2016 NASCAR Week 21 Preview: Pocono

Pennsylvania 400

Pocono Raceway

By Richard Tix

Last time NASCAR took a trip to Pocono Raceway the weather forced them to move the rained out race to Monday. Coincidentally, I also started my new position at work that same Monday which meant I caught none of the race. Nothing. Not on TV, not on the radio, not on twitter, not on any racing app, nothing. 

But, sometimes weather and more importantly life gets in the way of our favorite hobby's and passions. These things tend to happen more and more over the Summer months or weekend Saturday night races for many fans.

The night race in NASCAR started as a nice switch up, it was something of a spectical for fans used to daytime NASCAR racing. A few spots on the calendar a year made it a special event worth tuning into. Just like when NASCAR was booming and added a bunch of 1.5 mile tracks during its heyday, the night race was over expanded and lost its luster. All of this being much the same as the luster of Indy has worn off, things need to be looked at to make night racing more significant again. Taking a few off the schedule might be the start of things. 

While I miss many Saturday night races, this weekend is a Sunday day race and I will be in Northern Minnesota. I will pop in and out to catch some of the race, but again life is going to get in the way of racing and I am ok with that. 

Hopefully you'all enjoy the race and this time around we don't get rained out. Unlike Indy, Pocono has made a nice comeback as of late and put on some good shows so this weekend I have an optimistic outlook. Pocono always has the possibility of being a fuel mileage ending, but it always seems to catch your attention (unless you're that fan that always has to complain unless its a win by less then 0.5 sec. Don't be that guy!). So, strap in and forget that we normally turn left four times, its the "Tricky Triangle."

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Kyle Larson- Larson has already been running better in the second half of this 26 regular season stretch, now he gets one of his better tracks in Pocono. In his five starts he has one top 5, two top 10's, and average finish of 9.4, and no finishes higher then 12th. Could this weekend be his first NASCAR Cup win?
• Jeff Gordon- Welcome back to the review Gordon! Filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr again this week, Gordon brings in a career of accomplishment at Pocono to the No. 88. Six wins, 20 top 5's, and 32 top 10's in 46 career starts.
• Brad Keselowski- I am not sure any current driver has been better then BK has at Pocono in the last few stops here without winning (he has one win here in 2011). He has come close (losing to Junior after running out of fuel late) but he hasn't closed. This weekend might finally be the time to get another Pocono win.

The Middle

• Denny Hamlin- Chance to be a front runner? Check. Chance to finish 15th-20th? Also check. Denny was much better at Pocono earlier in his career then he has been lately, but anything is possible with how strong JRG has been.

The Bad

• Kasey Kahne- Not many times does a driver with two wins at a specific track get on my "bad" list, but somehow bad luck follows Kahne at Pocono. Wrecking more often then winning in his last 14 races, Kahne is the dark horse in this group to pull out a top 5.
• Jamie McMurray- 27 career Pocono starts, zero top 5's and seven top 10's. Not numbers to go crazy over if you're a JMac fan this weekend.
• Paul Menard- Just like JMac Menard has yet to finish in the top 5 at Pocono in his career. 22 starts and only two top 10's means it could be another rough weekend for the No. 27.

About the Track: Pocono Raceway

Track Stats

• Of current drivers (full time), Denny Hamlin has the most wins (4). Gordon is filling in and has 6.
• Of current drivers (full time),  Kurt Busch has the most top 5's (12)
• Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have the most Pole's of current drivers (3)
• Jeff Gordon has the most career Pocono wins (6) followed by Bill Elliott (5)
• Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have the most career Pocono top 5's (20)
• Ricky Rudd has the most career Pocono starts (55) followed by Mark Martin (54)
• Of drivers with at least 10 Pocono starts, Davey Allison has the best average finish (9.8 in 13 starts).
• A Pocono race has been won from the Pole 15 times in 76 Cup races
• Chevy has won the last 7 of 8 races 8 of the last 11. Including Dale Earnhardt Jr sweeping in 2014.
• The furthest back anyone has started and won was 29th in 2005 when Carl Edwards won in the first Pocono stop of the year

Track Info

• Surface: Asphalt
• Length: 2.5 Miles
• Banking
• Turn 1: 14 degrees
• Turn 2: 8 degrees
• Turn 3: 6 degrees

2016 Pocono NASCAR Schedule

Pennsylvania 400

By Richard Tix

**All Times are Eastern Time Zone (ET)**

Friday July 29, 2016

• 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice- NBCSN
• 12:30-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first practice- FS1
• 3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice- FS1
• 4:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- NBCSN

