Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners
Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Who’s HOT at Pocono
- Martin Truex Jr., who won in June, has posted an average finish of 3.3 in his last three starts.
- Kevin Harvick, who led 89 laps in June, has finished ninth or better in seven of the last eight races, including four runner-up finishes.
- Kyle Busch has led 187 laps and posted an average finish of 4.3 in his last three starts, including a win last July.
- Brad Keselowski is the only driver that has finished in the top five in each of the last six races.
- Ryan Blaney finished sixth from the pole last month and is the 2017 winner of the June race.
- Chase Elliott has finished in the top 10 in four of his five starts.
Keep an Eye On at Pocono
- Kyle Larson has finished 12th or better (five top 10s) in eight of his nine Pocono starts, including a runner-up finish in June.
- Aric Almirola, who finished seventh in June, is coming off his best finish of the season (third) and has combined to lead 112 laps in two of the last four races (Chicago and New Hampshire).
- Kurt Busch and Erik Jones (3 races) have a top 10 driver rating at Pocono since 2016. Busch, who won the 2016 June race, has combined to lead 139 laps and has posted a two top 10s in his last two starts (Kentucky and New Hampshire) this season.
- Jimmie Johnson finished eighth in June at Pocono for one of his seven top 10s of the season.
- Joey Logano, who won at Pocono in 2012 (first race on current pavement), finished ninth in June.
- Denny Hamlin is a four-time winner at Pocono, but has not won since the track was repaved in 2012. He’s finished in the top 10 in the last two July/August races.
- Clint Bowyer (13.5), Ryan Newman (13.9), Matt Kenseth (15.6) and Jamie McMurray (16.2) each rank in the top 10 in average finish among drivers that have competed in all 13 races since Pocono was repaved.
Notes: Teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will run the same Goodyear tire set-up that they competed with at Pocono in June…Truex led 31 laps in June and Kevin Harvick led the most laps with 89…The pole position has produced the most race winners (16) at Pocono with Kyle Busch the last to win from the No. 1 spot…Truex Jr. won in June from the fourth position and Fifty-nine percent of the race winners have come from a top-five starting spot…Busch, who will also compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, has led the most laps (187) in the last three races at Pocono…Two of the last four races at Pocono have produced a first-time Cup winner with Ryan Blaney being the most recent in the June 2017 race…Brad Keselowski has the best average finish (8.3) among drivers that have competed in all 13 races since Pocono was repaved…The winner of Stage 1 has gone on to win the last two Pocono races…Hendrick Motorsports leads all organizations with 17 Pocono wins.
*Best Average Finish at Pocono
| Last # of Races | Driver | Average Finish |
| Two Races | Martin Truex Jr./Kyle Busch | 2.0 |
| Four Races | Kevin Harvick | 3.0 |
| Six Races | Brad Keselowski | 3.7 |
| Eight Races | Brad Keselowski | 7.8 |
| Ten Races | Brad Keselowski | 7.0 |
* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in EVERY race during that time span.
Laps Led Leaders at Pocono
| Last # of Races | Driver | Laps Led |
| Two Races | Kevin Harvick | 89 |
| Four Races | Kyle Busch | 188 |
| Six Races | Kyle Busch | 210 |
| Eight Races | Kyle Busch | 210 |
| Ten Races | Kyle Busch | 210 |
Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Pocono over the past 10 races.
Pocono Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2018, 27 Races)
| Average Running Pos. | Laps in Top 15 |
| 1. Chase Elliott – 9.7 | 1. Jimmie Johnson – 3,428 |
| 2. Denny Hamlin – 10.8 | 2. Kurt Busch – 3,391 |
| 3. Erik Jones – 10.8 | 3. Denny Hamlin – 3,385 |
| 4. Kurt Busch – 11.1 | 4. Ryan Newman – 3,264 |
| 5. Jimmie Johnson – 11.9 | 5. Kyle Busch – 3,181 |
| Fastest Laps Run | Driver Rating |
| 1. Denny Hamlin – 458 | 1. Denny Hamlin – 104.0 |
| 2. Kurt Busch – 366 | 2. Kurt Busch – 103.3 |
| 3. Kasey Kahne – 317 | 3. Jimmie Johnson – 101.3 |
| 4. Jimmie Johnson – 287 | 4. Chase Elliott – 99.7 |
| 5. Kevin Harvick – 219 | 5. Kevin Harvick – 97.0 |
Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned Among Active Drivers at Pocono
Three Races
| Driver | Points Earned |
| Kyle Busch | 46 |
| Kevin Harvick | 43 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 34 |
| Brad Keselowski | 33 |
| Clint Bowyer | 28 |
| Kyle Larson | 27 |
| Chase Elliott | 23 |
| Kurt Busch | 14 |
| Ryan Blaney | 13 |
| Jimmie Johnson/Denny Hamlin | 10 |
2018 June Pocono Stage Finishes
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
| 1. Martin Truex Jr. | 1. Kevin Harvick |
| 2. Kevin Harvick | 2. Kyle Busch |
| 3. Kyle Busch | 3. Clint Bowyer |
| 4. Clint Bowyer | 4. Martin Truex Jr. |
| 5. Denny Hamlin | 5. Chase Elliott |
| 6. Chase Elliott | 6. Kyle Larson |
| 7. Ryan Blaney | 7. Brad Keselowski |
| 8. Kyle Larson | 8. Ryan Blaney |
| 9. Jimmie Johnson | 9. Jimmie Johnson |
| 10. Brad Keselowski | 10. Alex Bowman |
Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Bubba Wallace has made two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, He finished 38th in June after the engine expired in his No. 43 Chevrolet, the result of a missed shift. Byron, who leads the rookie standings by 43 points, finished 18th in his first Pocono Cup Series start in June. Wallace also made two starts each in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series at the 2.5-mile track with his best results coming in the truck with a pair of top 10s. Byron did finish eighth in the ARCA race in 2016 and then followed that up with a win in the Truck Series. He was 12th last season in his lone Xfinity start at the track.
