NASCAR: 5 things we learned from the 2018 Gander Outdoors 400

Another NASCAR Cup Series race is in the books. What did we learn from the 2018 Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway this past Sunday?

The 21st race of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is in the books. Kyle Busch took the checkered flag for the sixth time so far this season. What five things did we learn from the Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway this past Sunday?

1 – Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers have turned a corner

After Chase Elliott scored a stage two win, it felt like he’d carry the rest of the underachieving Hendrick Motorsports drivers once again. But he was bested in the end by teammate Alex Bowman, who placed a career-high third, four positions ahead of Elliott.

But it wasn’t just those two strong finishers for the team. William Byron led a few laps near the beginning of stage three and Jimmie Johnson was hovering around 10th place for much of the finish of the race. Byron placed a career-high sixth.

2 – Joe Gibbs Racing’s drivers, too?

Joe Gibbs Racing have seen some great performances out of Kyle Busch and Erik Jones, the drivers of their #18 Toyota and #20 Toyota this season, but Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin have struggled in their #19 Toyota and #11 Toyota. However, all four of the team’s drivers finished in the top 10 on Sunday.

That certainly wasn’t the case for the team in the June race. Only Busch was able to crack the top 23, while the other drivers struggled immensely. Maybe the team just learned something new about Pocono Raceway, or maybe this is a sign of better things to come for them.

3 – Kyle Busch is elite — no debate

Everyone may hate Kyle Busch, as the saying goes, but few can match him on the track. He really showed off at Pocono Raceway, lingering in the top five all day but turning it on in the final stretch of laps.

Face it: he makes everything look easy. He makes winning look easy. His crew make pit stops look easy. He spun his tires some on the restart, and it still looked easy for him to maintain the first position.

4 – Brake failure is scary

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With the race winding down, a caution flag was drawn when Darrell Wallace Jr. smacked into SAFER barrier in turn one. Headed into the corner with a lot of speed, he lost his brakes, slid through the infield grass and was able to maneuver his car so that the tail end hit the wall rather than the hood.

Still, the crash was a reminder of just how dangerous a part failure can be at nearly 200 miles per hour. Thankfully, the cars today are designed to keep drivers more safe during heavy impact, but it’s a scary sight nonetheless.

The crash was also reminiscent a similar crash that happened to Jimmie Johnson at Pocono Raceway last year when he lost his brakes heading into the same turn, so it’s something to keep an eye on in the coming years at the track.

5 – Matt DiBenedetto cares as much as anyone

After the race, Matt DiBenedetto approached Aric Almirola and exchanged some heated words about what happened during the race. He also gave Almirola a little nudge with his car on the track to show his displeasure.

It’s not normal for fans to see drivers usually near the tail end of the field fed up with drivers near the front, but it showed that racing is still racing for every driver on the track. You may be able to fly by somebody on the track, but you better make sure to do it the right way, or else guys such as DiBenedetto will make sure you hear about it.