NASCAR 2015 Episode 14 Recap: Pocono

NASCAR 2015 Episode 14 Recap: Pocono

What went down: Pocono's race featured all of the same players that have been dominating the last handful of races or so; Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and Martin Truex Jr.

The trend that kept repeating would be such: Truex and Harvick would lead the majority of laps all day long, only to have Truex slip up somewhere and lose his chance at the win. Then Harvick would settle for a second place finish and Johnson would swoop in for the win. But it appears that trend was finally reversed this weekend, in one way at least.

This time, Truex again dominated the race, along with Harvick, but nothing could derail Truex from running away with the win. To put into perspective how good Truex and Harvick's cars were, Jimmie Johnson finished in third place, 12 frickin' seconds behind the two.

So even when cautions kept flying at the end of the race, Truex could not be touched, and ran away with the win. Though it was his third career victory, the congratulations he received from numerous competitors after the race made this a popular victory, perhaps the most in quite a long time.

Truex has endured a lot in the last two years. After the Michael Waltrip Racing scandal, Truex's sponsor NAPA left, forcing him to leave MWR and land with Furniture Row Racing, a team that had showed speed, but only had one win ever.

Truex's 2014 season was pretty bad at Furniture Row, bad enough that he only led ONE lap all year. And worst of all, his long time girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, was diagnosed with cancer late in the season. 

Well, Truex has rebounded in 2015 in style, just crushing the competition, already leading close to 500 laps. Now that he has that breakthrough win of the season, many more could be on the way.

What it means for Truex Jr.: This is Truex's third career victory, his first since 2013, and his first at Pocono. Truex is now in the Chase for the third time in his career. As for his team, Furniture Row Racing, this is their second win as a team, and first since Darlington in 2011.

What it means for everyone else: Harvick finished in the top-2 again, the 10th time in 14 races.

Jimmie Johnson finished in the top-5 again, with a third place finish.

Kyle Larson scored his second straight top-10, finishing 8th.

And Kyle Busch scored his first top-10 of the season, finishing 9th.

What’s next: The series heads to the blazing fast Michigan International Speedway. Look for Truex, Johnson, and Harvick to be favorites once again.