Pennsylvania 500 News and Notes

Driver Highlights - Pocono
VegasInsider.com

Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Pocono Raceway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last seven races at Pocono. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) 25/1

Two wins, seven top fives, eight top 10s
Average finish of 14.2
Average Running Position of 8.4, second-best
Driver Rating of 113.5, second-best
Series-high 208 Fastest Laps Run
Average Green Flag Speed of 159.436 mph, second-fastest
Series-high 1,074 (82.0%) Laps in the Top 15
244 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) 10/1

Four wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s; two poles
Average finish of 10.3
Average Running Position of 12.1, eighth-best
Driver Rating of 94.9, eighth-best
535 Green Flag Passes, third-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 158.876 mph, seventh-fastest
869 (66.3%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
256 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) 10/1

Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s; two poles
Average finish of 2.8
Series-best Average Running Position of 5.6
Series-best Driver Rating of 130.4
193 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 160.024
Series-best 92.6% (839 total) Laps in the Top 15
192 Quality Passes (average of 38.4 per race), tied for fifth-best average

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) 25/1

One top five, four top 10s
Average finish of 16.1 in 15 races
Average Running Position of 13.7, 10th-best
Driver Rating of 91.6, ninth-best
473 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
867 (66.2%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
259 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) 7/1

Two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 10.3
Average Running Position of 11.8, sixth-best
Driver Rating of 97.3, sixth-best
45 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 159.236 mph, third-fastest
954 (72.8%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
238 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Mark Martin (No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet) 25/1

19 top fives, 30 top 10s
10.7 average finish
Average Running Position of 11.9, seventh-best
Driver Rating of 95.3, seventh-best
31 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 158.998, fifth-fastest
987 (75.3%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
229 Quality Passes, tied for ninth-most

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge) 35/1

One win, five top fives, six top 10s
13.9 average finish
Average Running Position of 9.8, third-best
Driver Rating of 98.7, fourth-best
468 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 158.894, sixth-fastest
1,027 (78.4%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
292 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) 10/1

One win, five top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 13.6
Average Running Position of 10.7, fourth-best
Driver Rating of 102.2, third-best
42 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 159.190, fourth-fastest
1,032 (78.8%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
Series-high 300 Quality Passes

Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota) 25/1

Four top fives
13.0 average finish
Average Running Position of 11.8, fifth-best
Driver Rating of 97.9, fifth-best
68 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
951 (72.6%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most

Odds and Ends - Pocono
VegasInsider.com

Pocono Raceway

History

Opened in 1968 as a .75-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile oval in 1971.
The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.

Notebook

There have been 61 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.

There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

All NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been scheduled for 500 miles. By design, the inaugural race was run to a length of 480 miles due to the energy crisis.

Buddy Baker won the first pole at Pocono.

There have been 35 different pole winners at Pocono, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race. Only 14 drivers have more than one pole there.

There have been 21 pole winners in the last 25 races. Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (two each) are the only repeat pole winners there since 1995. Qualifying was canceled once.

The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993), Denny Hamlin (2006).
Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.

28 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott with five victories; 18 drivers have won more than once there.

There have been 14 different race winners in the 17 races since Bobby Labonte swept in 1999. Jimmie Johnson swept 2004 and Denny Hamlin 2006. Kurt Busch won the July race in 2005 and 2007.

There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, including two of the past four seasons.

Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond each won three consecutive races at Pocono.

45 of 61 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start; 13 by the pole winner.

The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.

Rick Hendrick leads all other car owners with 11 Pocono victories.

There have been eight car owner season sweeps, including three of the past four seasons (two of the car owner sweeps were with different drivers).

There have been two green-white-checkered finishes: June 2005 (201 laps) and July 2005 (203 laps).

Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Brian Vickers and J.J. Yeley are the active drivers that have finished on the lead lap in all of their races.

Denny Hamlin won his first two appearances at Pocono Raceway, claiming both victories from the pole. Hamlin has two third-place finishes and a sixth-place finish in his other races for an average finish of 2.8 in five races – the all-time best of any driver at the Pennsylvania track. He also led 300 of the 906 laps raced in the five races.

Pocono Raceway Data

Race #: 21 of 36 (8-3-08)
Track Size: 2.5 mile (200 laps/500miles)

Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees
Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees
Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees
Frontstretch: 3,740 feet
Backstretch: 3,055 feet
Shortstretch: 1,780
Driver Rating at Pocono

Denny Hamlin 130.4
Kurt Busch 113.5
Tony Stewart 102.2
Ryan Newman 98.7
Brian Vickers 97.9
Jimmie Johnson 97.3
Mark Martin 95.3
Jeff Gordon 94.9
Kevin Harvick 91.6
Jeff Burton 91.1

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (7 total) at Pocono.

Qualifying/Race Data

2007 pole winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (169.975 mph, 52.949 seconds)
2007 race winner: Kurt Busch, 131.627 mph, 8-5-07)
Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne (172.533 mph, 52.164 secs., 6-11-04)
Track race record: Rusty Wallace (144.892 mph, 7-21-96)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 28-30 laps, based on fuel mileage.

Pennsylvania 500 PreQ

It seems to be a repeat each week. Is this the weekend that Jeff Gordon makes it to victory lane? Gordon has been ranking at the top or near the top of our PreQ and PostQ forecasts over the last month or so and deserved so. We’re in a stretch of the schedule that Gordon has dominated in his career. He has been running fairly well with a pair of top 5s in the last five starts. Gordon had a tough time at Pocono Raceway a few weeks ago qualifying in the 38th position but salvaged a 14th place finish in the race. He is expecting to do much better this weekend at Pocono at a track in which he is averaging a 10th place finish over the last 21 starts. The #24 DuPont will not stay winless for long.

It has not been that often that we have seen Denny Hamlin near the top of our reports. He has been struggling over the past month or so with three finishes outside the top 25 but rebounded last weekend at Indianapolis with a 3rd place finish. He is looking to keep that momentum going as the series heads to another flat-banked superspeedway – a track type in which Hamlin excels. Hamlin has never finished worse than 6th place at Pocono in five starts with two wins and an incredible 3rd place average finish. He is an early week favorite to contend for the win and it wouldn’t be a surprise to find the #11 FedEx Toyota at the top of the PostQ forecast at the end of the week.

There is a tight battle at the tail end of the field as the drivers are jockeying to make the Chase for the Championship. Kevin Harvick has fallen outside the top 12 after a horrible day at Indianapolis and will need to make that ground up at Pocono. He should be able to do so at Pocono where he has been very well over the last few seasons. Harvick has posted seven straight top 20s with three top 10s in that span. He is a solid flat-banked superspeedway driver averaging a 14th place finish over the last 17 starts. Harvick needs a good run and will be competitive in the Pennsylvania 500.

