Chase Elliott wins at Dover for second career cup Series win.

Chase Elliott was 15/1 to win at Dover.

Chase Elliott grabs victory at Dover, advances in Monster Energy Cup Playoffs

October 7, 2018
By Reid Spencer
 

DOVER, Del. – What looked like a Stewart-Haas Racing victory parade for much of Sunday afternoon ended in a wild overtime scramble, with Chase Elliott taking the checkered flag in the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway.

On considerably older tires, Elliott pulled ahead cleared runner-up Denny Hamlin through Turns 1 and 2 after a restart on Lap 403 and powered his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet across the finish line .265 second ahead of Hamlin’s Toyota.

With the victory—his second of the season and the second of his career—Elliott punched his ticket into the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, extricating himself from the bottom four in the postseason standings.

"This was a lot about perseverance," said Elliott, who recovered from a penalty for an uncontrolled tire incurred during a yellow-flag pit stop on Lap 123. "We had a penalty early and fell behind and luckily had a good enough car and good strategy to get back (to the front). What a day!"

The win was a satisfying turnaround from the same race last year, when Elliott had victory in his sights, only to be tracked down and passed by Kyle Busch on the next-to-last lap.

"Definitely think it makes it sweeter, for sure," Elliott said. "You don't appreciate it in those moments, b but to come back here and have the day we had...

"We get to move on to the next round, and I don't have to worry about Talladega next week. It's just a hell of a day."

The move that won the race was crew chief Alan Gustafson’s decision to keep Elliott on the track with tires that were more than 50 laps old, when most of the other lead-lap cars opted to pit on Lap 393 after Clint Bowyer’s Ford slammed into the Turn 4 wall one lap earlier.

Elliott led the field to a restart on Lap 397, but on the backstretch during that circuit, Aric Almirola nicked the outside wall and started a chain-reaction collision that also damaged the cars of fellow Playoff drivers Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney.

NASCAR red-flagged the race, and Elliott outran Hamlin in an overtime that extended the event four laps beyond its scheduled distance. The only laps Elliott led were the last 11.

Kevin Harvick, on the other hand, was out front for 286 of the 404 laps in a No. 4 Ford that was the clear class of the field. Harvick swept the first two stages, as he had done during his June victory at the Monster Mile and appeared headed for another perfect afternoon, but the 2014 series champion had to return to pit road under green for an extra tire change after a flying lug nut knocked the valve stem off Harvick’s left rear tire.

Harvick regained the lap he lost under a debris caution called on Lap 339, but he couldn’t work his way back to the front before the race ended.

Joey Logano dodged the Almirola wreck and finished third, followed by Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Harvick. Austin Dillon ran seventh, one spot ahead of Kyle Busch, who snared his top 10 despite dealing with a malfunctioning track bar adjuster throughout the afternoon.

"You use it (the track bar) a lot here because of the tire wear and tire build-up," Busch said. "Cars get loose over courses of the run. Not having that and not knowing where it was (set), I had no clue where it was throughout the whole day. We came in here poised to not run very well, and that’s how we did."

For a long stretch after a restart on Lap 248, the four Stewart-Haas drivers—Harvick, Almirola, Bowyer and Kurt Busch—ran 1-2-3-4. But Bowyer had to a pit with a flat tire on Lap 382, after racing side-by-side with Ryan Newman, Harvick had his issue on pit road, and Almirola lost his winning chances when Bowyer hit the wall late in the race.

Harvick leaves Dover with a five-point lead over Kyle Busch. After the Oct. 21 race at Kansas, the Playoff field will be trimmed from 12 drivers to eight.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race - 49th Annual Gander Outdoors "400"

Dover International Speedway

Dover, Delaware

Sunday, October 7, 2018

 

                 1. (9)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 404.

                 2. (15)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 404.

                 3. (6)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 404.

                 4. (16)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 404.

                 5. (7)  Kurt Busch (P), Ford, 404.

                 6. (2)  Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 404.

                 7. (14)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 404.

                 8. (1)  Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, 404.

                 9. (21)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 404.

                 10. (19)  Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 404.

                 11. (8)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 404.

                 12. (10)  Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 404.

                 13. (11)  Aric Almirola (P), Ford, 404.

                 14. (4)  Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 404.

                 15. (3)  Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 404.

                 16. (18)  Paul Menard, Ford, 403.

                 17. (17)  Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 403.

                 18. (20)  Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 402.

                 19. (22)  William Byron #, Chevrolet, 402.

                 20. (28)  Matt Kenseth, Ford, 402.

                 21. (25)  Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 401.

                 22. (24)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 400.

                 23. (29)  Bubba Wallace #, Chevrolet, 399.

                 24. (26)  David Ragan, Ford, 399.

                 25. (23)  Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 399.

                 26. (27)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 399.

                 27. (31)  Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 397.

                 28. (12)  Alex Bowman (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 396.

                 29. (30)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 396.

                 30. (33)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 394.

                 31. (37)  Jeffrey Earnhardt, Toyota, 394.

                 32. (35)  JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 392.

                 33. (34)  Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 390.

                 34. (36)  BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 389.

                 35. (5)  Clint Bowyer (P), Ford, Accident, 388.

                 36. (13)  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 387.

                 37. (32)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 314.

                 38. (39)  Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, Brakes, 308.

                 39. (38)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Transmission, 35.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  122.404 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 18 Mins, 2 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.265 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  5 for 31 laps.

Lead Changes:  15 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Busch (P) 1-15;K. Harvick (P) 16-74;R. Stenhouse Jr. 75-81;K. Harvick (P) 82-126;J. Logano (P) 127-128;K. Harvick (P) 129-189;B. Keselowski (P) 190;K. Busch (P) 191-194;K. Harvick (P) 195-242;C. Bowyer (P) 243;K. Harvick (P) 244-320;K. Busch (P) 321-322;A. Almirola (P) 323-341;B. Keselowski (P) 342-348;A. Almirola (P) 349-393;C. Elliott (P) 394-404.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Kevin Harvick (P) 5 times for 290 laps; Aric Almirola (P) 2 times for 64 laps; Kyle Busch (P) 3 times for 21 laps; Chase Elliott (P) 1 time for 11 laps; Brad Keselowski (P) 2 times for 8 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; Joey Logano (P) 1 time for 2 laps; Clint Bowyer (P) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 4,22,18,14,9,2,12,41,10,78

Stage #2 Top Ten: 4,14,78,22,10,41,18,11,9,2

Dover Betting Preview: 2018 Gander Outdoors 400:

The high banks of Dover usually produce some great racing. 

The Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway not only gets the second-round of NASCAR's Playoffs started, but for the first time it also gets wagering on the premises for the trio of NASCAR races held there this weekend.

Sunday's Gander Outdoors 400 will be the second Cup Series visit of the season on the high banked 1-mile concrete layout. Four drivers were eliminated from the postseason race last week at Charlotte's roval and just 12 drivers remain eligible to win the 2018 Cup Championship with seven races to go.

“I felt like I was just kind of playing defense at the roval," said Chase Elliott who made the cut by nine points. "It just wasn’t worth busting our butts and not making it through to the next round when we had a little bit of cushion. So, I am just glad we are moving on and I am looking forward to the next three because there are some good tracks for us.”

There's a huge sigh of relief for a few drivers that advanced, while some major disappointments for those that didn't make it like Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson.

“There were some sleepless nights last week,” Clint Bowyer said with a laugh. “I was worried about the first few races because they weren’t at tracks where we’ve been strong, but these next races are at places where we’ve run well and I expect we’ll run well again. I can’t wait to get to that old track at Dover and get going this weekend.”