Saturday July 30, 2016

• 9:05 a.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying- FS1
• 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice- NBCSN
• 1 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pocono Mountains 150 (60 laps)- FS1

Sunday July 31, 2016

• 1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pennsylvania 400 (160 laps)- NBCSN

2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 20: Indianapolis

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Crown Royal Presents The Combat Wounded Coalition 400

By Richard Tix

Last year at this time the review was about the same: "Kyle Busch Dominating." That's because Rowdy just wrapped up three straight wins after his trip to victory lane at Indy last year at this time. This year he didn't come into the race dominating, but left it with that feeling.

Why? Well because from start to finish Rowdy was the class of the field. All in all no one could really challenge him. No surprise strategy. No late cautions. Nothing. The No. 18 team was on top of it all day.

Past the winner, the story lines get short quick. Jeff Gordon filled in for Dale Earnhardt Jr who is getting over concussion symptoms and Tony Stewart made his last (or we think it is) Indianapolis start in the Cup series. Both shared some special moment's after the race which will be burned into our NASCAR memories.

After that? Nothing much to talk about except that IMS and the Cup series is continuing a run of terrible races here. Look, I am all on board with strategy of all kinds (I've expressed it many times its all part of racing), but IMS has been long single file drawn out lines for years now. To make it worse, green flag runs are normal. If it wasn't for two cars (both the Penske No. 2 and No. 22) then the strategy of 40 cars wouldn't have even produced a story early on.

Those two decided to try and stretch fuel windows and cut down on a stop. Almost everything needed to go perfect, but at least it gave a drama-less race something to watch for. 

The real issue at IMS is, their is nothing that can save it. The racing is what it is here and most likely will always stay the same. Not every race is drama filled as I have mentioned before, but when year after year we get no action from a race it gets hard to bare. In the end all we are left with is nostalgia and the tradition of winning such a prestigious (yet boring) race. Sometimes that has to be enough in the world of racing because there is no puzzle piece to fit into place for IMS. It is what it is so we have to try and enjoy what is here, tradition and a tough race to get all the way through.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 20 (Week 19)

1. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- The No. 1 spot continues to rotate. This time Rowdy takes it after a dominating win at IMS. Four top 10's in the last five races including a win and a runner up finish at Daytona. Finish: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Add yet another top 10 to his season performance. That is now a season leading 16th top 10. Finish: 6th
3. Joey Logano (LW-4)- Both the No. 2 and No. 22 were not the fastest guys on the day, but both teams played strategy and it paid off with a decent finish for JoLo. Finish: 7th
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- See above but insert the strategy didn't pan out. Really neither early strategy played out, but BK ended up getting caught up in a wreck where Carl pushed the corner. The No. 2 had an ok day going, but nothing more. Finish: 17th
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- Last week I watched other sites post Kenseth down near 12th (seriously!?!). After a win Kenseth came back and helped JGR go 1-2-4 to finish Indy. Finish: 2nd
6. Tony Stewart (LW-7)- Smoke had a pretty good car all day but it was apparent that it wouldn't be enough to touch Kyle Busch. It was still a solid run for a guy just needing to get hot at the right time. Finish: 11th
7. Kurt Busch (LW-5)- I have praised Kurt all seaosn for his consistency but where has that gone? Three times in his last four races he has finished outside the top 15. Finish: 16th
8. Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- It's been an up and down year for Truex. Good runs, bad runs, runs that were good and NASCAR decided to drop the hammer on a rule. Martin has seen it all. Finish: 8th
9. Carl Edwards (LW-8)- Did anyone struggle as much at Carl did getting into a corner? Everyone thought it was just because he was on the outside, but then he caused a wreck on a restart while on the inside and we found out he was pushing the corner all day. Amazing how well he ran while having a poor handling car. Finish: 35th
10. Denny Hamlin (LW-NR)- Welcome back to the rankings Denny. It has been awhile, but we have not forgotten you. Hamlin has had some poor finishes (33, 37, 31, and 39) this season that is holding his consistency back. Finish: 4th
11. Kyle Larson (LW-NR)- After a two race stretch with unimpressive finishing results, Larson finally catches a break again. He actually finds himself right in the thick of the Chase race after a top 5 at IMS (16th in points). Finish: 5th
12. Jimmie Johnson (LW-NR)- It's crazy that JJ has been out of the top 12 for so long, but then again its crazy Sunday was his first top 10 in seven races and his second in eleven. Finish: 3rd

Dropped Out: Greg Biffle (LW-9), Ryan Newman (LW-11), and Jamie McMurray (LW-12)

Just Missed: Austin Dillon

2016 NASCAR Week 20 Preview: Indianapolis

Crown Royal Presents The Combat Wounded Coalition 400

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

The year was 2005. Two weeks before NASCAR headed to Indianapolis Motor Speedway Tony Stewart had won at NHMS and then Kurt Busch won at the Tricky Triangle. Tony Stewart came into the race trailing Jimmie Johnson by 66 points.

