 10s; including a ninth-place finish at Iowa Speedway earlier this season. Annett has been respectable at his home track posting one top five, four top 10s and an average finish of 13.7 in 13 starts at the 0.875-mile oval. Gase, from Cedar Rapids, prepares for his home track this weekend sitting in 27th in the series driver standings. In 17 series starts this season Gase has posted one top 20 and six top-25 finishes. The 26-year-old, Gase, has made 16 series starts at Iowa Speedway posting an average finish of 25.8. Landon Cassill, also from Cedar Rapids, competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a part-time schedule this season with car owner Morgan Shepherd, but he is not entered in the race at Iowa Speedway this weekend. Instead he is competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway for StarCom Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is looking to set some individual records Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell can set some NASCAR Xfinity Series records with a win at Iowa Speedway this weekend. For starters, Bell has tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip for the most wins (13) by a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver in their first 59 starts. It took Waltrip 53 Xfinity Series starts to reach 13 wins; it took Bell 59. No other drivers have reached so many wins in so few starts in the series. If Bell were to win this weekend, he would become the first driver to win 14 races in their first 60 starts in the series. Sam Ard currently holds the series record of 14 wins in his first 66 starts. In addition, if he were to win this weekend, he would become just the second driver in series history to win three consecutive races at Iowa speedway joining Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011 sweep, 2012). Bell has made four series starts at Iowa, posting one pole, two wins, three top fives and an average finish of 5.0. Plus, the 24-year old from Oklahoma has led 434 laps at Iowa Speedway, second-most among active drivers this weekend. Breaking Through: Allgaier & Cindric are close JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric sit fourth and fifth respectively in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings just behind the ‘Big 3’, and both look poised to redirect the winning spotlight on to themselves this Saturday at Iowa Speedway in the U.S. Cellular 250 (5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Allgaier, 33-years old from Riverton, Illinois, is coming off a career season last year that saw him visit Victory Lane five times with his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. But since his win last year at Indianapolis in September, Allgaier has been on a winless streak that has reached 26 races. But, the JRM veteran can snap right back into his winning ways this weekend at Iowa Speedway, a track that been quite fortuitous to him in the past; including a victory last season (June race). In 15 series starts on the 7/8-mile he has produced one win (2018) and leads all active drivers in top fives (four) and top 10s (11). On top of that, he has an average finish inside the top-10 (9.467) and finished third at Iowa earlier this season. Cindric, 20-years old from Mooresville, North Carolina, has his best shot at championship this season running fulltime for Team Penske. Heading into Iowa this weekend, Cindric is just 17 points behind Allgaier in series driver standings having posted six top fives and 13 top 10s this season. Cindric will be making his 53rd series start this weekend and is still looking for his first victory. Iowa Speedway has been the home to three drivers getting their first Xfinity Series win – Ryan Preece (July 2017), William Byron (June 2017) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (May 2011). Cindric shouldn’t fret about going winless just yet though, the series record for the most starts before a driver’s first career win is held by Jeremy Clements; who went 255 series starts before winning at Road America in 2017. Cindric has made three series starts at Iowa Speedway, posting one pole, one top 10 and an average finish of 13.0. Next Race: Gander RV 150 The Place: Pocono Raceway The Date: Saturday, July 27 The Time: 1 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 12:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 150 miles (60 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 60) 2018 Race Winner: Kyle Busch Pocono prepares to welcome new race winner There is one certainty as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series heads to the Pocono Mountains this weekend for the Gander RV 150 (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – a new winner will be parking in Victory Lane after the checkered flag flies. This weekend’s entry list is void of previous winners, a list that is led by two-time, and most recent, race winner Kyle Busch (2015, 2018). Current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kevin Harvick (2011), Ryan Blaney (2013), Austin Dillon (2014), and William Byron (2016) also have wins in the Gander Trucks at the “Tricky Triangle.” NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Christopher Bell (2017) also has a victory at Pocono. Of the drivers entered this weekend who don’t have a win, yet, in 2019, Matt Crafton leads the field with a pair of top-five and six top-10 finishes at Pocono. The only other winless drivers this season with top fives are Stewart