The big three found a way to do it again.<\/p>\n
As they have in all but five of the 22 Monster Energy NASCAR<\/strong> Cup series races this season, one of Martin Truex Jr<\/strong>., Kevin Harvick<\/strong>, and Kyle Busch <\/strong>have crossed the finish line in first place. Busch just happened to be the one that did it on Sunday at the Gander Outdoors 400<\/strong> in Pocono.<\/p>\n Thanks to strong restarts on two late cautions, one of which was an overtime attempt, Busch easily pulled away from the field, showing off just how strong his car is. Daniel Suarez<\/strong>, who finished second, had no chance of catching the M&M\u2019s Toyota in what was his best chance to make the playoffs all season.<\/p>\n Instead, Busch moves up the record books. A day after becoming the record holder for most career truck series wins, Busch tied NASCAR legend Tony Stewart <\/strong>with his 49th<\/sup> cup series win. That\u2019s good enough to put him 13th in the books, and one win behind Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett for 11th place.<\/p>\n Though Busch\u2019s teammates had pleasant days as well. On the final restart of the day, Busch lined up on the front row next to teammate Suarez. Behind him was Erik Jones, who was P4 and in the outside lane. Denny Hamlin didn\u2019t lurk too far behind, either, and each of the JGR cars finished in the top 10.<\/p>\n Beside Jones in the second row was Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 Chase Elliott, <\/strong>and seemingly the rest of the HMS roster. Each of William Byron, Alex Bowman, <\/strong>and Jimmie Johnson <\/strong>were in the top 10 with two laps to go. If it wasn\u2019t for Johnson\u2019s misfortunes on the restart, the entire team would have finished in the top 10 as well.<\/p>\n Each car seemed to get stronger throughout the day during a season where the Chevrolets have lacked in speed, and Elliott was the class of the field for the struggling manufacturer. The No. 9 overtook the pole sitter in Suarez and also Brad Keselowski <\/strong>on his way to winning the first stage. The stage victory was Elliott\u2019s second in as many races, in what has been a critical stretch in trying to secure his spot in the playoffs.<\/p>\n With how dominant the big three have been this season, it looks like Elliott will have no issue with that. The current playoff grid features nine wild-card spots and even though Elliott is two physical spots above the cutoff, his 129-point separation resembles two races.<\/p>\n Even the final spot is nearly out of reach in terms of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/strong> being within striking distance. Though that could all change next week. The series heads to Watkins Glen International<\/strong>, and if that brings a surprise winner, that cutoff will move down a spot. With such a few number of different winners this season, the next five races promise to be exciting.<\/p>\n Playoff Grid MAIN PHOTO:<\/strong>Kyle Busch sweeps Pocono, JGR & Hendrick have all-around days<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Restart<\/h2>\n
Playoff Grid<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>Five races until the Playoffs<\/em>
\n<\/strong>1. Kyle Busch (6 wins, 35 playoff points)
\n2. Kevin Harvick (6 wins, 33)
\n3. Martin Truex Jr. (4 wins, 26)
\n4. Clint Bowyer (2 wins, 10)
\n5. Joey Logano (1 win, 7)
\n6. Austin Dillon (1 win, 5)
\n7. Erik Jones (1 win, 5)
\n8. Kurt Busch +237
\n9. Brad Keselowski +204
\n10. Kyle Larson +186
\n11. Denny Hamlin +178
\n12. Ryan Blaney +172
\n13. Aric Almirola +147
\n14. Chase Elliott +129
\n15. Jimmie Johnson +107
\n16. Alex Bowman +56
\nPlayoff Cutoff
\n<\/em>17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -56
\n18. Paul Menard -56
\n19. Ryan Newman -88
\n20. Daniel Suarez -96
\n21. William Byron -106
\n22. Jamie McMurray -117
\n23. A.J. Allmendinger -154
\n24. Chris Buescher -167
\n25. Bubba Wallace -173<\/p>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>