MRN.com Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Aric Almirola
Pete Pistone: Martin Truex Jr.
Tyler Burnett: Kevin Harvick
Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Pocono
Brad Keselowski is the only driver that has finished in the top five in each of the last six races at Pocono. Keselowski, who won the summer race in 2011, led 10 laps and finished fifth in June – his third consecutive fifth-place finish. He ranks fourth in stage points (33) earned in the last three races at Pocono.
Kevin Harvick has yet to win at Pocono – one of two tracks on the schedule where he’s winless – but has come close on several occasions, finishing second four times. Two those runner-up finishes came in both races last season. In June, Harvick led a race-high 89 laps en route to a fourth-place finish. He will return in the same car (chassis No. 1041) that he raced in June. Harvick ranks second in stage points (43) earned in the last three races at Pocono.
Kurt Busch has not led a lap at Pocono since leading 32 circuits on his way to the win in the 2016 June race. This win was one of three top 10s in the last five races. His worst finish in that span came in June when he took the checkered flag in 19th. Busch comes into the weekend having combined to lead 139 laps in the last two races, which ranks second behind Martin Truex Jr. in that span.
Kyle Busch is the defending race winner after leading 74 laps and winning Stage 1. He also won Stage 1 and led 100 laps in the 2017 June race, but was passed for the lead with nine laps to go. A decision to stay out on older tires relegated him to a ninth-place finish. Busch, who leads all drivers with 46 stage points earned at Pocono, led 13 laps and finished third in June.
Matt Kenseth finished 13th in June at Pocono for his best finish in his six starts with Roush Fenway Racing this season. Prior to his return to RFR, finished in the top 10 in five of his previous six starts at Pocono with Joe Gibbs Racing, including a win in this event in 2015.
Ryan Blaney scored the win in the June race last season driving for the Wood Brothers. The win is one of three top 10s in five starts at Pocono, including a sixth-place run from the pole in June with Team Penske.
Ryan Blaney scored the win in the June race last season driving for the Wood Brothers. The win is one of three top 10s in five starts at Pocono, including a sixth-place run from the pole in June with Team Penske. Blaney finished in the top 10 in both Stage 1 and 2 in June.
Chase Elliott finished 10th in June for his third straight top 10 at Pocono. Elliott ranks seventh in stage points (23) earned at Pocono and he finished in the top 10 in both stages in June. Last weekend at New Hampshire, Elliott scored his first stage win of the season.
Erik Jones finished 29th in June after late-race contact from Joey Logano on a restart. This finish snapped a streak of two consecutive top 10s at the 2.5-mile track. Pocono is one of five tracks on the schedule where he has multiple top 10s.
Martin Truex Jr. is coming off his second win at Pocono. In the last three races at the 2.5-mile track, Truex has posted a 3.3 average finish and has led 67 laps.
Denny Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in the last two summer races at Pocono. Hamlin finished 35th in June after he got loose in Turn 1 and made contact with Alex Bowman. Hamlin, who captured his last of four wins at Pocono in the 2010 June race, has only recorded stage points in two of the six stages at Pocono.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has posted a 13.7 average finish in his last three starts at Pocono. Stenhouse led 11 laps and scored his only Pocono stage points (stage 2) en route to a 16th-place finish in this event last year.
Daniel Suarez finished seventh last year in this event for his only top 10 in three starts at Pocono. He has yet to record a stage point at the 2.5-mile track.
Ryan Newman was running 12th with 10 to go in June at Pocono, but was finished 25th after contact on a restart. The finish was his first outside the top 15 in the last five races. Newman’s six points in Stage 2 last year in this event are his only stage points at Pocono.
Clint Bowyer finished sixth last year in this event for his only top 10 in three Pocono starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. Bowyer was running in the top 10 with 10 laps to go in June, but missed a shift and dropped back to 25th. He finished 20th in the race after finishing fourth and third, respectively, in the first two stages. Bowyer’s 28 total stage points at Pocono ranks fifth among all drivers.
