This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
No one could match the pace of Kyle Busch in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was quickest in the field from the drop of the green flag, and carried that speed throughout the 400 laps to claim his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series points win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sunday's marathon race gave a number of drivers to overcome mistakes and still claim top-10 finishes, but Busch never put a foot wrong. The race was his to lose from the beginning, and he wasn't going to let it go.
The night saw a pause in Kevin Harvick's domination, and put the Toyota contingent in charge in a dramatic change of fortunes from just the prior week. Chevrolet drivers also had a good night with Hendrick Motorsports and the Chip Ganassi Racing team all putting multiple drivers inside the top 10. The only Ford in the top five was Penske Racing's Brad Keselowski. It was definitely Kyle Busch and Toyota's night, and this week's race at Pocono Raceway will show how much staying power this swing in momentum has.
UPGRADE
Kyle Busch – Busch dominated the early miles Sunday night in Charlotte, jumping out to the lead from pole, which turned out to be just the start of a highly successful evening for the former champion. He not only endured throughout the first 100 laps, claiming the first stage victory of the night, but continued that form across the rest the stages, too. That was more than
No one could match the pace of Kyle Busch in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was quickest in the field from the drop of the green flag, and carried that speed throughout the 400 laps to claim his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series points win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sunday's marathon race gave a number of drivers to overcome mistakes and still claim top-10 finishes, but Busch never put a foot wrong. The race was his to lose from the beginning, and he wasn't going to let it go.
The night saw a pause in Kevin Harvick's domination, and put the Toyota contingent in charge in a dramatic change of fortunes from just the prior week. Chevrolet drivers also had a good night with Hendrick Motorsports and the Chip Ganassi Racing team all putting multiple drivers inside the top 10. The only Ford in the top five was Penske Racing's Brad Keselowski. It was definitely Kyle Busch and Toyota's night, and this week's race at Pocono Raceway will show how much staying power this swing in momentum has.
UPGRADE
Kyle Busch – Busch dominated the early miles Sunday night in Charlotte, jumping out to the lead from pole, which turned out to be just the start of a highly successful evening for the former champion. He not only endured throughout the first 100 laps, claiming the first stage victory of the night, but continued that form across the rest the stages, too. That was more than enough to earn Busch his first regular-season series win at Charlotte. He never really had a competitor as quick as him throughout the night, which will give him plenty of confidence heading into next week. Busch won at Pocono and started from pole in the two races there last season, leading over 170 laps.
Denny Hamlin – Hamlin may not have had as good of a car as his teammate Sunday night in Charlotte, but he was a constant fixture inside the top 10 throughout the long distance. He continues to run inside the top 10 most weeks, and continuing to do so will give him a shot at wins at some point this year. That wasn't the case on Sunday, but it was still a confidence builder for the No. 11 team as they hunt for their first 2018 win. Hamlin has won four times at the Pocono triangle. He finished fourth at the track last fall, and has been consistently among the best at the circuit. His good run last week should be an omen for another top outing this week.
Chase Elliott – Chevrolet teams have had their share of trouble in this season, but one of the early adopters able to start making an impression at the front of the running order has been Elliott. He did that again Sunday night in Charlotte, running consistently in the top 10 throughout the night, picking up stage points whenever possible. That race could be a signal that he and the team are coming to grips with the new car and are starting to get the most out of it. A good barometer of that progress would be how he gets on at Pocono this week. In four Cup visits he has one top-five and three top-10s. Elliott should be among the fastest of the Chevrolet contingent this weekend.
Martin Truex Jr. – Despite multiple mistakes on pit road, Truex was able to charge his way toward the front in Charlotte Sunday night to garb a runner-up finish. While Busch cruised around without much competition, Truex spent the evening battling to overcome multiple penalties on pit road. Still, his car had enough speed to claw back inside the top five and make an effort to track down the lead. Maybe Busch had the faster car, but avoiding mistakes would have given Truex a better chance in the fight. Truex won the spring Pocono race in 2015, started from the front row in both races at the track last season, and converted those starts into a top-five and top-10.
Brad Keselowski – Keselowski avoided the misfortune that befell his Penske teammates, but ultimately came up short in delivering Penske Racing its second win of the day after Will Power won in Indianapolis earlier in the dat. Despite not taking home the trophy Keselowski still had an admirable night. He was the best finishing Ford driver in the field, and picked up just his third top-five of the year. The timing of Sunday's success is fantastic considering how good he has been at Pocono recently, too. He finished fifth in both races at the track last season, and has been scoring top-fives there in every visit since the fall of 2015. Fantasy owners should make sure Keselowski is on their radar early this week.
DOWNGRADE
Kevin Harvick – Harvick's run of success came to an abrupt end Sunday in Charlotte. The rampaging driver first failed to make a qualifying attempt after failing inspection on Thursday, and then clouted the outside wall due to a flat tire before the first stage was complete. It will be interesting to see how the team responds this week in Pocono. Harvick has never won at the track, but finished as the runner up in both trips to the circuit last season. Coming into the weekend off of Charlotte disappointment could make them even more dangerous than usual. The team is familiar with adversity, and should return to the front sooner than later, but fantasy owners should avoid being overly optimistic until practice pace proves otherwise.
Ryan Blaney – Blaney's attempt to give Penske Racing another win turned into a struggle as Sunday night's race transitioned into the second half. The Ford engine began giving him and the team trouble, and that left him without the power necessary to push into the top 10. He ran until it completely gave up, though. While Blaney has not been getting the headline success he would like, he and the team have been within striking distance of top finishes on a regular basis. At Pocono a continuation of that, with a bit better luck, could give him a chance to win. Blaney is the defending winner of this week's race and only has one finish outside of the top 11 at the track in his four series visits, but needs better luck.
Austin Dillon – The return of Dillon to his first Cup series win wasn't a happy homecoming. The Richard Childress Racing driver suffered a tire failure that sent him into the wall. The damage was heavy and after initially making repairs on pit road the team ultimately went back to the garage before returning about 50 laps behind the leaders. The night turned into a test session for the team as they just focused on making laps and picking up places from other drivers that dropped out. Dillon is safely in the playoffs with his Daytona 500 win, but could use to cure the problems that have been holding the team back. Pocono will be another chance, but it is also a track where he has never scored a top 10.
Ryan Newman – A wheel failure ended what would have been a decent outing for Newman in Charlotte. He made it into the start of the final stage of the race only to have to take the car directly to the garage and out of contention with the issue. Newman had spent some time running with the leaders, and has been on the fringes of the top 10 at a lot of races so far this season. His luck and the team's ability to find that extra edge to move more toward the front have just not been there yet this year, though. Newman finished 14th in both Pocono races last season, which would be better than his average finish so far this season of 21.0 after 13 races.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Jimmie Johnson – Most fantasy owners wouldn't have been expecting much from Johnson in Charlotte after a rough start to the season. He battled with his car's handling all night, even spinning out, but got things going the right direction in the final stage with a top-five car. He hasn't been competitive much this season, and battled through a lot of adversity Sunday night to have one of his best races of the year so far. While fantasy owners still should be looking for more consistent top performances like last week's, Charlotte was a definite step in the proper direction for the team. The timing of Sunday's finish was good considering he crashed out of both Pocono races last season and still needs to maintain last week's progress.
