Pocono Raceway is a NASCAR track in Pennsylvania. It’s famous because the turns are set up in a unique way, so teams have to tune the car differently than at many other oval tracks.
“Jumped the start” refers to a driver leaving early before the official start signal. In NASCAR, that typically triggers a penalty such as being sent to the rear of the field, even if the driver later recovers and wins.
“Sent to the rear” means NASCAR penalized the driver by making them start last. It’s a big disadvantage because they have to work their way through the whole pack.
Term
unimproved adjustments
This phrase is about the team making changes to the car before the race, but the changes didn’t count as an improvement under NASCAR’s rules. Because of that, the driver got a penalty.
Christopher Bell is a Joe Gibbs Racing driver discussed here in the context of Pocono odds. The segment highlights his recent injury (a fractured wrist) and how that could affect his driving confidence and performance.
“X-Gen era” refers to NASCAR’s next-generation car era (the newer generation of Cup Series race cars). It changes aerodynamics, chassis/packaging, and how teams set up cars, so past results may not carry over cleanly.
A “fractured wrist” is a broken bone in the hand/wrist area, which can affect a driver’s ability to grip the wheel and handle steering inputs. In racing, even small limitations can change how confidently a driver can push the car through corners.
The “pit crew” is the team that services the car during pit stops—changing tires, refueling (where applicable), and making adjustments. Pit crew performance can swing race outcomes because pit stops cost time and track position.
Term
odds season
It’s basically a betting term for the time when people are actively placing wagers and the betting lines are being updated. The prices you see for who will win can change as teams do better or worse.
“Top three” means the driver finishes in the top 3 spots (first, second, or third). It’s usually easier than betting on a win, because the driver doesn’t have to be number one.
“Plus money” is a betting line that pays you profit if you win. It usually means the outcome is considered less likely than a favorite with negative odds.
“Qualifies” means the driver’s qualifying run that determines where they start the race. In this segment, the host thinks good qualifying usually lines up with a strong race finish.
The host is saying that if a driver looks fast during Saturday’s sessions, they’re more likely to do well in the race on Sunday. If they don’t look fast, the odds of a strong finish drop.
“Practices” are the test runs teams do before the race to see how fast the car is and how it behaves. The host is saying strong practice is a good clue for a top-10 finish.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to another episode of Through the Gears here for Frontstretch.com.
I am your guest host, Eric Schneck.
This week we are taking you through the great American getaway 400 at the Pocono Raceway.
Let's go ahead and dive on in. The NASCAR Cup Series once again is headed to the Pocono Raceway
for the great American getaway 400 on Sunday, June 14th. Last week's winner from Michigan,
the hottest driver on the circuit right now, I think we all can say Denny Hamlin
is leading the way according to Bet Ed GM at plus 260. That is quite low odds for an oval.
Why you may ask? Because Denny Hamlin is amazing at Pocono. In the last three races,
his average finish is 1.7. He has one victory and two second place finishes. And back in the 2022
race, he technically won that one, but was disqualified at the end of the race. Him and the
late Kyle Busch were disqualified at the end of that race. So he finished dead last in that race,
but that was also a win. So if you include 2022, Denny has two wins and two twos. Two second
place finishes at Pocono, which shows you and let me actually pull up that MGM here. I have
a sharing, but I can't see it because my screen's small. Let me go that here and go like this here.
Race winner. Yes. Denny Hamlin plus 260 to win. Now, need I remind you that the past two weekends
have been the Denny Hamlin show. At Nashville, he jumped the start like there was no tomorrow,
was sent to the rear and still won. Last weekend at Michigan, he was sent to the rear pre-race due
to unimproved adjustments and one as well. Two incredible performances by Hamlin coming through
the field at both tracks, not easy. You got to assume if everything stays clear for Hamlin,
this weekend at Pocono, he's by far in a way the clear choice to win this race. He has been on fire
lately. Pocono has been his playground for many years now. Anything can happen on any given Sunday,
but I think plus 260 is pretty good for how great Denny Hamlin here is at Pocono.
Not to mention we have some road course racing coming up here where we're going to get SVG
at minus odds to win. So plus 260 for someone of Hamlin's caliber at Pocono is okay to me.
Points leader Tyler Redick is the second best odds of it. MGM currently at plus 625 with Hamlin's
Joe Gibbs racing teammate Christopher Bell coming in with third best odds at 825. So it is Toyota
leading the way. The first Chevy is of course Kyle Larson who has yet to win at Pocono in the
X-Gen era. He is at plus 850 with Ryan Blaney coming in at plus 950. Ryan Blaney previous
winner here at Pocono. Last year's race winner Chase Briscoe is coming in at plus 1000 which I
think is wild. While the 2022 winner of the event Chase Elliott is also coming in at plus 1000. Now
and Denny Hamlin were both disqualified. So he is a previous winner of this race. He did
lead zero laps back in 2022 and he is coming in at plus 1000. Are those drivers worth flyers?
