The word at Pocono Raceway for the weekend was patience
Obviously everyone had to show a lot of patience this past weekend at Pocono. It didn't matter if you were NASCAR, the track, the drivers, the teams or the fans, Mother Nature always has the final say.
Unfortunately, she decided to play a major role on Sunday which caused the race to be postponed to Monday. Then on Monday she played a role with the race having to be called 22 laps shy of completion due to fog.
You feel for everybody because no one comes out on top in a situation like that.
Mondays race actually was one of the more entertaining races I've seen at Pocono in a while. We knew all the teams were racing against the weather because you really had no idea when or if it was going to cause an issue.
Strategy is always a player there even if the Sun is out and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Those weren't the conditions Monday, yet it still played a huge role.
I was totally impressed how Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon battled each other for the lead lap after lap. Both were trying to not only win their first NASCAR Sprint Cup series race, but also make the 2016 Chase.
Those two young men put on quite a show. I sometimes scratch my head when I hear the veteran drivers complain occasionally about someone racing them too hard at times. I say watch those two young men if you have a complaint about being raced too hard because those two raced their guts out.
You just never knew when the pendulum was going to swing the other way on Monday because of the X-factor of the weather. I felt like Kevin Harvick maybe had the best car even with his crew chief on a 1-race suspension.
I felt like Brad Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe maybe had the best strategy based on a 160 lap race.
In the end though when the fog rolled in and stayed, forcing the race to be called 22 laps short, it was rookie Chris Buescher who had averaged a 22.2 position all race long, who pulled into Victory Lane. It just once again goes to show you that anything is possible in this sport.
You can look at all the statistics you want. You can run all the numbers and simulations you want. You can do all that, but at the end of the day yesterday it was a rookie who had just finished 14th at the Brickyard 400 the week before, which up until Monday had been his best finish, bringing home the trophy.
The other notable accomplishment on Monday has to be Regan Smith with Tommy Baldwin Racing who finished third. While they might not have had as good a car as Chris Buescher, they definitely had the same strategy and it paid off huge for them.
We knew going into the race we had 11 different winners for a 16 spot Chase field. Chris and his team are like Tony Stewart was after Tony won at Sonoma. Now they have to get in and stay in the top 30 in points for five more weeks and they are in the 2016 Chase.
This coming Sunday we are at Watkins Glen which possibly could give us yet another new winner. So the numbers of who is in and who is out is a constantly moving target for these next five weeks.
I've said it before, but after Monday's upset win, it bears repeating, I still maintain there is going to be a big name driver or two to not be in the 2016 Chase field.