Johnson had just come off an 8 win 2004 season and was looking to finally get his first Championship. Little did we know as NASCAR fan's that he was going to soon take over the sport. At the time it was Tony Stewart who was one of the one of the bigger deals in NASCAR after winning his first Championship in 2002.

IMS had always been called home by Tony Stewart and he spent six season's trying to get a win at the Brickyard. Well, 2005 was finally the year he got the monkey off of his back. After Jimmie Johnson wrecked late in the race Tony Stewart took over the lead from Kasey Kahne and lead the final 10 laps to his first win at Indy. 

Sometimes in NASCAR moment's are ingrained in our head. Many times a race fly's by and we forget even key details. In a season of 36 races, those types of moments tend to happen. But, IMS 2005 was one of those ingrained moments. Smoke and team climbing up the fence to celebrate with fans. Kissing the bricks. The emotion in victory lane. For years and years moment's like 2005 at IMS will stick in fans memories so I can only imagine what Stewart feels heading into what might be his final race at IMS.

Stewart went on to win at Watkins Glen the following week (three wins in four races) and put an even bigger gap on Johnson. Stewart never really did look back on his way to his second NASCAR Cup Championship, meanwhile Johnson slipped farther and farther back. However, 2005 was the last time for a long stretch that anyone touched what Johnson was about to do. 

Many more Smoke moments continued over the years after that first IMS win, including a second IMS win and a Championship as a driver/owner, but none would top one last win at IMS. It would be the perfect place for Smoke to capture that illustrious win No. 50 in what has been an impressive career.

Indy has lost some of it's early luster (or at least that's how it feels to most), but Tony Stewart winning might bring some of those moment's back to a unique NASCAR track in need of glory moments in 2016.  

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Tony Stewart- No, the last few years haven't been good here for Smoke, but right now he is starting to heat up and do you want to bet against a hot Tony Stewart? One last fence climb (maybe he shouldn't...) would be nice to see.
• Kyle Busch- Last years winner brings some nice stats to IMS. In 11 starts he has nine top 10's and four top 5's to go along with that win. He has finishes first or second three out of the last four races here.
• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth doesn't have a win at IMS like the two above, but he still has some impressive numbers. Ten top 10's and seven top 5's in his 16 career races here.

The Middle

• Carl Edwards- Eleven career starts and only three of those finished up as top 10's (one top 5). However, he has nine top 15's in that same time.

The Bad

• Martin Truex Jr- Want a guy who might jump off this list with a good finish Sunday? Truex is your guy. However, his career at IMS has been underwhelming as a whole (one top 5 and two top 10's in eleven starts).
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- 16 career starts at Indianapolis and Junior only has five top 10's and one single top 5. The upside? Three of those top 10's and that sole top 5 came in the last four races here.
• David Ragan- Three top 20's in nine starts is nothing to be proud of for Ragan. None of those have come since leaving the RFR No. 6. 

About the Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Track Stats

• A race has been won from the Pole three times in 22 NASCAR races (Newman 2013, Jimmie Johnson 2008, and Kevin Harvick 2003).
• Chevy had won the last 12 races and 16 of 21 races total before Kyle Busch (Toyota) won last year. Ford- 3, Pontiac- 1, Dodge- 1, Toyota- 1
• Jeff Gordon won the Inaugural Cup race in 1994
• Most cautions was 13 in 2004
• Gordon has the most career wins here with 5. Jimmie Johnson is next in line with 4
• 13 drivers have won at Indy including 9 that only won once.
• Only four drivers have multiple wins (Gordon, JJ, Tony Stewart, and Dale Jarrett).
• Gordon also has the most poles (3), top 5's (12), and top 10's (17) of any driver.

Track Info

• Surface
• Asphalt
• Length
• 2.5 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 9 degrees
• Straights: 0 degrees