A case can be made for Kyle Busch (four wins to Harvick’s one) here, but the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s season as a whole has been more consistently dominant, perhaps the most important ingredient in the recipe to advancing in the Chase.
“Rowdy” was on another level at Indy this past weekend, and that could continue at Pocono where he is the defending pole-winner of the race.
A 17th-place finish came as a result of Keselowski’s No. 2 being involved in a late-race “Big One,” but he didn’t fall any spots in the points standings.
Logano couldn’t bring his team owner a Brickyard 400, but how ’bout a Pennsylvania 400? Logano led a race-high 97 laps in this event last year.
A winner at Pocono not even two months ago, Busch’s consistency and his recent Victory Lane visit make him one of the race favorites.
Coming in as the defending race-winner, Kenseth and his JGR-powered No. 20 have an excellent shot at the “Tricky Triangle.”
Edwards dropped two spots in the standings and now stands as one of just three drivers in the top 20 in points to have four DNFs.
Not only did Johnson potentially end a “slump” (by his standards), he’s officially locked up a Chase spot and can breathe a little.
While he struggled in the spring event (19th), it wasn’t that long ago that Truex Jr. won at Pocono (June, 2015). Good chance his team comes better prepared this time around.
Denny Hamlin’s winless drought of 19 races is the longest of any driver in the top 10 in points.
Elliott had a solid top-five run at Pocono earlier this season during his best streak of the year. Perhaps he can re-ignite the spark this weekend?
Stewart had another solid run in what was possibly a dizzying weekend of attention and fanfare for his last Brickyard race. He’s still trending in the right direction.
Dillon could double his 2015 top-10 total (five) with one such result at Pocono. Only problem? He’s yet to complete the task at the “Tricky Triangle.”
Heading into one of his best tracks (9.4 average Pocono finish), Larson is on the right side of the Chase bubble.
Newman had a rough day in his home state, matching his car number (31) with his finishing position. That’s usually not a good thing, unless you’re Jamie McMurray.
McMurray’s No. 1 Chevrolet was a mid-pack car most of the way at Indy, but he’s still solidly in Chase contention as the regular season winds down.
Junior will remain out at least through the weekend, but his season is on the line now as he’s quickly losing ground in the standings.
Kahne has won at Pocono as recently as 2013 and could really use another solid performance, as a driver just on the outside of Chase contention and looking in.
A late-race mixup with Clint Bowyer relegated Bayne to a 30th-place finish, bringing him down to 18th place in the driver standings.
Stenhouse’s near-top 10 at Indy (12th) shouldn’t be overlooked — but neither should his Pocono history. The Roush driver’s 27.3 average finish could make his bump a short-lived one.