3 days agoHeading into the Pocono race this past weekend, Kyle Busch was likely already going to need to win in the regular season if he was going to make the playoffs this year, but after getting involved in a multi-car wreck at "The Tricky Triangle," Busch is now even more in the "must win" category for the postseason. Rowdy finished 32nd in Sunday's The Great American Getaway 400 and now sits 102 points below the cut line in the race for the playoffs. That result also marks Busch's fifth finish of 27th or worse over the last seven races, with four of those results being outside of the top 30 as well.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
3 days agoIt was another bad finish for Ross Chastain in Sunday's The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, as the Trackhouse Racing driver wrecked out of the event and was credited with a 36th-place finish. That's his third straight finish of 22nd or worse in the past three races, and Chastain has only scored a total of 20 points over that span. He now sits just 27 points above Bubba Wallace for the final spot in the playoffs on points. After getting off to a hot start at the beginning of the season (Chastain had four finishes of seventh of or better in the first six races), he has just four top-10 finishes over the last 15 races with just one top five. The aggressive driver is going to have to stay out of trouble for the rest of the regular season if he wants to make the postseason this year.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
3 days agoMartin Truex Jr won Stage 1 at Pocono yesterday after passing polesitter Ty Gibbs for the lead on the lap 18 restart, but he never saw the lead again after losing it on the ensuing stage break caution. Truex remained in the top 10 throughout the race, but his crew chief, James Small, continued his penchant for questionable pit calls, particularly when Truex took four tires on his final pit stop, which put him outside the top five for the remainder of the race. In a race where passing was so difficult, Truex couldn't work his way through traffic to pass the cars that took two tires and stagnated for the rest of the race en route to an eighth-place finish. However, it remained a good points day and he remains significantly ahead of the other non-winners in the playoffs on points, so it would be shocking if he missed the playoffs.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 days agoDenny Hamlin is the winningest NASCAR Cup Series driver at Pocono with seven wins, and he nearly added an eighth win to his ledger yesterday but came up a second short to Ryan Blaney to finish second in The Great American Getaway 400. Regardless, you could argue that Hamlin had the stronger race as he also ranked second to Blaney in both driver rating and average speed in addition to scoring 54 points, both the most points anyone scored in the race as well as his biggest points haul this year. Hamlin's pass of Josh Berry to win Stage 2 was also the final on-track lead change in the race. However, in a race where passing was at a premium, the race was ultimately decided in the pits and Blaney's pit crew came out on top. The race did mark an impressive return to form for Hamlin after a rough and unlucky month of June.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 days agoRyan Blaney claimed his second win of the season in yesterday's The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, his first win at the track since 2017 and Team Penske's first win there since Brad Keselowski won in 2011. Although Blaney only took the lead on a caution flag pit stop and never took the lead on track, he still arguably had the best race as he nosed out Denny Hamlin for the best driver rating and the fastest average lap time. The race is especially promising for the rest of Blaney's season considering Pocono has not historically been one of his stronger tracks. Blaney remains seventh in the points standings but reduced his deficit from the leader to 76 points. Blaney continues to lead Ford drivers in nearly all metrics and currently ranks eighth in speed for the season.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 days agoTy Gibbs won his second career pole for yesterday's Pocono race but his racecraft and his dueling ability aren't yet as strong as his raw speed, so it isn't surprising that he got passed for the lead twice in the race, first by Martin Truex Jr on lap 18 and more unexpectedly by rookie Josh Berry on lap 59. After Gibbs was hindered by going slightly off-sequence on strategy followed by speeding on pit road, he blew an engine on lap 133 to trigger the final caution of the race, resulting in a 27th-place finish. Gibbs is now more vulnerable to miss the playoffs than he was last week, but he remains 40 points ahead of Ross Chastain for the final playoff spot on points and he was greatly aided by Chastain crashing earlier in the race, so the odds of him missing the playoffs are remote.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 days agoTyler Reddick finished the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway in the sixth position. Starting from the seventh position, Reddick had one of the fastest cars in the field early in Sunday's race, as he climbed to third and netted stage points at the end of the first stage. In the second stage, after taking his first pit stop of the day, the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota driver stayed off of pit road for the rest of the stage and placed 10th, grabbing one extra stage point. In the final stage, Reddick avoided trouble multiple times, saved enough fuel, and landed his fourth-consecutive top-10 finish at Pocono. Reddick also maintains his status as one of the hottest drivers of the year with his series-leading 14th top-10 finish and his seventh in the last eight Cup events. Reddick will be one to watch with the Indianapolis Oval track up next for the Cup Series due to his consistency this year and how he finished eighth at the site in his only Cup start in 2020.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3
days
agoHendrick
Motorsports
driver
Alex
Bowman
finished
third
in
Sunday's
Great
American
Getaway
400
at
Pocono
Raceway.
