Pennsylvania 500 PostQ
After winning the debacle at Indianapolis Jimmie Johnson recorded just his second win of the season. He has been looking like the Johnson of old in the last couple of races posting a runner-up the race prior at Chicagoland. Johnson could make it two in a row at Pocono Raceway if the PostQ forecast holds true. Johnson won the race at Indy from the pole and again qualified in the top spot for the Pennsylvania 500. That could bode well for the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet as Johnson was also quickest in the lone practice session after rain cancelled the practice sessions on Saturday. Johnson has a fast car and with just a few races to go before the Chase for the Championship he is jockeying for position once the final 10 races begin.
It has not gone as well as expected for the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Johnson and Jeff Gordon this season. Not that either is having a poor season it’s just that they are not winning as frequently as they have in the past few seasons. Gordon has looked as every bit as good as Johnson so far this weekend ranking second on the PostQ forecast. He qualified in the 4th position and was second quickest on our Speed chart. Gordon runs well at Pocono averaging a 10th place finish over the last 21 races at the track. With such a solid history you can bet that Gordon will be running up front at the end of the day.
Denny Hamlin has been fairly inconsistent this season. He has one win and 10 top 10s on the season. With the stellar performance of new teammate Kyle Busch Hamlin has essentially taken a back seat on the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Hamlin is looking to get his name back on top and with Pocono on the schedule he should be in store for a big day. In five starts at the track Hamlin has a pair of wins with his poorest finish being 6th place and an average finish of 3rd place. Hamlin qualified in the 14th position and ranked 13th on the Speed chart. This should be a good run for the #11 FedEx Toyota.
The aforementioned Kyle Busch could be in store for a long day at Pocono. He has not run particularly well at Pocono in his career. The first race at Pocono was Busch’s worst of the season when he finished 43rd position after wrecking – his lone DNF of the season. Busch averages just a 20th place finish in seven career starts and has not looked good at all this weekend. In the only practice session Busch ranked well back in the pack in the 34th position. He didn’t improve much in qualifying as he will start the race from the 27th position. Busch can, and has, made the impossible possible this season so never doubt his skills but Busch gets the ‘buyer beware’ label for the Pennsylvania 500.
It has not been a stellar season for Clint Bowyer. In 2007 Bowyer finished the season in the 3rd position in the point standings. He currently sits in the 12th, and final position to make the Chase, spot but has been falling back in the standings over the last few races. Since winning at Richmond in the tenth race of the season he has posted just two top 10s. Bowyer could find himself outside the top 12 after the race this Sunday as he has struggled so far. Bowyer qualified in the 30th position and was just 25th on our Speed chart. Bowyer finished 39th in the first race at Pocono this season and could be in for a similar run this weekend. We recommend avoiding Bowyer for this race.
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Fuel gamble pays off for Edwards in Pocono win
Long Pond, PA (Sports Network) - Carl Edwards capitalized on a late-race pit strategy to win Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway. Edwards last pitted with 35 laps remaining and had just enough fuel remaining to score his second win at the 2.5-mile triangular track. It was his fourth victory of the season and the 11th of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.
But Edwards' victory was almost foiled by Mother Nature.
With rain approaching the track, teams began green flag pit stops. Edwards held the lead until he made his stop on Lap 119, taking on four new tires. He reclaimed the top spot after the stops cycled through on Lap 122.
NASCAR displayed the yellow flag on Lap 128 for rain falling on part of the track. Several of the leaders pitted again in hopes the race would continue. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pitted for fuel only, while Edwards and pole sitter Jimmie Johnson took on two tires each. However, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Johnson and Edwards returned to the field 20th, 21st and 22nd, respectively.
Kasey Kahne opted not to pit and grabbed the lead for the first time on Lap 128. NASCAR halted the race three laps later.
During the red flag, Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne debated their call to pit.
"Bob and I were really arguing to try to make a little light of it, but we thought we had made the wrong call," Edwards said.
They were incorrect.
The race resumed after a 41-minute delay, but more threatening weather was impending.
Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin passed Matt Kenseth for second and third just after the restart. But Kahne jumped out to a near three-second lead over Hamlin until Lap 138 when the seventh caution came after Joe Nemechek and Paul Menard made contact and slammed into the wall.
A light rainfall in turn three extended the caution several more laps. When the race resumed with 55 laps to go, Kahne remained out in front. Juan Pablo Montoya blew an engine just after the restart, but no caution flag was displayed, despite some oil from Montoya's car spotted on the track.
Earnhardt, Jr. and Johnson, who pitted before rain halted the race, moved back into the top-10 with 50 laps remaining. Edwards had climbed up to 11th.
Kahne, Martin, and Hamlin were the first drivers to pit during a cycle of green-flag pit stops. Greg Biffle captured the lead when Kahne came in for his stop.
Biffle handed the lead over to Kurt Busch when Biffle pitted. Busch led five laps, but ran out of gas and coasted into the pits. Kenseth ran out in front for two laps before Edwards reclaimed the top spot.
Edwards was one of the last drivers to pit during the round of stops, and it would be his last one of the day. Tony Stewart also pitted on the same lap as Edwards. Both drivers hoped to go the distance without another stop.
When the long round of green-flag stops was completed, Kahne was back in front with Martin in the second spot.
Kahne made his final stop with 15 laps remaining as Martin moved into the top spot. Martin came down pit road one lap later, handing the lead back over to Edwards. Kahne and Martin took fuel and two new tires only on their stops.
Edwards held a six-second advantage over Stewart with 10 laps to go. He slowed down enough in the final laps to conserve enough fuel, but yet maintain a sufficient lead over Stewart and third-place Johnson. The fuel held up as Edwards crossed the line 3.858 seconds ahead of Stewart.
"My car was really, really loose all day," Stewart said. "Right after the (rain delay), we were pretty decent. It came to us finally. We finally had a good run, and it stayed with us all day."
Johnson, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan completed the top-five.
With the victory, Edwards moved up two positions in the championship standings to third. He trails leader Kyle Busch by 185 points. Earnhardt, Jr. (-176) remained second after his 12th-place run.
Busch was running fourth with two laps to go, but ran out of fuel. He made it into the pits for a splash of gas, but stalled as he exited. Busch ended up finishing a lap down in 36th place. He finished 43rd at Pocono in June.
The series will run next Sunday at Watkins Glen International.