Posted on by Reid Spencer

You’d never know from William Byron’s demeanor or his language that the 21-year-old driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had just finished fourth in Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.

“It was a struggle,” said Byron, who restarted sixth in overtime and passed both Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick to post his second top five of the season. “I felt like the guys did a good job with strategy, and being able to maximize on restarts. We got fortunate on a couple of things.”

MORE: Full Pocono race results

With five races left in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season, Byron remains 12th in the standings, but he increased his margin over Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson — the first driver currently out of a playoff-eligible position — to 62 points.

Nevertheless, after the strong run at Pocono, Byron seemed more focused on the difficulty he faced at the “Tricky Triangle,” where he started 31st after his car failed pre-race inspection. After pitting for the last time on Lap 115, Byron saved just enough fuel to make it to the end of the race, which went three laps beyond its posted distance.

“It was a tough day,” Byron said. “We didn’t really have a lot going our way. In the first stage, and even the second stage, we were just kind of hanging on.

“We just found a way to kind of make it work. We had good strategy and just found a way to kind of settle in there in a decent spot and save the right amount of fuel. We ran out of fuel coming across the (finish) line, so that was great. We saved the right amount of fuel, and that was about it.”

Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. – With 20 laps to go in the scheduled distance of the Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway, Erik Jones held the lead but there was cause for concern. Did he have enough fuel to make it to the finish? Could he outlast a hungry pack of cars — including two teammates — right behind him?

Thanks to his fuel-saving efforts on the last run and two late cautions, Jones had enough to score the runner-up finish.  That economical approach, however, helped Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin make the pass for the lead on Lap 144 – a position Hamlin would not surrender the rest of the way through the NASCAR Overtime finish. All in all, JGR finished 1-2-3 on the day and Kyle Busch finished ninth while running on a different strategy.

MORE: Full Pocono results 

“We had a little less fuel than them on the last run so we had to save more,” Jones said. “They felt like they got to a point where they felt like they saved enough to get real close to making it so they started pushing it. I wasn’t in position to do that so I continued to save. At that point when it was still green I was hoping they would run out with me having to save as much as I was.

“… The caution came out, looking back on it, I wish we would have just ran hard. If we ran hard, we wouldn’t have given up the lead and we would have been in the lead on the restart and probably wouldn’t have given up the lead there either. It’s easy to look back and say I would do that different but at the time, it was our best opportunity.”

At the same time, though, Jones was happy to extend his position in the standings as he drives towards a second straight playoff appearance.

MORE: Full Cup standings

“If we have a day where we run out of fuel because we’re pushing to get a win and we don’t make it, that’s a pretty bad day where we finish 25th coming down to get fuel and lose all these points we’ve gained here the last month,” Jones said. “We’re in a spot now where we are almost a race up on the cutoff line. It’s a good feeling and it took a long time to get there so we don’t want to give it up all at one time.”

The runner-up finish was his third top-three finish in as many races and eighth top 10 in the past 11 races this season. The finish was also his third straight top five at Pocono. The significance of the day was not lost on team owner Joe Gibbs, who also addressed that the organization continues to work on a new deal for the 23-year-old driver.

“They’re the ones we worry about because our other guys are in (the playoffs),” Gibbs said. “Erik was on that edge. Of course, running out of fuel would be a disaster for them. Right now, I think the last three weeks show where the team is. Chris Gayle has done a great job and I think Erik can sense it and we all know with young guys.

“Once they get it, it can be something special for them and I think Erik is on the verge. Everybody on our race team, we’re all excited about Erik and his future and we’re doing everything we can to put everything in place to make sure we have him taken care of.”

Jones feels like he is getting closer to Victory Lane with solid results in his past at Watkins Glen, the Bristol night race and Darlington – three of the next four tracks on the schedule.

RELATED: Jones aggressive when he needs to be — even if it upsets some

“There’s not a track coming up the rest of the year that I don’t feel we can’t run well at and that’s a good feeling,” Jones said. “I know we’re going to win one. We can’t keep running third every week. It’s just going to happen eventually.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin has passed post-race inspection at Pocono Raceway with no issues.

The No. 11 Toyota was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Sunday’s Gander RV 400. Additionally, the No. 20 of runner-up Erik Jones and No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr. also cleared inspection with no issues.

With the post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

A lug nut was found not safely secured on the No. 11 of Hamlin as well as the No. 42 of Kyle Larson. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Truex (finished third) will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center.

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” according to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutineering. The new post-race inspection process was also designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Thanks to a fast No. 11 Toyota, a feel for fuel economy and a first-ever application of traction compound to the asphalt at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin rediscovered the magic at the “Tricky Triangle” that marked his spectacular debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2006.

