Mash The Gas – Pocono Preview
- Updated: June 5, 2013
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into one of the most unique racetracks on the circuit as the tri-angle shaped Pocono Raceway hosts the Party in the Poconos 400 Sunday afternoon. Pocono is a relatively flat track that boasts three distinct corners meaning teams will have to set up their cars to run well in one of the turns, usually the final one in turn three, and give up handling in the others. Pocono also features one of the fastest and most treacherous turns on the tour in the second corner, the famous Pocono “Tunnel Turn” where cars entering side by side are in for an adventure and three-wide racing almost always spells disaster. Pocono’s long wide straightaways provide plenty of room to fan out four and sometimes five wide before slicing back in line entering the tight corners and the track is known to take its toll on engines.
The Party in the Poconos 400 is scheduled to see the green flag wave at about 1:15 EDT on Sunday, June 9th. The drivers will complete for 160 laps around the 2.5 mile triangle, making up the 400 mile distance. This is race 14 on the schedule and starts the second half of the regular season as the teams jockey for spots in the Chase fo the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The race also kicks off TNT’s NASCAR Summer Series of six events.
Joey Logano is the defending champion of this race and Jeff Gordon won the rain shortened second race at Pocono in 2012. The following is a list of drivers we think you should be watching at Pocono.
Denny Hamlin
Dan Margetta: Denny Hamlin is arguably the best flat track racer on the circuit and Pocono can be considered one of his most successful tracks. He owns four wins here to go along with eight top five finishes, giving him the best Pocono driver rating among the competitors. This team has their work cut out for them if they hope to make the Chase for the Championship as they currently sit a whopping 73 points (nearly two full races) out of the top 20 and the deck may be stacked against them with possibly lingering effects of Hamin’s earlier back injury and the dark cloud of Toyota engine reliability hanging over their heads. Still, if any team can pull off such a miraculous run, the pieces are in place to pull it off with the #11 team and Pocono is the perfect place to start that charge with an imperative win.
Matt Kenseth
John Wiedemann: Matt Kenseth has never won a Sprint Cup race at Pocono. Now that he is driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, an organization that has nine wins at Pocono, he has his best chance to get that victory. Engine issues have again been a problem for Toyota drivers with Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr blowing up last week while running in the front of the pack. Since the repave of Pocono in 2011, the JGR magic hasn’t been as strong so it will be interesting to see how Kenseth with the new gen-6 car and his Toyota engine recover from last week.
Carl Edwards
DM: Carl Edwards already owns a flat track victory this season, having won earlier at Phoenix. His Pocono record is pretty stout with two wins, five top five, and eight top ten finishes as he continues to stalk Jimmie Johnson for the championship points lead. Consistent up front runs have helped to solidify the #99 team’s place in the Chase but as was learned in 2011, victories are what ultimately decide the championship and this team needs one or two more to seriously challenge for the title. Pocono could be the place Edwards and the #99 team notch their second win of the season.
Kyle Busch
JW: Kyle Busch is just always interesting to watch, but this season has been more interesting than most. Busch can be dominant in the beginning of the race and then something happens. He could lose an engine, be attached by a cable and then lose and engine or who knows what is next. Busch is another driver that hasn’t yet found his way to victory lane after a Sprint Cup race at Pocono. In fact, Pocono could be considered his worst track on the schedule. Two second place finishes prove that he can race at the triangle but not finishing either Pocono race last year prove that there is a bit of a black cloud hanging over Busch here. I believe Busch can win at Pocono and this might just be his weekend. Well, I also believe he could blow up on the final lap. Like I said, he is one to watch.
Tony Stewart
DM: So was Tony Stewart’s Dover win a fluke or are the Stewart-Haas teams officially back in contention? Pocono could provide the answer to that question as Stewart races quite well here with two wins and eleven top five finishes to his credit. He ranks fifth in the driver rating category at Pocono and the momentum from the Dover triumph could carry over to the flat triangle circuit. Stewart and the #14 team need to ride that momentum wave for all its worth to keep their slim championship hopes alive. Stewart recently said he would rather miss the Chase then sneak in with a team that was under performing. The last time he made similar comments was two years ago and he followed that up by rattling off five victories in the final ten races. We could be seeing the start of Tony Stewart’s traditional summer charge back up the standings.
Jimmie Johnson
JW: As long as Juan Pablo Montoya isn’t next to him (oops, look who’s next in this article), Jimmie Johnson should do fine at Pocono. Last week’s black flag on the late race restart really hurt Johnson, well not so much if you look at the point standings, but he could have had another win at Dover. The black flag back lash in the media and fans comments has been hilarious considering the fact that if NASCAR hadn’t thrown it, there would have been the same people complaining that Johnson gets special treatment. On to this week – Johnson hasn’t finished worse than 14th in the last eleven races at Pocono and has only one finish below 15th in twenty-two races at the triangle. Johnson led 44 of the 98 laps in last year’s second Pocono race that was shortened by rain. He is pretty good at Pocono and will be looking for his third win at the track this weekend.
Juan Pablo Montoya
DM: Montoya was oh so close to finally attaining that first oval track NASCAR victory last week at Dover, leading late and finishing a strong second. The Earnhardt-Ganassi cars have gotten stronger in the last few weeks and Montoya has enjoyed some strong races at Indianapolis, another flat track on the circuit. His main Pocono accomplishment to date has been a pole position but Earnhardt-Ganassi racing is seeking its 100th victory and based on Dover’s strong race, the #42 team and Montoya should be hungry enough to get it at Pocono.
Joey Logano
JW: There is a trend forming with Joey Logano and that is you should never count him out. After leaving Joe Gibbs Racing, some wondered if Logano might be done in the Sprint Cup Series. Now at Penske Racing he is currently having his best year in NASCAR’s top series. Two weeks ago Logano improved throughout the Charlotte race to finish in fifth, and last week Logano recovered from a flat tire at Dover to finish seventh. Now at Pocono, where he captured his second series win last year, Logano has a shot to make up some ground in the standings and climb above his current eighteenth place slot.
Paul Menard
DM: It’s time to give a shout out to Paul Menard and the #27 team as this deep in the season, they remain in the top ten in points and can seriously challenge for a spot in the Chase. Menard’s lone NASCAR victory came at the flat Indianapolis circuit in a fuel stretcher in 2011. Fuel mileage is a very key component of any Pocono strategy and with Menard’s consistent performance to date, I’m making him my long shot pick this weekend.
David Ragan
JW: David Ragan has his win at Talladega which could get him into the Chase. The trouble is that he is currently outside of the top-20 by 113 points and needs to be in that group to be eligible for the Chase. Pocono presents a good opportunity for Ragan to have a solid finish and work on climbing up the standings.