Pocono Results - Jr Wins the race - Kiss and Shepard Crack the Top 7

Jr won, but nobody picked him.  Graziano extends his lead.  4th-9th places are shuffled... 2 new teams are in the top 7, 2 locked in Chasers fall out of the top 7.  Several teams are still running out of time... Let's get to it...  

TOP PICKS:

6th Place Jeff Gordon - Picked by Rasta.  Rasta was obviously going for the win with the Gordon pick, but it wasn't meant to be this week.  A nice points day, but he now needs to win 3 of 5.  I'm pulling for you!

7th Place Jamie McMurray - Picked by Kiss.  Kiss jumps up 3 spots and moves from 9th to 6th.  It will be close for sure, but a very nice week for Kiss!

9th Place Denny Hamlin.  Picked by Graziano and Shepard.  Graziano holds on to the top spot with yet another solid week.  Shepard continues his ascent to the top and continues to impress... now sitting in that 7th place qualifying spot.  However, with only a 10 point cushion between he and 8th... he'll have to keep it up over the next 5 races.

EH:

11th Place Kyle Larson.  Picked by Ideal, Skidmarks, Pursuit, Beef and Empty.  Ideal has another solid week and now has a 23 point cushion from 8th place.  Skid picks up a spot and stays in a great position to start the Chase.  Pursuit, Beef, and Empty keep their position and are looking to cruise into the Chase with their top drivers available... Pursuit is still in reach of 7th, so we'll see how he plays it over the next 5 races.

13th Place Kurt Busch.  Picked by Chonk, Piston, and Rowdy.  Chonk stays in 2nd drafting off of Graziano. Did he have some debris on his grill and just needed to slide in behind Graz to get it off, or will he just sit back and wait for the Green, White, Checkered?  Piston stays in 3rd and is now 33 points clear of 8th.  Rowdy is still chillin' at the back of the pack and waiting to pounce come Chase-time.

DOOTW:

23rd Place Brad Keselowski.  Picked by Penguin, Rusty and A-Game.  Really Keselowski???  Do you think Penguin, Rusty and A-Game needed you to finish 23rd???  Okay, so it wasn't his fault, but Keselowski never even teased us into thinking he could win this race... not what we needed.  Rusty still needs that last win; while Penguin and A-Game need to win 2 of the last 5.  Get out of the oven boys and get onto Victory Lane!!!

BSOTW:

36th Place Tony Stewart.  Picked by Dust and Asleep.  Tony ended up on top of another race car, so that's not good.  These guys fall out of the top 7 this week, but are locked in.  Both teams are within striking distance of the top 7, so it will be fun to watch their approach as we near the Chase.

Other Ramblings:

5 Races to go before the Chase; just in case you still aren't paying attention.

Watkins Glen on Sunday.

We still have 9 teams locked into the Chase and now 4 teams with less than 3 wins occupy a top 7 qualifying spot.  Things to keep an eye on over the next 6 races:

• Battle for 1st between Graziano and Chonk continues
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - It is spreading out a bit, but now 2 new teams (Kiss and Shepard) are in and 2 teams (Asleep and Dust) fall out
• Strategies for the 3+ win teams as we near the Chase
• Strategies for the 2 win teams in the top 7
• Strategies for the 1 win teams in the top 7
• Will the not-locked in teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 5 races are completed???

So here are the scenarios I have in my small brain right now for those of us not locked into the Chase:

• Graziano needs 5 solid points weeks or 2 more wins or both... 66 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW and a BSOTW  CHASE HEALTH
• Team Piston continues to perform at a high level.  They need 5 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal stays solid again this week but is now 23 points away from 8th.  He still needs to continue this run over the next 5 races or grab 2 more wins. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has another good week and is now in the top 7.  He still needs to continue the trend or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  Only 10 points clear of 8th (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin is still in a shitload of trouble.  46 points away from 7th (RED) and needs 2 more wins in the last 5 races (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is now 58 points away (RED) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (GREEN) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta and  will need to win 3 races of 5 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game will need 2 more wins in the last 5 races. CHASE HEALTH

Cheers!