Pocono 500 News and Notes

Tony Stewart can't seem to shake his hard luck

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Boy, could Tony Stewart use a little fun right now.

The two-time NASCAR champion was caught in an accident at Dover International Raceway on Sunday, ruining his race after 17 laps. He finished 41st for his fourth poor finish in five races.

Now he's perilously close to the Chase cutoff point.

Some relief comes Wednesday night when Stewart swings open the gates at Eldora Speedway for his annual charity event at his Ohio dirt track.

``You get to do something different that's no stress and it's all about having fun,'' he said, referring to the Prelude to the Dream race.

Stewart is 11th in the standings, just 35 points from slipping out of championship contention. He's been there once before, in 2006 when he failed to qualify for the Chase and was ineligible to defend his Cup title.

It's far too early to predict the same thing will happen to Stewart this year. But if his luck doesn't change soon, Stewart and his No. 20 team will be in for a long summer.

Of course, the summer is usually when Stewart heats up. In his nine previous seasons, he's scored his first victory before the 14th race of the year only four times. In 2003, his first win of the year came in the 14th event, at Pocono Raceway, where Stewart heads this weekend.

He'll go there trying to shake the hex he's seemingly been under since Talladega, where he revealed he's exploring opportunities away from Joe Gibbs Racing. Since then, a fourth-place finish at Richmond in early May is about the only thing that's gone right for Stewart.

He led 61 laps at Talladega, only to be caught in a wreck 14 laps from the finish and wound up 38th. Two races later, he was wrecked by Elliott Sadler two laps into the Darlington event and finished 21st.

A flat tire with three laps to go - and the lead - snatched the Coca-Cola 600 win away from him at Charlotte, and he again was involved in an accident with Sadler just 17 laps into Sunday's race at Dover.

``I take 100 percent responsibility. It's my fault for being even anywhere close to Elliott,'' a sarcastic Stewart offered. ``If I'm within a half a lap of him, I expect that to happen.''

But staying away from Sadler might not be the solution Stewart needs to save his season.

Rather, Stewart needs to shore up his future plans so everyone around him can focus on finally getting into Victory Lane this season.

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli has acknowledged that Stewart's situation is a distraction based on the daily questions he receives about the team's future. The core group that started that team in 1999 is still intact, and when the driver is considering leaving, everyone gets a little unsettled.

``Every guy on my team, everybody at the shop wants to know who is what and where, and what's going on,'' Zipadelli said. ``Everybody in the media wants to know what's going on. It doesn't matter where you go or what you do, somebody wants to ask you something about it.

``As tough as you think you are, as cool as you think you can be, when it gets brought up every day, it's a distraction.''

Zipadelli knows how tough it is to beat the best in the business, and right now the top competition is under the same JGR roof. Kyle Busch on Sunday won for the fourth time this season - a series best - and Denny Hamlin has been to Victory Lane once already.

To win their third title together, Stewart must settle his team and help put the focus back on winning.

``I can't control this,'' Zipadelli said. ``I didn't start it, but it's certainly a little bit of a distraction and that's just the way it is. The teams that don't have distractions and are focused 110 percent, those are the teams that are tough to beat.''

In fairness to Stewart, there's little he can do to control this rash of bad luck. It won't matter if he signs a contract extension with Gibbs tomorrow or announces his intention to leave the team. If he's in the wrong place at the wrong time, he's going to crash.

But it's also not a reach to wonder if this sudden slide is at all related to his off-track negotiating. Team president J.D. Gibbs doesn't think so, noting that Stewart and the No. 20 team usually perform at their highest when the chaos around them is greatest.

Yet Gibbs admits the waiting game can be agonizing.

``There's something sitting there. How long is it going to sit there? That's frustrating and those guys want direction for the future,'' Gibbs said.

So Stewart needs to get through his event at Eldora, where he hopes to raise $1 million to give to Kyle Petty toward construction on a new camp in Kansas City for chronically ill children. Then he needs to sort out his plans because dragging this out much longer might certainly sink his season.

Pocono 500 preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

The picturesque Pocono mountains are the site of this weeks NASCAR Sprint Cup race. The tri-angled shaped 2.5 mile track is without a doubt the most unique track on the circuit. It combines the three vastly different turns that is flatter than the next with three monstrous straight-aways that give it a feel of being a road course combined with a superspeedway. Among all the cookie cutter tracks on the circuit, Pocono is always a welcomed attraction for NASCAR viewers across the nation.

It’s important to note that this Pocono race will be the first time we have seen the Car of Tomorrow at the track. Along with the 1.5 and two-mile tracks, Pocono wasn’t raced on last season so the only real clues we have to go on is by using a little past history of the drivers at Pocono and also using what we have seen this year on all tracks.

