Big names desperately seeking a win at Pocono

But in some respects, the landscape has changed significantly. 

Toyota dominated the first 13 races of 2016, owning eight wins by five different drivers. This year, Martin Truex Jr., has led the charge for the Japanese automaker in the Cup series with wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Truex leads the standings — and the tour with eight stage wins (twice that of his nearest competitors). The No. 78 Furniture Row team is remarkably stout with just one finish worse than 16th. Toyota’s flagship, Joe Gibbs Racing, is still looking for its first win of 2017, which is the starkest difference from 2016.

Not surprisingly, Jimmie Johnson has multiple wins entering the second half of the season — just as he did last year. His win last weekend at Dover — his 83rd career Cup victory and third of 2017 — elevated the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team to sixth in the standings. Johnson has 15 playoff points, three fewer than Truex.

Brad Keselowski, also a multiple winner halfway through 2016, has repeated the feat this year. Keselowski led the points after Bristol and remained third in the standings until he was wrecked in the last two races. Rules changes to cars seems to have hurt the Team Penske Fords the most this season, although Ryan Blaney (despite axle issues the last two weeks) appears to be coming into his own. Like Truex and Johnson, Keselowski has double digit playoff points — 12. Kyle Larson is next with seven. 

Speaking of Larson, he clearly earns honors for breakout driver of 2017. In addition to finally scoring his second career Cup victory — from the pole at Auto Club Speedway — he’s finished second five times, including last weekend at Dover. When it comes to stage racing, Larson has finished in the top 10 in all but three stages — Martinsville (2), Talladega (1) and Charlotte (3) where he wrecked seven laps before the end of the segment.

In 2017, there are nine different winners and two first-time victors — Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — in the first 13 races, along with Phoenix winner Ryan Newman, who ended a four-year drought. When the tour entered Pocono in 2016, there were eight different winners, with the usual suspects prevailing. 

With 13 races to determine the 2017 Playoff grid, which drivers are still looking for their first win of the season to lock in? 

Kyle Busch

Busch had three wins in the first 13 races last year. Busch has four Cup podium finishes but has only won on the Xfinity and truck tours in 2017. Busch is fourth in the standings. He has three stage wins and has won at all the remaining races leading up to the playoffs — except Pocono Raceway. But after winning the pole for the Pocono 400 and leading Happy Hour, maybe Sunday will be the day that Busch finally breaks through. 

Kevin Harvick

Harvick has been solid all season and is currently third in the standings. His three poles are the most he’s posted this early in a season — and more poles than he had each of the last two years. But Harvick has yet to convert his stellar qualifying into a race victory (although he has three stage wins). Could Pocono be the track where Harvick checks off the win column? Perhaps, but it’s one of four Cup tracks where he’s still winless.

Denny Hamlin

Pocono has been Hamlin’s playground in the past. He won his first Cup race from the pole on the 2.5-mile track in June then matched his feat in July. He leads the Cup series with four wins at Pocono — although Kyle Larson’s average finish of 8.8 tops the tour. Kurt Busch, the defending race winner, has a slightly better than driver rating (105.7) than Hamlin’s 105.6. Hamlin is ninth in Cup standings with just two top-five finishes. 

Matt Kenseth

Kenseth is hanging on to the top 12, having advanced after Ryan Blaney’s mechanical woes the last two weeks. His start of the season was marred by three wrecks in the first-five races. Although he won the pole at Richmond and led a season-high 164 laps, Kenseth settled for a 23rd-place finish. He has just three top-five finishes in 2017. Of the remaining 13 races before the playoff cut-off, Kenseth has won at all but three — Sonoma, Indianapolis an Watkins Glen. Kenseth’s first career and only Pocono win came in July 2015 in his 32nd start. He rolls off third on Sunday.

Joey Logano

Unlike the afore mentioned drivers, Logano did not win in the first 13 races in 2016. And unlike the other drivers mentioned, Logano has won in 2017. However, with an encumbered win for failing post-race inspection, the victory does not guarantee Logano an automatic playoff berth. Since Logano’s Richmond win, he has wrecked out of races twice and dropped from fifth in the standings to 11th. His average finish in the last four races is 28.75. Logano has won at nine of the remaining 13 tracks before the playoffs start at Chicagoland. He’s won this race from the pole at Pocono in 2012. He’s led 182 laps in the last five Pocono races. He’ll start ninth on Sunday.