Week 14 Preview

Pocono Raceway: Party in the Poconos

Welcome Tony Stewart to Chase consideration. He spent 13 weeks in no mans land with everyone coming down on him and wondering what was going on. Then, suddenly, he won at Dover and everything changed, or it did for this one week at least.

This week Nascar heads to the tricky triangle for the first of two trips in 2013 season. I have to admit Pocono is not one of my favorite tracks but some drivers might disagree with me as will be revealed in the Good, Middle, and Bad section in the preview. If you want to check out Nascar's first trip results in 2012 to Pocono check it out here.

The Good:

• Jeff Gordon- In the last 10 trips to Pocono Gordon is one of two drivers to have more then one win here. He also has 7 top 10's (second only to JJ) and 3 top 5's. He is also the win's leader of current drivers with 6 career trips to victory lane. Gordon was the last driver to win here. Best Chance Forecast: I think he can compete for a win and he will need it, but not as much as DH.
• Denny Hamlin- The other driver to have multiple win's at Pocono in the last 10, DH. He also has 5 top 10's to add to that, all of which were top 5 finishes. Best Chance Forecast: Well he had some struggles last time at Pocono, but those wins and top 5's are hard to look past. He needs it the most, he could compete for a win.
• Tony Stewart- Smoke has the second best average finish in the last 10 races here (9.3). To go along with that he also has a win, 6 top 5's, and 7 top 10's. After getting a slump busting win at Dover Pocono is just what he wants to see. Best Chance Forecast: I think Smoke can add a top 10 to his list after last weeks win, but last time I said that he finished poorly (take it with a grain of salt).
• Also in the mix- Joey Logano (fast, 2 poles, 1 win in last 10), Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson

The Middle:

• Clint Bowyer- Clint has 6 top 10's and 1 top 5 in the last 10 races at Pocono but no wins. In fact, in 14 career starts on the triangle he has no wins with 7 top 10's and 1 top 5. Last year though he did finish in the top 10 both times so he could be getting it going at Pocono.

The Bad:

• Kyle Busch- Kyle does have 3 top 10's (which were 3 top 5's) in the last 10 races, but his average finish at Pocono in that span is 18.4. If he is not hot, he is way off at Pocono so it is a real toss up with him this week.
• Jamie McMurray- Where has McMurray been the past few weeks? Well this week may not get better, in his last 10 he only has 2 top 10's at Pocono.

Laying Low:

• Mark Martin- Well he has been very quiet as of late, and Pocono is just in time. Last season he finished runner up and 12th. He could maybe make a run towards the front.
• Marcus Ambrose- Last season he turned in finishes of 13th and 10th at Pocono. This season he is in desperate need of a good finish so anywhere near the top 10 would be a good start.
• Ryan Newman- His last four races at Pocono have been pretty good. Good enough to earn him a 8.0 average finish position. (6, 12, 5, and 9th).

Still need more Nascar heading up to Pocono?

• Paint Scheme's for this weekend
• Pocono Entry List
• TDR Engine talk on Nascar.com
• Pocono by the Numbers