Pocono A Mixed Bag For JGR
Two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers love the unique layout of Pocono Raceway. The other finds the Tricky Triangle just that.Joey Logano, winner of June’s Pocono race, placed himself in the Wild Card conversation with a pass for the lead of Mark Martin with three laps remaining. That same race, teammate Denny Hamlin rung up a typical top-five Pocono finish, another in a line of solid Pocono performances that include four career wins at the 2.5-mile track. Logano looks to become the first driver to win three consecutive Coors Light Poles at Pocono since Bill Elliott in 1984-85.
But then there’s the curious case of Kyle Busch, dominant at almost any venue he enters – except for Pocono. In June, he finished 30th. And it wasn’t all that surprising. In 15 starts, Busch has four finishes of 30th or worse. His Pocono Driver Rating of 86.5 makes the track his fourth-worst in terms of the Loop Data statistic. His average Pocono finish of 18.3 makes it his fifth-worst track.
But there have been glimmers of brilliance from Busch at NASCAR’s most unique venue. Prior to June’s race, Busch ripped off two consecutive top-five finishes, including a second-place finish in this race last year.
Momentum, as well as a sense of urgency, envelopes Busch as the regular season comes to a rapid close. Busch finished second last week at Indianapolis, his first top-five finish since the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Prior to the Indy run, Busch had an average finish of just 22.6 in the previous seven starts. His second-place run pushed Busch to 11th in the standings, 55 points outside the top 10.
Pocono Has Been ‘Black Hole’ For Childress Drivers
Kevin Harvick and his No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Series Chevrolet are likely to qualify for the Chase for the third consecutive year. Harvick ranks sixth in the standings with a 65-point cushion over 11th-place Kyle Busch.That’s the good news. The bad? Harvick and RCR are winless in 2012. The team is riding a drought of 30 races dating to the beginning of last year’s Chase. Harvick’s last victory, of four, came at Richmond last September.
There’s still time for Harvick to improve his seeding – or for teammates Paul Menard (16th) and Jeff Burton (20th) to qualify as a "wild card." Pocono, however, wouldn’t appear to be a likely place for that renaissance.
RCR’s last of two Pocono victories – both by Dale Earnhardt – came in 1993. The organization has not posted a finish better than fourth since 1994. RCR’s average finish at the 2.5-mile triangle is 15.8 – fractionally higher than Harvick’s average of 14.0. Qualifying has been the team’s Achilles’ Heel: a single pole, by Mike Skinner in 1999, with average start of 17.6 on a layout where track position is crucial.
June’s results were solid but not spectacular. Menard was ninth, one of four top 10s this season. Harvick was 14th and Burton 15th.
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