This is one of the few tracks this season that has gotten to Kyle Busch. In the first event at Pocono Busch finished dead last. It ended a streak of seven straight top 10 finishes including three wins. Busch then went on to win three more races in the next six events and heads into Pocono looking to make amends for the bad day just a couple races ago. We don’t expect that to occur however as is averaging a 20th place finish in seven career starts at Pocono with just two top 10s. Busch could turn it around but he gets our ‘buyer beware’ label of the weekend.

There has been talk that Reed Sorenson will resign with Chip Ganassi Racing sooner rather than later. Sorenson may want to get the ink on the paper as quickly as possible with Pocono looming ahead on the schedule. In five career starts at the track Sorenson has yet to finish in the top 20 with an average finish of 29th place. Sorenson has not running particularly well this season as he is battling to remain in the top 35 in the point standings. With little luck and a track that has given him fits in his young career we would recommend staying away from the #41 Target Dodge for this race.

profantasysports.com

Pennsylvania 500 Preview

Jimmie Johnson will be looking to make it two wins in a row on Sunday afternoon when he takes to the track at Pocono Raceway for the Pennsylvania 500.

Johnson took the checkered flag in the troubled Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, keeping his tires from exploding just long enough to grab the victory. That was Johnson's second win of the season.

Carl Edwards finished second at Indy, followed by Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler, and Jeff Gordon. Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the day's top 10 drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to settle for a 12th-place result, while Ryan Newman was 13th, David Ragan was 14th, Kyle Busch was 15th, Clint Bowyer was 19th, and Tony Stewart was 23rd. Matt Kenseth was well back in 38th place at the end of the day.

Busch's lead in the driver standings is now at 253 points over Earnhardt Jr., with Burton 271 points back in third place. Johnson's win at Indy moved him into fourth place in the standings, while Edwards, Gordon, Biffle, Hamlin, Kahne, Stewart, Kenseth, and Bowyer make up the rest of the current Top 12.

Kurt Busch won the Pennsylvania 500 last year, while Kahne visited victory lane in the Pocono 500 on that track back in June. Gordon took the checkered flag in the Pocono 500 last year, and he has four career Cup wins on that track.

Other drivers with multiple Pocono wins on the top series include Hamlin (twice in 2006) and Johnson (twice in 2004), while Kurt Busch also won there in 2005. Edwards (2005), Stewart (2003), and Ryan Newman (2003) also have Pocono wins.

After racing in Pennsylvania the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series move on to Watkins Glen International for the Centurion Boats at the Glen on August 10. NASCAR will then round out its August schedule with the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan, the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, and the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.

Driver to win the Pennsylvania 500

Jimmie Johnson +500
Kyle Busch +600
Kasey Kahne +550
Carl Edwards +800
Tony Stewart +1000
Denny Hamlin +700
Jeff Gordon +1200
Matt Kenseth +1200
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1200
Brian Vickers +1500
Mark Martin +1800
Greg Biffle +1800
Martin Truex Jr +2500
Kevin Harvick +2500
Jeff Burton +2500
David Ragan +3500
Clint Bowyer +3500
Kurt Busch +4000
Ryan Newman +4000
Field +2200

TheGreek

Pennsylvania 500 HOT! Sheet

One of the hottest buys in fantasy racing the last couple of races has been Elliott Sadler. He has slowly been climbing the rankings and is on the verge of breaking into the top 20 in the standings. At New Hampshire, he posted his first top 5 of the season. He improved 14 positions from start to finish at Chicago, and then followed that up with his second top 5 of the season at Indy. You can probably still get him at a relatively cheap price so go for it.

There are a couple of drivers in which you can never go wrong with, and one of those is Jimmie Johnson. It seems as though we are talking about him every other week in this column, and rightfully so. The two-time defending champion is making a strong charge towards the top as we head towards the Chase with six top 10s in the last eight races, including his victory last week in the controversial Brickyard 400. This has been one of his best tracks, so two wins in a row wouldn’t surprise us.

After back-to-back finishes of 30th or worse (Infineon and New Hampshire), Kasey Kahne has bounced back in a strong way and has earned his way into the top 10 in the standings. At Daytona he started 41st, but weaved his way up to 7th at the finish. A decent 15th place showing followed at Chicago. Then last week he worked his way through the tire problems for another 7th p One of the hottest buys in fantasy racing the last couple of races has been Elliott Sadler. He has slowly been climbing the rankings and is on the verge of breaking into the top 20 in the standings. At New Hampshire, he posted his first top 5 of the season. He improved 14 positions from start to finish at Chicago, and then followed that up with his second top 5 of the season at Indy. You can probably still get him at a relatively cheap price so go for it.

There are a couple of drivers in which you can never go wrong with, and one of those is Jimmie Johnson. It seems as though we are talking about him every other week in this column, and rightfully so. The two-time defending champion is making a strong charge towards the top as we head towards the Chase with six top 10s in the last eight races, including his victory last week in the controversial Brickyard 400. This has been one of his best tracks, so two wins in a row wouldn’t surprise us.

After back-to-back finishes of 30th or worse (Infineon and New Hampshire), Kasey Kahne has bounced back in a strong way and has earned his way into the top 10 in the standings. At Daytona he started 41st, but weaved his way up to 7th at the finish. A decent 15th place showing followed at Chicago. Then last week he worked his way through the tire problems for another 7th place finish. He won here back in June, so watch out.

At the other end of the spectrum this week is one of his fellow Dodge drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya. A pair of DNFs in two of the last three events has dropped the #42 team down to 22nd in the standings. They have finished 32nd or worse in 5 of the last 7 races. His average finish in that span is about 30th. He doesn’t have much experience on the triangle, so we’d stay away from him for now.

Ever since a career best 2nd place finish on the road course, things have been real tough for David Gilliland. In the four races since then, he has a 32.5 average finish. Included in there is back-to-back DNFs at Daytona and Chicago when he was involved in a wreck and then had an engine give way. Last week, he stayed consistent as he started and finished 20th. Until he shows he can run among the leaders again, he’s not a good fantasy option.

profantasysports.com

Pennsylvania 500 Odds and Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard

After a completion yellow induced Brickyard 400 where tires disintegrated every 10 laps due to the top-heavy CoT, NASCAR drivers and fans alike should get their fill of exciting, side-by-side racing with far fewer cautions at the Sonoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at 2.20 p.m. this Sunday.

The 2.5-mile, tri-oval super-speedway is kindest to drivers who start from the front row. Five of the past six winners at Pocono have started the race from the pole. Kasey Kahne won in June from the pole while Denny Hamlin has two wins as the pole-sitter. The other Busch, Kurt, has won here twice from the outside. Jeff Gordon is the only other winner at Pocono, in 2007, who won at Pocono and did not start at the front of the grid; he started 18th and won it.

Who will win the Pennsylvania 500?

Good news for Kyle Busch detractors is that Busch will most likely not win on Sunday as he has had some tough-times at Pocono. Not that that can't change this weekend, but with Kyle back to racing the Craftsman trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races again he'll have to work twice as hard against a field of drivers who are all determined not to allow Busch the luxury of riding in the all-important clean air.

Funny things happen at Pocono that allow drivers like Vickers, Labonte, Alimendinger to race well while Busch, Biffle and Stewart are generally relegated to the back of the pack. Sunday it should be no different. Looking at the odds you can see that Vickers, who is usually around 50/1 -100/1 range to win, has dropped to 15/1. This should make you pay attention.

Another thing gamblers need to pay attention to, and we have seen how important this is throughout the season, is pit-position. The one and only reason Johnson held off Hamlin and Kenseth last week was that he had control of pit-road in the first position and Johnson's crew chief Chad Knauss was able to use it effectively during Johnson's last two-tire pit stop to take the lead with 10 laps left in the race.

Keep in mind the Brickyard, Phoenix, and Pocono have similar attributes and teams use similar strategies at these venues. Johnson had the fastest car once again last weekend and, starting from the pole, it was not a huge surprise that he also won the race.

Gamblers should wait until qualifying to bet this race so they can leverage their position as much possible. However, even before the qualifiers the winner will be either the No. 48 car, or despite a rash of bad-luck, the No.11 car. Both drivers have won this race twice with Hamlin coming off consecutive third-place showings in 2007-2008 at Pocono. If you don't like him to win, place a unit or two on Hamlin finishing in the top three. As of now I like the No. 11 car to win, but that could change if another driver starts from the top of the grid.

Pick! Denny Hamlin, No.11, (8/1)

SOLID GOLD PICKS

Sportsbook.com has listed many matchups on the Pennsylvania 500 this weekend. Last weekend I continued a play that has been lucrative all season; going against Kyle Busch when he is entered in all three races. We backed Denny Hamlin for two units at +1.25. In fact had it not been for an especially efficient Johnson pit-crew Hamlin would have likely won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard rather than finishing the race third. Busch had a long day, but managed to finish 15th. The two unit win brings my record Over-the-Wall to 12-12 with +.30 units on the season after 20 of 36 Sprint Cup races completed.

LONG ODDS PICK

Back in June Burton ran one of the best races at Pocono. He began the race in the 20th spot on the grid and managed to finish the race in fifth place. Burton has never won here but has always run well as he has posted seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes at Pocono. Richard Childress Racing's Burton could use a good showing this weekend as he has dropped to third place behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the Chase standings with only six races to go until the Chase begins. Burton is currently 271 points behind Kyle Busch. If you are looking for a good long odds proposition on one driver, Burton at 25/1 is as good as you will get for your money; while having a realistic chance of actually winning the race.

Pick! Jeff Burton, 31, (25/1)

SQUARE TIRE PICK

Greg Biffle (+1.15) vs. Matt Kenseth (-1.45)

Another driver who got better at Pocono as the race wore on was Biffle who began the race in the 33 position on the grid and finished the race 15th. Kenseth finished in the top-10 at Pocono but his race was not nearly as impressive as he improved only five spots from his 13th position start to finish seventh. Biffle is currently in seventh place in the Sprint Cup standings but recently has had a top-10 finish at the Brickyard last week and a top-five finish at the Lifelock.com the week before. It looks like whatever was troubling the Rousch Fenway Racing Ford has been corrected since Biffle's string of three top-five finishes at the end of May. While Pocono started Biffle's spell of high finishes Pocono could just as easily put the No. 16 car right back in the top five once again. RFR teammate Kenseth is currently right on the bubble in 11th place and 638 points behind the leader. At this point in the season the Sprint Cup leader board features a mere 100 point differential between seventh and 12th place so doing well in each race is crucial right now with every point a premium.

This is one of those matchups where we'll see both drivers close the entire race. I like the way Biffle has been driving recently and his Ford seems to be much faster than we saw in June. Besides, Biffle even led Pocono for four laps in June to Kenseth's two. If Biffle can get some clean air I like him to finish before Kenseth in this match-up.

Pick! Greg Biffle, No. 17, (+1.15)

Docsports.com

Busch hopes for better luck in Pocono return
July 31, 2008

Kyle Busch can probably be excused if he isn't very happy to be back at Pocono Raceway this weekend.

The 23-year-old driver, whose magical 2008 season has included a NASCAR record 15 wins spread across three series, finished last in the 43-car Sprint Cup field at the June race at Pocono, his worst finish of the season on any circuit.

It was just a bad weekend for Busch, who wrecked his primary car in Saturday's practice session, started at the rear of the field when he had to switch to his backup Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was running deep in traffic when he ran into Jamie McMurray as they battled for the same spot of track.

It was one of only two times Busch finished worse than 25th in a Cup race, and the only Cup race he failed to finish this season.

Still, Busch said he was ready to face Pocono's 1.5-mile oval again in Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.

``We had a horrible race the last time we were there. ... Can't get much worse than 43rd, I guess,'' he said. ``But I feel like we had a fairly decent car before our wreck.

``We were coming through the field and making up some ground. We might be able to work off that to be competitive there again this time around. So, for that reason, I am looking forward to getting back and putting that last Pocono race behind us.''

Busch heads into the weekend with a 253-point lead over Cup runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr., and wants to up his momentum with just six races remaining until the start of the 10-race Chase for the championship.

Last Sunday's race at Indianapolis was a well-documented tire debacle, with no green-flag run longer than 12 laps. Busch led twice for 14 laps at Indy, but had a pretty quiet day otherwise, finishing 15th.

``It wasn't a fun race, that's for sure,'' Busch said. ``It was a long day. But, at this point, all that matters to us are wins and trophies.''

With each Cup victory adding a 10-point bonus for the start of the Chase, Busch has six wins in NASCAR's elite series and 60 bonus points built up already.

``With the position we're in, that's what we're focused on,'' he added. ``Just earning as many of those bonus points as we can by the time we get to New Hampshire (for the start of the Chase). Obviously, we're not looking to go out there and be reckless and do something stupid.

``(But) there's something to be said for carrying some momentum into the Chase. That's what Jimmie (Johnson) and those (No.) 48 guys were able to do last year. We've had some bumps in the road this season, but this M&M team has been pretty resilient. We've just got to rebound and make sure that 48 team doesn't pick up too much steam.''

Johnson, the two-time reigning Cup champion, got his second victory of the season at Indy and goes into Sunday's race fourth in the points.

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LOOKING FOR VICTORY CIRCLE: Pocono Raceway is one of only six tracks where Mark Martin has not yet won a Cup points race. But that doesn't mean he'd rather be racing elsewhere this weekend.

``I have never won at Pocono, but it's still one of my favorite tracks that we go to,'' said Martin, who finished 10th there in June. ``It really goes to show that you don't have to win somewhere to love it. I've won at Martinsville a couple of times and don't like the place at all.

``Now we have had some good runs (at Pocono) over the years,'' added Martin, who has six runner-up finishes at the Pennsylvania track. ``We had a good car there in June and we qualified well, but didn't race quite as well. Our challenge this weekend will be to make the car better for the race.''

Martin said he doesn't expect any more of the tire problems that everyone experienced at Indy.

``We all had a tough race last week at Indy, but everyone hung in there and did the best they could,'' he said. ``We had trouble early and it was a bad situation all around, but (crew chief) Tony Gibson and all of the guys on this No. 8 team dug in and fought to the end. We made the best of a bad situation. Hopefully, this weekend we'll have a lot better go of it on the track.''

Martin, who has 35 Cup victories, also has yet to win at New Hampshire, Daytona, Chicagoland, Indianapolis and Homestead.

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CHILDRESS GIFT: The family of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress has donated $5 million to initiate the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

The institute will focus on key areas in treatment, education and training, research and prevention of trauma in children. The project will get under way later this year.

The Childress family and Wake Forest Baptist are working with a number of corporations and individuals to raise an additional $20 million.

``Most people don't know that traumatic injury is the biggest killer of our children,'' said Childress, a former driver who fields four cars in the Cup series. ``The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma will be the focal point of a national movement to improve the level of pediatric trauma care available across the country. ... The Childress family is committed to making the Childress Institute the leader in pediatric trauma care.''

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STAT OF THE WEEK: With his second win, Jimmie Johnson joined Kyle Busch (seven), Carl Edwards (three) and Kasey Kahne (two) as the only multiple winners in Cup this season. Notable by their absence from the win column in 2008 are four-time series champion Jeff Gordon and two-time champion Tony Stewart.

Gordon has had at least two victories in every season since 1994, while Stewart has had at least two wins every year since 1999, his rookie season.

At Pocono, Gordon has four career victories and Stewart one.

Fantasy Picks 'N' Pans: How To Pick Your Team To Perform At Pocono
Bryan Davis Keith and Mike Neff

Pocono Raceway is the most uniquely shaped track on the Sprint Cup schedule, giving teams quite the challenge when it comes to getting their car to race well. Boasting the longest straightaway in Sprint Cup and a triangular shape with three distinct turns, the Pennsylvania facility is truly a 500 mile test of man and machine. With such wildly different characteristics, the track requires drivers to compromise handling in one turn for the sake of the other two. The drivers must have an inordinate amount of focus while navigating the track, and the long straightaways and high sustained speeds put even the best of Cup motors through their paces.

What does this weekend in the Poconos hold for the Sprint Cup Series — and for your team? Was Kasey Kahne’s win earlier this year a fluke? Can Jimmie and Jeff continue their strength from Indianapolis? Will Carl Edwards regain his past glory on the big triangle? More dependable than a Goodyear tire on a diamond ground race surface, this week’s Picks ‘N’ Pans will tell you which ones you should have on your roster — and who needs to stay in the chalet enjoying wine and cheese.

Bryan’s Race Rewind:

Kurt Busch laid waste to the Sprint Cup field at Pocono one year ago, leading a record 175 of 200 laps to score a dominating win that catapulted his No. 2 team into Chase contention. Though Busch was the class of the field, Hendrick Motorsports posted stellar results, with all four of its teams finishing in the Top 12. Hendrick led a Chevrolet charge, as eight bowtie drivers finished in the Top 10 (the only non-Chevy drivers to do so were Penske Racing teammates Busch and Ryan Newman). The race was an event of little attrition, as 39 of the 43 cars that started the race were running at the finish.

Mike’s Keys to the Race:

Pocono is one of the trickiest tracks on the circuit, with three distinct corners and the longest straightaway on the schedule. The equation has been made even more difficult by the addition of the new asphalt on the outside of Turn 3. It is now even more important for teams to work at making their car handle best through Turn 3, or they’ll get killed going down the front straight. Don’t forget that the gear rule has eliminated shifting at Pocono, so engine reliability can also be a concern. Looking at the results from the first race this season, it appears as though Hendrick and Roush are the strongest options for building your fantasy team. GEM has to be considered too since Kasey Kahne won the last race there and both of their cars were good at Indy. You can also not count out the Gibbs’ Toyotas because horsepower certainly comes into play at Pocono, and they have shown all season that they have more than the average race team.

Mike’s Picks:

Crank ‘em up:

Carl Edwards adapted to Pocono like a duck to water when he first joined the Cup Series. His last few years have not been quite as good to him, but he was ninth in the first race this year, and he was the only car that looked like he had anything for Jimmie Johnson this past weekend at Indianapolis. A lot of people have forgotten about his 100 point penalty from the Las Vegas race earlier this year. Were it not for that, he’d be sitting second in points and threatening to make Kyle Busch actually have to show up this weekend to maintain his points lead. Like Johnson, Edwards is looking like he’s hitting his stride just in time for the Chase, and Pocono could very well be his next victory this season.

The Hendrick Motorsports’ dynamic duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are a safe bet to add to your roster this week according to our fantasy experts.

Jeff Gordon was the second strongest car for a majority of the race at Indianapolis last weekend. While his year has been sub par by his lofty standards, Gordon is still sixth in points, and the whole Hendrick organization is looking like they are hitting on all eight cylinders as the Chase draws near. On top of all of that, Gordon is the second leading driver, in terms of average finish, at the big triangle in the Pennsylvania mountains. While his teammate is probably a stronger bet to win the race this weekend, Gordon could very well be right on his bumper as they come to the checkered flag.

Sit ‘em down:

David Ragan is without a doubt the surprise of the season with his continued good showings and his position just outside of the drivers who are Chase eligible. Unfortunately, Pocono has not been on Ragan’s list of favored tracks since he made the move into Cup. He has raced at the track three times and his best finish is 24th, while his average finish is 27.7. Ragan was 14th at Indianapolis, and that could give some hope to his fans, but his history at Pocono simply doesn’t bode well for a strong showing this weekend.

