The big dogs ate Sunday afternoon at Pocono as the top-seven finishers were all winners throughout the 2024 season. But the “Tricky Triangle” belonged to Ryan Blaney as he led a race-high 44 laps en route to his second Cup Series victory of the year and 12th of his career.
While YRB was taken hot to go at Pocono, it was an opportunistic points day for his close friend Bubba Wallace as he finished 10th and gained double-digit points to Ross Chastain on the elimination line and has cut the deficit to just 27 marks.
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Before the Cup Series returns to the famed Brickyard oval on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), see which drivers are climbing upward or tumbling downward.
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 4th
Finished: 2nd
What happened: After going five races without a top 10, Hamlin finished runner-up, scored a stage win and led 31 laps around the 2.5-mile triangular oval to put his name back in the regular-season title conversation as he sits just 20 points below Elliott at the top of the table. It was a complete day for the No. 11 JGR team, and they gain much-needed momentum with just five races to go before the postseason.
What’s next: Just one event left before the Olympic break and that’s a return to oval racing around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While the Next Gen car has not seen action around the oval layout yet, Hamlin has been quite good around the Brickyard with five finishes of sixth or better in the last seven oval events there.
2. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Started: 29th
Finished: 10th
What happened: Entering the weekend, Wallace said the $50,000 fine handed to him after his incident with Alex Bowman post-race at Chicago was the ‘best thing to happen to me,’ and he may be spot-on with that sentiment as the No. 23 driver was able to methodically work his way to a top 10 after starting toward the rear of the field.
What’s next: Eyes should be wide open for Wallace as the closing regular-season races could all be potential landing spots for the No. 23 to break the seal and return to Victory Lane for the first time since the fall of 2022. In three oval starts at Indy, Wallace has two top 10s with third- and ninth-place in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
3. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Started: 23rd
Finished: 14th
What happened: Jones won’t be one to smile at a 14th-place result, but the late summer months seem to be when the No. 43 driver picks up in performance. With only one top 10 this season, the team should be proud of inching close to another result of such.
What’s next: It feels like destiny that the Southern 500 is the regular-season finale where Jones has won the coveted event twice, but before the circuit gets there, Indy, Michigan International Speedway and Daytona International Speedway all present viable opportunities for Jones to stun the playoff field. In four starts at the Brickyard oval, Jones has scored one top five, a runner-up result in 2018.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 1st
Finished: 27th
What happened: Sunday felt like the time Gibbs would break through for his maiden Cup win and be the 13th different winner of 2024, but fortunes did not favor the sophomore driver as the 21-year-old slipped from the lead after a Stage 1 restart and couldn’t make his way back to the point. To add insult to injury, Gibbs’ engine spewed out a murky mix of oil and water, parachuting Gibbs to a 27th-place result.
What’s next: Sixty-seven points above the elimination line is still comfortable for the No. 54 team, but the pressure will be on the young driver to ensure that all four JGR Toyotas are vying for the Bill France Cup in September. However, Indy could be a tricky task for Gibbs as he’s never put down a lap around the Brickyard oval.
2. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Started: 33rd
Finished: 34th
What happened: It was a tough weekend for the “Toddfather” as Pocono snapped a nine-race top-20 streak for the third-year driver, the longest for any driver entering Sunday after Chase Elliott’s ended at 19 in Chicago. Gilliland cut a tire down the frontstretch early in the final stage, and the damage ended the day for the No. 38 team.
What’s next: Like Gibbs, Gilliland has yet to make a circuit around the Brickyard that wasn’t the road-course layout. However, maybe there is something to Front Row Motorsports having the last Cup Series victory at the facility.
3. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 19th
Finished: 36th
What happened: The second full-time season for Chastain at Trackhouse has been nothing short of disappointing so far. Three consecutive finishes of 22nd or worse for Chastain now have him as the last driver into the 16-driver postseason field just 27 points to the good on Wallace after slamming the wall off Turn 3 and then hitting the wall in Turn 1 to bring an end to his day.
What’s next: While the last few weeks have not been peachy for the No. 1 team, Chastain does have four Xfinity starts on the Brickyard oval, which could provide an advantage over a handful of drivers next weekend.
