The 2016 Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway is set to get underway on Sunday, July 31st at 1:30 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network. Kurt Busch won a rain delayed race here in early June and will look to defend his title against some stiff competition. Not one Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota graced the top five and Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart/Haas Chevrolet led the lion share of the laps.
Keep in mind that mother nature has been an issue again this this weekend. The Saturday Camping World Truck Series’ events have been moved around to compensate for a rain soaked track. Friday’s overnight rain showers completely drenched the 2.5 mile tri-oval.
Martin Truex Jr. didn’t make any waves in the earlier addition of this race in June. The Joe Gibbs Racing’s new addition qualified in the 17th position, failed to lead any laps and finished in 18th. Taking these facts into consideration, one must take a closer look as to why his effort was average at best.
First, Truex Jr. had his hot-rod damaged at the competition caution by Matt DiBenedetto. Furthermore, after climbing towards the front late in the race, he had a right front tire go down to seal his demise.
Martin Truex Jr. was quick in the practice rounds on Saturday. Truex Jr. posted the sixth fastest time in the first practice and backed that up with the fastest time in the second go around. Keep in mind, the speedster also recorded the fastest ten lap average in the second round of practice.
Those laps came between the 25th and 34th circuits. To top that off, Truex Jr. drove his car to his second pole position of 2016 and will start out front for the Pennsylvania 400. Las Vegas likes his chances and has him slotted at 7 to 1 to win it all.
Kyle Busch enters the Pennsylvania 400 with plenty of momentum. “Rowdy” completely dominated the Brickyard 400 leading 149 of the 170 laps turned won with room to spare. As a result, Busch reeled in his fourth victory of the Sprint Cup season, tying him with Brad Keselowski for most races won.
The performance last week doesn’t even scratch the surface as to what Kyle Busch has accomplished this year. Take this into consideration, Busch has collected a grand total of 12 wins in NASCAR’s three divisions this season.
Kyle Busch has won seven of the 11 Xfinity Series events posting an absurd winning percentage of 63.6 The Nevada native has 1,360 laps led in the series is more than six times that of Erik Jones and Kyle Larson.
As an owner in the Camping World Truck Series his drivers have accumulated five overall victories. Furthermore, William Byron is the points leader and on pace for Rookie of the Year. Busch also has tallied a win in the series himself when he dominated the event at Martinsville in the spring.
The defending Sprint Cup champion sits fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings and has locked himself into the Chase. Kyle Busch was fast on Saturday at Pocono Raceway. He was the third fastest competitor in the first round of practices and sixth in the second. After a mediocre round of qualifying, the veteran will start out of the 16th spot. Odds-makers aren’t scared of the qualifying effort. They have Busch as the favorite to win the Pennsylvania 400 at 11 to 2 odds.
Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski wiped out hard Watkins Glen last week while testing. In 2011 he had a similar incident while testing at Road America. It left the savvy driver with an injured foot. The unfortunate incident also left the driver incredibly motivated, leading to an exciting Pocono Raceway triumph that kick-started his Sprint Cup career. That single turn of momentum ended with him holding up the championship trophy 16 months later.
Brad Keselowski was given two penalties in the last race at Pocono Raceway. One was for the hip check his jack-man gave the right side of his car in the pits at the beginning of the event. After another penalty issued later on he managed to find his way back to the front and finish in third.
After an average first practice session, Brad Keselowki figured it out and posted the second fastest time in the second round. He kept that speed in the qualifying round later that day and will start out of the seventh spot. Lines-makers have him at a tempting 10 to 1 to drive on to his fifth win of the 2016 Sprint Cup season.
Jimmy Johnson wrecked his hot-rod here in the spring race in June. It was part of his difficult time that’s seen all of Hendrick Motorsports flounder. The six-time Sprint Cup champion had a third place finish at Indianapolis. This effort may have righted the ship for the Pennsylvania 400 on sunday.
Pocono is one of the best tracks for Hendrick Motorsports over the last few months. Chase Elliott led 51 laps in his first ever race here a few months back. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be sitting out his third contest with concussion symptoms, finished second in that event.
On a historical note, Johnson has won here on three different occassions. He swept the races back in 2004 and won again in 2013. favor is he hasn’t finished two straight Pocono races outside the top 10 since 2003. Vegas insiders have the future Hall of Famer at 8 to 1 to win his fourth race at Pocono.
Erik the Hun’s Fantasy Line-Up:
A: Martin Truex Jr.
B: Chase Elliott Denny Hamlin Paul Menard
C: Jeff Gordon
Odds to Win the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway:
| Kyle Busch | 11/2 |
| Kevin Harvick | 6/1 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 7/1 |
| Carl Edwards | 8/1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 8/1 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 8/1 |
| Matt Kenseth | 8/1 |
| Brad Keselowski | 10/1 |
| Joey Logano | 10/1 |
| Kurt Busch | 12/1 |
| Chase Elliott | 15/1 |
| Jeff Gordon | 20/1 |
| Kyle Larson | 20/1 |
| Tony Stewart | 25/1 |
| Austin Dillon | 80/1 |
| Kasey Kahne | 80/1 |
| Ryan Blaney | 80/1 |
| Ryan Newman | 80/1 |
| Greg Biffle | 100/1 |
| Jamie McMurray | 100/1 |
| Paul Menard | 200/1 |
| Ricky Stenhouse | 200/1 |
| AJ Allmendinger | 300/1 |
| Trevor Bayne | 300/1 |
| Aric Almirola | 500/1 |
| Casey Mears | 500/1 |
| Clint Bowyer | 500/1 |
| Danica Patrick | 500/1 |
| Chris Buescher | 1000/1 |
