HighPoint.com 400 Picks, Odds & Predictions 7/23/2023

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond, PA

The hot summer months of racing begin now that the New Hampshire event is in the books. NASCAR will be visiting the Pocono Raceway for the first time this season and it is a unique track that fans will have the pleasure of watching this race on. This track is located in the mountains of Pennsylvania and is unlike any of the other tracks you've seen this season because of its unique style and shape. It is a three-turn oval that has been said to race like a road course. There are three very unique corners to contend with and very long straight-aways and this is the main reason that it feels like a road course. Because the turns are all so different, crew chiefs have to make the cars as comfortable as possible to be able to handle all three. In most cases, this means optimizing the vehicle for two out of the three turns. The factors that we just spoke about make this more like a road course than an oval.

At this point in the season, 20 of the 26 races that will decide the Playoff field have been raced. This track will be a good one to head in to the final stretch of races. It is the first and only time they'll be racing in Pocono this season which is a change from prior to COVID. This race is so unique, you can really only look at prior races in Long Pond to help you to determine who might win the race. The favorites in this race have all raced well here in the past so we're looking at drivers like Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch to name a few. That said, it should be a fun race for the fans.

Crayon 301 Recap

In his last 29 starts in New Hampshire, Martin Truex Jr. has led more than 900 laps in total with no trophies to show for it. With that, the streak ended and Truex dominated this rain delayed race leading 254 of the 301 total laps. It was his third win of the season and cemented him at the top of the NASCAR Playoff standings. He will have his shot at the championship and by the way Truex has been racing, he'll have a pretty good shot at is.

He ended up taking the checkered flag by a time of 0.394 seconds over Joey Logano.

NASCAR Playoff Standings

The win for Martin Truex Jr boosted him into the second spot in the standings with three wins and 667 points for the season. In first place is William Byron with four wins and 650 points. Kyle Busch is in third as we speak with 593 points while Kyle Larson (574 points and two wins) and Christopher Bell (605 points and one win)round out the top five. As we get closer to the playoffs, there are five spots left for a driver to get a win and put himself in a position to win the Cup.

HighPoint.com 400 Odds

Martin Truex Jr. - +550
Kyle Busch - +550
Denny Hamlin - +550
Kyle Larson - +750
William Byron - +900
Ryan Blaney - +1,100
Ross Chastain - +1,200
Chase Elliott - +1,200
Tyler Reddick - +1,400
Christopher Bell - +1,400
Kevin Harvick - +1,600
Joey Logano - +1,600
Daniel Suarez - +2,800
Bubba Wallace - +2,800
Ty Gibbs - +3,500
Brad Keselowski - +3,500
Alex Bowman - +3,500
Chris Buescher - +6,000
Austin Dillon - +9,000
A.J. Allmendinger - +9,000

Martin Truex Jr is hot and it's hard to pick against him at this point. He's won or finished second in three of the last five races. Truex has raced well at Pocono with two wins and 14 top-10 finishes. Look for him to perform well this weekend.

Josh's Pick: Take Martin Truex Jr. (+550)

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