Jamie McMurray has two finishes at Pocono in the Top 10, a ninth and a 10th. His last five races, he’s had one race finish better than 20th and that was only 18th. The track in Pocono is a very tricky one to learn and drivers who struggle there tend to continually struggle there. Adding to that pressure is the constant rumor that McMurray’s on his way out at Roush and the stars are not lining up for Jamie Mac this weekend.

Roll the Dice:

Brian Vickers doesn’t have too many tracks on the circuit where he can claim a history of success, but Pocono is one of them. Vickers is fifth best in average finishes at the track, and he was second in the first race there this season. Now that he has been able to concentrate on racing instead of qualifying, he’s been a force this year and very well could make the Chase if he can avoid issues like last weekend at the Brickyard. Don’t be surprised to see Vickers vying for the win when the 500th mile is run this weekend.

Bryan’s Picks:

Crank ‘em up:

New car or old car, Denny Hamlin has flat owned the Pocono Raceway since he joined the Sprint Cup Series tour. In his five starts on the Pennsylvania triangle, Hamlin has two wins, five Top 10s and an astounding average finish of 2.8. Hamlin finished a convincing third at Pocono in June, and is coming off a Top 5 run at Indianapolis, which, tire problems or not, is a flat track that shares similar characteristics to this weekend’s venue. Denny Hamlin at Pocono is among the safest starts any fantasy team owner will make this year.

Anyone knows that momentum is a huge part of Sprint Cup racing, and right now big mo is with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48. After coming oh-so close to winning at Chicago, Johnson was the class of the field last week at Indianapolis. The No. 48 team is hitting their stride in the summer months, and they know they need wins to be in striking distance of Kyle Busch once the Chase starts. Johnson led 59 laps and finished sixth in June, and has two Pocono wins on his resume, along with a career average finish of 10.3. Kyle Busch had better start checking the rear-view…the No. 48 could well close the gap further at Pocono.

Sit ‘em down:

Believe it or not, Clint Bowyer’s 19th place run at Indianapolis was his best run on an oval (minus the plate race at Daytona) since a 15th place finish at Darlington in May. And it certainly wasn’t a convincing display by the No. 07 team. Bowyer and his crew have completely lost the handle on their season of late, and now sit precariously close of falling out of Chase contention. Despite this danger, Bowyer and his team have still shown few signs of life, and Pocono may well not be the place for them to rebound (Bowyer finished 39th at the track in the spring). There are far too many competitive Chevrolets that will be safer starts this weekend to justify starting Bowyer.

Travis Kvapil has been an essential part of returning Yates Racing to competitiveness in 2008, but some of that luster has left the No. 28 team in recent weeks. Since Loudon, Kvapil has not cracked the Top 30 in any of the four Cup races run, and last week at Indianapolis Kvapil’s team was out to lunch, finishing a very distant 36th. In five career starts at Pocono, Kvapil has cracked the Top 20 only twice, and couldn’t do it earlier this season with his No. 28 team even when Yates Racing was enjoying more momentum than they are now. Fantasy owners looking to start Fords ought to stick with Roush Fenway this weekend.

Roll the Dice:

AJ Allmendinger is shutting his critics up quickly in 2008. Since being pulled out of his No. 84 ride earlier in the season to give Mike Skinner a stint in the car, Allmendinger has qualified for every race he has attempted despite being outside the Top 35, and has become a legitimate contender on the circuit’s larger tracks. Allmendinger scored a then career best 12th place finish at Pocono in June, and since being paired with new crew chief Jimmy Elledge has finished 13th at Chicago and 10th at Indianapolis after running in the Top 5 for much of the event. Allmendinger has a lot to pull from in teammate Brian Vickers, a driver who knows his way around Pocono. He is on a hot streak that could very well have Allmendinger making a serious charge for his first win in a stock car. Team Red Bull now has two contenders in their stable.

frontstretch.com

Driver Handicaps: Pocono

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, RacingOne brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 200-lap event.

Who's HOT at Pocono
• Kasey Kahne won the first race at the track with the new car after leading 69 laps.
• Denny Hamlin has two wins and a 2.8 average finish in five starts.
• Jeff Gordon has four wins and leads all drivers with 870 laps led.
• Mark Martin leads all drivers with 30 top-10 finishes.
• Kurt Busch, who won this event last year, has posted an average finish of 5.8 in his five starts with Penske Racing.
• Two-time winner Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top 10 in four of his last five starts.
• Tony Stewart has finished seventh or better in five of his last six starts.

Keep an Eye on at Pocono
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is coming off two consecutive top-five finishes at Pocono.
• Brian Vickers' second-place finish last month was his fourth top five at Pocono.
• Carl Edwards finished second at Indianapolis last weekend and ninth at Pocono in June.
• Matt Kenseth will be racing the same car he used last month to capture his eighth top 10 with at Pocono.
• Jeff Burton recorded his seveth top 10 at Pocono last month.

Pocono Rookie Report
Three freshman drivers are set to be in Pocono this weekend with two of them guaranteed starting spots in Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500: Regan Smith and Sam Hornish, Jr. Smith is 33rd in owner points up by 90 points, with Hornish 34th with a 40 point lead over Scott Riggs in the 35th position. McDowell is 14 points out of the 35th spot, so he is not guaranteed a starting position this weekend. However, McDowell does have experience at Pocono from finishing first and sixth in two ARCA starts in 2007. Patrick Carpentier will not be running in this weekend’s Pennsylvania 500. He is returning to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal for his second Nationwide Series start there. He won his first Nationwide Series career pole there last year. All four of this year's rookie contenders made their first Sprint Cup starts at Pocono back in June. McDowell had the best finish of the rookies with a 27th-place finish. Smith finished 28th (started 4th), and Carpentier started 24th and crossed the finish line 32nd. Hornish was involved in a crash and finished 42nd. Franchitti, who is no longer running in the Sprint Cup contention, also made his first start at Pocono this past June finishing 41st due to a crash. Rookie Standings

Qualifying Tidbits
Kasey Kahne grabbed his second career Pocono pole award back on June 8, qualifying in at 170.219 mph. Kahne also picked up the checkered flag that day for his first win at the 2.5-mile triangular track, making him the 13th driver to win at Pocono from the pole. This gave Dodge a total of six pole positions since July 2003 when Ryan Newman took the top spot. Kahne also currently holds the track qualifying record at 172.533 mph (06/11/2004). In the last 11 races at Pocono (since June 2003), Chevrolet has picked up five pole positions (Denny Hamlin with two and Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Michael Waltrip, each with one). Ford’s last pole was in 2001 when Todd Bodine won the July event. Past Pole Winners | Starting Positions of Pocono Winners