Absolutely. Redick we know what he can do all season. He's won what five races already plus 625.
I think that's good for his skill. Christopher Bell at plus 825 kind of scares me a little bit.
He is coming into Pocono with the fractured wrist. Now he was cleared to compete so Joe Gibbs
racing obviously must not be too concerned about it but still coming in with an injury like that.
We haven't seen how it affects his driving if had all yet. So plus 825 I'm probably going to pass
on that one for CBL. Larson we're still waiting for him to do Larson things. He blew a tire here
at Pocono. Lord I forget when. I believe literally on the last lap. So he we're still waiting for
him to do Larson things right. So plus 850 I'm probably not too in love with that either.
Ryan Blaney at plus 950. I'll take a flyer on that. His team, his pit crew really hurts him
but still top forward at plus 950 at a track he's won on. Yeah I'll take a flyer on that.
Chase Briscoe in a JGR car at plus 1000. Previous race winner. He dominated this race last year.
I think he led to the tune of like 70 laps. So plus 1000 great and Chase Elliott I'm probably
going to be off on at plus 1000. Not the not the biggest fan of that considering his victory here.
He won zero laps or led zero laps. Taking a look through the rest of the board here and
we're going to do this together because I really didn't dive through all these two wins odds here.
Ty Gibbs jumping out at plus 13. He is the lowest of the JGR drivers. He is now a NASCAR
series winner. So I am okay with that. He's still in top tier equipment obviously plus 1300.
And speaking of teammates, Reddick was what plus 625. Reddick's teammate, bubble Wallace,
plus 2200 worth of flyer. Also in that plus 22 range, Chris Buescher plus 2000. I think he is
also worth a flyer. We'll be talking about him a little bit later in a featured matchup.
Same as Kosin Horsovar. Speed all season, big track. You need all the horsepower. I would not
mind him at plus 1800. Other than that though for drivers to win. I don't really know if I love
anything else. Obviously we're not going to bet on Kody Ware, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon etc to win.
Yeah. I think the top end of the field obviously are our best bets to win this weekend.
Poconova really doesn't give us too many surprise winners. And since we are coming up to SVG minus
odds season, we should be happy that plus 260 for Hamlin is what we get. Looking at the top three
odds, the podium odds. Let's see if we have anything juicy here. Danny minus 170, Reddick plus 175.
So you're getting plus money right away starting with Reddick. Hamlin minus 170 for his average
finish being a 1.7. I don't love minus odds in NASCAR but it's hard to turn that away.
C-Bell at plus 240. I already mentioned him with the wrist. If I don't love him at plus 825 to
win, I probably don't love him at plus 240 for a top three. Larson Blaney etc. Ty Gibbs plus 350.
He is once again the lowest Gibbs car there. Chris Buscher plus 525. That's pretty decent.
Logano plus 900. Kazalowski plus 1,000. Let's see here. Eric Jones at plus 1,000. He has put some
impressive runs together recently. He is definitely on the upswing. Ryan Priest plus 1,500. That's
pretty juicy. See if anything else jumps out here. Shane Van Gisburg and Plurip plus 4,000.
Now he kind of came down to earth last weekend at Michigan, but he has been running progressively
well on ovals. This is his third or third trip to Pocono, I believe. So this isn't new to him
and three different corners for the New Zealander. So I don't probably love him for the top three,
but I'll probably jump in on him for a top five. Mike Mack, Ricky Stenhouse, Connor Zillich,
who's having the worst rookie season ever. He's a pass for me. Josh Berry, the lame duck. That's a
pass for me. Yeah. I think once we get down here for top three, we're really hoping for the best.
So I would probably end my top three bets with Ty Gibbs at plus 350. Hosts of Warren
Buescher at 500 and plus 525. Bubba, he's in the good equipment at plus 600. Same for Lugano
and Kozolowski. Let's go ahead and look at, let's see if we have anything juicy for top five.
Top five, we're starting to get like fairly far out here on the odds here.
Ty Gibbs plus 160. Hosts of Warren plus 225 for his speed, I think is good.
Buescher plus 240 for his speed. It's pretty good.
Eric Jones plus 500. He's been fast lately.
