Pocono a favorite track for race handicappers
Sunday?s NASCAR event at Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, PA, starts the annual summer series of racing. This means different things to the enthusiast. First, you?ll have to tune cable TV for the next 12 races, either TNT or ESPN to find the action. Secondly, and more important to the race bettor, the next three months offers a great chance to start a run of success in the sport. This has typically become known as a time where drivers can get hot, under-the-sun type of summer hot, and riding them week after week can lead to big profits. The stretch features numerous duplicate facilities, flat tracks, and road course events, all of which are generally friendlier on the race handicapper. So load those accounts and get ready for a nice summer of racing, starting this week at the ?roval? known as Pocono.
This race is the first of two season events at Pocono with the second coming as quickly as seven races from now. It?s an unusual scheduling quirk that continues to puzzle fans of NASCAR, with several other viable tracks still pining for one race. The facility is always one of the first that comes to mind when experts discuss schedule changes, though the family ownership insists the track isn?t for sale and that the event dates are safe. Still, the racing here offers a change of pace as in terms of track layout, as this is one of the more unique on the circuit. It blends road and oval racing. The track is a 2.5-mile tri-oval with different bankings in each of the three turns, and essentially three separate straightaways. Speeds in the longest straight, the backstretch, reach into the 200?s, so while the speeds are fast, the cars tend to get separated greatly, leading to long green flag runs. Historically it has proven vital to demonstrate speed in either qualifying or practice.
The ?Pocono Sweep? is a common occurrence, as it has happened twice in the last five years, so don?t be surprised to see this week?s winner go on to Victory Lane again in August. The stats reveal that there are six active drivers who have taken home two or more checkered flags from Pocono, with Denny Hamlin (2x) accomplishing the feat in the least amount of starts, six. The rest of the group includes Jeff Gordon (4x), Bobby Labonte (3x), and Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and Jimmie Johnson, twice each. Of the six, only Labonte would be considered a longshot to win on Sunday. Hamlin leads the way with an average career finish of 6.2. He has scored four Top 5 finishes in that 3-year span and led 300 laps, both stats topping the circuit. Tony Stewart (9.7 avg.), Jeff Gordon (11.0), Kurt Busch (11.2), and Brian Vickers (17.0) have also had recent success here, enjoying Top 5 finishes in half of the six starts since ?06. Busch (215) and Kasey Kahne (111) are the only other drivers to lead more than 100 laps in that span. Kahne comes in as the defending champion of this racing, having won from the pole last June. Edwards won the more recent event in August.
Last week?s race at Dover had a major affect on the standings, as nearly nine of the Top 12 drivers going in either climbed or fell at least one spot. Tony Stewart took over the series lead from Jeff Gordon, as the latter continues to struggle for answers to his recent slump. Jimmie Johnson, by virtue of his second win of ?09, moved up to 3rd. Stewart?s teammate Ryan Newman has reached a season high 5th in points and is one of the hottest drivers on the circuit. He even seems to be regaining some of the qualifying prowess that led to him being nicknamed the Rocketman earlier in his career. If he starts somewhere near the front on Sunday, he could be a bonafide contender to win. Mark Martin continues to hold down the critical 12th spot in the standings, 31 points ahead of David Reutimann. With half of the races that go into NASCAR?s ?regular season? now in the books, the points are going to be getting more and more attention each and every week.
Oddsmakers have jumped back on the Jimmie Johnson bandwagon, establishing him as the heavy favorite in the Pocono 500 at 9-2 odds. Who can blame them? Johnson has grown a knack for winning races in bunches. Series wins leader Kyle Busch and Pocono stalwart Denny Hamlin are next in line at 7-1, with Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards, each 8-1, rounding out the list of single-digit contenders. Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Tony Stewart, all 12-1, should be given consideration as well, Busch and Kahne for their past success here, and Stewart for his recent surge. Of course, if I had a ?sleeper? to back, it would be Newman, who is surprisingly listed at 25-1. On the flip side, be careful with Kyle Busch, as he has just a single Top 5 finish at this track in eight prior starts, averaging 22.0. Clint Bowyer (20.8) and Greg Biffle (18.5) historically have not enjoyed much success here either, without a Top 5 since ?06. Any of those three could merit some value if you choose to fade them in this week?s matchup options.
The weekend action gets started with qualifying at 3:40 pm ET on Friday. Kahne owns the qualifying mark of 172.533 mph five years ago in this race, and Pocono has seen 21 different drivers take the pole in the last 26 races. The 4th qualifying position seems to be the most significant cutoff in terms of the importance of starting position as 37 of the previous 60 Pocono winners have started in the first two rows. Furthermore, half of the last six winners started on the pole and the last four pole sitters have finished 3rd or better. Don?t forget Happy Hour though as well, as the last six race winners at Pocono have had a practice speed of 6th or better with an average of 3.3. Those facts should have a huge impact when Sunday?s race comes around at 2:15 pm ET, the first of the season on TNT.
