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Who is hot, who is not heading to Pocono

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Denny Hamlin is currently 12th in the NASCAR playoff standings, but a recent run of poor performances has put his playoff position in jeopardy.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway (2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN) and here is a look at drivers who are hot and are not going into the 21st race of the season:

Who is Hot

Kevin Harvick

• Won at New Hampshire (7th in Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2, 12 laps led)

• Won 6 of last 19 races

• Led 1,000+ laps in single season for 4th time in career

• Finished in Top 5 in 6 of last 7 races

• In 20 races in 2018, 16 finishes of 7th or better (including 6 wins) & 4 finishes of 19th or worse

• Finished in the Top 5 in 20 of last 25 races, dating back to last season

• Finished 4th or better in 4 straight Pocono races (2 runner-up finishes)

• Finished 4th or better in 6 of last 8 Pocono races (4 runner-up finishes)

Aric Almirola

• Finished 3rd at New Hampshire (10th in Stage 1, 5th in Stage 2, 42 laps led)

• 8th or better in three of the last five races

• 9 Top 10s in 2018 is career best

• Led more laps in 2018 (113) than previous 5 seasons combined (40) and most in single season

• Finished 7th at Pocono in June, his first top-10 at the track and only finish better than 18th

Ryan Blaney

• Finished 7th at New Hampshire (5th in Stage 1, 9th in Stage 2)

• Finished 7th or better in last 2 races

• Last 10 races: 8th or better in 5 races, 18th or worse in 5 races

• Won 4 stages in 18 races in 2018, which is 1 more than he had all of 2017

• Led 464 laps in 2018, more than he led from 2014-2017 combined (332)

• 5 career starts at Pocono: 3 Top 10s (including win in 2017), 2 finishes of 11th or worse

• All three Pocono top 10s came in the first race in the season

Kyle Busch

• Finished 2nd at New Hampshire (6th in Stage 1, 6th in Stage 2, 36 laps led); leading with 7 to go, #4 moved #18 in turn 1 to take lead and win

• Finished in Top 5 in 7 of last 8 races

• Finished in the Top 10 in 8 of last 9 races

• Finished in the Top 5 in 14 of 20 races this season

• Finished 9th or better in 4 straight Pocono races, including win in July 2017

Kurt Busch

• Finished 8th at New Hampshire (4th in Stage 1, 2nd in Stage 2, 94 laps led)

• Last 11 races: 8th or better in 8 races, 17th or worse in 3 races

• Finished 13th or worse in last two Pocono races

• Finished in Top 10 in 11 of last 17 Pocono starts

Martin Truex Jr.

• Finished 4th at New Hampshire (1st in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2, 83 laps led)

• Won 3 of last 7 races

• Finished 4th or better in 5 straight races

• Finished in the Top 5 in 9 of last 10 races

• Finished 6th or better in 3 straight Pocono races, including win in June

• Won two of the last seven Pocono races

Who is Not Hot

Jamie McMurray

• Finished 18th at New Hampshire (22nd in Stage 1, 23rd in Stage 2)

• Finished 12th or worse in 5 straight races

• Finished 15th or worse in 16 of 20 races this season

• Finished 15th or worse in 6 straight Pocono races

Austin Dillon

• Finished 21st at New Hampshire (24th in Stage 1, 14th in Stage 2)

• Finished 12th or worse in 14 of last 15 races

• Finished outside the top-10 in 17 of 20 races in 2018

• Hasn’t finished better than 12th in 9 career Pocono starts

Matt Kenseth

• Finished 15th at New Hampshire (19th in Stage 1, 21st in Stage 2)

• Finished 13th or worse in 6 starts in 2018

• Finished 13th at Pocono in June (3rd race w/ Roush Fenway Racing in 2018)

• Finished in Top 10 in 5 of last 7 Pocono races

Denny Hamlin

• Finished 13th at New Hampshire (16th in Stage 1, 12th in Stage 2)

• Finished 13th or worse in 3 straight races

• Finished 12th or worse in 5 of last 7 races

• Finished 12th or worse in 4 of last 6 Pocono races

Clint Bowyer

• Finished 35th at New Hampshire (8th in Stage 1, 7th in Stage 2); DNF – penalized for pitting outside box on lap 224; hit the turn 3/4 wall on lap 256 after losing a lap for pitting outside box

• Finished 12th or worse in 3 straight races

• Led 331 laps in 2018, more than he had in the previous 4 seasons combined (145)

• Finished 17th or worse in 5 of last 7 Pocono races

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

• Finished 30th at New Hampshire (10th in Stage 1, 13th in Stage 2, 11 laps led); hit turn 4 wall on lap 225 while coming to pit (no caution)

• Finished outside the top-10 in 9 of last 10 races

• Finished 14th or worse in 16 of 20 races in 2018

• Never finished better than 11th in 11 career Pocono starts

Daniel Suárez

• Finished 22nd at New Hampshire (25th in Stage 1, 19th in Stage 2)

• Finished 11th or worse in the last 9 races

• 3 career Pocono starts: 7th in July 2017, 15th or worse in the other 2

William Byron

• Finished 14th at New Hampshire (14th in Stage 1, 20th in Stage 2)

13 straight finishes of 12th or worse

• Finished 12th or worse in 19 of 20 races this season

Bubba Wallace

• Finished 24th at New Hampshire (26th in Stage 1, 26th in Stage 2)

• Finished 14th or worse in 13 straight races

• Finished 20th or worse in 13 of 20 races in 2018

• Finished 26th (June 2017) and 38th (June 2018) in 2 career Pocono starts