Ryan Priest. It's all the same people, really. SVG plus 1600 for top five. I bet his top 10
odds will be decent too. And let's go ahead and take a browse through the top 10.
Yeah, Denny Hamlin minus 600 for top 10. No.
Yeah. All these big dogs are not looking great for top 10 bets, obviously here.
Brad Kay plus 135. Okay. Joey Lugano plus 125. Okay.
Ryan Priest plus 2000. I like that one for a top 10. Absolutely.
And an RFK forward for sure. Suarez has been running fantastic lately for Spire plus 200 for
him. Yeah, that's good. SVG plus 350. Zane Smith. Look, if Zane Smith qualifies decent,
that's my key to unload for him. So if he qualifies somewhere in the top 15 or so,
jump on a top 10 Zane Smith bet because that means he has speed. If he qualifies poorly,
that's a tell for him that like that car doesn't have speed and he's not going to do great. I've
come to learn with Zane Smith that if he shows speed on Saturday, he brings that speed to Sunday.
And if he doesn't show speed on Saturday, he's not bringing any speed to Sunday. So if he qualifies
good on Saturday and practices good on Saturday, top 10 for Zane Smith, absolutely. SVG, am I
ever going to mention him plus 350? Ricky Stenhouse, I feel like has had some decent runs here. So
I probably wouldn't mind taking a flyer at him at plus 400. Riley Herbst running well lately
in 23XI equipment, 2311 equipment, however you prefer to say it, plus 700 for top 10.
Don't hate it. Todd Gilley, 500 for top 10. I don't hate that either.
Yeah, I'm not, again, other than that, I don't think we're going to find anybody else too too
juicy for top 10. We touched on Zane Smith, SVG, Paris, Gilley, et cetera. Yeah, Gilley would,
Gilley would probably be the last one here on this list I would consider for top 10. And really,
I would only consider him for top 10, kind of like Zane. If he practices good and qualifies
decent, I would unload him for top 10, but I don't think I would do without seeing them practice
first. Looking at the matchups here, we do have a couple matchups Friday morning, recording this
Friday morning. Last week, on last week's episode, there was group bets, and we don't have those this
week unfortunately, but we do have a few matchups we can look at. The first one is Denny Hamlin versus
Chase Elliott, and I'm staying away from this one. It's Denny minus 220 versus Chase Elliott at plus
160. Look, Denny has the the 1.7 average finish and has been a dog here at Pocono. And recently,
here, stretch of performance has been incredible versus the man who won this race via this
qualification and led no laps. So if Hamlin was somewhere in the minus 150, minus 160, I'd
probably jump all over that. But at minus 220, I don't love it for I'm assuming will be a smash
win for Hamlin. On the other hand, we have Buscher versus Legano. Chris Buscher at minus 135. I have
Buscher at 135 versus Legano at plus 100. Buscher's average finish at Pocono over the last three races
has been 11th. Well, Legano's average finish has been 18.7 over those same three races. Now,
is Legano a driver that can win any given Sunday with Team Penske? Absolutely. Has he been kind of
down lately? Absolutely. Give me Buscher at minus 135 versus Joey Legano. Ryan Blaney versus Chase
Briscoe the matchup of minus 115. This is a hard one for me personally, as you have both race winners
and both of them were dominant. However, in the battle of Blaney, who's minus 115 versus Briscoe,
who's 115, I will be siding with Chase Briscoe. Briscoe led over 70 laps in his race
victory here at Pocono. And I just can't fully trust Blaney's pit crew yet. So until they have
all of those and now granted, every team can run into trouble at on pit road. But it does seem like
it happens to Blaney a little bit more often than it does to any other team. So until that little
issue is solved, I will be siding with Chase Briscoe at minus 115. And last but most certainly not
least, we have that Jones boy, Eric Jones versus Alex Bowman, Eric Jones minus 155, Bowman 115.
Look, give me Eric Jones. He has had a surprising uptick in speed over these past few weeks.
It used to be Darlington, who was the place where Eric Jones came out to play, and now he's
becoming out to play everywhere. So Eric Jones has had it speaking recently, and Bowman the
showman just hasn't been the showman we have all been used to him for being. So I wish Jones was
a bit more towards the plus line, but still at minus 155, I will take a flyer on him.
