NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Master Pocono Raceway?
As the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season draws to a close, up next is the annual stop at Pocono Raceway. Pennsylvania’s Tricky Triangle more than lived up to its nickname last year; the first winner disqualification in over six decades ultimately kept one driver from making the Championship 4. Heading back to Pocono, crunch time is here for anyone to win their way into the Playoffs. Here are a few favorites to watch out for in Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400.
Denny Hamlin
A week ago it was teammate Christopher Bell entering New Hampshire as the odds-on favorite. This week, Denny Hamlin is in that position for Pocono. Being stripped of last year’s victory due to a piece of tape, Hamlin eyes retribution at one of his favorite tracks. Pocono was the site of Hamlin’s first two wins as a rookie in 2006, with four more triangle victories since. Should Hamlin take the checkers again this weekend, it would be an all-time record seventh Pocono win for driver 11, ending a tie with a Hall of Famer.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend,” Hamlin said. “We definitely have some unfinished business at Pocono after last year. Hopefully we’re able to unload strong on Saturday and carry that through the weekend. It would mean a lot to be able to get some redemption and to get that seventh win at Pocono to break the tie with Jeff (Gordon).”
Hamlin is not only looking to become Pocono’s all-time winningest driver. A victory Sunday would help erase the stigma and heartache of last year’s gut-wrenching disqualification, and be Hamlin’s 50th checkered flag. One of the most consistent drivers at Pocono with 21 top-10s, Hamlin should be seen as a serious winning threat.
Kevin Harvick
Another ultra-consistent Pocono driver has only recently found Tricky Triangle victory lane. In his 38th start in 2020, Kevin Harvick finally crossed Pocono off the winless tracks list. This maiden triumph came after four runner-ups on the 2.5-mile track. The four races since the win have also seen the 4 in the top-10 three times. Gearing up for one final ride around the Pennsylvania track, Harvick hopes to end it with one more win.
“When you look at Pocono, you know that you’re going to have a challenge of getting your car to handle in all three corners,” Harvick said. “That’s the biggest challenge when it comes to Pocono. You have to make sure you can get all you can coming to turn three because the straightaway after that is really, really long. You can kind of give up the Tunnel Turn, but you still need to be very good in all three corners. It’s just a different style of racetrack than what we go to on a week-to-week basis.”
Nobody in Sunday’s field has more laps around Pocono Raceway than Harvick. Taking his 44th triangle green flag, Happy aims to end his final Keystone State hurrah with a key to victory lane and the Playoffs.
Martin Truex Jr.
Two-time Pocono winner Martin Truex Jr. is still riding high from last week’s New Hampshire victory. As hard as it may be to realize, Pocono in 2015 was only Truex’s third career win. That victory helped propel the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team to 2015’s Championship 4. MTJ and the 78 crew would take Pocono again in 2018. Entering Pocono as the current points leader, Truex is very optimistic about another winning chance.
“Really looking forward to going to Pocono this weekend in our Interstate Batteries car,” Truex said. “It’s one of our home tracks, as they say. I’ve won there a couple of times and kind of struggled there last year. But really excited to get back with the fast racecars James (Small, crew chief) and all the 19 guys have been bringing to the track lately. The team is doing a great job, and we’re fired up and hope we can get another win at Pocono, but this time with Interstate Batteries on board with us.”
In the eight Pocono races since his last win, Truex is batting .500 for top-10s. JGR Toyotas were unbeatable last year on the Tricky Triangle until post-race inspection. Should strategy play right for the 19, it could be another long Sunday for the competition.
Chase Elliott
The defending Pocono winner, Chase Elliott came out on top from the JGR Toyotas’ disqualification. Elliott holds the distinction of being the first modern era NASCAR winner to not lead a single lap. Fast-forwarding a year, Elliott is in a far different position entering Pocono. 60 points behind the top-16, Elliott is all but in must-win territory for the Playoffs. Driver 9 will not lack track time this weekend. Elliott will also run Saturday’s Pocono Xfinity race in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Still 0-6 since last season, Elliott hopes to become the first winner for the HMS Xfinity team.
“I think that’s the big thing,” Elliott said. “It is special to not only Rick (Hendrick), but Linda (Hendrick) too. Driving for them and knowing how much it means to them to have that car on track would be great. I know they’ve been super close (to winning) and probably should have a couple by now, so hopefully we can start racking them up for them.”
Disqualified win aside, Chase Elliott was still best-in-class at Pocono behind the Toyotas. If Elliott’s team can give him another top-five car, then fuel strategy or a late restart could end with the 9 actually taking the checkered flag.
Kyle Busch
Sunday will mark Kyle Busch’s first Pocono race with the RCR No. 8 team. The triangle has been more than kind in recent memory for KB. Other than last year’s runner-up DQ and a 2020 crash, Busch has been ninth or better in every Pocono race since 2016. The 8 team won the last race at a flat and technical track in Gateway. Should the cards fall right, Busch should have an optimal chance at a fifth Pocono trophy.
“Yeah, well none of us are perfect all the way around,” Busch said. “The Pocono thing really started in about 2014. Dave (Rogers) and I finally kind of hit on something that was working for us. And then in 2015 with Adam (Stevens), it really came together and we were really fast there ever since 2015. That was obviously with the JGR guys and so it will be interesting to see if it translates with me with the RCR group; being able to go to Pocono next week with our Chevrolet and be fast.”
“But the biggest thing to me is – I don’t know, I kind of changed my driving style at the racetrack just a little bit around that same time frame and I’ve kind of stuck to my guns on that. The track is also just starting to get its age because it got repaved in 2010 or ’11, something like that, so you know it’s really kind of coming into its own now. It’s pretty bumpy again. It’s lost a lot of grip again. So it lends itself to being able to widen out a little bit, which is always nice at those big, high-speed, flat tracks. You want to be able to find your own air and get out of the wake. You have to be good in turns one, two and three. Not great anywhere, just good.”
Four career Pocono triumphs ties Busch for fourth most all-time, and only trails Hamlin among active drivers. While it was the 11 briefly taking last year’s win, Busch led a race-high 63 laps. If anyone is to beat the Toyotas Sunday, Rowdy may just be the one to step up to this challenge.
William Byron
Still 0-9 at Pocono, Sunday provides a prime chance for William Byron. The winningest driver this season has five Pocono top-10s, with a best result of third. The No. 24 is far from a stranger to success in Pennsylvania; Jeff Gordon has a record-tying six Pocono trophies. Even with struggles last week, Byron believes Pocono will be another great day for the 24.
“While we didn’t have our strongest race last weekend at New Hampshire, I’m confident in my team that we’ll rebound at Pocono,” Byron said. “We’ve always had fast cars there not only as a team but as an organization as well. Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and I have a win there in Trucks. We came close in 2021 to getting two wins in the doubleheader weekend too. Heading to a track that we’ve been traditionally really good at helps to bring that momentum back for everyone after a tough weekend. I’m just excited to get on track and put New Hampshire behind us.”
Byron and Truex are quickly separating themselves from the pack as two title favorites. After gaining the points lead in Atlanta only to lose it last week, Byron aspires to reclaim the provisional top Playoff seed. Hendrick cars are historically great at Pocono, with 19 team wins here. Look out for Byron to possibly claim number 20 on Sunday.
400 miles of Pocono Raceway’s three unique corners separate one driver from a potentially season-defining win. Restarts are sure to be as hectic as ever; NASCAR’s longest straightaway funnels down into a tight two-lane turn one. The High Point 400 will go green Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Pocono could be the proving ground needed for a timely Playoff-clinching performance.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images for NASCAR
