NASCAR at Pocono 2015: Race Schedule, Live Stream Info and Drivers to Watch
It's a jam-packed weekend of sports June 6-7, with the Women's World Cup, French Open finals, Belmont Stakes and NBA Finals all taking turns on center stage, but no sports weekend would be complete without a little NASCAR action.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues on Sunday with the Axalta We Paint Winners 400, yet another race that will go a long way toward determining which 16 drivers get to move on to postseason, elimination-style driving in the new series format.
Jimmie Johnson is coming off a win at the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks in Dover, Delaware, but he will face stiff challenges from plenty of drivers at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on Sunday. He'll also have to deal with some nasty bumps on Turn 2.
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Here's a look at this week's race info and a few drivers to watch.
Axalta We Paint Winners 400 Viewing Info
Date: Sunday, June 7
Location: Pocono Speedway
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports 1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Drivers to Watch
Kurt Busch
As the pole-winner with a best lap of 50.676 seconds on Friday, Kurt Busch is one to keep an eye on this weekend. He's put himself in prime position to secure a crucial win as he flirts with falling out of top-16 contention.
Busch currently sits 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. He's coming off a disastrous 31st-place finish at the FedEx 400 in Dover, Delaware last week, and he has suffered through some up-and-down performances in his past five races.
The win at the Toyota Owners 400 has been his saving grace in the standings, and it was far and away his best performance of the season, with 291 laps led in that race. He needs a pick-me-up in the standings and for his overall form. NASCAR Stats noted he fared well last time he won the pole at Pocono:
Busch will have obstacles in this race, perhaps most notable among them the bumps that have emerged under the tunnel at Turn 2.
“There are literally speed bumps the size that you would put in grocery store parking lots up on top of the track,” he said, via USA Today's Jeff Gluck. “Where did they come from? They had to have come from the underside where they were creating a beautiful fancy entryway.”
Look for Busch to maneuver through the various impediments on the way to a top finish Sunday.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. is perhaps nervously eyeing the Sprint Cup crown these days. He sits a comfortable second in the Sprint Cup standings, but he hasn't yet picked up a win this season. He does, however, have 12 top-10 finishes in 13 total races, a record matched only by leaderboard-topper Kevin Harvick.
His consistency has gotten to the point where Nascarcasm is invoking his name in tweets:
A win at Pocono would all but ensure Truex Jr. makes it through to the Challenger Round and postseason driving. He'll start from the third-place position on Sunday, which bodes well for another top performance.
According to ESPN.com, Truex Jr. has but two wins in his Sprint Cup career, so it's unlikely he takes the checkered flag on Sunday, but expect him to be in the mix near the front, quietly picking up crucial points while everyone else battles for total supremacy.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have plenty of catching up to do on Sunday if he wants to pick up a third straight win at Pocono Speedway.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Earnhardt Jr. is attempting to become just the third driver to win three races in a row at Pocono. Last year, he won the Axalta 400 (aka the Pocono 400) and the GoBowling.com 400, this year known simply as the Pennsylvania 400.
Earnhardt Jr. is fifth in the Sprint Cup standings, so there's little trouble there. He is, however, starting from the 20th spot on Sunday, making him one of the best drivers bringing up the rear after a truncated qualifying round. Earnhardt Jr. blamed only himself for the poor qualifying performance.
"I chopped the entrance to (Turn) 1 on the first lap and that cost us a little bit of time. And then the next run we went into Turn 1 and turned sideways and got loose and just kind of killed the lap. So, we had pretty good speed in practice and just didn't … the driver didn’t do a good job," he said, via NASCAR.com's R.J. Kraft.
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