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| Kevin Harvick is the 4/1 favorite to win Sunday at Pocono. |
This is the second visit of the year the series has made to Pocono's 2.5-mile layout, affectionately dubbed the Tricky Triangle. On June 7, Martin Truex Jr. led 97 of the 160 laps for his lone win of the season. Only five other drivers led a lap, with second-place Harvick leading 39 of them. It was Harvick's second straight second-place finish at Pocono.
The biggest story heading into the weekend centers around Kyle Busch and whether he can win his fourth straight Sprint Cup race but his first ever at Pocono. The last two drivers to win four straight – Jimmie Johnson (2007) and Jeff Gordon (1998) – went on to win Cup titles.
Here’s a driver-by-driver breakdown of Sunday’s race, with opening odds posted at the Westgate:
ODDS TO WIN WINDOWS 10 400, POCONO RACEWAY
KEVIN HARVICK 4/1: After two races of wild aero-package changes – one that worked very well at Kentucky and another that wasn't so good at Indy – Harvick is probably more excited than any other driver to get back to the package that he started the season off with and was used in the first Pocono race. That's the package with which he dominated the series, finishing first or second in 11 races this season. However, it's been seven races since his last second-place finish (Pocono), and his last win was March 15 at Phoenix. With little passing expected again this week, it's a good bet that Harvick will finish with at least a top-three.
KYLE BUSCH 6/1: While Harvick is happy to see the regular package back, Busch isn't doing any cheering. Joe Gibbs Racing was ahead of the curve with the new stuff but is still a bit behind on the big horsepower tracks with the regular stuff. It’s amazing he was able to win three straight races with three different packages. In 21 Pocono starts, he's been all over the place – terrible finishes to near wins for an 18th-place average over 21 starts. He was ninth in the June race.
MARTIN TRUEX JR 7/1: Count him in as a driver happy to see the regular package back. He was fourth last week at Indy, but finished 12th or worse in his previous four races after having a top-10 in 14 of the first 15 races. Dale Earnhardt Jr. swept Pocono last season and the notes are still fresh from June, so there's no reason why Truex can't duplicate his domination Sunday.
JIMMIE JOHNSON 7/1: He's a three-time winner at Pocono, including a 2004 sweep, and has a 9.6 average finish, best among active drivers with at least four starts. He finished third in the June race, but was never able to get out front in clean air and lead a lap. While his last win here was in 2013, he's currently tied with Kyle Busch with four wins on the season to lead the series.
KURT BUSCH 8/1: In 28 career Pocono starts, he's got two wins and 12 top-five finishes, including fifth in the June race when he started from the pole. He's been a Pocono runner-up five times, which puts him in Mark Martin-type of company at the track. In Martin's case, he was second a record seven times but never won in 54 starts.
BRAD KESELOWSKI 12/1: He won this race in 2011 and was runner-up in the first race of 2014, but has finished 23rd and 17th in his past two starts. He’s not one who is excited about the return of the regular package.
JOEY LOGANO 12/1: He won here in 2012 at 22 years old to become the youngest driver to win at the track since its first Cup race in 1974. He finished third in this race last season and fourth in June. Nothing tricky about the triangle for him. He's got this place figured out.
JEFF GORDON 12/1: Sunday will be his 46th and final Pocono start. He leads all active drivers at this track with wins (6), top-fives (19), top-10s (31) and laps led (1,038). He's also finished second on six occasions and has a 9.9 average finish. While he belongs on NASCAR’s Mt. Rushmore, his Swan Song isn't going as planned – he has no wins and only two top-fives in what may be his worst season ever.
DALE EARNHARDT JR 12/1: After no wins in 28 Pocono starts, Junior swept the 2014 season and followed that up with an 11th in June.
DENNY HAMLIN 12/1: This guy is an absolute machine at Pocono. It doesn't matter whether he's got good or bad engines during the season, he always shows up. He's a four-time winner here, including a 2006 sweep as a rookie. He was 10th in the June race and has an 11th-place average finish in 19 starts.
Read More Here....complete list of odds offered by the Westgate
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