We’re to the point of the year where talking playoff bubble in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series moves the needle more than anything else. Heading into Sunday’s Gander RV 400 at the Pocono Raceway, we have just six more races remaining in the regular season. Currently, we have nine different winners, meaning we have seven wildcard slots open.

But, with Aric Almirola (+98) and Ryan Blaney (+84) holding onto a good standing, I think they’re realistically good. Even William Byron (+61) is sitting pretty but still not quite there yet to sleep comfortably.

Everyone else is uneasy. Despite that, I do feel like the playoff picture is getting clearer.

Jimmie Johnson and Daniel Suarez’ struggles have opened up a 17 point gap between them and Clint Bowyer in 16th.

Johnson’s last two finishes on the season resulted in 30th place runs. He also has just one top five finish in Pocono since his win in June 2013. On top of that, the seven time series champion has just three top five finishes all season long.

Paul Menard’s (-60) only win came on a 2.5-mile track at Indy several years ago, but he has just one top 10 finish in his career at Pocono as that came back in 2012. He has also failed to score a top 10 finish in the last 11 races on the season.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon have both struggled with no top 10 finishes in their careers in Pocono and both having not been top 10 contenders for much of the season

Suarez, has been good at Pocono (second, eighth last two starts) but not so much on the season with finishes of 17th, 24th, 40th, 8th and 19th respectively over the last five races. That combined with how well Erik Jones and Ryan Newman are running and you get a playoff bubble that really isn’t much of a bubble despite only 17 points separating it.

Heading into the race two weeks ago in Kentucky, Erik Jones was in 17th, 13 points out of the playoff standings. But, as we head into Sunday’s race at the Tricky Triangle, Jones is now 28 points to the good. He’s made up 41 points in two weeks as he went from a driver worrying about not just making the playoffs in 2019, but his future too, to now being solidly into the field.

Jones, now makes a lot of sense to win this weekend’s race at the Tricky Triangle. We’ve had seven straight different winners on the season. The last four of those seven winners have been first time winners in 2019. Jones, can push it to five straight. Here’s why.

Jones, is arguably one of the hottest drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series right now. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has two straight third place finishes and was third in the June race at Pocono. Furthermore, Jones has five top eight finishes in his last seven starts on the season and four in five career tries on the Tricky Triangle as well.

“Again, up in the top five you can’t complain, and especially with the points we gained it’s good,” Jones said following a second straight third place finish. “We can definitely get more aggressive with that gap. We’re getting close there to having almost a race on them; if we can have a couple more good weeks we’ll be there. Pocono is a good one.”

That makes him a prime candidate to reach victory lane on Sunday afternoon.

Newman (+21) has been great lately too. He has five top 10 finishes in his last six starts on the season in his No. 6 Ford. He finished eighth in this very race last year as well. He has a ton of momentum and ready to keep the train rolling.

“Honestly, it was the most fun I’ve had all year in a race car, and that’s mostly because we had a good, competitive Oscar Mayer Ford,” Newman said last weekend in New Hampshire. “I slid through the box. We had a bad coil wire. We had a bunch of things that set us back, being in a back-up car starting last and to have the finish that we did at a track that is usually difficult to pass at, but I will say that I did pass a few guys three-wide and that doesn’t happen very often here.  I’m proud of the team effort and it’s something to build on for sure.”

Clint Bowyer (+17) has just one top 10 finish in his last six starts – 35th, 11th, 37th, 34th, 6th and 20th respectively on the season. He did finish fifth this past June but that his last top five on the year. He has two top 10 finishes in his last five Pocono starts, so he can be up front in his No. 14 Ford.