{"id":27508,"date":"2019-07-26T17:10:24","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T22:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=27508"},"modified":"2019-07-29T21:16:35","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T02:16:35","slug":"nascar-friday-pocono-notebook-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/26\/nascar-friday-pocono-notebook-3\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Friday Pocono Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jimmie Johnson left scrambling for Playoff berth at Pocono<\/b><\/p>\n

For Jimmie Johnson, New Hampshire Motor Speedway was more than just a one-mile flat oval. Last Sunday, it was the highway to the danger zone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jimmie Johnson. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Broken belts and resulting power steering issues relegated the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion to a 30th-place finish in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. That result followed another 30th <\/sup>at Kentucky Speedway the week before.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the New Hampshire fiasco put Johnson in real jeopardy of missing a Cup series Playoff for the first time in his career. Johnson is the only driver to have qualified for postseason competition in every year NASCAR has used a Playoff format, starting in 2004.<\/p>\n

At New Hampshire, however, Johnson fell to 17th in the series standings, tied with Daniel Suarez and 17 points behind Clint Bowyer, who currently holds the final Playoff-eligible position. Remarkably, Johnson trails all three of his less-experienced Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the standings, with Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman already Playoff bound, thanks to race victories, and William Byron comfortably in the 12th spot.<\/p>\n

For Johnson, there\u2019s no need to mince words\u2014the situation is dire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an unfortunate turn the last couple of weeks,\u201d Johnson said ruefully during a conference call with reporters in advance of Sunday\u2019s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). \u201cI think, prior to those two weeks, we\u2019ve really upped our performance and have been bringing more competitive cars to the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to keep evolving in that space, from the 48 specifically and then, I think, as a whole for HMS.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a broad sense, Johnson and Hendrick have yet to optimize performance under the higher-downforce, lower-horsepower rules introduced into the Cup series this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some styles of tracks with the 550 (horsepower) rules package that suit us well and others that we need to work on. So we\u2019re working hard and had things rolling the right way for a while, but then two unfortunate weekends have set us back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned in this sport that you have to let things roll off your back. Monday, you dig in and learn your lessons from the weekend behind you, and you\u2019ve got to look forward, let stuff roll off your back, be fully committed and fully focused on the upcoming weekend. That\u2019s really the position we\u2019re in and bring on Pocono.\u201d<\/p>\n

To rejoin the Playoff battle, Johnson will need a better performance than the No. 48 Chevrolet team achieved in the June race at the Tricky Triangle, where he started eighth and finished 19th.<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR TRUCK POINTS LEADER GRANT ENFINGER<\/b><\/p>\n

Even though Grant Enfinger has seen his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series lead shrink from 54 to 34 points in the last two races, he\u2019s not about to change the approach that propelled him to the top of the standings.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Grant Enfinger. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The driver of the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford was 16th at Chicagoland on June 28, ending a streak of eight straight top 10s. At Kentucky on July 11 he was 24th. But those two results aren\u2019t likely to make Enfinger, who hasn\u2019t won yet this season, race more cautiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we race conservatively,\u201d Enfinger said on Friday at Pocono Raceway, site of Saturday\u2019s Gander RV 150 (1 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). \u201cWe really haven\u2019t all year. But I don\u2019t think we do anything differently, to be honest with you. We kind of control our own destiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a little bit of a points lead\u2014not a huge one\u2014but, really, at the end of the day, we\u2019ve just got to keep doing what we\u2019re doing, running to the limit of the truck and getting all we can get. Everybody on this No. 98 ThorSport Racing team has done a pretty good job of that all year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of hiccups the last couple of weeks, but nothing to really change our direction or anything like that. At this point, it\u2019s business as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another reason for Enfinger to race for wins rather than try to protect his series lead. With three races left in the regular season, it\u2019s a remote possibility that three different new winners behind him in the standings could lock Enfinger out of the Playoffs.<\/p>\n

A victory would be the definitive antidote for that nightmare scenario.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Todd Gilliland, driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Gander RV 150 at Pocono Raceway on July 26, 2019 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

TODD GILLILAND HAS THREE TRUCK RACES TO GET ONE CRUCIAL VICTORY<\/b><\/p>\n

The math isn\u2019t adding up for Todd Gilliland, but a victory in one of the next three races could transform the equation dramatically.<\/p>\n

The driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota is eighth in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series standings, but five other competitors, including two behind him (Tyler Ankrum and Ross Chastain) already have locked up Playoff spots with victories.<\/p>\n

Given that Gilliland is 150 points out of first place and 100 behind Matt Crafton (currently in the last Playoff-eligible position on points), his only realistic path to the postseason lies in winning a race.<\/p>\n

To do that, Gilliland will have to translate early speed into a checkered flag. He has three chances\u2014in Saturday\u2019s Gander RV 150 at Pocono Raceway (1 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), or in subsequent races at Eldora and Michigan.<\/p>\n

Last year, Gilliland qualified second in consecutive races at those three tracks, but his best finish among the three was fifth at Michigan. But that doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t think he can win before the end of the regular season\u2014even, perhaps, on dirt at Eldora.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Todd Gilliland, driver of the #4 JBL Toyota, practices for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Gander RV 150 at Pocono Raceway on July 26, 2019 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think Eldora even\u2014someone\u2019s got to win there, so it can be me,\u201d said Gilliland, who was second fastest behind KBM teammate Harrison Burton opening practice and quickest in Happy Hour. \u201cWe were fast at Michigan. We\u2019ve got a fast truck this weekend. It just doesn\u2019t drive real good.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working really hard, and, honestly, this weekend coming here\u2026 Kyle Busch Motorsports, I think I saw on Instagram, has won the last four races here. So we\u2019ve got a pretty good track record. We\u2019re still trying to be that guy who brings it home this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut with a bunch of young teammates, it makes it hard, because you don\u2019t really know what to go off of. We trust each other as much as we can. At the same time, we\u2019ve got to have our own feel for it and go forward with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teammates Burton and Christian Eckes are both 18 years old. Gilliland turned 19 in May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   Jimmie Johnson left scrambling for Playoff berth at Pocono For Jimmie Johnson, New Hampshire Motor Speedway was more than just a one-mile flat oval. Last Sunday, it was the highway to the danger zone. Broken belts and resulting power steering issues relegated the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":27510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[633,63,16,252,600],"class_list":["post-27508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-grant-enfinger","tag-jimmie-johnson","tag-nascar","tag-pocono-raceway","tag-todd-gilliland"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/NGOTS_PR2_Gilliland_OnTrack_072619.jpg?fit=4651%2C3096","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-79G","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27508"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27512,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27508\/revisions\/27512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}