The NASCAR Cup Series drivers will have an unusual schedule this weekend — although the change is one of the few for 2020 that was not the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At Pocono Raceway, the drivers will have a doubleheader, with the Pocono Organics 325 on Saturday and the Pocono 350 on Sunday. The drivers have been told to use the same car both days so long as their car is in working order at the end of Saturday’s race. This doubleheader comes five days after the race in Talladega (which had been postponed from Sunday to Monday), and these will make 11 races in 43 days since May 17, when the sport resumed at Darlington. We have the NASCAR betting odds for the drivers for this weekend as well as thoughts on the track and suggestions for your wagering cards.
NASCAR: 2020 Pocono Organics 325 Preview (June 27)
Driver Odds
- Kevin Harvick 9/2
- Kyle Busch 5/1
- Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr 7/1
- Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney 12/1
- Alex Bowman 16/1
- Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, William Byron 20/1
- Jimmie Johnson 25/1
- Clint Bowyer 60/1
- Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Darrell Wallace Jr, Matt Kenseth 100/1
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr 300/1
- Cole Custer, Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek 500/1
- Michael McDowell, Ty Dillon, Ryan Preece 2000/1
- Brennan Poole, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez 5000/1
- Timmy Hill, J.J. Yeley, Quin Houff, B.J. McLeod, Garrett Smithley, James Davison, Joey Gase, Josh Bilicki 10000/1
Pocono Raceway is known as the “Tricky Triangle” and feels like both an oval and a road course. The track runs 2 ½ miles and is all asphalt, with turns that are designed to match iconic turns at other tracks. The first turn, taken at 14 degrees, is designed to look like the Trenton Speedway. The second turn, called the “Tunnel Turn,” is designed to look like Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The last turn has the least banking and is designed to look like the Milwaukee Mile. That means three turns that are quite different, along with some lengthy straightaways. The drivers with the best pit crews are the ones who win because they make the quick adjustments necessary for a challenging, unusual course.
Kyle Busch has won three of the last five races at Pocono Raceway, along with another top-five finish, three stage wins and the most laps led in one of the races. All three of those wins have come since 2017, which means he may well have had an epiphany about the track.
Martin Truex Jr has a pair of wins here, in 2015 and 2018. In the second race in 2017 and 2019, he came in third. He had another stage win in 2018, when he won the first race of the year.
Denny Hamlin has five victories at Pocono Raceway — but just one since 2010. Since then, he has only cracked the top five four times. He did win here in the second race in 2019, and he has shown a rebirth in terms of speed in 2020.
Brad Keselowski has one career win at Pocono Raceway, but that was in 2011. He has had four top-five results in a row in the first race of the year, and five in the last six. In the second race, he had four top-five results in six races from 2012 until 2017.
Kevin Harvick has cracked the top five seven times at Pocono Raceway since 2014 and has led the most laps in a race twice, most recently in the second race in 2019. However, he is still looking for his first victory on the Tricky Triangle.
Joey Logano won here in 2012 and has four top-five finishes at Pocono Raceway overall.
Ryan Blaney won at Talladega on Monday and won the first race at Pocono Raceway in 2017. However, in eight races at the Tricky Triangle, that was the only time he has cracked the top five.
