Starting Lineup | Pit Stall Assignments
Stories to follow during Sunday’s running of the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway, which can be heard live on the Motor Racing Network starting at 1 p.m. ET.
Battle Continues
There’s no signs the battle between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick will slow down anytime soon. The two drivers that have teamed up to win nine of the first 13 races of the season qualified well for Sunday’s race. Busch won last summer’s Pocono race and Harvick finished second in both races so expect to see them at the front of the field.
Don’t Forget Truex Jr.
The defending series champion is also a former Pocono winner and has run very well at the track in the last few years. While he’s not on the record pace of 2017 when he drove to the title, Truex Jr. is hovering and should be a factor in Sunday’s outcome.
Blaney Back
Ryan Blaney scored his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in this race a year ago and the Team Penske driver starts from the pole Sunday in his quest for a second straight trip to Victory Lane. He’s led the most laps this year behind the Busch-Harvick juggernaut and has been consistently fast the last several races.
Chevy Progress
Last week’s Coca-Cola 600 saw four Chevrolet drivers in the top 10 led by Jimmie Johnson, who scored his second top-five finish of the season. Jamie McMurray is the highest starting Chevrolet driver in the third spot with Ryan Newman also inside the first 10 starters. The “Bowtie Brigade” believes things are heading in the right direction as Chevy looks for its second win of the season.
Strategy Plan
Year two of stage racing has seen more strategies incorporated by crew chiefs trying to get off sequence from the norm in terms of fuel mileage. Pocono has had a reputation of being a strategy track over the years and the incorporation of stages has amplified that process. Don’t be surprised to see some rolling of the dice late by teams trying to steal track position and a win.
Winless List
Only six drivers have won over the first half of the season and the list of those still winless includes some of the sport’s heavy hitters. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Johnson are just a few of the names still with a great big goose egg in the win column.
