NASCAR makes its second return of the season to Pocono for the Gander Outdoors 400, which gives red-hot driver Martin Truex Jr. a chance to become the first driver of 2018 to book back-to-back victories on the same racetrack.
Truex won the Pocono 400 on June 3. Still, despite the earlier success, however, on the betting board he is behind rivals Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch among favorites to win this weekend’s race. Harvick and Busch are 5/2 picks at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. Truex is 3/1. Kyle Larson follows at 8/1.
If Truex wins on Sunday, it would be his third victory at the Pocono racetrack. Having won the Pocono 400 in 2016 and 2018, the Gander Outdoors 400 presents him the opportunity to become the first driver to win both Pocono races since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it in 2014.
Continuous Big 3 Battle
For Truex to win, he will most likely have to battle the other two of the so-called Big 3. The trio of Truex, Harvick, and Busch has dominated the sport this season, winning 15 of 20 NASCAR Cup races.
But Truex has the fewest victories among them, with four. Busch has five wins, and Harvick has six. But as a matter of points, Busch leads in the Cup Series, ahead of Harvick in second, and 2017 champion Truex is third.
Their collective dominance may be rare, but it is not unprecedented. Three drivers with four or more wins in a single season after the 20th race has happened seven times. It’s been a while, however, with the last time occurring in 1999 — when Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Jarrett all had four before the 21st race.
While some have criticized the trio, Truex said he believes it is good for the sport.
“A lot of people talk about it and especially here lately,” Truex said. “It’s been a big topic of conversation, but for me I’m just honestly living in the moment, trying to enjoy myself, but also staying focused and not taking it for granted. It’s really hard to continue what we’ve done and I realize how much work it takes and how many people I owe it to, so, you know, for me just trying to stay focused, kind of block all that out and keep getting the job done is what’s most important.”
Tricky Triangle Triumph
The unique 2.5-mile layout at Pocono — dubbed the Tricky Triangle by NASCAR stalwarts — makes strategy hugely important. As Busch sees it, passing options are limited.
“Most of your passing is going to be done probably through turn one and off of turn one and getting into turn two,” Busch said. “If somebody can get a good run off of turn two, get back up high and get in line to get on that patch (of new pavement), getting into turn three. Besides that, in turn one, we just can’t get the cars to turn down there because there’s so much load on the bump stops from going 210 mph down the front straightaway and then trying to slow it down to about a ‘buck-40’ (140 mph).”
Kyle’s brother, Kurt, said despite its nuances, it is still one of the most different tracks they see all year.
“It’s fun to win at a racetrack that is so unique because of how different that track is compared to all the other oval tracks,” Kurt Busch said. “Pocono is a little bit like Darlington in that all the corners are different, so you have to manage them the best that you can and not be perfect in one corner versus another.”
