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Kyle Busch and his team have been top-notch in all facets of their racing so it's of little surprise the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is on top in the Sprint Cup standings, writes Johnny Benson of NBCSports.com.

Johnny Benson

Before Busch gets to Pocono he’ll run the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway and the Nationwide Series race on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. The red-hot Busch will be looking to make history as no driver has ever swept the races in NASCAR’s three national series in the same weekend – either at the same track or at different tracks.

It’s Busch who’s come the closest to pulling off such a feat. Last November at Phoenix International Speedway he won the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide races but finished eighth in the Cup event.

Working in Kyle Busch’s favor
Leading in points, Busch has had everything clicking this year. He’s been good across the board from how well he has driven to how fast his cars have been to how strong his pit stops have been. Everyone associated with the No. 18 Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing has been doing a tremendous job in what to date has been nothing short of a dream season. That’s why Busch has a 142-point lead in the Cup standings.

Busch has made just six Cup starts at Pocono but he has turned in some stout performances at the 2.6-mile triangle -- more so in the spring race than in the summer 500-miler. He has top-10 finishes in two of his three starts in this event, crossing the checkers fourth in 2005 and eighth last year. He also has found the knack of qualifying well at Pocono as he has improved his start position in each of his six qualifying attempts with his best beginning spot being third.

Busch has never experienced a DNF at Pocono and last year his solid showings in Pennsylvania made it evident he was just getting tougher in his runs at this venue. In the spring he started fourth on his way to the aforementioned top-10 result and in the summer after beginning third he came home 12th. With the kind of season he’s having, Busch might very well end up in Victory Lane on Sunday – and depending on how he fares in his other two races he might also wind up in the history books.

Other drivers to watch
Carl Edwards had problems in the pits last week at Dover and the pit crew of the No. 99 Ford of Roush Fenway Racing is feeling the heat. Edwards has declared his team has to get better on pit road since with how well he’s been running the performance in the pits could make the difference between winning and losing.

Edwards has had a solid season with three wins, six top-fives and nine top-10s in 13 starts. He won in his first Pocono Cup start in this event in 2005. He has struggled in recent races at the Pennsylvania track but after is confident over his chances on Sunday after last week’s test at Pocono went off quite well.

Special feature Pocono 500 Loop data, track and overall season stats for some favorites in the upcoming race in Pocono.

As a Cup rookie in 2006 Denny Hamlin defined dominance at Pocono. He not only swept both events at the 2.5-mile triangle, but he captured both poles and led for 234 of 401 laps. Last year Hamlin was sixth in this event after starting in the front row. In the summer race he did even better, coming home third after starting sixth.

Two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is coming on having moved to seventh in points despite engine woes at Charlotte a couple of weeks back. A recent two-day test at Pocono was very positive for Johnson, who has two wins and seven top-10s in 12 Pocono starts. Johnson drives for Hendrick Motorsports, whose engines are known to supply extremely good horsepower and Pocono is a track that puts a premium on superior horsepower.

This is the time of year that Tony Stewart finds a groove and becomes very tough to beat. The two-time Cup champion has five top-fives and 13 top-10s in 18 Pocono starts. Last year he was fifth in this event and sixth in the summer race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been up and down in his performances at Pocono. In 16 Cup starts at the Pennsylvania venue he has not won but has a pole four top-fives and five top-10s. Junior has little to complain about in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports as he is third in points but is still looking for his first win.

Ryan Newman finished second in this event a year ago. The driver of the No. 12 Dodge of Penske Racing has tasted his fair share of success at Pocono with a win, two poles, five top-fives and six top-10s in his 12 starts.