Sunday?s NASCAR event at Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, PA, starts the annual summer series of racing. This means different things to the enthusiast. First, you?ll have to tune cable TV for the next 12 races, either TNT or ESPN to find the action. Secondly, and more important to the race bettor, the next three months offers a great chance to start a run of success in the sport. This has typically become known as a time where drivers can get hot, under-the-sun type of summer hot, and riding them week after week can lead to big profits. The stretch features numerous duplicate facilities, flat tracks, and road course events, all of which are generally friendlier on the race handicapper. So load those accounts and get ready for a nice summer of racing, starting this week at the ?roval? known as Pocono.
This race is the first of two season events at Pocono with the second coming as quickly as seven races from now. It?s an unusual scheduling quirk that continues to puzzle fans of NASCAR, with several other viable tracks still pining for one race. The facility is always one of the first that comes to mind when experts discuss schedule changes, though the family ownership insists the track isn?t for sale and that the event dates are safe. Still, the racing here offers a change of pace as in terms of track layout, as this is one of the more unique on the circuit. It blends road and oval racing. The track is a 2.5-mile tri-oval with different bankings in each of the three turns, and essentially three separate straightaways. Speeds in the longest straight, the backstretch, reach into the 200?s, so while the speeds are fast, the cars tend to get separated greatly, leading to long green flag runs. Historically it has proven vital to demonstrate speed in either qualifying or practice.
The ?Pocono Sweep? is a common occurrence, as it has happened twice in the last five years, so don?t be surprised to see this week?s winner go on to Victory Lane again in August. The stats reveal that there are six active drivers who have taken home two or more checkered flags from Pocono, with Denny Hamlin (2x) accomplishing the feat in the least amount of starts, six. The rest of the group includes Jeff Gordon (4x), Bobby Labonte (3x), and Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and Jimmie Johnson, twice each. Of the six, only Labonte would be considered a longshot to win on Sunday. Hamlin leads the way with an average career finish of 6.2. He has scored four Top 5 finishes in that 3-year span and led 300 laps, both stats topping the circuit. Tony Stewart (9.7 avg.), Jeff Gordon (11.0), Kurt Busch (11.2), and Brian Vickers (17.0) have also had recent success here, enjoying Top 5 finishes in half of the six starts since ?06. Busch (215) and Kasey Kahne (111) are the only other drivers to lead more than 100 laps in that span. Kahne comes in as the defending champion of this racing, having won from the pole last June. Edwards won the more recent event in August.
Last week?s race at Dover had a major affect on the standings, as nearly nine of the Top 12 drivers going in either climbed or fell at least one spot. Tony Stewart took over the series lead from Jeff Gordon, as the latter continues to struggle for answers to his recent slump. Jimmie Johnson, by virtue of his second win of ?09, moved up to 3rd. Stewart?s teammate Ryan Newman has reached a season high 5th in points and is one of the hottest drivers on the circuit. He even seems to be regaining some of the qualifying prowess that led to him being nicknamed the Rocketman earlier in his career. If he starts somewhere near the front on Sunday, he could be a bonafide contender to win. Mark Martin continues to hold down the critical 12th spot in the standings, 31 points ahead of David Reutimann. With half of the races that go into NASCAR?s ?regular season? now in the books, the points are going to be getting more and more attention each and every week.
Oddsmakers have jumped back on the Jimmie Johnson bandwagon, establishing him as the heavy favorite in the Pocono 500 at 9-2 odds. Who can blame them? Johnson has grown a knack for winning races in bunches. Series wins leader Kyle Busch and Pocono stalwart Denny Hamlin are next in line at 7-1, with Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards, each 8-1, rounding out the list of single-digit contenders. Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Tony Stewart, all 12-1, should be given consideration as well, Busch and Kahne for their past success here, and Stewart for his recent surge. Of course, if I had a ?sleeper? to back, it would be Newman, who is surprisingly listed at 25-1. On the flip side, be careful with Kyle Busch, as he has just a single Top 5 finish at this track in eight prior starts, averaging 22.0. Clint Bowyer (20.8) and Greg Biffle (18.5) historically have not enjoyed much success here either, without a Top 5 since ?06. Any of those three could merit some value if you choose to fade them in this week?s matchup options.
The weekend action gets started with qualifying at 3:40 pm ET on Friday. Kahne owns the qualifying mark of 172.533 mph five years ago in this race, and Pocono has seen 21 different drivers take the pole in the last 26 races. The 4th qualifying position seems to be the most significant cutoff in terms of the importance of starting position as 37 of the previous 60 Pocono winners have started in the first two rows. Furthermore, half of the last six winners started on the pole and the last four pole sitters have finished 3rd or better. Don?t forget Happy Hour though as well, as the last six race winners at Pocono have had a practice speed of 6th or better with an average of 3.3. Those facts should have a huge impact when Sunday?s race comes around at 2:15 pm ET, the first of the season on TNT.
