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The dual-race weekends for the Cup Series at Pocono are a thing of the past. Pocono Raceway is set to host its only Cup race of the season this Sunday with the M&Ms Fan Appreciation 400. Things could not be tighter when it comes to who’s a favorite at the track known as the Tricky Triangle. Kyle Busch comes in as the lone favorite at +700 but plenty of drivers are packed together on the odds lists.
Busch was the winner of the last Cup race at Pocono during the dual weekend last season. He started 19th but moved up quickly and led 30 laps on his way to taking the checkered flag. That was the Sunday race, during the Saturday Cup race of the two-event weekend he finished second!
As for the other favorites? Take your pick! Oddsmakers seem to see the race at Pocono as almost being a tossup. There’s not much daylight between the Busch and the next several drivers.
Here are the favorite drivers to win the M&Ms Fan Appreciation 400 outright:
Kyle Busch +700
Kyle Larson +800
Denny Hamlin +800
Chase Elliott +800
Of the above drivers, both Busch and Denny Hamlin have won races at Pocono Raceway in the Cup Series. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have not. However, both Larson and Elliott have won at the track in other series. Larson won in an Xfinity Series race at Pocono in 2016 while both drivers have scored wins here in the ARCA Series.
2022 M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 Preview
Date: Sunday, July 24, 2022, 3:00 pm EST
Track: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA
Type: Triangle-Oval, 2.5 miles, 3 turns
Race Distance: 400 miles, 160 laps
Defending Track Winner: Kyle Busch
TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM
Pocono Raceway is called the “Tricky Triangle” by race fans. Despite having only three turns, it has proven to be one of the tougher tracks to set up a car for. That’s because none of the turns are the same. Each has a different degree of banking and entry and exit designs. A car may race well in turn’s three and four but not in turn one… or chose any combination of that statement.
One thing has proven to be true, the drivers that win there tend to be good on Superspeedways such as Talladega and Daytona. This is the first time the NextGen cars take to the track so it will be interesting to see how teams adapt. Hopefully, the cars will handle as well as they did those other two tracks on Sunday.
2022 M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 Predictions
Kyle Busch +700
Kyle Busch has won this season and has earned enough points to lock himself into the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. He’s also the defending track winner at Pocono with his win at the track last season. That gives Busch one of the best rankings at the tracks according to NASCAR stats. In his last ten visits to the track, he has won four times and logged nine finishes inside the top ten. Busch won the last Pocono race that was on Sunday, and he came in second place the day before on Saturday during the duel-race weekend.
Kevin Harvick +1000
This may be the last time I lean towards Kevin Harvick this season. Harvick has not won in two years following several seasons where he was one of the most dominant drivers in NASCAR. Regardless of not winning, he has raced well several times this year and he’s the stat leader at Pocono according to NASCAR stats. In his last ten races at the track, he has logged a win and had nine top ten finishes and seven of 5th or better. The stat that puts him over Busch is that he has an average finish of 5th or better in his last ten Pocono races.
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. +3300
Bubba Wallace has raced at Pocono nine times in the Cup Series, and he’s finished in the top ten a few times with one race inside the top five. The difference this season is that Wallace is now settled into his new ride and piloting quality equipment. Bubba is a great superspeedway driver, and his resume includes a Cup Series win at Talladega.
Others: Chase Elliott (+800) is locked into the playoffs, but Pocono is not his best track. In his last ten trips to the venue, he has only finished inside the top five twice. Alex Bowman (+2000) may be overlooked this weekend. Bowman has put together a good season this year that includes a win. He’s also won at Pocono. His last three races at the track have resulted in finishes of 9th, 1st, and 7th.
2022 M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 Betting Lines
Kyle Busch +700
Kyle Larson +800
Denny Hamlin +800
Chase Elliott +800
Ryan Blaney +1000
Ross Chastain +1000
Martin Truex Jr +1000
Kevin Harvick +1000
William Byron +1200
Joey Logano +1400
Christopher Bell +1400
Kurt Busch +2000
Alex Bowman +2000
Tyler Reddick +2500
Daniel Suarez +3000
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. +3300
Chase Briscoe +3300
Aric Almirola +3300
Brad Keselowski +4000
Austin Cindric +5000
Erik Jones +8000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +10000
Austin Dillon +10000
Chris Buescher +15000
Michael McDowell +25000
Cole Custer +25000
Noah Gragson +35000
Justin Haley +50000
Harrison Burton +50000
Corey Lajoie +50000
Todd Gilliland +100000
Josh Bilicki +100000
J.J. Yeley +100000
Cody Ware +100000
BJ McLeod +100000
Ty Dillon +100000