Bowyer starts the second round of the Playoffs in fifth-place behind leader Kyle Busch, second-place Kevin Harvick, third-place Martin Truex Jr, and fourth-place Brad Keselowski. Those five drivers have combined to win 23 of the 29 races this season, so it's properly stacked and the Playoff point system allows the elite to be rewarded for regular season success.

The first Dover race was held May 6, just prior to the Supreme Court ruling that repealed PASPA which paved the way for legalized sports wagering outside of Nevada. Dover has a casino and hotel located on site and has been taking sports book wagers on a limited basis for the past few years, but only parlay wagers and they also couldn't book NASCAR. This weekend they get to book NASCAR for the first time. They get the Trucks Series race Friday, the Xfinity Series race Saturday and the Cup Series race on Sunday. It's a captive audience and it should be worth an estimated $250,000 in wagering win for the weekend for book operator William Hill.

Kevin Harvick grabbed his second Dover win in May in dominating fashion. He won the first two stages before taking the checkers leading six times for 201 of the 400 laps. He passed Stewart Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer with 63 laps to go and never gave it up. Bowyer led three times for 40 laps and made a race-high 47 passes throughout the race. Their other teammates, Kurt Busch finished fourth and Aric Almirola finished 11th.

Chances are all four drivers will be just as good, not just because of the May results at Dover, but also because of the August 18 race at Bristol's half-mile concrete layout. The high banks of Bristol make its set-up requirement similar to Dover. It's a mini-Dover of sorts. Kurt Busch won at Bristol, Bowyer was sixth and led 120- laps and Harvick finished 10th. Kyle Busch won the April Bristol race from the pole.

The best statistical driver at Dover has been Chase Elliott with a fifth-place average finish in five starts. He was 12th in the May race, but last fall led 138 laps before finishing second. He finished third in the August Bristol race leading 112 laps. He should be a contender to win here. He's also got the luxury of getting some Dover pointers from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson who has won a track record 11 times, the last time coming in June of 2017.

Johnson raced himself out of the playoffs last week at Charlotte with a silly move for the win with about 30 yards to go which not only wrecked himself, but also leader MartinTruex Jr. Johnson has never gone a season without a win and Sunday's race on the Roval was the closest he's been to sniffing a win all season. I can't blame him, but I was mad at the time that my Truex bet was trashed.

“After sleeping on it, I would only change one thing from Charlotte," said Johnson. "I should’ve added front-brake bias heading into the braking zone. I think we would’ve been door-to-door with the No. 78 across the start-finish line. We were one turn away, and I was only focused on the win. Bring on Dover."

Read More Here......Top-5 Finish Prediction on VegasInsider.com

Odds to win 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover

Kevin Harvick won the May race at Dover.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK
ODDS TO WIN 2018 GANDER OUTDOORS 400
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2018 - 2:15 PM ET

Kevin HARVICK 3/1
Kyle BUSCH 3/1
Martin TRUEX JR 4/1
Kyle LARSON 7/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 10/1
Chase ELLIOTT 10/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 15/1
Clint BOWYER 18/1
Kurt BUSCH 18/1
Denny HAMLIN 25/1
Ryan BLANEY 25/1
Joey LOGANO 25/1
Erik JONES 30/1
Aric ALMIROLA 50/1
Daniel SUAREZ 80/1
Alex BOWMAN 80/1
Austin DILLON 100/1
Jamie McMURRAY 200/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 300/1
William BYRON 300/1
Paul MENARD 300/1
Ryan NEWMAN 300/1
Matt KENSETH 300/1
Kasey KAHNE 500/1
Chris BUESCHER 500/1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 1000/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 1000/1
Michael McDOWELL 2000/1
TY DILLON 2000/1
FIELD (all others) 500/1

Final Pocono Driver Ratings: 2018 Gander Outdoors 400

Rating Change Alert: Harvick, Busch, Larson and, Logano all failed inspection, start from back of the field.;

MICAH ROBERTS' 2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER RATINGS
2018 GANDER OUTDOORS 400
POCONO RACEWAY
SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2018 - 2:16 PM ET

  RATING   DRIVER   ODDS                PRAC 1  PRAC 2    QUALIFIED  
 1. Martin Truex Jr. 7/2              9th         3rd
 2. Denny Hamlin 18/1              4th        16th
 3. Kevin Harvick 5/2                1st         2nd
 4. Clint Bowyer 18/1                5th          6th
 5. Kyle Busch 5/2                     7th         13th 
 6. Aric Almirola 30/1              17th          4th
 7. Daniel Suarez 100/1              8th         20th
 8. Joey Logano 20/1                11th           1st     
 9. Erik Jones 25/1                     2nd         15th
10. Kyle Larson 8/1                  13th           9th 
11. Kurt Busch 25/1                  23rd           7th
12. Jimmie Johnson 80/1           12th           5th
13. Brad Keselowski 12/1         18th           8th
14. Ryan Blaney 15/1                  3rd         18th
15. William Byron 100/1             6th         24th
       
Opening odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting auto racing odds in Las Vegas since 1994.

Pocono Betting Preview: 2018 Gander Outdoors 400

Kyle Busch grabbed his first Pocono win last July.

For the second time this season the NASCAR Cup Series will visit Pocono Raceway's 2.5-mile tricky triangle, the most unique track on the circuit with three differing turns, one flatter than the other with Turn 3 being the flattest.

Sunday's Gander Outdoors 400 will the be the 21st of 36 races this season and so far three drivers have combined to win 15 of the first 20 races, one of which was Martin Truex Jr. in the June 3 Pocono race. He has four wins on the season, three of which have come in the last seven races a run that started at Pocono. Yes, last seasons champ has elevated himself to the highest status with Kevin Harvick, who has six wins, and Kyle Busch who has five wins. They are the Big-3.

"A lot of people talk about it and especially here lately," said Truex of being part of the Big-3. "It’s been a big topic of conversation, but for me I’m just honestly living in the moment, trying to enjoy myself, but also staying focused and not taking it for granted. It’s really hard to continue what we’ve done and I realize how much work it takes and how many people I owe it to, so, you know, for me just trying to stay focused, kind of block all that out and keep getting the job done is what’s most important.

"Certainly, it’s been really great the last couple years. I talk about it a lot, it’s been amazing and I don’t want it to stop any time soon. So got to continue to work hard to stay on top and, you know, got a great team obviously and that’s what it takes at this level. You’ve got to have every piece of the puzzle and everybody’s got to be working hard and working together.”

Truex will be going for his third Pocono win Sunday and attempt to be the seventh driver to sweep a Pocono season, the last being Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. He's never won at a track three times in his career. The Westgate SuperBook has him listed at 7/2 odds to win behind co-favorites Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch at 5/2 odds.

Harvick has never won at Pocono in 35 starts, but he led the most laps (89) in June's race before finishing fourth and he's bringing a chassis that has never finished worse than fourth in five starts, which includes a Las Vegas win in March.

“As we go to Pocono, we obviously want to win there, especially since its one of the two tracks we haven’t won at," said Harvick who was runner-up in both Pocono races last season. "I know that Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the organization itself has put a lot of effort into this particular weekend trying to get to victory lane and take that race off the list. It’s a place I enjoy going – not so much the place I enjoyed going in my previous life before I came to Stewart-Haas Racing. It was never a track we ran very well at, but we’ve come to find out that if you have the cars where they need to be and the people around you, things are much different. So, Pocono is a place that I’ve learned to enjoy more than I did in my previous life at RCR.”

Harvick has run nine races with SHR and six of them resulting in finishes of fourth or better. He's definitely due and he's got a sick-fast ride with stats that burst out of the (Daily) Racing Form this week.

READ MORE HERE....TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTION ON VEGASINSIDER.COM

Pocono NASCAR Cup Series Notes: 2018 Gander Outdoors 400

Let's go Hokies!!!!

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Gander Outdoors 400
The Place: Pocono Raceway
The Date: Sunday, July 29
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 2 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)

Chasing History
You know they’ve been good. But exactly how good have Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. been this season? The trio of drivers (Harvick – six wins, Busch – five and Truex – four) have combined to win 15 of the opening 20 contests.

2018 marks just the seventh season in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history to see three drivers record four or more wins through the first 20 races of the year. And the last time it happened was nearly two decades years ago when Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon won four apiece to tally 12 wins in the opening 20 races of 1999. Before that? You would have to go back to the powerhouse drivers of the 1970s.

And only twice in NASCAR’s illustrious history has a trio of driver won more through the first 20 races than the current “Big 3.”

In 1974, the trio of NASCAR Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough (eight), Richard Petty (seven) and David Pearson (four) combined to win 19 of the opening 20 races. Amazingly, those three drivers also accounted for the next six race trophies, giving the trio 23 straight race wins after Bobby Allison won the third race of the season. The streak was broken at race No. 26 – when Earl Ross won at Martinsville; the only victory in Ross’s career.

Three years later, Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Petty won 16 of the opening 20 and 17 of the first 21 races with Pearson breaking up the three-driver party with a win at Darlington in Race 22.

Here’s a look at the seven times in which three drivers have dominated so much of the opening 20 races of the season:

2018 – Kevin Harvick (6), Kyle Busch (5), Martin Truex Jr. (4) – 15 total
1999 – Jeff Burton (4), Jeff Gordon (4), Dale Jarrett (4) – 12 total
1978 – Cale Yarborough (5), Darrell Waltrip (5), David Pearson (4) – 14 total
1977 – Yarborough (7), Richard Petty (5), Waltrip (4) – 16 total
1974 – Yarborough (8), Petty (7), Pearson (4) – 19 total
1972 – Bobby Allison (6), Petty (5), Pearson (4) – 15 total
1962 – Jack Smith (4), Joe Weatherly (4), Rex White (4) – 12 total

Powerful Heading Into Pocono

If you thought the “Big 3” couldn’t possibly keep up their near-historic pace of winning – be prepared. Martin Truex Jr. won at this week’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series venue, Pocono Raceway, earlier this summer and Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick finished third and fourth, respectively.

Last year, Busch won the second Pocono race, followed by Harvick and Truex. There’s a theme. A recurring, high-performing, headline-making theme for these three dominant drivers in 2018. Here’s a look at their outlook heading into Tricky Triangle.

Harvick: Fresh off his hard-earned win over Busch with a bump-and-run in the waning laps in New Hampshire on Sunday, Harvick arrives in scenic northeastern Pennsylvania looking for his first career victory at the 2.5-mile Pocono triangle. It’s one of only two venues (including Kentucky Speedway) on the current Monster Energy Series schedule where he hasn’t won yet - in 35 career starts.

Harvick was fourth in the June race at Pocono this season and has finished in the top-10 in seven of the last eight races. Four times he’s been the race runner-up.

Win last week in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and top-five finishes in six of the last seven races on the 2018 schedule certainly give Harvick every reason to be optimistic about establishing some personal history Sunday.

Busch: Busch returns to Pocono as the defending winner of the late-summer Gander Outdoors 400. But similar to Harvick, he hasn’t necessarily posted his best career results at the unique track. That victory is his only one in 27 Pocono starts. He is coming off four consecutive top-10 efforts, however, including a third place in June. His 12 top-10 hauls in 27 starts makes this one of his lower yielding venues overall.

The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota continues to only look forward, however. Busch continues to answer the call in 2018 – leading the season points standings for the 15th consecutive week, his runner-up showing to Harvick last weekend still giving him a 53-point advantage. He has seven top-five finishes in the last eight races.

Truex: Truex may have the lowest total victory count among the three series frontrunners, but he does hold the distinction for most wins (two) in the six races since the series last raced at Pocono – a race that Truex won, giving him three wins in the past seven races overall.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota has nine top-five finishes in the last 10 races, including three wins (Pocono, Sonoma, Kentucky) and three runner-up showings (at Kansas, Charlotte and Daytona).

Overall at Pocono, Truex has a pair of wins at Pocono, started from the front row three consecutive times (2016-2017) and led 83 laps in the last four races.

Pushing for the Playoffs

With just six races remaining in the regular season, and only seven drivers locked in on wins, the pressure is on this weekend in the Gander Outdoors 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to get to Victory Lane for the chance at postseason glory.

Here’s a look at active, championship-contending drivers who have wins at upcoming tracks but have yet to visit Victory Lane in 2018:

Pocono: Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman

Watkins Glen: AJ Allmendinger, Hamlin
Michigan: Ku. Busch, Hamlin, Johnson, Kahne, Kyle Larson, Newman
Bristol: Ku. Busch, Hamlin, Johnson, Kahne, Keselowski
Darlington: Hamlin, Johnson
Indianapolis: Kahne, Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Newman

Fond Memories

Ryan Blaney will of course remember Pocono Raceway as the place he scored his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in 2017. But right now, he’d love the track to be the place he scores his next, a 2018 Playoff-insurance victory.

The popular 24-year old driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford has four top-11 finishes in five Pocono starts. He won the pole position there in June and finished sixth.

And Blaney seems to be recovering from a rough three-race midsummer swing of finishes outside the top 15, including two finishes of 34th or worse. He was runner-up at Kentucky two weeks ago and seventh last Sunday at New Hampshire.

Champion’s Pocono Groove

There are still four former Monster Energy Series champions looking for their first victory of the 2018 season – Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth.

Of those, Johnson and Busch boast three Pocono victories each. Keselowski and Kenseth have won there once in the Monster Energy Series as well.

Busch appears to have the most favorable momentum heading into this week’s race with top-10 finishes in the last two races. And he won the Busch Pole position in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford last week at New Hampshire. Of the four winless series champions, he is the most recent winner at Pocono (June, 2016) and has seven top-10 finishes in the last 11 races at the Tricky Triangle.

Keselowski, who won at Pocono in the July race in 2011, has six top-five finishes in his last six races at the track, including runner-up finishes in the July races in 2015 and 2016 in this race.

Kenseth, who is sharing a drive in the Roush-Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford, has five top-10 finishes in his last seven Pocono starts.

Johnson, who has three wins and four Busch Poles in the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet finished eighth here earlier this season, but overall has struggled as of late at Pocono – with DNFs in three of the last five races.

Almi-rolling

Popular driver Aric Almirola seemed almost heartbroken on pit road Sunday following the New Hampshire race. His third-place finish was his best showing in his debut season as driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and he truly hoped to hoist the winner’s trophy. He led 42 laps and was every bit in contention to pick up his first victory since a dramatic win at Daytona in 2014 for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Almirola can be encouraged, however, as the series moves to Pocono. His new team looks to be a harbinger of better finishes for him at the track. He was seventh in June – his first top-10 in 12 starts there.

The Tampa native has three top-10 finishes in the last five races of the season and is ranked a solid 11th in the championship standings, looking to make his first NASCAR Playoffs since 2014.

Rookie Race

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rookie battle is currently a tale of two directions for the two fan favorites, Bubba Wallace and William Byron.

Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is coming off a 14th place finish at New Hampshire. He’s had three top-11 finishes in the last five races and is ranked 21st in the standings – ironically, 43 points ahead of Wallace who drives the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet. Byron was 16th in the June Pocono race.