Starting
from
the
sixth
position,
Bowman
steadily
remained
in
the
top
10
through
the
first
stage.
After
the
first
caution
on
Lap
14,
Bowman
stayed
out
of
the
pits
for
the
rest
read more...
3 days agoBrad Keselowski finished seventh in The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. With Sunday's effort, Keselowski now has 10 top-10s for the season and sits ninth in the NASCAR playoff standings. Despite an underwhelming qualifying session on Saturday, Sunday proved to be a big day for RFK Racing as both Keselowski and Buescher earned a spot in the DraftKings winning lineup. With this appearance, the 40-year-old future Hall of Famer now has eight in total, which is the most of anyone in the series this year. Up next for the Cup Series is a trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track that the No. 6 finished fourth at the last time that NASCAR ran the oval configuration there.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
3
days
agoOn
Sunday
afternoon,
Chris
Buescher
finished
11th
in
the
Great
American
Getaway
400
at
Pocono
Raceway.
Heading
into
the
weekend,
Buescher
was
a
difficult
driver
to
assess
as
his
results
at
this
track
had
been
mixed.
While
he
did
win
at
this
venue
back
in
2016,
he
has
read more...
3 days agoJoey Logano qualified 10th for the race at Pocono on Sunday, and the Team Penske driver ended up leading three laps. However, in the end, Logano and his No. 22 Ford had to settle for fifth place. Logano stands 10th in the playoff picture, as the Ford did not have the clean running speed to challenge the likes of Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin. Logano and his pit crew could not quite pull off the same fuel-mileage wizardry at Pocono. However, Logano is not so good at 2.5-mile tracks like the Brickyard. Expecting a big result in Indianapolis may not be wise from a DFS standpoint.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 days agoWilliam Byron started The Great American Getaway 400 from outside of Row 1 on Sunday. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver dropped a mere two spots after 160 laps. Byron never could get close enough to the leaders on Sunday. He did not lead a single lap but him and his team played the pit strategy well. As a result, Byron and his Chevy were able to stay near the front. Late in the final stage, it did not hurt to have teammate Alex Bowman near him. Byron was able to hold off Joey Logano for fourth as he stayed third in the playoff picture.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
4 days agoBubba Wallace will start 29th in this week's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. This is Wallace's lowest starting position at Pocono since 2018 the lowest of the season so far. In 11 Cup starts at the site, Wallace has four top-15 finishes, which he scored in his last four appearances there in the Cup Series. The No. 23 Toyota driver also has six finishes with positive Place Differential at Pocono. Through 20 races so far this year, Wallace has 14 top-20 finishes with six inside the Top 10. In practice, Wallace ranked 11th in overall lap averages and fifth in five consecutive lap averages. With incredible PD upside, Wallace is one of the best drivers to consider for DFS contests this week, as he is capable of placing in the Top 15 based on equipment, practice speeds, and recent Pocono history.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
4 days agoDuring qualifying for the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, Martin Truex Jr. nabbed a starting position of third. This is the second year in a row that Truex will start inside the Top 3 and the best starting position of the year for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver. In 34 starts at Pocono, Truex has two wins and 15 top-10 finishes. Truex also led in each of the last three Cup events at the site, including 20 circuits in last year's race. In 20 races so far this season, Truex has eight top-10 finishes, and 447 laps led, which is the fourth-most of all drivers. In practice, Truex ranked as the fastest driver in all categories except for single lap times. Due to his equipment and his strong Pocono history, Truex is one of the top favorites to compete for the win.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
4 days agoJoey Logano scored a starting position of 10th in qualifying for this week's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. It is Logano's second top-10 starting position in a row at Pocono and his first this season since New Hampshire three races ago. In 28 starts at Pocono in the Cup Series, Logano has one win and 10 top-10 finishes. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford driver also led 21 laps in last year's Cup event at Pocono before obtaining a DNF. After 20 Cup races, Logano has one win and six top-10 finishes, including three of the last six Cup events. In practice, Logano ranked 27th in five consecutive lap averages and 17th in overall lap averages. Despite the below-average practice speeds, Logano is historically great at Pocono, making him someone to consider for tournament lineups instead of all formats due to his low Place Differential upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
RADIO