Top 20 Driver Notes - Based on Current Standings

1. Kyle Busch: Last month, Busch made his first start at Pocono Raceway with Joe Gibbs Racing. He finished 43rd for the third time in his career after he made contact with Jamie McMurray in the early going of the race. In the 2005 June race, Busch finished fourth in his first start Pocono. In the next three races he finished 39th, 22nd and 12th, respectively. Busch's final two Pocono starts with Hendrick Motorsports in 2007 saw him capture a career-best qualifying effort in third (August) and respective finishes of eighth and 12th.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Last August Earnhardt Jr. ended a streak of six consecutive finishes outside the top 10 with a runner-up finish from the pole. The finish was his fourth top five in 16 Pocono starts with Dale Earnhardt Inc. Last month Earnhardt Jr. scored a top-five finish (fourth) in his first track start with Hendrick Motorsports. This weekend Junior will return in the same car (chassis No. 88-498) he raced in June.

3. Jeff Burton: In 2006, Burton turned around his luck at Pocono Raceway with a pair of ninth-place finishes, which ended a streak of finishing 19th or worse in the four previous races. Last month he finished fifth in his seventh track start with Richard Childress Racing. All but four of his 14 top-10 finishes came with Roush Racing from 1996-2004. This weekend Burton will debut a new car (chassis No. 255) that will carry a special AT&T Olympics paint scheme.

4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson swept the Pocono Raceway events in 2004, leading 63 percent of the laps there that season. His 42nd-place finish in the 2007 June race ended a streak of 10 consecutive top 15-finishes at the track. Johnson was able to rebound in the last two races with respective finishes of fifth and sixth, which lowered his overall average to 10.3. After winning last weekend at Indianapolis, Johnson will go for back-to-back wins this weekend in the same car (chassis No. 502) that finished second at Chicagoland.

5. Carl Edwards: In 2005, Edwards won the June event in his first career start at Pocono Raceway. He won the race from the 29th starting position, which is the furthest back a driver has started and won a race at the 2.5-mile track. The victory was also the first for owner Jack Roush at Pocono. After finishing fourth in the July race that season, Edwards' only other top 10 in five additional starts came last month in ninth. This weekend he will return in the same car (chassis No. Rk-587) he raced in June.

6. Jeff Gordon: In 31 starts at Pocono Raceway, Gordon has captured four wins, two poles, 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. His most recent victory came in the 2007 June event when he led 26 laps from the 18th starting position in the rain-shortened race. His last of four Pocono DNF's came in the 2006 June race after he lost the brakes and crashed hard into the Turn 1 wall. Gordon, who finished 14th last month at Pocono, leads all drivers in laps led at the track with 870.

7. Greg Biffle: Since scoring his second top 10 at Pocono Raceway with a sixth-place finish in the 2006 June race, Biffle has posted an average finish of 23.0. In 2005, the team experienced brake problems and finished 30th and 17th, respectively. His other top 10 came in the 2004 July event when he finished fourth. This weekend Biffle will return in the same car (chassis No. RK-585) that finished 15th last month at Pocono.

8. Denny Hamlin: In 2006, Hamlin became the sixth driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to sweep both races at Pocono Raceway. He led a combined 234 laps en route to the victories, both of which he started from the pole. His sixth and third-place finish last season dropped his finish average to 2.8, which is nearly eight points ahead of any driver. Last month Hamlin finished third again, but this time it came in his first track start behind the wheel of a Toyota. This weekend Hamlin will be racing the same car (chassis No. 214) that finished eighth at New Hampshire.

9. Kasey Kahne: Kahne is coming off his first win at Pocono Raceway after leading 69 laps from the pole. It marked his third top 10 in nine starts. Kahne first pole at the track came in his first start in 2004 when he set the qualifying record. This weekend Kahne will be racing the same car that he won with in June.

10. Tony Stewart: In 19 Pocono starts, Stewart has one victory and 13 top-10 finishes. Stewart ended a four-race streak of finishing 27th or worse in the 2005 July race when he finished seventh. He ended a five race streak of finishing seventh or better last month after a pit road speeding penalty knocked him back to 35th. Stewart, who has led a total of 114 laps at Pocono, will be racing a brand new car (chassis No. 219) in the Pennsylvania 500.

11. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has yet to reach victory lane at Pocono Raceway, but has posted eight top-10 finishes in 17 starts. His last top 10 came last month when he finished seventh. In 2005, he finished 30th or worse in both Pocono races for the first time in one season. Kenseth, who has led in eight races for 29 laps, has a 14.4 finishing average at the 2.5-mile track. This weekend Kenseth will return in the same car (chassis No. RK-606) that he raced at Pocono last month.

12. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer is coming off his second finish of 39th or worse at Pocono Raceway after he made hard contact with the inside retaining wall coming off Turn 3 in June. His worst finish, of 41st, came in this event in 2006 when Tony Stewart made contact with his No. 07 Chevrolet on the front stretch early in the race. NASCAR penalized Stewart one lap for aggressive driving after the accident, which saw Bowyer slide down into Carl Edwards before it was over. The 2007 season was a much better one for Bowyer at Pocono where he scored his first top 10s at the track. This weekend he will return in the same car (chassis No. 241) that finished 26th at Michigan last month.

13. Kevin Harvick: Harvick's last of four top 10s at Pocono Raceway came in the 2006 July race. His fifth-place finish in that event marked his best effort in 14 career starts. Harvick, who has yet to lead a lap at Pocono, will race chassis No. 254 in the 200-lap race. This is the same car that finished 15th last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

14. David Ragan: Ragan has a 27.7 average finish in two Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway. Ragan has also competed two times in the ARCA/REMAX Series at Pocono with his best effort being a fourth-place finish. This weekend Ragan will debut a new chassis (No. RK-613) in the Pennsylvania 500.

15. Brian Vickers: Even with respective finishes of 35th and 29th in 2007 with Team Red Bull, Pocono Raceway still remains Vickers' third best track on the circuit based on finishing average (13.0). Last month he scored his fourth top five at Pocono Raceway with his second runner-up finish at the track. Prior to that finish, his other three top fives came with Hendrick Motorsports in 2005 and 2006.