So in the matchups this week on bet MGM as of Friday morning, I'm not sure if they're going
to be adding more. Danny Hamlin versus Chase Elliott. I am skipping because I'm assuming
that's going to be a smash win for Hamlin. I don't love minus 220. Buscher versus Legano. Give me
Buscher. Blaney versus Briscoe. Give me Briscoe. And that Jones boy, Jones versus Alex Bowman. Give
me Eric Jones. All right. I think that's literally it for bet MGM. Yes. So let me go ahead and touch
base on Speedway Collective. If you are not aware, Speedway Collective has partnered with
frontstretch.com and we are showing off and highlighting their fantasy game. And some weeks,
I forget to build my lineup here for Speedway Collective. So I'm going to build it this morning
on the show with everybody. And I'm keeping this for the weekend. You do have the ability to make
changes to this lineup up until green flag time, which is currently set for three o'clock on Sunday.
However, I'm going to stick with whatever we set here and go from there. If you are not familiar
with Speedway Collective, there are four classes of drivers. You can pick a starter,
you can pick a bench driver, and then you can swap between them if necessary.
Now, once the race goes green, you can't make swaps. So don't forget that. All right. In the
and you only have a limited amount of starts, you can use each driver. In the A class,
we have all the top end drivers. I'm just going to be cheap and simple. I'm going with the chalk
of Denny Hamlin. And Denny's car this weekend is also choice. It's the it's the like Minions
banana car. And there's like a fantastic Hamlin banana shirt floating around. I think it's going
to be released this weekend. Yeah, I'm going to have to need to purchase that because that's
pretty fantastic. Anyway, I want to go with the chalk of Denny Hamlin and Tyler Redick.
My thought is, do I want to go briscoe? You know what? I'm going to go briscoe. I feel like
everybody will probably pick Denny and Redick. This allows me to chance the pivot to briscoe
because briscoe has dominated here just last year and is in the same equipment Denny is in.
So while Denny deserves all of the love he's getting this weekend for Pocono,
don't sleep on the rest of JGR. Maybe see Bell because of the wrist, but briscoe and even dig
tie Gibbs, same equipment, rising tide, raids all ships. So I like them both. B class,
what do you got here? We have Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski,
Busher, Alicano, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs and Connor Zillich.
Friends, I feel like Connor Z should be in the D class at this point. Anyway, I think I'm going
to go ahead and continue with the theme. No, I'm going to go ahead and roll out that Busher boy,
Chris Busher as my main pick. And I'm going to go with Ty Gibbs as my bench pick. Busher and Gibbs
as my bench or Busher as my main pick for the B class Gibbs for my bench B class pick. C class,
we got Cindrick, Dinger, Barry, Hale, Jones, Priest, McDowell, a host of our Gisburg and well,
there's a couple there that stand out like sore thumbs both ways.
And you can see by my stats who I prefer to start. And I'm going to keep with that theme. Give me
Carson Hosevar from the C class. And then for the bench, give me Eric Jones. I'm a closet Eric
Jones fan. And I hope that speed continues up. So he makes the fantasy cut this weekend. And now
we look at the class, the best of the rest. Wait a minute. They got Austin Hill and C and Austin
Dillon and D. It's kind of whacked. Austin Dillon leading off the D class is Austin Dillon,
Cole Custer, John Hunter, Nima check, Ricky Stenhouse, Cody Ware, Casey Mears, and Daniel Dye.
Um, well, I think the standouts of this class would be Suarez, would be Herps, would be Zane,
probably it. So give me,
give me Suarez. I'm going to stick with the spire speed. And then give me,
and I just, and like I said, I'm going to keep this how I can tell. I said it on this show,
so we can all look back at laughing me next week. Do I want to pick Herps or Zane Smith
for my bench? Give me Herps. So my starting lineup for Sunday's Great American
Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway 4, Speedway Collective, Danny Hamlin, Christopher Buscher,
Carson Josevar, and me, amigo Daniel Suarez. My bench, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Eric Jones,
Riley Herps, Winner, Laps Led. I'm going to go with 67 No, that joke's old. I'm going to go
with 39. I'm going to go with 39. So anyway, that is all I have for this episode of Through the Gears.
Oh, I'm going to submit this roster, by the way. Submit roster. Bang.
So that way it has been submitted. So that's it for this week's episode of Through the Gears.
Thank you all for joining me as your guest host next week. We'll return back to normal with
Michael Bellafemi and the rest of the crew here at FrontStretch.com. So thank you once again
for joining and good luck with all of your bets this weekend.
About this episode
The hosts preview Pocono Raceway and walk through NASCAR betting odds and placement markets for the Great American Getaway 400. Denny Hamlin is framed as a standout based on recent form and Pocono success, including “In the last three races, his average finish is 1.7.” They also weigh injury risk for Christopher Bell (“fractured wrist”) and discuss value angles like top-10 bets and qualifying-based triggers for Zane Smith. The episode ends with lineup/roster guidance and a reminder to submit before green.