Leading a 1-2-3 finish by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers—none of whom, surprisingly, was Kyle Busch—Hamlin passed teammate and race runner-up Erik Jones on Lap 144 and saved enough fuel to last through an overtime that carried the event three laps beyond its scheduled distance of 160 circuits.

RELATED: Official results
SHOP: Hamlin gear

Hamlin won for the fifth time at the 2.5-mile triangular track after a nine-year absence from Victory Lane. The victory was Hamlin’s third of the season and the 34th of his career.

After losing a last-lap battle to Kevin Harvick last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hamlin made what turned out to be the winning pass on the outside of turn 3, where had the PJ1 traction compound had been applied.

“You just want to know that you’re a race winner,” said Hamlin, who turned heads in his 2006 rookie season with two wins from the pole at Pocono. “You just want to know that you can contend for wins. Yeah, you’re looking for momentum, but you’re just looking for wins week-in and week-out.

“We really fought for it last week and came up short, so it feels really good to kind of redeem ourselves this week and have such a strong car. Once we got behind there, we were able to make up positions on the 19 (third-place finisher Martin Truex Jr.) and 20 (Jones).”

Hamlin last pitted for fuel under caution on Lap 115, after Ryan Preece clobbered the Turn 1 wall to bring out the fifth of seven yellows. All three of the JGR cars were saving gas during the final run.

“I was in fuel-save mode and still trying to get around those guys,” said Hamlin, who was running third behind his teammates after a restart on Lap 119. “When I got around them, I really went into conservation mode instead of stretching the lead out there.”

Hamlin passed Truex in traffic on Lap 142 to secure second place. Two laps later, he surged past Jones into the top spot.

“I got the opportunity on the outside of Turn 3,” Hamlin said. “Thank Pocono for the PJ1. Obviously, it could be hedged a little bit lower, but they at least gave us a second to race in today that we haven’t had before.”

RELATED: Updated 2019 stage points

Jones notched his runner-up finish after consecutive third-place runs at Kentucky and New Hampshire.

“Honestly, we started the race so far off today, I wasn’t sure how we were going to run,” said Jones, who moved up one position in the series standings to 13th and increased his cushion over 17th-place Jimmie Johnson to 39 points with five races left in the regular season. “We were able to turn it around halfway, get back in contention.

“There at the end, I wasn’t sure how it was all going to play out. It was nice to get some good restarts. Martin gave me a great push at the end (on the overtime restart after a wreck involving Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. sent the race to extra laps). We were there for a second, then the top got rolling. I couldn’t really do anything. Good to get another top-three run. We’ve just got to break through. Once we get that first (win), I think we can click a few off here.”

William Byron finished fourth after starting 31st because his qualifying time was disallowed for a post-qualifying inspection failure. Kyle Larson ran fifth after starting from the rear in a backup car, the result of a wreck in opening practice.

Harvick, Daniel Hemric, Brad Keselowski, Busch and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10. Harvick led a race-high 62 laps, and Busch was out front for 56, but inopportune cautions spoiled their respective race strategies and left them fighting through traffic to get the results they did.

Busch won the race’s first stage, and Johnson picked up his second career stage win in the second before finishing 15th.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give you the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | How to find NBCSN

Monday, July 29
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Monday,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa Speedway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., “Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon” (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
12 p.m., MRN Outloud

Tuesday, July 30
Midnight, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Gander RV 150 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., Glory Road: “NASCAR Goes Road Racing,” (re-air) NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Glory Road: “Blacker” featuring Jeff Gordon, Ray Evernham and Rick Hendrick (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live with Mike Bagley

Wednesday, July 31
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Motormouths,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series: All-Star Shootout, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., K&N Pro Series race: Iowa Speedway (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
12 p.m., NASCAR Coast to Coast

Thursday, Aug. 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America: “Motorsports Hour,” NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., “Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon” (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Eldora, FS1/FOX Sports App
9 p.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
7 p.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby

Friday, Aug. 2
4 a.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8:30 a.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
2 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Saturday, Aug. 3
9:30 a.m., Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
10:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
12:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green: Watkins Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at The Glen, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 1)
6 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show: Watkins Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN App)

On MRN:
10:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice
1 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at The Glen
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying

Sunday, Aug. 4
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Zippo 200 at The Glen (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
noon, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
noon, NASCAR RaceDay, FS1/FOX Sports App
1 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Watkins Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN 1, 4, 5)
5:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen

Posted on by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson earned the second stage win of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, taking the Stage 2 victory in Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Kyle Busch led with three laps remaining when the No. 18 team chose to hit pit road because the car lacked fuel to make it to the end of the 50-lap stage. Johnson took over the lead as the fourth caution of the race came out at the same time that Ryan Blaney spun in Turn 3. The stage ended under the yellow flag as a result.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

The second caution of the race came out with 23 laps remaining in Stage 2 when Chase Elliott slammed the outside retaining wall in Turn 3 due to a right-front tire deflation. Elliott was forced to retire after taking the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet directly to the garage with heavy right-side damage.