16. Ryan Newman: Last year in this event, Newman recorded his sixth top 10 in 13 starts at Pocono with a seventh-place finish. The race prior, he won the pole and finished second. The other time he started from the pole he won the race (July) after leading 88 laps. Newman has led in nine Pocono races for a total of 161 laps. This weekend he will drive the same car (chassis No. PRS-55) that finished 21st in the Coca-Cola 600. The car will also carry a new red Avis Car Rental paint scheme.

17. Martin Truex Jr: Truex has competed in five races at Pocono Raceway. His third-place finish in the 2007 June race is his best to date. Last month Truex finished 17th in his first start at the track with the new car.

18. Kurt Busch: Busch captured his first win at Pocono Raceway in the 2005 July race in his last track start with Roush Racing. In his previous nine starts at the speedway with Roush, Busch posted four top-five finishes, with a pair of runner-ups in the July event in 2002 and 2003. Since joining Penske Racing in 2006, Busch has put together an average finish of 5.8, which includes a win in this event in 2007. This weekend, Busch will be back in the same car (chassis PSC-550) that finished eighth last month at Pocono.

19. Bobby Labonte: Labonte has competed in 31 races at Pocono Raceway scoring three wins and nine top-10 finishes. Labonte, whose last win at Pocono came in the 2003 July race, has posted an average finish of 16.0 in his five starts with Petty Enterprises.

20. Jamie McMurray: McMurray has yet to finish inside the top 20 in five starts at Pocono Raceway with Roush-Fenway Racing. His two top 10s at the track came with Ganassi Racing. This weekend McMurray will race the same car (chassis No. RK-594) that finished 20th last month at Pocono.

RacingOne Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Brian Vickers
Pete Pistone: Tony Stewart
Rachael West: Jeff Gordon
Kym Opalenik: Denny Hamlin

Racingone.com

Johnson wins the pole at Pocono

Long Pond, PA (Sports Network) - Jimmie Johnson once again beat Mark Martin for the pole as he grabbed the top starting spot for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway. The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver rounded the 2.5-mile, triangular track in 53.503 seconds (168.215 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Johnson's third of the season and the 16th of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. He edged Martin for the pole last week at Indianapolis.

"I'm just proud of my race team, and we're doing the right things," Johnson said. "I'm impressed with Mark and the speed that he and DEI are showing. And once we get into this race, Kasey Kahne is going to be a factor, so is Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, and a bunch of other guys, and it's going to be a good race."

Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, a race marred with nine competition cautions because of tire issues.

Martin will start on the outside pole for the second-straight week after posting a time of 53.712 seconds.

David Gilliland (53.832) and Jeff Gordon (53.858) will make up row two.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Kasey Kahne (seventh), Greg Biffle (ninth), Kurt Busch (10th), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (12th), Denny Hamlin (14th), Carl Edwards (15th), Tony Stewart (20th), Kevin Harvick (21st) and Kyle Busch (27th).

Chad Chaffin was the only driver who failed to qualify.

Busch heads to Pocono with a 253-point lead over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with six races remaining before the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" begins September 14th at New Hampshire. Jeff Burton remained third in the standings, while Jimmie Johnson moved up one spot to fourth.

Johnson, the two-time defending series champion, appears to have bounced back in his title quest after a victory at Indianapolis and a second-place finish at Chicagoland. But Busch clearly remains the dominant driver in the 2008 Cup campaign with seven wins so far.

Johnson is a two-time race winner at Pocono as he won both races there during the 2004 season. He finished sixth there in June.

Busch had a disappointing 43rd-place finish in this year's Pocono 500. He had to start from the rear of the field after wrecking his primary car in practice. Then he was involved in an incident with Jamie McMurray in the early-stages. Busch became the first driver to compete in all three of NASCAR's touring series at three different tracks on the same weekend. He also ran at Nashville and Texas. This weekend, Busch will be at Pocono only.

Busch's older brother, Kurt, who turns 30 years old on Monday, is the defending winner of the Pennsylvania 500. Busch put on a dominating performance in last year's event, leading 175 of 200 laps. He finished 4.132 seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to snap a 52-race winless streak in the series. It was his first trip to victory lane since March 2006 at Bristol, TN.

The green flag is scheduled to drop on Sunday around 2 p.m. (et).

Racers try to set their sights on Pocono

Problems at the Brickyard last weekend cast a long shadow over Sunday's event, which is one of the final six races leading up to Chase for the Cup.

NASCAR's top drivers arrived at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania on Friday talking about the building pressure to qualify for the upcoming Sprint Cup title playoff and weighing in again on last weekend's tire fiasco at the Brickyard.

Only six races remain to decide the top 12 drivers in points who will compete in the Chase for the Cup championship during the series' last 10 events.

One of those six races is the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Aug. 31.

"We're worried about being in the Chase, we think about it every week," said Greg Biffle of Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle is seventh in the standings but only 98 points ahead of 12th-place Clint Bowyer.

The series makes its second stop of the season Sunday at Pocono, a flat, 2.5-mile triangular track. Kasey Kahne of Gillett Evernham Motorsports won the first race there June 8.

But it was last Sunday's race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that was still fresh on the drivers' minds.

Tire woes early in the 160-lap Allstate 400 at the Brickyard forced NASCAR to throw caution flags every 10 to 15 laps and drivers to cut their top speeds, creating a bizarre race that was widely criticized for shortchanging fans.

"I don't think anybody was happy with it -- the drivers, the fans, the teams, NASCAR," said Biffle's teammate Matt Kenseth, whose Ford was among the cars that had a tire blowout in the race. "We were probably running only 70% [of top speed] when we blew that tire, along with everybody else," Kenseth said.

Indy has an abrasive surface, but in past years that was mitigated by race day after the cars had laid rubber on the track during practice.

But that process didn't happen this year as teams used NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow for the first time at Indy. Instead, the tires supplied by Goodyear were rapidly chewed up, leading to the constant yellow flags.

"The tire wasn't putting rubber down. It was turning to dust and not laying on the race track and not merging with the asphalt," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is second in points for Hendrick Motorsports behind series leader Kyle Busch.

Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion who won the Brickyard 400, said "we need to find out why the tire rubber would not lay into the track" in practice.

"No one knew we had a problem until the end of the first practice," he said. "And by then, it's too late."

Despite the controversy, Earnhardt, Biffle and some other drivers took the race in stride -- even if many of Indy's more than 200,000 spectators and fans watching on television did not.

"To be perfectly honest with you, I find it fun when things are challenging," Biffle said. "The challenge was how to manage the tires that we have. So it was something different and sometimes that's fun."

Added Earnhardt: "The race was fun regardless of the pit stops and all the cautions. It just created a different atmosphere for me. I wasn't too bothered or upset with it. But I'm ready to get on past it."

latimes.com.

