By: Ashley McCubbin

If the challenges of navigating the streets of Chicago weren’t enough for the NASCAR Cup Series, things are about to get a little more interesting. Or should we say Tricky? It is time for the summer trip to Pocono Raceway, and figuring out how to navigate three corners instead of four.

Despite missing a race this season, Kyle Larson sits atop the point standings with an 11-point advantage over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott for the regular season title. Consistently running up front will do that for you, just throw out locking up the tires this past weekend in Chicago and sliding into the barrier. Larson knows his way around the tricky triangle, with four top-10’s in his last five appearances, including a runner-up in 2021. Elliott, meanwhile, picked up the checkered flag at Pocono in 2022 and backed it up with a 10th last season.

The signs continue to point towards Hendrick Motorsports if you expand the aforementioned pair. Alex Bowman has momentum on his side after winning on the streets of Chicago, and knows how to get a victory at Pocono, accomplishing the feat in 2021. William Byron has yet to find a checkered flag of his own at the triangle, but boasts the best average finish (9.9) of his competitors and has parked it in victory lane three times this season.

If you are not feeling Hendrick, no fear as there are several other options spread throughout the field.

Tyler Reddick will be hungry after coming up short on the streets of Chicago due to a mistake in the closing laps, and sits third in the standings on the heels of three consecutive top-six finishes. He has also scored a runner-up the past two events at Pocono Raceway.

Joey Logano finally reached victory lane for the first time in 2024 at Nashville Superspeedway, and will be hungry to do so once again after a 23rd on the streets of Chicago. He has scored two top-10 finishes in his last four appearances at Pocono, with a victory back in 2012.

Denny Hamlin enters the weekend as the defending race winner, and could use a good run after a pair of incidents landed him back in 30th in Chicago. He has been strong this season, currently ranked fourth in points with three wins and eight top-10 finishes.

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. could use a checkered flag to make his final full-time campaign a little sweeter, currently the highest ranked driver in the standings with zero wins on the season to date in fifth. He has scored a pair of top-10’s in his two appearances at Pocono, including a third last season, alongside with a pair of wins with the last of those coming in 2018.

Christopher Bell, though, has been the hottest driver of JGR recently with his victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway being his third of 2024. However, it has not gone well in the two races since with a pair of crashes taking him out of contention. Fortunately, he has scored a top-10 in his last two appearances at Pocono Raceway.

However, a lot of people will be looking towards a possible first career Cup Series victory for Ty Gibbs. He has momentum on his side with a third on the streets of Chicago, and has the third highest average finish (10.5) of all drivers at Pocono off the heels of a fifth-place result last season.

Daniel Hemric would be a good darkhorse pick for the weekend, as he boasts the second-best average finish (10) of all drivers across his pair of appearances. He has scored three top-10 finishes this season with Kaulig Racing, and is coming off a 12th in Chicago.

Kyle Busch has held a checkered flag at Pocono Raceway, most recently doing so in 2021. He could use another trip to victory lane as this season has not gone to plan for him and Richard Childress Racing. He is currently ranked 17th in points with three of his last four races ending outside of the top-25. Could his ninth in Chicago be the start of turning things around?