Wallace is 24th in the points standings and has had only one top-20 in the last five races – a 14th place showing at Daytona – where he was runner-up in February’s season-opening Daytona 500. Wallace made his first career Cup start at Pocono last year, filling in four races for driver Aric Almirola in the No. 43 RPM car, and finished 26th. He was 38th in the race there this June, retiring early with engine problems.

Kevin Harvick using dominant Las Vegas chassis this week at Pocono

Kevin Harvick is the 5/2 co-favorite to win at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Chassis No. 4-1041: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion built on Chassis No. 4-1041 in the Gander Outdoors 400 Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Built new in 2017, Chassis No. 4-1041 made its debut at Pocono in June, when it started 12th and finished second to race winner Ryan Blaney by .139 of a second. It made its second appearance in July at Pocono, where Harvick started sixth and finished runner-up to Kyle Busch by 6.178 seconds. It made its final appearance of 2017 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in October, when Harvick started third, led a race-high 149 laps and finished third. The chassis visited victory lane in its first start of 2018 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, when Harvick started second and dominated by leading 214 of 267 laps and finishing 2.906 seconds ahead of runner-up Busch. In its most recent appearance Chassis No. 4-1041 started second, led 89 laps and finished fourth at Pocono in June.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

What are your thoughts on heading to Pocono this week? 

“As we go to Pocono, we obviously want to win there, especially since its one of the two tracks we haven’t won at. I know that Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and the organization itself has put a lot of effort into this particular weekend trying to get to victory lane and take that race off the list. It’s a place I enjoy going – not so much the place I enjoyed going in my previous life before I came to Stewart-Haas Racing. It was never a track we ran very well at, but we’ve come to find out that if you have the cars where they need to be and the people around you, things are much different. So, Pocono is a place that I’ve learned to enjoy more than I did in my previous life at RCR.” 

The group at Pocono has done so much to improve the infrastructure and fan experience. What does that mean for the racetrack? 

“Well, people see effort. When you go to Pocono, you see effort from the time you turn into the tunnel and see the waterfall – going through the tunnel to the guardrails all the way to the campgrounds. Everything there has been in a transition. You feel like you’re having more fun when you go to Pocono now than you did, say, six or seven years ago.”

Kyle Busch a 5/2 co-favorite to win at Pocono

Kyle Busch won this race last season.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Caramel Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing: 

What’s the most important thing to get right at Pocono? 

“There are a lot of things you need to get right at Pocono. The biggest thing is just being good in all three corners. It always seems like you have to give up something in one of the turns to get something back in another turn. The bumps in turn two are certainly a challenge. Making sure you can get your car pointed off of turn three to get momentum down that big front straightway. There are a lot of things at Pocono that can lead to a lot of time gain on a lap there.” 

What the trickiest part about racing at Pocono? 

“Trying to pass people is the trickiest part because it’s so finicky there after getting your car setup by yourself in practice, but also getting it good for the traffic during the race and out-corner guys there. 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 M&M’S Caramel Toyota. We won this race last year with a good car and some good calls by Adam Stevens up on the pit box. Mars Confectionary U.S. is just down the road and I know we will have a lot of Mars associates out at the track rooting us on. We’d like to get another win there in their backyard.” 

Why do we see four- and five-wide restarts so often at Pocono? Is it because clean air is so important, or is it because you have the space to do so there? 

“It’s because you have the space to do so but, more importantly, it’s about trying to get as many positions as you can at an opportune time, where everyone is bunched up together to gain the most spots in the biggest hurry. Kind of seems, once you get to where you are running, it can be difficult to pass. You get a little single-filed out and strung out and that’s where you are at until you have an opportunity during pit stops or a caution comes out.” 

Pocono is the most unique track on the circuit with three distinct corners. What’s the most difficult part of the track for you? 

“The hardest part of the track, for me, is probably turn one, and then turn two is the second-hardest, and then turn three is the third-hardest – turn three, last year, because of the patch they laid down. We couldn’t go down low and get underneath somebody and get a run on them because, when you come off the corner, you’re 8 to 10 mph slower than the guy on your outside and they’re just going to blow right by you going down the straightaway.” 

Since the track is unique, where is the best place to make a pass at Pocono? 

“Most of your passing is going to be done probably through turn one and off of turn one and getting into turn two, and if somebody can get a good run off of turn two, get back up high and get in line to get on that patch, getting into turn three. Besides that, in turn one, we just can’t get the cars to turn down there because there’s so much load on the bump stops from going 210 mph down the front straightaway and then trying to slow it down to about a ‘buck-40’ (140 mph). Turn two is kind of bumpy and kind of rough. There are different areas where you’ve got to maneuver through the tunnel turn to get your car right. If you miss it just by a little bit, you tend to knock the wall down off the corner, so it’s tight.”

Jimmie Johnson makes 600th career Cup start and is 80/1 to win at Pocono

Jimmie Johnson has three win at Pocono Raceway.

Jimmie Johnson on racing at Pocono:
“As far as track conditions and car handling, the track at Pocono doesn’t change too much between the June and July race – it’s a little slower, but it’s not a huge swing. Things seems to be moving in the right direction and although we aren’t satisfied with our performance, we are chipping away.”

Johnson on his 600th Cup start:
“I’m not huge into milestones but I really can’t believe I am sitting here at 600 starts. All I ever wanted to do was win a race and now we are here with seven championships, 83 wins and hopefully there are many more to come. I’m proud to have come all this way with one sponsor in Lowe’s and hope that this weekend will be a good one for this No. 48 team. I definitely want to try to get more wins for Lowe’s before they exit the sport.”

Jimmie Johnson will be available to members of the media at 8:15 a.m. local time on Saturday, July 28, at Pocono Raceway in the media center.

600 STARTS: Jimmie Johnson will make his 600th career NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Throughout his storied career, which began in 2001 with three starts in the Lowe’s Chevrolet, Johnson has accumulated seven championships, 83 wins, 35 pole positions, 224 top-five finishes and 348 top-10s – all with partner Lowe’s Home Improvement on the hood of his race car.

600 DECAL: To pay homage to Johnson’s milestone 600th start, the No. 48 team will run a special decal on the Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

IN GOOD COMPANY: Johnson will be the 30th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to start 600 races. Among the drivers to previously accomplish the feat, nine of them have driven for Hendrick Motorsports – and Johnson makes 10. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty is the only driver to win a race on his 600th start, which took place at Richmond in February 1973.

LAPS RUN: Over 599 starts, Johnson has passed the start/finish line a total of 170,691 times in his No. 48 machine. Johnson has led 18,678 circuits over that span.

MOST WINS THROUGH 600 STARTS LIST: Johnson ranks third among drivers who have accumulated the most wins through 600 starts. On the list, he is surrounded by NASCAR Hall of Famers. Richard Petty leads with 150 wins, Darrell Waltrip had 84, Johnson sits at 83 and Jeff Gordon had 82.

LAST TIME OUT: In the most recent race at Pocono in June, Johnson started 15th, led two laps and scored an eighth-place finish. The El Cajon, California, native's last win at the “Tricky Triangle” was on June 9, 2013, when he dominated the 400-mile event by leading 128 of 160 laps.

VIP EXPERIENCE: Johnson has three more VIP experiences remaining for the 2018 season. The package gives fans the opportunity to meet the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in a one-on-one setting and includes a meet-and-greet, an autograph and a photo with Johnson along with a behind-the-scenes garage tour and an amazing, exclusive gift. Packages remain for Indianapolis, Dover and Homestead. For more information, visit https://jimmiejohnsonvip.com/.

Truex looks to be seventh driver to sweep Pocono season

Martin Truex Jr is 7/2 to win his third Pocono Raceway race.

DENVER, Colo. (July 24, 2018) – The following are fast facts and notes about Martin Truex Jr.’s return trip to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race. Truex will drive the blue No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry in the 160-lap, 400-mile race.

First of 17
Pocono Raceway was the site of Truex’s first of 17 victories as a Furniture Row Racing driver, winning the June 2015 race. Prior to joining the Denver, Colo.-based team and crew chief Cole Pearn he had two career victories since becoming a full time Cup driver in 2006.

Looking for another sweep
By winning the Pocono race in June, Truex is in position to pocket his second career sweep at a track. His first sweep was last year, winning both races at Kansas Speedway.

Potential career highlight
A victory on Sunday would give Truex his third career win at Pocono Raceway’s triangular track, which would be his first time to win three Cup races at the same venue. Of his 19 career wins, he has two victories at Charlotte, Chicago, Dover, Kansas, Kentucky, Pocono and Sonoma.

On a roll
Truex has claimed nine top-five finishes in the last 10 races. He has top fives in the last five races with an average finish of 2.4 during this stretch.

No 3rd-place finishes
After the first 20 races of 2018, Truex has 14 top-five finishes. The 14 top fives include four wins, three 2nds, five 4ths and two 5ths. He does not have any third-place finishes this season. He also has not had a finishing position from 6th to 10th.

Go Blue
When Martin Truex Jr. drives the blue No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota as he will in Pocono this weekend there’s a good chance based on history that he will visit Victory Lane. He has scored four victories in the 12 races that Auto-Owners Insurance has been the primary sponsor on the No. 78. The Lansing, Mich.-based company started its sponsorship with Furniture Row Racing in 2016. Truex’s most recent win in the blue car was two weeks ago at Kentucky Speedway.

Truex quote about the label as being one of the Big 3
“That’s such a hard question to answer. I think I haven’t really thought about it much. A lot of people talk about it and especially here lately. It’s been a big topic of conversation, but for me I’m just honestly living in the moment, trying to enjoy myself, but also staying focused and not taking it for granted. It’s really hard to continue what we’ve done and I realize how much work it takes and how many people I owe it to, so, you know, for me just trying to stay focused, kind of block all that out and keep getting the job done is what’s most important. Certainly, it’s been really great the last couple years. I talk about it a lot, it’s been amazing and I don’t want it to stop any time soon. So got to continue to work hard to stay on top and, you know, got a great team obviously and that’s what it takes at this level. You’ve got to have every piece of the puzzle and everybody’s got to be working hard and working together.”

Driver points – overall, playoffs / season record
Truex ranks third in both driver and playoff bonus points. With six races remaining before the start of the 10-race playoffs, Truex has garnered 26 bonus points – 20 for his four wins and six for winning six stages. The bonus points carry throughout the playoffs. Truex’s 2018 record includes: 20 starts, four wins, 14 top fives, 14 top 10s, four poles and 647 laps led. His average start is 10.1 and average finish is 9.2.

Pocono record
Truex’s last three finishes at Pocono were: sixth, third and first. His career Cup record at Pocono includes 25 starts, two wins, five top 10s, 10 top 10s, one pole and 197 laps led. His average start is 15.2 and average finish is 14.9.

Denny Hamlin is active Pocono leader with four wins

Denny Hamlin is 18/1 to win at Pocono on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Gander Outdoors 400
Date/Time: Sunday, July 29/ 2:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 160 Laps/400 Miles
Track Length: 2.5 Miles
Track Shape: Triangle
2017 Winner: Kyle Busch

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2018 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

New Hampshire Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 13th in Sunday’s rain-delayed, 301-lap event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, overcoming an ill-handling #11 FedEx Freight Toyota to collect his 22nd top-15 finish in 25 starts at the New England “Magic Mile”. Hamlin, the 2017 Loudon race winner, started the race in the fourth position and quickly worked his way to second, however varying pit strategies during the competition caution on lap 35 dropped Hamlin to 19th. After finishing Stage 1 in 16th, Hamlin’s FedEx Racing crew helped position him in 14th to begin the second Stage, but he continued to battle a lack of grip during the ensuing 75 laps, and finished 12th as the yellow flag signaled the end of Stage 2. Hamlin lined up in 14th to begin the race’s final segment, but he continued to struggle with the car’s handling and fell back as far as 18th before slowly beginning his ascent back to the front, climbing his way to 13th before the checkered flag waved.

Pocono Preview: The Series returns to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s 400-mile race around the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle”. Hamlin is looking to rebound from his 35th-place finish that resulted from a late-race crash in the June event and add a fifth victory at Pocono to his impressive résumé of 10 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes at the Pennsylvania track.

Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares: This season, FedEx is tying the performance of the #11 FedEx Toyota on the track to its efforts to improve road safety through a new program, Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares, by donating $111 for each lap Hamlin leads and $11,000 for each race victory to Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit working to protect kids on the road, at home and at play. FedEx will also contribute $111,000 to Safe Kids if the #11 team wins the 2018 NASCAR championship. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.

After 19 regular season races, Hamlin has led 239 laps resulting in a $26,529 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide which will ultimately be matched by the Denny Hamlin Foundation. Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com.

Press Kit: Download the 2018 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Pocono Raceway
Races: 25
Wins: 4 (Series Best)
Poles: 3
Top-5: 10
Top-10: 15
Laps Led: 688
Avg. Start: 7.3 (Series Best)
Avg. Finish: 12.7

Hamlin Conversation:

You lead active drivers for most wins at Pocono Raceway. What will it take to capture your fifth victory at the Tricky Triangle this weekend?
“Our results from our last visit to Pocono Raceway don’t necessarily show what this FedEx Racing team is capable of, we just ran into some unfortunate circumstances that ended our race early. Heading back there, we obviously want to improve our track position and contend for the win, and we learned a lot of things in our past few races there (Pocono) that can help us do that. ”

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, FedEx Express Ramp Along for the Ride at Pocono: FedEx Express recognizes the employees at the company’s ramp in Harrisburg, Penn., for their continued efforts to support charitable causes in the local community by featuring the letters “MDTR” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend at the “Tricky Triangle”.

FedEx Office – Closest to Pocono Raceway: 940 Schechter Dr., Suite 1, Wilkes Barre, PA, 18702, (570) 819-0813

Alex Bowman is 100/1 to win at Pocono in Eagles scheme

Alex Bowman was 27th in the June race driving the No. 88.

Alex Bowman on racing at Pocono:
“That place is also very unique. It’s one of my favorite places we go. I enjoy it just because it’s so different and we shift and all that. We were really strong the first Pocono race, just got crashed late. So, hopefully we end up pretty solid there.”

Bowman on his special paint scheme:
“We are running the All-Pro Teachers car, so that will be pretty cool. We will have the winner of the All-Pro Teachers award there, too, so that will be pretty cool and hopefully we get it up front.”

AXALTA, EAGLES AND ALL-PRO TEACHERS: Axalta will be the primary sponsor on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend in Pocono. Instead of its primary colors, the car will feature the colors of the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles. The All-Pro Teachers campaign will be the primary focus of the weekend’s paint scheme, honoring teachers in the Philadelphia area. The 2017 All-Pro Teacher will be in attendance at Sunday’s race and will get to meet Alex Bowman and the No. 88 Axalta team.

