We’re getting nearer and nearer to the postseason. Drivers are still jockeying for positions not only on the tracks but in the standings as well. Some changes could be on the way this coming weekend, depending on the result of the upcoming Gander RV 400 event when the season makes a return to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Read on for more about the race below.
Regardless of the track, based on what he’s been showing for the most of the season, expect Kyle Busch to be a strong contender to win a race. Last week, Busch had a top-10 finish once again, as he went eighth overall at New Hampshire, which came a week after he was the runner-up — behind his older brother, Kurt — at Kentucky. On the season, Busch has four wins in 20 starts. What’s more telling of his seemingly looming success at Pocono Raceway is the fact that he’s won his last two appearances there. He won this year’s Pocono 400 and last year’s The Gander Outdoors 400.
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin came close of notching his third win of the season when he finished runner-up in last week’s race at the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. Now, that’s back-to-back top-five finishes for Hamlin, who is currently sitting on the fifth place of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup standings. Hamlin has a strong track record at Pocono Raceway, where he’s won four times in 27 appearances there. He also had 10 top 5s and 17 top 10s to go with 21 top 20s. Back in June, he finished sixth at the Pocono 400. Hamlin has a career 12.37 average finish at Pocono.
SLEEPERS
Ryan Newman
Newman can’t relax just yet. He’s far from having that luxury. He has 509 points on the season, good for a precarious 15th spot in the standings. Newman is having a good stretch, though. He has finished inside the top 10 in five of his last six races. The latest was a seventh-place finish at the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 in New Hampshire. Newman has one career win at Pocono Raceway, though, that was over two decades ago during The Pennsylvania 500 in 2003.
Daniel Suarez
After an encouraging eighth-place finish at the Quaker State 400 in Kentucky, Suarez slipped up a bit and went just 19th at the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 in New Hampshire. Suarez has fared decently in his last two appearances at Pocono Raceway. He was eighth in last June’s Pocono 400 and second in last year’s staging of the Gander Outdoor 400.
LONG SHOT
David Ragan
Ragan is someone who’s a mere afterthought this season. He only has a single top-10 finish in 20 races this year He hasn’t finished better than 15th in any of his past eight races. Last week, he was 34th in New Hampshire, which came after he went 29th in Kentucky. In 25 career races at Pocono Raceway, Ragan has one top-10 finish, and that was back in 2008 when he went fifth at The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.
