This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Losing his fastest time in qualifying didn't stop Kyle Busch from charging forward to draw level with Kevin Harvick with six victories this season. He took the checkered flag in Sunday's Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway with a powerful final segment, as Harvick suffered trouble and Martin Truex Jr. struggled. Both Busch and Harvick lost their qualifying times after failing inspection, but starting deep in the field didn't faze either of them. However, absent in the mix was Truex who only ran around the top 12 throughout much of the race distance. Sunday's race still showed no clear differentiation among the championship contenders, as it was Busch and Harvick who had the fastest cars throughout the afternoon. The seesaw battle continues to rage on and likely won't be settled until the finale at Homestead Miami Speedway in November.
This week the series returns to road course racing, as the traditional summer visit to Watkins Glen International approaches. Truex was the driver who came out on top at the circuit last season, and he was also the most recent road course winner earlier this summer at Sonoma Raceway. As the trio continues to distance themselves from the rest of the field, it will be a weekly challenge for fantasy owners to pick which of the favorites will come out on top in each particular week as the rest of the field grows increasingly desperate to join the playoff hunt.
UPGRADE
Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch lost his fastest lap from
Losing his fastest time in qualifying didn't stop Kyle Busch from charging forward to draw level with Kevin Harvick with six victories this season. He took the checkered flag in Sunday's Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway with a powerful final segment, as Harvick suffered trouble and Martin Truex Jr. struggled. Both Busch and Harvick lost their qualifying times after failing inspection, but starting deep in the field didn't faze either of them. However, absent in the mix was Truex who only ran around the top 12 throughout much of the race distance. Sunday's race still showed no clear differentiation among the championship contenders, as it was Busch and Harvick who had the fastest cars throughout the afternoon. The seesaw battle continues to rage on and likely won't be settled until the finale at Homestead Miami Speedway in November.
This week the series returns to road course racing, as the traditional summer visit to Watkins Glen International approaches. Truex was the driver who came out on top at the circuit last season, and he was also the most recent road course winner earlier this summer at Sonoma Raceway. As the trio continues to distance themselves from the rest of the field, it will be a weekly challenge for fantasy owners to pick which of the favorites will come out on top in each particular week as the rest of the field grows increasingly desperate to join the playoff hunt.
UPGRADE
Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch lost his fastest lap from qualifying but that didn't slow him down as he charged through the field and took command from the front in the final segment of Sunday's race. He worked his way forward quickly from the start and was battling for the lead in the final segment of Sunday's race. He ultimately ran away from teammate Daniel Suarez and survived multiple late restarts to claim the victory that moves him level with Harvick on six wins for the season. Busch has two Watkins Glen victories to his credit and has only finished outside of the top 10 twice in his entire Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series career.
Kevin Harvick – Harvick was the class of the field Sunday in Pocono, but late contact on pit road cost him track position and ultimately his first Pocono win last Sunday. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver wasn't slowed after losing his fastest qualifying time, and he quickly raced his car straight to the front once the green flag waved. He won the second stage and had the field completely under control heading into the final laps. Unfortunately, late damage to his rear fender from contact while exiting pit road made for poor track position with 40 laps to go. He was unable to overcome it and only managed to finish fourth despite having the best car in the race.
Daniel Suarez – Suarez inherited the first pole position of his Cup career, but he proved it wasn't undeserved once the race got underway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had underperformed in recent weeks but somehow found the speed to contend in Pocono. With less than 30 laps remaining in the race, he found himself racing teammate Kyle Busch for the win but wasn't able to pull himself ahead of his streaking teammate. Still, his runner-up finish was a testament to his capabilities behind the wheel. Fantasy players should watch to see what momentum he can maintain after this top finish, especially at Watkins Glen. Suarez finished third after a top-five start there last season.
Chase Elliott – Elliott captured his second stage win in the opening segment of Sunday's Pocono race. He said after New Hampshire that he hoped it wasn't dumb luck that saw him run up front and he proved that it wasn't by taking his second stage victory in as many weeks. In the past two races he has shown that he can handle the new Chevrolet and has taken charge of leading that manufacturer forward in the standings. He was again the top Chevrolet in Pocono and doesn't appear to be too far away from a victory at this point, too. Elliott finished 13th in both of his prior Cup series starts at Watkins Glen, and the course could neutralize the competition enough for him to bag that first series win.
William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports seems to finally be getting a handle on the new Chevrolet body, and Byron leveraged that setup to join his teammates running at the sharp end of the field Sunday. Something clicked for the team in their second visit to Pocono, and Byron was a confident top-10 driver throughout the afternoon along with the rest of his teammates. What is most impressive is that the Hendrick drivers have full taken control of being the top Chevrolets from Kyle Larson, who seemed to have the early grasp on getting the most out of the new car. Byron qualified eighth in Sonoma earlier this season, but has yet to race in the series at Watkins Glen. He remains a relative unknown at the circuit for fantasy rosters.
DOWNGRADE
Brad Keselowski – Keselowski had a golden opportunity to make the most of multiple drivers failing inspection, but he simply did not have the speed to be a major factor in Sunday's race. While racing late in the final stage, he also lost a rear tire and spun into the wall. Keselowski is one of many drivers still lacking a win in 2018, and continued struggles like Sunday's will make his run for the playoffs even tenser. Keselowski has never won at Watkins Glen but has only finished outside of the top 10 at the circuit three times in eight visits. Fantasy owners will need to monitor how this team responds to the growing stress of not having a win.
Joey Logano – Logano suffered a frustrating outing at Pocono. Early contact had the team patching up his car's nose, but he was initially able to overcome that issue. Unfortunately, additional contact later in the race left him with further damage that forced him to pit road for repairs while the rest of the field raced under green. Any chance of a top finish was lost at that point, but his win from earlier in the season will mean he doesn't lose much ground in the playoff hunt. Still, the team needs to start finding more frequent success if they want a long run through the knockout stages of the championship battle. There remains a ton of ground to cover until that becomes a reality, however.
Bubba Wallace – Wallace suffered a huge wreck late at Pocono on Sunday. He walked away from the crash but said it was the hardest crash of his career. His brakes failed heading into the first turn late in Sunday's race. He drove it down into the grass to scrub as much speed as possible but clouted the barrier extremely hard. The crash was heavy enough to bring out the red flag with less than 10 laps remaining. Watkins Glen will be a bit of an unknown for him, but his 29th-place finish at Sonoma won't inspire much confidence. Wallace can still be a good consideration for fantasy owners as the season draws to a close, but he likely won't carry high expectations this week on the road course.
Aric Almirola – Almirola brought out a late caution when he spun trying to avoid a crash after an already frustrating afternoon. This new season with Stewart-Haas Racing started with him in position to win the biggest race of the season, and the bad luck that held him out of Victory Lane continued to plague him throughout the season, too. That was the case again in Pocono where a quick car should have put him in contention for a top finish, but circumstances conspired for another disappointing exit. In seven Watkins Glen starts he has never finished in the top 10. We've already learned that he tends to run better than his past statistics with his new team, but next week's road course event may not be his best play.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Alex Bowman – Bowman had a superb afternoon in Pocono with a top-five performance that he and the team should use to build upon as the season marches toward its completion. The Hendrick Motorsports driver must have learned from teammate Elliott's success last week because Bowman scored one of the best finishes of his career on Sunday. The finish was a big boost to his hopes of qualifying for the playoffs as he has been hovering around the top-16 mark for much of the middle portion of the season. While he isn't known for his abilities on the road courses, Bowman may be starting to emerge as a driver fantasy owners want to consider as the playoffs approach.