BOWMAN AT THE TRICKY TRIANGLE: Bowman has five previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway. Earlier this season, the No. 88 team qualified 14th and finished 27th after an on-track incident on Lap 148 that caused heavy right-rear damage. In 2016, Bowman made his only start at the track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and finished 10th. The Tucson, Arizona, native captured two third-place finishes at the track in the ARCA Racing Series in 2012, leading a total of seven laps. A win for Bowman this weekend would mark the eighth different Hendrick Motorsports driver to win at the track, which would be a record.

NO. 88 AT POCONO: The No. 88 machine is no stranger to Victory Lane at Pocono. The car number has won seven times – tied for second-most all-time at the track – with four different drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. swept the 2014 Cup Series events at the track, leading 25 laps in total. Dale Jarrett wheeled the No. 88 to Victory Lane in 1997 and again in 2002. Bobby Allison swept the Pocono events in 1982, leading 91 laps between the two events. In July 1978, Darrell Waltrip captured the victory in the No. 88 machine after leading a race-high 125 laps.

IVES AT POCONO: Crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots seven times for the No. 88 team at the "Tricky Triangle." The Michigan native has two top-five finishes, both with Earnhardt. Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team from 2006-2012 and captured one pole, six top five and 11 top-10 finishes at the track during that span.

HOME-TRACK FEELS: Jason Seitzinger, shock engineer for the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, grew up in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, which is located approximately 70 miles from Pocono Raceway. It has been just a few months shy of 17 years that Seitzinger has been with Hendrick Motorsports.

NEW HAMPSHIRE REWIND: The No. 88 team qualified eighth for the rain-delayed event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend. Bowman battled the handling of his No. 88 Chevy for much of the 301-lap event before bringing home an 11th-place finish. The team is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and 28 points above the cutoff line for the playoffs.

TRAINING CAMP: Bowman will visit with the Philadelphia Eagles at training camp, located at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, on Friday, July 27. Bowman, along with Axalta VIPs and the All-Pro Teacher winner, will have the opportunity to meet some of the Eagles players and executives. In addition to the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 having an Eagles-themed paint scheme this weekend, Bowman will also wear a Philadelphia Eagles racing helmet that resembles the Eagles' team helmet.

COOKING WITH BOWMAN: On Friday, July 27, Bowman will participate in Pocono Raceway’s Fan Fest at 8 p.m. local time. Joined by teammate Chase Elliott, the two will compete in a Hungry Fan Throwdown cooking competition. For more information, visit poconoraceway.com/fanfest.

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: On Thursday, July 19, Hendrick Motorsports released Bowman’s Spotify playlist, featuring some of his favorite music to date. Bowman said his music taste began taking shape after receiving a Blink-182 album in fifth grade. Check out Bowman’s playlist, which features music genres ranging from pop-punk to alternative, here.

VALVOLINE: Valvoline is giving race fans the chance to win a trip for two to Las Vegas to meet Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and watch him race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 16. One grand-prize winner will receive a travel voucher for airfare, hotel stay and car rental courtesy of Valvoline. The winner will also get the chance to be the honorary pit crew member for the No. 88 team, which includes premium seating, behind-the-scenes access, a meet-and-greet with Bowman and other exclusive experiences. Fans can enter here until Aug. 1.

Pocono Raceway Track Facts: 2018 Gander Outdoors 400

The possible winners for Sunday's Pocono race are ona small list.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2018 Top 16 at Pocono Raceway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kyle Busch	27	4	1	6	12	5	17	91.4
2	Kevin Harvick	35	0	0	11	16	3	12.7	97
3	Martin Truex Jr	25	1	2	5	10	1	14.9	86.9
4	Joey Logano	19	2	1	4	7	1	17.1	89.6
5	Kurt Busch	34	2	3	14	19	5	14.3	103.3
6	Clint Bowyer	25	0	0	2	10	0	14.9	81.4
7	Brad Keselowski	17	1	1	9	10	0	10.2	95.1
8	Kyle Larson	9	1	0	2	5	0	10.6	96.3
9	Ryan Blaney	5	1	1	1	3	0	11.6	91.1
10	Denny Hamlin	25	3	4	10	15	3	12.7	104
11	Aric Almirola	12	0	0	0	1	4	25.8	60
12	Jimmie Johnson	33	3	3	11	20	4	12	101.3
13	Chase Elliott	5	0	0	1	4	0	13	99.7
14	Erik Jones	3	0	0	1	2	0	13.3	95
15	Alex Bowman	5	0	0	0	0	0	28	52.1
16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	11	0	0	0	0	1	22.7	60.3

* – Based on last 27 races at Pocono Raceway (2005 – 2018).

Loop Data Leaders: Pocono Raceway

Monster Energy Series - Top 3 In Key Loop Data Statistics
Driver Rating		Avg. Running Position		Laps Led
Denny Hamlin	104.0	Chase Elliott	9.724	Denny Hamlin	688
Kurt Busch	103.3	Denny Hamlin	10.789	Kurt Busch	534
Jimmie Johnson	101.3	Erik Jones	10.848	Jimmie Johnson	465
Fastest Laps Run		% of Laps in the Top 15		Quality Passes
Denny Hamlin	458	Chase Elliott	87.0%	Jimmie Johnson	1,065
Kurt Busch	366	Erik Jones	81.3%	Ryan Newman	1,061
Kasey Kahne	317	Denny Hamlin	78.6%	Kevin Harvick	1,052
Loop Data stats are from 2005 - Present

Pocono Raceway Data Season Race #: 21 of 36 (07-29-18) Track Size: 2.5-miles Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees Frontstretch Length:  3,740 feet Backstretch Length:  3,055 feet Shortstretch Length:  1,780 feet Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles Stage 1 and 2 Length: 50 Laps (each) Final Stage: 60 Laps Top 10 Driver Ratings at Pocono Denny Hamlin........................... 104.0 Kurt Busch............................... 103.3 Jimmie Johnson........................ 101.3 Chase Elliott............................... 99.7 Kevin Harvick............................. 97.0 Kyle Larson................................ 96.3 Brad Keselowski......................... 95.1 Erik Jones.................................. 95.0 Kyle Busch................................. 91.4 Ryan Blaney............................... 91.1 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2018 races (27 total) among active drivers at Pocono Raceway. Qualifying/Race Data 2017 pole winner: Kyle Busch, Toyota 179.372 mph, 50.175 secs, 07-29-17 2017 race winner: Kyle Busch, Toyota 141.080 mph, (02:50:07), 07-30-17 Track qualifying record: Kyle Larson, Chevrolet 183.438 mph, 49.610 secs, 08-03-14 Track race record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet 145.384 mph, (03:26:21), 06-12-11

At Pocono Raceway:

History

·        Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.

·        The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race was in 1974 – won by Richard Petty, Dodge, 115.593 mph, on August 4, 1974.

·        The 2.5-mile track was repaved during the fall of 2011.

·        2012 marked the first season the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles.

·        Prior to 2012, all Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.

·        There have been 81 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

Starts

·        341 drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway; 244 in more than one.

·        Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Pocono with 55.

·        Matt Kenseth leads all active drivers in the series with 37 starts; followed by Kevin Harvick with 35.

·        David Pearson (six starts) leads the series in average starting position at Pocono with a 4.667.

·        Denny Hamlin (25 starts) leads all active series drivers in average starting position at Pocono with a 7.320.

·        A total of 33 drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series have made their series debut at Pocono Raceway, the most recent and only active driver to make his debut at Pocono is Bubba Wallace (June 11, 2017).

Poles

·        A total of 43 different drivers have won the Busch Pole Award at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Ken Schraderwith five each.