WATCH: Elliott sustains heavy damage

A light rain shower blanketed the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania triangle with nine laps to go, bringing out the third caution.

Finish Driver Team Points
1  Jimmie Johnson  Hendrick Motorsports 10
2  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3  Joey Logano  Team Penske 8
4  Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6  Austin Dillon  Richard Childress Racing 5
7  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 3
9  Alex Bowman  Hendrick Motorsports 2
10  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 1


Stage 1

Kyle Busch used pit strategy to his advantage for the Stage 1 victory in Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Busch and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team elected to pit around the midway point of the stage, making up ground as other competitors chose to stop for service later. Pole sitter Kevin Harvick led the first 40 circuits of the 50-lap first stint, peeling off the 2.5-mile track with 10 laps remaining and relinquishing the lead to Busch.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Joey Logano finished second while Harvick battled back for third. Busch’s JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth and fifth respectively to round out the top five.

The biggest incident of the initial stage occurred when Brad Keselowski hit the wall on Lap 4, making an unscheduled stop with significant damage on the right side of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Keselowski finished 24th in the stage.

The stage win is Busch’s eighth of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Finish Driver Team Points
1  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2  Joey Logano  Team Penske 9
3  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 8
4  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Martin Truex Jr.  Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 5
7  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8  Aric Almirola  Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9  Kurt Busch  Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 1
Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. — Ahead of Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competitors about restarts in the drivers’ meeting.

“We haven’t gone over these in a while so (we) thought this would be a good time to bring these back up,” Miller said. “We expect the leader to maintain constant speed once he brings the field into the restart zone. We expect the second-place car not to lay back on the leader more than the door numbers. And if the second row’s laying back trying to affect what’s going on the front row, that’s also going to be a violation.

“We need to make sure that we are closed up, all the way through the field, not laying back. If we do those things, I think we’ll have clean restarts. It’s what’s been going on for the last few years and was established with the group of drivers and a group from NASCAR. It’s been working well. We haven’t gone over it in a while so I thought this was a good time to bring it up.”

RELATED: Starting lineup at Pocono | Multiple cars fail inspection 

The reminder came a week after Aric Almirola was warned during a restart of New Hampshire’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 toward the end of Stage 2 in which Almirola ended up winning the stage. Drivers in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series were also given a similar reminder Saturday before the Gander RV 150 at Pocono.

NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell indicated earlier in the week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that restarts would be addressed going into Pocono.

“We chose not to make the call but we’ve got to go back and review it,” O’Donnell said. “Review the speeds and I think you’ll see us address restarts heading into Pocono and remind the drivers what we expect, as well.”

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its return to Pocono Raceway for the second of two races in 2019. Kyle Busch won the season’s first race at the “Tricky Triangle.” Busch, Kyle Larson and William Byron were the only drivers to reach double-digits in both laps led and fastest laps.

Notably, Larson wrecked his car in practice and despite qualifying in 29th, he will start at the rear of the field. Chase Elliott (crash, backup car) and Bubba Wallace (engine change) will also head to the rear after 23rd and 26th place qualifying efforts, respectively.

Every week I build a statistical model for the race. Traditionally, these metrics are the most predictive of Pocono race results during the Gen-6 era (2013-present):

  • Pocono driver rating (last eight races)
  • Flat track quality pass percentage (last eight races)
  • Year-to-date quality pass percentage
  • Practice times
  • Qualifying position

Using these data points, I’ve found three value bets to win today’s Gander Outdoors 400.

*All odds as of 11:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. A quick explainer on the odds below: A $100 wager on +1200 would profit $1200.

Joey Logano +1200

Logano ranks third in my model behind co-favorites Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, but is currently listed as the sixth-most likely driver to win at the Westgate and seventh-most likely at Caesars properties. Logano’s price is likely dampened by the fact that his track history isn’t stellar, but if we take a deeper dive, he actually has some very strong track history points in his favor.

In the first Pocono race this year, Logano had the fifth-best quality pass percentage, the sixth-best percentage running in the top 15 and finished seventh.

Back in 2014, when the aerodynamic package was most similar to this year’s package, Logano had a third-place finish in the second Pocono race, and had the third-best quality pass percentage and was running up front most of the race until his engine let go on lap 150.

Logano was inside the top five in both five- and 10-lap average in final practice, less than 0.3 mph off the leaders in both metrics. Starting from the second position, Logano should have the all-important track position and a premium pit stall.

Additionally, Logano has two wins in the bag which means his strategy will simply be to race for the win, instead of worrying about accumulating stage points.

