Gander RV 400, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa., 3 p.m.
As NASCAR heads back to Pocono Sunday the big question is will Kyle Busch head back to the winner’s circle?
Busch is tied with Martin Truex Jr. for most wins this season with four, but after winning four times in the first 13 weeks he hasn’t won since.
Coincidentally Busch’s last win came June 2 in the first race this season at Pocono. It was also his third win at Pocono over the span of four races. Busch had gone 25 races at “The Tricky Triangle’’ without win before his recent dominance at the Pennsylvania track.
The circuit has seen seven different winners the last seven races and four first-time winners the past four weeks, including Kevin Harvick’s season-ending drought last week in New Hampshire.
Harvick earned the pole Sunday as he looks to make it two straight wins in his No. 4 Ford. Harvick has never won at Pocono. And Ford don’t do so well, either. Chevy has the most wins ever, with 14, and Toyota, thanks to Busch, has won three of the past four races here.
For local favorite (and my favorite), New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr., Pocono has been feast or famine. Truex has two Pocono wins, but has finished out of the top 15 here four times.
The opposite is true for Brad Keselowski, who has never won at Pocono but has been in the top five seven of his past eight races here.
Playoff Race: New Hampshire shook up the standings again and now veteran Jimmie Johnson finds himself in need of a big race Sunday.
Johnson is tied with Daniel Suarez, at 488 points and in 17th place, 17 points behind the current final qualifier Clint Bowyer, with 505 points in 16th place. Ryan Newman, with 509 points, sits in 15th place.
Here are the selections for your winner, top three, top five and your fantasy pools, with the aid, of course, of Mike “Left Turn’’ Sweeney and Scott “Tobacco Road’’ Baker.
Denny Hamlin (10-1): Both “Left Turn” and “Tobacco Road’’ have him on top this week and at double figure odds I’m not going to argue. He’s never won at Pocono, but he’s always in the mix.
Kyle Busch (5-2): The odds are short, but you can’t leave out a guy who has shown he can handle The Tricky Triangle as well as anyone. And he’s about due for another win.
Joey Logano (12-1): The overall points leader (783) qualified well and should be right in the mix. At those odds he’s a can’t leave out.
Longshot Play: Kurt Busch (25-1): That’s pretty good odds for a driver with three wins at the track.
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