Thanks to a fast No. 11 Toyota, a feel for fuel economy and a first-ever application of traction compound to the asphalt at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin rediscovered the magic at the “Tricky Triangle” that marked his spectacular debut in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2006.
Leading a 1-2-3 finish by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers—none of whom, surprisingly, was Kyle Busch—Hamlin passed teammate and race runner-up Erik Jones on Lap 144 and saved enough fuel to last through an overtime that carried the event three laps beyond its scheduled distance of 160 circuits.
Hamlin won for the fifth time at the 2.5-mile triangular track after a nine-year absence from Victory Lane. The victory was Hamlin’s third of the season and the 34th of his career.
After losing a last-lap battle to Kevin Harvick last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hamlin made what turned out to be the winning pass on the outside of turn 3, where had the PJ1 traction compound had been applied.
THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF THE GO FAST
Nobody selected The Deliverator, Denny Hamlin, as their man for Pocono this week. Therefore, this award goes back into the closet in preparation for the show next week at The Glen!
THE MOVERS AND THE SHAKERS
As was previously mentioned, nobody has the bragging rights of picking the race winner this week. However, Snoopy Dawn, Linda B. The Cookie Mom, as well as Bobby Blue Crush racked up a very respectable score of 48 points from Kevin Harvick’s 6th place finish.
Jim, aka Chiefy, added a very nifty 47 points to his second segment totals by way of Martin Truex, Jr’s third place finish.
Meanwhile, Carlton The Doorman is all smiles this evening as his young man, that Jones boy named Erik, delivered The Doorman 43 points for his second place finish.
Kathy The Church Forecloser had a really decent race day ads well. Although she did not select the race winner, The Forecloser, was riding shotgun with Sliced Bread for the entire race today. For that Joey Logano added 41 points to her second segment totals.
Rounding out the top five scorers this week is David The Mudslinging Throttle Jockey. The Mudslinger was hanging out with Rowdy at Pocono. KyBu (Kyle Busch) deposited 38 points into The Throttle Jockey’s segment bucket this week and David is thanking him all the way to the bank.
It is interesting that, with just three races left in this segment, we have had such wide spread movement this week! Sixteen out of the eighteen players exchanged addresses this week.
The single biggest mover this week is Jim, aka Chiefy, who climbed up five (5) spots to now sit in the 11th spot.
There is a quartet that moved four (4) positions when the checkered flag flew at Pocono. That quartet consists of Dan the Numbers Cruncher, Carlton the Doorman, Leon Your Most Humble Sheriff, and Jeremy The Coach. While The Doorman rocketed up four places to sit now in 9th place, The Numbers Dude, The Sheriff, and The Coach all had a really crappy day, dropping like a bad habit four places to reside in 8th, 13th, and 18th, respectively.
The duo of Bobby Blue Crush and Amber The Extremely Lucky Cheddar Head moved three (3) places when all the dust settled at the track. Blue Crush stepped up three places to own the 5th place on the scoring pylon. The Cheddar Head, however, was not so lucky, falling three places to sit in 15th place.
The twosome of Linda B. The Cookie Mom and Edie The Las Vegas Super Star moved two spots. The Cookie Mom moved up two places this week to rest in 4th place, while The Vegas Super Star gingerly slipped down to 12th on the leaderboard.
The remaining seven players, nearly one half of the entire fantasy league, moved either up one spot or down one spot this week.
STRAIGHT FROM THE CRAPPER
This week there are two players, Jeremy The Coach and Dan the Numbers Dude who will take great pleasure in sharing The Crappiest Pick of The Week Award! Both players were only able to muster up one (1) microscopic point this week from the early crash of William Clyde Elliott, Jr., aka Chase.
We finally have a new occupant in The Outhouse this week! It is none other than Jeremy The Coach. It seems that for the last couple of weeks The Coach has had some big runs on The Outhouse, but he was unable to pull off the pass! Well, The Coach finally pulled off the slide job, got the moving van lined up, and is putting his belongings in there as I write this article!
S-A-L-U-T-E!!!
Check out the results of the Gander Rv 400 at Pocono.
Next week the haulers will be heading out to the finger lakes region of upstate New York, in particular to Watkins Glen International.
I think that Lonna may be humming this tune to herself as she moves her belongings out of The Outhouse this week, she’s movin’out!
TIL NEXT TIME, PULL YOUR BELTS TIGHT AND LET’S GO RACIN’!