Another 'fuelish' finish on tap for Sunday at Pocono Raceway?
Pocono on Sunday will be another first-time visit with the 2015 rules package. I think the gear reduction and the horsepower reduction are going to rear their heads at Pocono as much as anywhere we have been so far. We are going to two of the longest straightaways in our sport. So how this new rules package affects things there is going to be interesting.
You have to assume Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 88 bunch will be the team to beat. They swept both Pocono races last year. So a lot like Jimmie Johnson and Dover, this will be a good measuring stick for where the No. 88 is.
I also think, though, if you look across the board it's going to be the same cast of characters up front like always. It really doesn't matter that it's a different type track or different length track, because I think you are going to still see Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Jimmie and Martin Truex Jr. up front.
I also think this weekend will be another good measuring stick for the Toyota camp. I think we'll get a pretty good indication of whether they really have caught up to Chevrolet. It takes every element to win at Pocono. You need horsepower, handling, aero and great strategy. Shifting has become the norm there now. You are going to see drivers on Sunday shifting as much at Pocono as they do on a road course. They'll be shifting twice every straightaway.
This is a track that has a fair amount of grip. It has a history of being a fuel-mileage strategy race. Also like a road course, you run this race backward from a fuel-mileage standpoint. Track position and clear air are going to play a role like always when we come down to the end.
If I had to pick one favorite right now, again I'd probably have to go with Dale Jr. because he owned that place last year in winning both NASCAR Sprint Cup races there in 2014.
