CUP: Hot Or Not?

Sprint Cup

CUP: Hot Or Not?

Just five races remain in NASCAR’s regular season...

Tom Jensen | Posted August 02, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Greg Biffle grabs the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sunday’s marathon Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway seemed to take forever, thanks to a couple of red-flag periods for rain and a big crash.

And like every race, there will some clear-cut winners and losers on the tricky triangle in a race that may ultimately have major implications on the championship hunt.

So who’s hot and who’s not after Pocono?

HOT

1. ROUSH FENWAY RACING — It wasn’t just that Greg Biffle finally won the first race of the season for RFR. That was huge, no doubt. But after struggling all year long, the combination of revised front suspension and the new FR9 engine has resulted in four top-three finishes for the team in the past three races. Finally, after more than a year as also-rans, RFR may be legitimate title contenders. And Jack Roush has a reason to smile as he recovers from his injuries.

2. KEVIN HARVICK — Fourth place at Pocono was “Happy” Harvick’s fifth top-five finish in six races. Everyone else in the Sprint Cup field, it seems, has had his ups and downs, but Harvick has been steady-as-she-goes all season long. What’s most impressive this year is that he finishes well even at his bad tracks, which should have his foes worried.

3. TONY STEWART — Five top-five finishes in the last eight races certainly is a good omen for Stewart’s chances in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He is having a typical Stewart season, starting off slow but then catching fire as the weather heats up and tracks get good and greasy.

4. JEFF GORDON — It would be easy to lump Gordon in the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” category, as another potential victory slid through his fingers Sunday at Pocono. But he made it from 11th to sixth in the final 20 laps, turning in another solid finish, the sixth time in his last seven races that he’s ended the race sixth or better.

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5. CARL EDWARDS — Don’t look now, but Edwards has finished seventh or better in each of the last four races, including a runner-up run at Chicagoland Speedway and a third place at Pocono. Could it be he’s about to win for the first time in 2008, as Biffle did Sunday at Pocono?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

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