·        Kyle Busch leads all active drivers at Pocono with four Busch poles (Spring 2010, Fall 2015, 2017 sweep).

·        Buddy Baker won the inaugural Buch Pole Award at Pocono in 1974 with a speed of 144.122 mph. 

·        Of the 43 Pocono pole winners, only six have won consecutive Busch poles: Bill Elliott (1984-85), Mark Martin (1990-91), Ken Schrader (1993 sweep), Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep), Joey Logano (fall 2011 and spring 2012) and Kyle Busch (2017 sweep).

·        Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Pocono with three; fall 1984 and both races in 1985.

·        Youngest Pocono pole winner: Joey Logano (08/07/2011 – 21 years, 2 months, 14 days).

·        Oldest Pocono pole winner: David Pearson (06/10/1984 – 49 years, 5 months, 19 days).

·        Three drivers have posted their first-career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch pole at Pocono Raceway: Harry Gant (1979), Casey Mears (2004) and Kyle Larson (2014). 

·        Eight different manufacturers have won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole at Pocono; led by Chevrolet with 33, followed by Ford (17), Dodge (8), Toyota (8), Pontiac (6), Buick (2), American Motors Company and Oldsmobile (each have one).  

Wins

·        A total of 37 different Monster Energy Series drivers have won at Pocono Raceway, 23 drivers have multiple wins, led by Jeff Gordon with six victories (1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2011 and 2012).

·        Denny Hamlin leads all active series drivers in wins at Pocono with four (2006 sweep, 2009 and 2010).

·        Five active drivers have multiple wins at Pocono: Denny Hamlin (four), Jimmie Johnson (three), Kurt Busch (three), Kasey Kahne (two) and Martin Truex Jr. (two).

·        Seven drivers have posted consecutive wins at Pocono Raceway, including three consecutive by Bobby Allison (1982 sweep and Spring 1983) and Tim Richmond (1986 sweep and spring 1987).

·        Two of the seven drivers to win consecutive races at Pocono are active: Jimmie Johnson (2004 sweep) and Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep and 2009 fall and 2010 spring races).

·        Youngest Pocono winner: Joey Logano (06/10/2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).

·        Oldest Pocono winner: Harry Gant (06/17/1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).

·        Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Pocono with 17: Jeff Gordon (six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Kasey Kahne (one), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one).

·        Eight different manufacturers have won in the Monster Energy Series at Pocono; led by Chevrolet with 32 victories; followed by Ford with 23, Dodge (seven), Pontiac (six), Toyota (six), Buick (four), Mercury (two) and Oldsmobile (one).

·        14 of the 81 (17.5%) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from the Busch pole; the most recent was Kyle Busch last fall (2017).

·        Two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from the first starting position due to qualifying being cancelled; Tony Stewart (2009) and the most recent was Jimmie Johnson (2013).

·        The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (16) than any other starting position at Pocono Raceway – a 20% winning percentage.    

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Pocono is 29th, by Carl Edwards in the spring of 2005.

·        A total of four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Pocono Raceway: Ryan Blaney (06/11/2017), Chris Buescher (08/01/16), Denny Hamlin (06/11/06) and Jeremy Mayfield (06/21/98).

·        Denny Hamlin (2006) and Carl Edwards (2005) are the only two active drivers to win at Pocono in their first appearances. 

·        Kevin Harvick leads the series among active drivers with the most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono without visiting Victory Lane at 35; followed by Jamie McMurray with 31.

·        Seven drivers in series history have swept Pocono in a single season - Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott(1985), Tim Richmond (1986), Bobby Labonte (1999), Jimmie Johnson (2004), Denny Hamlin (2006) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014).

Additional Finishing Position Stats

·        A total of 35 different Monster Energy Series drivers have finished runner-up at Pocono, led by Mark Martin with seven second-place finishes;

·        Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Pocono with five; followed by Kevin Harvick with four.

·        A total of 72 different Monster Energy Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Pocono, led by Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon with 20 each.

·        Kurt Busch leads all active Monster Energy Series drivers with 14 top fives; followed by Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick with 11 each.

·        A total of 119 different Monster Energy Series drivers have finished in the top-10 at Pocono, led by Mark Martin with 34 top-10 finishes;

·        Jimmie Johnson leads all active Monster Energy Series drivers with 20 top-10 finishes at Pocono.

·        Davey Allison (13 starts) leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Pocono with a 9.769.

·        Brad Keselowski (17 starts) leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Pocono with a 10.176.

Track Specific Stats

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway is the race on July 23, 2000, that was won by Rusty Wallace over Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.126 second.

·        There have been three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races resulting with NASCAR Overtime at Pocono Raceway:

Scheduled No. Of Laps	Actual No. Of Laps	NASCAR Overtime Laps	Winner	Date
200	204	4	Denny Hamlin	6/6/2010
200	203	3	Kurt Busch	7/24/2005
200	201	1	Carl Edwards	6/12/2005

·        Seven of the 81 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions:

Scheduled Date	Scheduled No. Of Laps	Actual No. Of Laps	No. of Fewer Laps	Winners
7/31/2016	160	138	-22	Chris Buescher
8/5/2012	160	98	-62	Jeff Gordon
6/10/2007	200	106	-94	Jeff Gordon
7/28/2002	200	175	-25	Bill Elliott
7/21/1991	200	179	-21	Rusty Wallace
7/20/1986	200	150	-50	Tim Richmond
8/4/1974	200	192	-8	Richard Petty

   

Track Specific Stats

·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway six times:

Date

6/6/1982

6/10/1984

6/9/2002

6/7/2009

8/3/2009

6/9/2013

·        A total of 126 different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have led at least one lap at Pocono; Jeff Gordon leads the series in laps led with 1,040 laps led in 46 starts. Below are the all-time top five lap leaders at Pocono Raceway.

Rank	Drivers	Led	Completed	% of Laps Led	Starts
1	Jeff Gordon	1,040	8,535	12.2%	47
2	Geoff Bodine	809	6,799	11.9%	40
3	Rusty Wallace	754	7,510	10.0%	44
4	Jimmie Johnson	740	5,624	13.2%	33
5	Denny Hamlin	688	4,115	16.7%	25

Top Five Active Pocono Lap Leaders:

Rank	Drivers	Led	Completed	% of Laps Led	Starts
1	Jimmie Johnson	740	5,624	13.2%	33
2	Denny Hamlin	688	4,115	16.7%	25
3	Kurt Busch	538	5,883	9.1%	34
4	Joey Logano	275	3,166	8.7%	19
5	Kyle Busch	273	4,295	6.4%	27

Female Competitor Stats

·        Two female drivers have competed at Pocono Raceway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Danica Patrick	22	15	7/30/2017
Danica Patrick	24	16	6/11/2017
Danica Patrick	26	22	8/1/2016
Danica Patrick	33	32	6/6/2016
Danica Patrick	20	16	8/2/2015
Danica Patrick	22	37	6/7/2015
Danica Patrick	10	30	8/3/2014
Danica Patrick	16	37	6/8/2014
Danica Patrick	34	35	8/4/2013
Danica Patrick	30	29	6/9/2013
Averages	23.7	26.9
Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Janet Guthrie	21	28	7/27/1980
Janet Guthrie	22	31	7/30/1978
Janet Guthrie	10	11	7/31/1977
Averages	17.7	23.3

NASCAR in Pennsylvania

·        There have been 147 NASCAR national series races among 10 tracks in the state of Pennsylvania.

