Five drivers to watch at Pocono

Here’s who you should keep an eye on this weekend with the Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After back-to-back runner-up finishes at Texas and Bristol in April, Earnhardt has failed to post a top 10 in the last five races. But he’s been stout in recent years at Pocono where’s he collected two wins, five top fives, and eight top 10s since 2011 (10 races). The “Tricky Triangle” is a good place for him and the No. 88 team to get things together.

Martin Truex Jr.

The Coca-Cola 600 winner heads to Pocono to defend his win last spring. He threatened to sweep when the series returned to Pocono later in August, but was one of several front-runners that ran out of fuel in the closing laps (he wound up 19th). Considering how fast he and his Joe Gibbs Racing “partners” have been everywhere, expect Truex to contend this weekend at one of NASCAR’s big horsepower tracks.

Kyle Larson

Pocono is another place where Larson is steady. He’s posted a 9.0 average finish in his first four starts, including finishes of eighth and 12th in the 2015 races. If his recent surge in performance continues, he can contend again for his potential first career Sprint Cup win — or at least a strong finish to cut into his playoff deficit (-38 points behind 16th place).

Jimmie Johnson

Johnson has had a solid record of late at Pocono. Since 2011, he’s posted a 9.4 average finish (including a win in Spring 2013) there, while also leading the series in laps led (221). He’s also gained the second-most points among active drivers at Pocono during that span (356), trailing only Dale Earnhardt Jr. (371)

Kevin Harvick

Before his engine failed early last August, Harvick had finished runner-up in the previous two Pocono races. The 2.5-mile track is one of four on the current Cup schedule where he’s yet to win (the others being Texas, Kentucky, and Sonoma). But in the midst of another stellar season, he can definitely check this one off the list on Sunday.

Fog, rain limit number of cars on track in first Sprint Cup practice at Pocono

Fog and then light rain impacted Friday’s lone Sprint Cup practice session at Pocono Raceway.

Twenty-eight of 40 cars took to the track before rain shortened the session. That means if Sprint Cup qualifying later today also is impacted by weather, the starting field would not be set by practice speeds.

The first of two scheduled Xfinity Series practice sessions also was impacted by rain and did not start as scheduled at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Carl Edwards was the fastest of the drivers who practiced with a speed of 179.802 mph. Kevin Harvick was second fastest (178.827 mph), followed by Kurt Busch (178.649), Paul Menard (178.250) and Kyle Busch (178.193).

Track dryers are on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, attempting to dry the racing surface.

Additional rain is in the forecast for today, which could play havoc with the second scheduled Xfinity Series practice (3 – 3:55 p.m. ET), as well as Sprint Cup qualifying, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET.

Here’s how the abbreviated first practice session played out:

Veteran NASCAR crew chief Frankie Kerr inducted into Sprint Car Hall of Fame

Veteran NASCAR crew chief and four-time sprint car championship driver Frankie Kerr will be inducted this weekend into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.

Kerr, who won Sprint Car Series championships as a driver in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997, is part of the Hall’s 27th induction class.

Kerr currently serves as crew chief for the No. 44 TriStar Motorsports Zachry Toyota of J.J. Yeley.

Due to his induction, Kerr will not be in attendance for Saturday’s first-ever Xfinity race at Pocono Raceway, the Pocono Green 250.

No. 44 team car chief Bryan Smith and engineer Jeff Kirkendall will serve as Kerr’s replacements.

“We are fortunate to have Frankie at TriStar”, says Mark Smith, owner of TriStar Motorsports. “His knowledge and experience as a driver and Crew Chief are very valuable to our team.

“We congratulate him on this honor and are proud his accomplishments are being recognized.”

Jones boys: Erik and Brandon Jones fastest in 2nd Pocono Xfinity practice

Three of the top five fastest drivers in Thursday’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series practice session at Pocono Raceway were from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable.

rik Jones was fastest at 182.914 mph, while teammate Kyle Busch was third-fastest (171.138) and Daniel Suarez was fifth-fastest (169.792).

Sandwiched in between were Brandon Jones, who was second fastest (171.298) and Ty Dillon was fourth fastest (169.885).

There will be two more practice sessions on Friday. This is the first time the Xfinity Series has ever raced at Pocono.

Here’s how Thursday’s second practice played out:

NASCAR America: What are realistic expectations for Martin Truex Jr., JGR this summer?

On Thursday’s NASCAR America, we discussed how Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing enter the summer in a position to dominate the competition. But there are plenty of other teams who will be gunning for them.

NASCAR video: Martin Truex Jr., Sherry Pollex discuss what winning Coke 600 means

Martin Truex Jr. and Sherry Pollex look back on Martin’s dominating win in last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 and explain what it means to them after being so close and overcoming so much recently.

Tony Stewart’s crew chief on probation for violation found in prerace

Mike Bugarewicz, the crew chief on the No. 14 of Tony Stewart, has been placed on probation by NASCAR through the end of 2016 following an illegal body modification found during the Coca-Cola 600. The violation is a P2 level penalty.

Stewart was forced to start at the rear of the field Sunday when his Chevrolet was found to have an illegal body design and surface conformance found in prerace inspection.

Bugarewicz is in his first season as crew chief on the No.14 and has been with Stewart for five races following his return from a fractured back. Bugarewicz took over the No. 14 team after serving as the race engineer on Kevin Harvick‘s car.

A P2 penalty could include a 10-point penalty, so Stewart’s team caught a mini-break the punishment wasn’t more severe. The three-time series champion is trying to climb into the top 30 in points before the end of the 26-race regular season so that he would be eligible for the playoffs with a win.

According to the NASCAR rulebook, a minimum P2 penalty must include one or more of the following:

–Loss of 10 Championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship Race or not.

–$10,000 to $25,000 fine, depending on the specific infraction.

–Suspension for the crew chief, and/or any other team members, as determined by NASCAR, for one or more Races.

–Probation through the end of the calendar year for the crew chief, or for a 6-month period following the issuance of the Penalty Notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons.