NASCAR at Pocono 2018: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
The power struggle at the top of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back on in full force as drivers prepare for Sunday's Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch had been deadlocked at five wins apiece for a few weeks while guys like Martin Truex Jr. made pushes, suggesting the two had topped out.
Then Harvick got back into Victory Lane in New Hampshire, securing his sixth race of the season at a well-balanced event where plenty of names held the lead for extended periods. He'll now look to push for a seventh, though Pocono can be a fickle beast—hence its positioning as one of the season's top events.
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Viewing Details
Where: Pocono Raceway
When: Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET
Watch: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live
Tickets: StubHub
Gander Outdoors 400
1. Kurt Busch
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kyle Busch
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Erik Jones
8. Alex Bowman
9. Daniel Suarez
10. Chase Elliott
Note: Qualifying is Saturday.
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Standings
| 1. Kevin Harvick | 791 |
| 2. Kyle Busch | 844 |
| 3. Martin Truex Jr. | 740 |
| 4. Clint Bowyer | 638 |
| 5. Joey Logano | 679 |
| 6. Erik Jones | 501 |
| 7. Austin Dillon | 378 |
| 8. Kurt Busch | 646 |
| 9. Brad Keselowski | 635 |
| 10. Kyle Larson | 606 |
| 11. Ryan Blaney | 584 |
| 12. Denny Hamlin | 583 |
| 13. Aric Almirola | 575 |
| 14. Jimmie Johnson | 522 |
| 15. Chase Elliott | 520 |
| 16. Alex Bowman | 453 |
Drivers to Watch
Chase Elliott
At this point, it wouldn't hurt to see a new face like Chase Elliott seize a checkered flag and shake things up.
As it stands now, only four drivers have won multiple races this year, yet those four drivers clutch 17 of the checkered flags so far. Only seven different drivers have actually won races this year, which is a far cry from last year's parity-riddled affair as the stage-based format worked as intended.
Speaking of stages, Elliott just won his first of the year last week in New Hampshire, winning Stage 2. Now the hope is he builds upon the established momentum and starts to turn this into the superb run he had to close last season.
"We ended last season on such a high note," Elliott said, according to NBC Sports' Dan Beaver. "Didn't end, obviously, the way we wanted. But we started those last 10 … I felt like we hit our stride at the right time. Ran second a bunch, which isn't what you want, but it was good runs. And we were not in those positions by luck."
It's easier said than done, though securing a fifth-place finish in New Hampshire has him on the right track. It broke a streak of three finishes outside of the top 10 and gives him five top-fives on the season.
A fan favorite, Elliott didn't get hot until late last season. But with another year of experience in the books and starting to win stages near the end of July, Elliott might get started earlier this season.
Kyle Busch
Then again, we were close to having another Busch victory a week ago.
Busch ended up finishing second, drumming up his point total to 844 in the process. He led 36 laps, yet he didn't have enough juice late to outmaneuver Harvick.
Harvick came on strong and didn't look back:
The move, whether Busch fans like it or not, created a 10-point swing in favor of Harvick and was a necessary evil.
Busch isn't likely to sweat it. He's still sitting on three poles and five wins. Besides falling victim to the wreck-filled event at Daytona a few weeks back, he has nine top-10 finishes over his last 10 outings, including a pair of wins.
But one has to think Busch is more than willing to accept this challenge of sorts from Harvick. The competitor in him isn't going to be content with his falling behind in the win column, which means Sunday and beyond should be plenty interesting.
Kevin Harvick
It was starting to look like Harvick wasn't going to win for a while.
Now the rest of the series has to worry Harvick might pull off another string of three victories in a row.
Harvick won three races in a row back near the start of the season, beginning in late February. He then turned around and won three more in a row starting during the first week of May. Granted, one of those was the All-Star Race, but a checkered flag is a checkered flag to a point, right?
Either way, Harvick's sixth win came a week ago, when he rebounded from starting 14th and only led 12 laps. It was enough to secure the trip to Victory Lane. In the aftermath, Harvick hasn't shied away from having a little fun at Busch's expense, as captured by USA Today's Michelle R. Martinelli:
"There's a respectful rivalry there. I love racing Kyle Busch, and I love the things he does and the things he can do in a race car are great. And as a team, we love beating him, and as a driver, I love beating him. You go out on the race track and that's your goal—(it's) to go out and beat the best, and right now, it's been (Busch) and (Truex), and they've been the cars to beat over the last few weeks."
A good old-fashioned rivalry between the top two names in the sport right now is just what it needs given the lack of different faces pulling in wins.
For Harvick, seeing how far he can push this momentum is not only fun for the sake of possible gaudy stats, but because the momentum will be key come playoff time.
Busch and the rest of the series just have to hope they can stop him from winning three in a row.
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