There is value on Logano as long as you can get him at +1000 or longer.

Denny Hamlin +1500

MGM is notably slow to adjust its NASCAR odds after practice and qualifying, and they haven’t adjusted Hamlin’s odds from his 15-1 opener despite an incredibly strong showing this weekend. Hamlin was fourth in five-lap average, and second in 10-lap average in final practice.

In the first Pocono race just eight weeks ago, Hamlin had the third-fastest average green-flag speed, behind only Kyle Busch and Erik Jones, before finishing sixth. He also finished fourth and ninth in 2014 under a similar aerodynamic package.

Importantly, Hamlin won at Pocono four times prior to the track’s repave in 2011, including a sweep of the 2006 races when the track surface was in its 12th year after its 1995 repave. The track surface is now nine years old.

To see how egregious the MGM line is, just look at the Westgate SuperBook, where Hamlin is listed at +800. However, seven drivers have shorter odds than Hamlin at MGM.

Between the aerodynamic package, the practice times and the track age, Hamlin shakes out fourth in my statistical model among all drivers. I’d bet him down to +1200.

Kyle Larson +5000

Earlier in the week I bet Larson at +2200 on the heels of his strong showing at the “Tricky Triangle” earlier this year. Larson also finished fifth in the first Pocono race during his rookie campaign in 2014.

However, a crash in practice relegated him to his backup car and only 10 total laps in final practice, pushing his odds down to +5000 at William Hill. He was only 24th in practice, and qualified only 29th, creating the impetus for his plummeting odds.

Since he’s starting in the rear, look for his team to make some strategic moves to get him track position. Strategy plays come with a wider range of outcomes, but since we’re only concerned about the win on this bet, we can discount the additional downside in favor of potential upside from a strategic call.

This is definitely a long-shot bet on an extremely talented driver, but I like a small play here. Larson has won five times in 203 career Cup races, about one in 40. However, Pocono is in the top-third of his tracks if you compare his driver rating year-by-year at each track to his season-long performance.

As such, I like betting him down to +4000.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

LONG POND, Pa. — Kevin Harvick is on the pole for the Gander RV 400 on Sunday at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does the 2014 champion — who has yet to win at Pocono — merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration. Remember that inspection Sunday morning made the starting lineup official.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Pocono:
1. Joey Logano
2. Aric Almirola
3. Erik Jones
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Daniel Suarez
Garage: William Byron

UPDATE: Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Johnson’s No. 48 and Austin Dillon’s No. 3 were among nine cars that failed pre-race inspection.

RELATED: Odds for New Hampshire | 10-lap averages | Weekend preview

Analysis: Two of my original lineup — Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — pulled out backup cars before opening practice was finished on Saturday. With both of those drivers going to the rear, I needed to make some changes.

Logano, Jones and Byron stay in the lineup. The reigning series champion has shown speed this weekend, and I wanted to have one Penske car in the lineup. Jones has a solid history at Pocono with three top fives in five starts. Byron topped the 10-lap board and while he is going to the rear, remember this: He scored stage points from starting at the back at New Hampshire and finished sixth in this race last summer after starting 38th.

Stage points are part of what drove me to the Almirola play. He’s in the best spot among drivers without a win, but the 10 camp showed at New Hampshire they are willing to play for a big points day over the race win. I have been reluctant to trust Suarez in my lineup over the past two months, but I like the qualifying spot (seventh) and the fact that he should be all-in on scoring stage points. Plus, he has a favorable history at Pocono. I am putting Truex in my lineup because I like the lap times he had in practice and I have the uses to take the plunge. Denny Hamlin was also a consideration for me, but I’d prefer to have one extra driver without a win that could be a heavy hitter for stage points. Hamlin will factor into one of my bonus picks though. I wanted to use Brad Keselowski here based on his Pocono record, but the 2 team seemed really off in practice. Would it surprise me if they grabbed a top 10? No, but I want top fives when I use the 2012 champion.

For the bonus picks, I am taking Jones to win Stage 1, Hamlin in Stage 2 and Harvick for the race win.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Need Props help? The Action Network has you covered | Play the Props Challenge today

1. O/U 3.5 drivers will score 10.5 stage points. In the June race, four drivers scored over 10.5 stage points — two drivers that have yet to win and two that already had wins on the season. With four winless drivers slated to start in the top 10, I expect those drivers to be on the hunt for stage points so I am taking the OVER on this one.

2. Kurt Busch leads all active drivers with 14 top-five finishes at Pocono. Does he finish in the top five on Sunday? Busch had the 12th-best 10-lap average in final practice, but he was second in final practice on the single-lap board. His last top five at Pocono came in the spring race in 2017. Throw in that his lone top five in the past month was the Kentucky win and I believe the trends say he will NOT finish in the top five.