Friesen and Ben Rhodes (one apiece). In total, 12 drivers on the entry list will be making their series track debut at Pocono (Tyler Dippel, Sheldon Creed, Anthony Mrakovich, Gus Dean, Anthony Alfredo, Tyler Ankrum, Harrison Burton, Spencer Boyd, Bryant Barnhill, Mason Massey IV, Christian Eckes, and Natalie Decker). Of note, Toyota and Chevrolet are tied with four wins apiece at Pocono – with all of Toyota’s coming in the last four races. Chevrolet won the first three races at the track starting in 2010, Ford landed their only Pocono victory in 2013 with Blaney, then Chevrolet won their fourth. Ankrum alters Playoff picture Although he wound up leading a race-high 40 laps en route to his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory, it looked like Tyler Ankrum was going to have to settle for second place until race leader Brett Moffitt ran out of gas on the next-to-last lap. Moffitt’s miscalculation was to Ankrum’s benefit as he was able to charge on to a big win to lock himself into the postseason. The win was essential to ensuring Ankrum earned a spot in the Playoffs. Following Chicagoland, Ankrum sat 15th in points – and was 205 points behind Harrison Burton, who, at the time, held the eighth and final position in the Playoffs. So “pointing” his way to a title shot really wasn’t in the cards for Ankrum due to the difficult road he took to the Playoffs. Ankrum missed the opening three races of the season because he was too young to race at the tracks (Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas – per NASCAR rules, drivers must be 18 to compete at those venues and Ankrum’s 18th birthday wasn’t until March 6) before he joined up with DGR-Crosley. After struggling through some sponsorship issues that took him out of the No. 17 Toyota for a pair of races, Ankrum was able to remain Playoff-eligible by jumping in the No. 87 Chevrolet for NEMCO Motorsports at Iowa and Gateway. Since returning to DGR-Crosley, he’s posted a 13th-place finish at Chicagoland and then the win at Kentucky. On the year, Ankrum has a pair of top fives and four top 10s. This weekend’s visit to Pocono will be his first to the “Tricky Triangle.” Ankrum’s team is led by crew chief Kevin Manion, who is in his fourth year in the Gander Trucks after a long career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He joined DGR-Crosley in 2018 after spending 2016 and 2017 with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Manion has been atop the pit box for 20 different drivers in the Gander Trucks between 2016 and 2019. He spent the most time with Daniel Suarez in 2016, working with him for 13 races, highlighted by a win at ISM Raceway. Overall, he has four wins as a crew chief in the series (including a pair of victories with Kyle Busch in 2017 – Kansas and Charlotte), 15 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes. The win at Kentucky was also the first NASCAR national series victory for his team, DGR-Crosley. With Chastain and Ankrum in, who’s out of the Playoff picture? After declaring for NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series points leading into the June Texas race, Ross Chastain had to hit two marks – winning a race and breaking into the top 20 in points – to earn a spot in the Playoffs. He won at Gateway. And then after a fourth-place finish at the most recent venue, Kentucky Speedway, he moved into the top 20 in points for the first time. Chastain now sits 18th in the driver standings, 23 points ahead of the 21st-place driver (Jennifer Jo Cobb). With three races remaining in the regular season, Chastain needs to maintain the consistency he has shown all year to stay in the top 20 in points. He has just one finish outside the top 10 – his 32nd-place finish at Iowa after his truck failed post-race inspection and he was disqualified – and has five top-five finishes. He has only two prior starts at the next venue on the schedule – Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 27– but they were strong finishes. In 2012 he finished 10th and in 2013 he crossed the line fifth. Eldora will be a new track for him, as he has yet to make a start on the half-mile dirt track. And his experience at Michigan, the final track of the regular season, is limited to a start in 2012 that resulted in an 18th-place finish. To take a closer look at the entirety of the Playoff picture, five drivers have earned their way in on wins – Brett Moffit (Iowa, Chicagoland), Johnny Sauter (Dover), Austin Hill (Daytona), Chastain (World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway) and the most recent winner, Tyler Ankrum (Kentucky). Points leader Grant Enfinger has a 34-point point advantage over Stewart Friesen and would earn a spot regardless of wins if he stays atop the board. And as the points stand, the remaining two slots in the Playoffs would go to Friesen and Matt Crafton. That puts Harrison Burton (ninth on the Playoff outlook, 44 points behind Crafton in the last slot that qualifies for the postseason on points), Ben Rhodes (10th on the Playoff outlook, 48 points behind the cutoff) and Todd Gilliland (11th on the Playoff outlook, 100 points out of the postseason) on the outside looking in. Each member of the trio probably needs a win to get a shot at the championship, but only Rhodes has a career Gander Trucks victory under his belt – two, in fact, and both were at 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas in 2017, Kentucky in 2018). source – NASCAR communications