Track Name	City	Monster Energy	Xfinity	Camping World	Total Races
Pocono Raceway	Long Pond	81	3	8	92
Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth	0	17	6	23
Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne	17	0	0	17
Lincoln Speedway	New Oxford	7	0	0	7
Heidelberg Raceway	Pittsburgh	4	0	0	4
Reading Fairgrounds	Reading	2	0	0	2
Bloomsburg Fairgrounds	Bloomsburg	1	0	0	1
New Bradford Speedway	Bradford	1	0	0	1
Pine Grove Speedway	Shippenville	1	0	0	1
Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg	1	0	0	1
Totals		115	20	14	149

·        The first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Pennsylvania was the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event held on September 11, 1949 at Langhorne Speedway and won by Curtis Turner(Oldsmobile). 

Pennsylvania Drivers In NASCAR

·        146 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.

·        Three of the 146 Pennsylvania drivers have won in NASCAR’s premiere series.

Driver	Monster Energy	Xfinity	Camping World	Totals
Dick Linder	3	0	0	3
Jimmy Spencer	2	12	1	15
Mark Donohue	1	0	0	1
Totals	6	12	1	19

2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results
Date	Track	Busch Pole	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Race Winner	OEM
2/18/2018	Daytona	Alex Bowman	Kurt Busch	Ryan Blaney	N/A	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet
2/25/2018	Atlanta	Kyle Busch	Kevin Harvick	Brad Keselowski	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3/4/2018	Las Vegas	Ryan Blaney	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3/11/2018	ISM	Martin Truex Jr	Kyle Busch	Kurt Busch	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3/18/2018	Auto Club	Martin Truex Jr	Martin Truex Jr.	Martin Truex Jr.	N/A	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota
3/26/2018	Martinsville	None-Weather	Denny Hamlin	Ryan Blaney	N/A	Clint Bowyer	Ford
4/8/2018	Texas	Kurt Busch	Kevin Harvick	Kyle Busch	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
4/15/2018	Bristol	Kyle Busch	Brad Keselowski	Brad Keselowski	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
4/21/2018	Richmond	Martin Truex Jr.	Joey Logano	Joey Logano	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
4/29/2018	Talladega	Kevin Harvick	Brad Keselowski	Paul Menard	N/A	Joey Logano	Ford
5/6/2018	Dover	Kyle Larson	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
5/12/2018	Kansas	Kevin Harvick	Ryan Blaney	Kyle Larson	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
5/19/2018	All-Star Open	N/A	Alex Bowman	Daniel Suarez	N/A	AJ Allmendinger	Chevrolet
5/19/2018	All-Star Race	Matt Kenseth	Kevin Harvick	Kyle Busch	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick	Ford
5/27/2018	Charlotte	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	Toyota
6/3/2018	Pocono	Ryan Blaney	Martin Truex Jr	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota
6/10/2018	Michigan	Kurt Busch	Ryan Blaney	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Clint Bowyer	Ford
6/24/2018	Sonoma	Kyle Larson	AJ Allmendinger	Denny Hamlin	N/A	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota
7/1/2018	Chicagoland	Paul Menard	Aric Almirola	Kevin Harvick	N/A	Kyle Busch	Toyota
7/7/2018	Daytona	Chase Elliott	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	N/A	Erik Jones	Toyota
7/14/2018	Kentucky	Martin Truex Jr.	Martin Truex Jr.	Martin Truex Jr.	N/A	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota
7/22/2018	New Hampshire	Kurt Busch	Martin Truex Jr.	Chase Elliott	N/A	Kevin Harvick	Ford
2018 Top Five Performers In Each Statistical Category
Rank	Drivers	Wins		Rank	Drivers	Runner-Ups
1	Kevin Harvick	6		1	Kyle Larson	4
2	Kyle Busch	5			Kyle Busch	4
3	Martin Truex Jr	4		3	Kevin Harvick	3
4	Clint Bowyer	2			Martin Truex Jr	3
5	Austin Dillon	1		4	Brad Keselowski	1
	Joey Logano	1			Bubba Wallace	1
	Erik Jones	1			Chase Elliott	1
					Clint Bowyer	1
Rank	Drivers	Top Fives			Kurt Busch	1
1	Kevin Harvick	15			Ryan Blaney	1
2	Kyle Busch	14
	Martin Truex Jr	14		Rank	Drivers	Top 10s
4	Clint Bowyer	6		1	Kevin Harvick	16
	Denny Hamlin	6			Kyle Busch	16
	Kyle Larson	6		3	Joey Logano	15
				4	Martin Truex Jr	14
Rank	Drivers	Poles		5	Brad Keselowski	11
1	Martin Truex Jr	4			Kyle Larson	11
2	Kyle Busch	3			Kurt Busch	11
3	Kurt Busch	3
4	Kevin Harvick	2		Rank	Drivers	Laps Led
	Ryan Blaney	2		1	Kevin Harvick	1,052
	Kyle Larson	2		2	Kyle Busch	984
				3	Martin Truex Jr	647
				4	Ryan Blaney	464
				5	Kurt Busch	423

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Milestones
STARTS
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	599	1
Will become the 29th driver to make 600 or more Monster Energy Series starts.
Driver: Kasey Kahne	Has	Needs
Milestone:	524	1
Will become the 38th driver to make 525 or more Monster Energy Series starts.
Driver: Matt DiBenedetto	Has	Needs
Milestone:	124	1
Will become the 181st driver to make 125 or more Monster Energy Series starts.
WINS
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	83	1
Tie Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time series wins list.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	48	1
Tie Tony Stewart (49) for 13th on the all-time Monster Energy Series wins list.
Driver: Kevin Harvick	Has	Needs
Milestone:	43	1
Tie Bill Elliott (44) for 16th on the all-time MENCS wins list.
Driver: Denny Hamlin	Has	Needs
Milestone:	31	1
To tie Dale Jarrett for 24th on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins list.
BUSCH POLES
Driver: Ryan Newman	Has	Needs
Milestone:	51	3
Tie Bill Elliott for eighth on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series poles list.
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	35	1
To tie Rusty Wallace and Rex White for 18th on the all-time series poles list.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	30	1
To tie Fonty Flock for 23rd on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series poles list.
Driver: Kasey Kahne	Has	Needs
Milestone:	27	2
To tie Kyle Busch and Ricky Rudd for 25th on the all-time Monster Energy Series poles list.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Milestones
Second-Place Finishes
Driver: Kevin Harvick	Has	Needs
Milestone:	53	3
Tie Buck Baker for ninth on the all-time series second-place finishes list.
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	46	2
Tie Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time series second-place finishes list.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	44	2
Tie Jimmie Johnson for 12th on the all-time series second-place finishes list.
Top Fives
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	224	1
To become the 11th series driver all-time to post 225 or more top fives
Top 10s
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	347	2
Tie Rusty Wallace for 11th on the series all-time top-10 finishes list
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.	Has	Needs
Milestone:	174	1
Tie Greg Biffle for 42nd on the series all-time top-10 finishes list
Laps Led
Driver: Jimmie Johnson	Has	Needs
Milestone:	18,678	322
To become the ninth driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 19,000 laps.
Driver: Kyle Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	15,364	636
To become the 10th driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 16,000 laps.
Driver: Kevin Harvick	Has	Needs
Milestone:	12,143	857
To become the 12th driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 13,000 laps.
Driver: Matt Kenseth	Has	Needs
Milestone:	11,751	249
To become the 16th driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 12,000 laps.
Driver: Kurt Busch	Has	Needs
Milestone:	9,300	700
To become the 18th driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 10,000 laps.
Driver: Denny Hamlin	Has	Needs
Milestone:	9,082	918
To become the 18th driver in the MENCS all-time to lead 10,000 laps.