We’ve arrived at the now one Pocono race of the year, the Tricky Triangle ready to host the Cup Series as the regular season wanes.
Here’s what to look for:
–William Byron wasn’t the fastest in Practice, wasn’t the fastest in the first round of Qualifying, but WAS the fastest in the final round when it counted. Several drivers had trouble, but facts are facts: he WILL start at the front of the field on the inside line. He’s also got the second best average finish (9.4) in the last ten races (nine attempts for Byron).
–Chase Elliott desperately needs a Win to make the Playoffs, and as luck would have it, he won this race last year. True story! He hasn’t been running at that “Chase Elliott” level that we’re used to, but a Win is a Win. Chase finished 3rd in the Xfinity Series race yesterday.
-Speaking of Wins, Kyle Busch has four victories here at Pocono in the last ten attempts. I was present for one of those, the second race of the two-fer weekend. He surged back after it looked like he was critically done; losing a gear is nearly impossible to recover from, and he rode this thing through the field after moving up to speed in what very much seemed like an unlikely occurance.
–Kevin Harvick has the most points scored here and carries the best average finish (8.0) over the last ten races. He’s also got eight Top 10s in that time period. This is his last race here, can he knock down another?
–Denny Hamlin has six career Wins at Pocono, including both of his rookie attempts (Spring and Summer races). Would you believe he also started on Pole for BOTH of those events? Also true! So much truth today! Hamlin will start 8th today.
Coverage of today’s race starts on USA at 2:30pm, green flag scheduled for 2:50pm.
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