Pennsylvania 500: No Sweep?
By Brian Gabrielle

Last Week: We won our +700 straight-up bet when Jimmie Johnson won the bizarre, tire-marred race at the Brickyard, but unfortunately we lost our head-to-head bet when Brian Vickers's engine exploded early in the race, and he finished 42nd. For the week, then, we lost 0.17 units on 1.5 units wagered; for the season, we've profited 4.78 units on 29 units wagered, a return of 16.5%, and we've given you winning weeks in 15 of 20 events. (Note that if you'd eschewed the relatively conservative betting pattern we outline below, and simply bet one unit per wager we recommend, last week you'd have won three units on four units wagered, a return of 75%; for the season, that would leave you with a profit of 8.99 units on 79 units wagered, a return of 11.4%. But there's clearly a bit more week-to-week risk associated with that strategy.)

Take Denny Hamlin (+600), 1/6th unit. This weekend it's back to Pocono, that crazy tri-cornered hat of a track in rural Pennsylvania. In five career starts at Pocono, Hamlin has two wins and has never finished worse than sixth. Back in June, in the first Car of Tomorrow race at this track, Hamlin was third. And he also finished third at Indy last weekend, another very fast, shallow-banked, brake-intensive track.

Take Jimmie Johnson (+600), 1/6th unit. I'll also go with last weekend's race winner. The No. 48 team has been the best on the circuit over the past month or so, and like Hamlin, he has two career wins at Pocono. He finished sixth here in the CoT back in June, and the fact that he had the day's dominant car at Indy means he's going to have something for the rest of the Smokeless Set on Sunday.

Take Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+1200), 1/6th unit. I was tempted to go with favorite Kasey Kahne (+500) in this spot, because Pocono is definitely a track that recently has lent itself to sweeps (Johnson swept here in '04, Hamlin did it in '06). But that's a pretty steep price to pay for a guy who didn't look all that strong at Indy last week, so instead I'm going to with Little-E, who's never won at this track but did finish second in this race last season and fourth in the CoT here back in June.

In this week's head-to-head match-up, take Hamlin over Kyle Busch (-135), 1 unit. I know, I know, the series point leader, the guy who's already won a whopping seven events in 2007, is a relatively major underdog? It's true, and there's a reason for it: Busch wasn't very good in the first Pocono race even before he wrecked out and finished 43rd, and despite the fact that he led 14 laps at Indy last weekend, he didn't have a great car and was easily passed nearly every time tire strategy put him out front. He finished 15th. Now, this could easily bite my butt, because Busch has won at just about every track type under the sun in '08. But I like Hamlin to be in the top five Sunday, and I'm not sure I can say that about Busch.

Trading Paint: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 picks

Welcome to Trading Paint, a weekly entry where a statewide panel of four auto racing "experts" will make picks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. This week: Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Long Pond, Pa.

The rules are simple:
1. A panelist can't pick the same driver in back-to-back weeks.
2. Standings will be calculated each week based on the actual points earned by the drivers each panelist picks to win.

After 20 races, the standings are as follows, with their pick of last week's winner in parentheses:

1. Steve Kaminski (Kyle Busch) -- 2,966
2. Jeff Bleiler (Tony Stewart) -- 2,778
3. Mike Pryson (Jeff Gordon) -- 2,709
4. Antoine Pitts (Jeff Gordon) -- 2,641

Jeff Bleiler -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
NASCAR put on one of its worst shows in recent memory last week in Indianapolis, a fiasco that left a lot of fans ticked off, officials pointing fingers and me disgusted for going with Tony Stewart when he's been nothing but a disappointment to me all season. NASCAR is licking its wounds as it rolls on shredded tires into Pocono and must learn from its mistakes at Indy. Same here.

• Winner -- Jeff Gordon. I picked him to win the June race, and that didn't happen. Heck, a top-10 finish didn't even happen. (So much for learning from our mistakes.) But I have to go with a guy who's due and can win at Pocono.

• Sleeper -- Denny Hamlin. The guy seems to thrive at this place, where he was third in June. He won both races in 2006, so he knows what he's doing there.

• No chance -- Tony Stewart. Like I said, I'm done with him. A 23rd-place finish and countless other disappointments will do that to a Trading Paint panel member.

Steve Kaminski -- The Grand Rapids Press
Critics have spent the whole week slamming NASCAR and Goodyear for Sunday's disastrous Brickyard 400, calling it the worst race ever, that people should get their money back and how NASCAR should be embarrassed by it.

Hopefully, they did what I did. I calmed down, digested what happened and listened to NASCAR apologize for the debacle.

And you know what? This is one of those instances in which the critics are absolutely correct. It was horrible.

• Winner -- Jimmie Johnson. He's is heating up. The Chase must be near.

• Sleeper -- Brian Vickers. He was runner-up here in June.

• No chance -- Greg Biffle. He has one top-five finish in 11 career Pocono starts.

Antoine Pitts -- The Ann Arbor News
All right, hopefully we won't have another tire fiasco this week as we move from the Brickyard to the Pocono triangle. If it's not one thing, it's another keeping me from moving up the standings. Luck will begin to turn for me this week.

• Winner -- Kyle Busch. He'll be back in the winner's circle this week, and so will I.

• Sleeper -- Kasey Kahne. The early season winner at Pocono could challenge again.

• No chance -- Tony Stewart. Finished 35th in the June race here and hasn't been heard from in a long time.

Mike Pryson -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Quick question: What do NASCAR drivers and Jackson Citizen Patriot sports writer Mike Pryson have in common?

Quick answer: We both just hope that our tires stay in tact for another few miles.

OK, guys, keep the rubber together this week at Pocono.

• Winner -- Denny Hamlin. This is one of those picks that's too easy ... and will probably look silly Monday morning. Hamlin owns Pocono (actually, it's owned by the Mattioli Family). He's had two wins, two thirds and a sixth in five tries at the Tricky Triangle.

• Sleeper -- David Ragan. This is my default pick every couple of weeks. This guy has quietly inched up to 14th in the points and is just 56 points out of the Chase. I'm betting he gets there, and a top-10 finish this week would be a nice step in the right direction for a guy who is going to be a star in this sport.

• No chance -- Tony Stewart. Forming a new team, leaving a comfort zone and knocking officials upside the head are starting to take its toll on Stewart's 2009 campaign. He's had just two top-five finishes (both fifths) in the last 10 races and four finishes outside the top 20 during that same stretch. Here's predicting a downward spiral the rest of the season for Smoke.

mlive.com