I believe it is safe to say that Las Vegan Kyle Busch is pretty good on just about everything. He has a nice 142 point lead over second place Jeff Burton in the standings that includes four wins through 13 races. He is on his way to what looks like a dominating season in the same fashion like we used to see from Jeff Gordon in the late 90’s. It doesn’t matter what kind of track it is, the fact is that Busch is fast everywhere in anything.

We already know Busch is going to be fast this week and we know that he is the 7/1 favorite for the race, but just fun, lets take a look at how he has been in the past at Pocono Raceway when he drove for Hendrick Motorsports. His rookie year was 2005, one year after his teammate Jimmie Johnson had swept Pocono. In his first start, Busch finished fourth accompanied by all three of his Hendrick teammates in the Top 10. His recent history at the track hasn’t been as successful as that first run, which was also the first year of the new gear ratio rule that took the shifting element away from Pocono.

Kyle Busch is going to have plenty of power and he’ll also have the support of his two Gibbs teammates who haven’t finished outside seventh place in the last four Pocono races. Denny Hamlin swept the 2006 season while Tony Stewart has been in contention for a win in just about every Pocono start of his career. Stewart combined his road course skill and down-shifting ability to be one of the elite Pocono drivers. Down-shifting doesn’t come into play anymore, but there still is a little road course experience required to hit those turns precisely to maximize speed and minimize wiggle.

Last week all the Sprint Cup teams went to Pocono for a test session because the COT had never been on the track. The results of the session looked exactly like the old car because it was the same cast of characters that had been fast in the old cars that were good in the testing as well as a few names from open wheel road racing that can’t seem to cut it on stock car ovals.

Leading the way in testing was two-time Pocono winner and Kyle’s big brother, Kurt Busch. We have been waiting patiently in Las Vegas at PT’s pub for a big Kurt Busch win, but it has eluded him and us all season. Many thought that after the big 1-2 Daytona 500 finish from the Penske drivers that there was a possibility that Busch could be a championship contender. There was no way to know at that point that the Penske COT program was so far behind just about every other major racing program.

The Pocono test session is the first real sign that Penske has made strides with the COT. Being in Las Vegas, we really hope that Kurt Busch is ready to make a run and be competitive like we have seen throughout his entire career. Thus far, he’s languishing in 21st position with his only top 10 finish of the season coming at Daytona when he pushed Ryan Newman to the win and finished second.

The driver that finished just behind Busch in the test session was Mark Martin followed by three open wheelers, Patrick Carpentier, AJ Allmendinger, and JJ Yeley. Martin has bee one of the best Pocono drivers of all time. He has 42 career starts there with 29 Top 10 finishes. His six second place finishes there without are a record and just for fun we’ll throw in his four third places finishes. Needless to say, mark martin is a contender this week with what looks like an obviously improved DEI program.

TOP 5 Finish Prediction:

1. #2 Kurt Busch (12/1)
2. #18 Kyle Busch (7/1)
3. #11 Denny Hamlin (8/1)
4. #8 Mark Martin (19/1)
5. #48 Jimmie Johnson (8/1)

Odds and Ends - Pocono
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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.
# There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two a year since then.

Notebook

# There have been 60 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway since the first race there in 1974.
# Buddy Baker won the first pole at Pocono.
# There have been 35 different pole winners at Pocono. Only 13 drivers have more than one Pole there.
# There have been 21 pole winners in the last 25 races. Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon (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.
# 27 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott with five victories. Eighteen drivers have won more than once there.
# There have been 12 different race winners in the 15 races since Bobby Labonte swept in 1999. Jimmie Johnson swept 2004 and Denny Hamlin 2006, while 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.
# 43 of 60 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start; 12 by the pole winner.
# The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field 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).
# 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 finished sixth and third in his second two races for an average finish of 2.8 in four races – the all-time best of any driver at the Pennsylvania track. He also led 283 of the 706 laps raced in the four races (40 percent).

NASCAR in Pennsylvania

# There have been 95 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.
# 134 NASCAR drivers (all-time) have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.
# Three drivers from Pennsylvania have won a race in NASCAR’s three national series:

Pocono Raceway Data Race #: 14 of 36 (6-8-08)

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 133.1
Kurt Busch 116.6
Tony Stewart 103.2
Ryan Newman 101.9
Jeff Gordon 97.5
Brian Vickers 97.0
Kevin Harvick 95.5
Mark Martin 95.2
Jimmie Johnson 93.8
Martin Truex Jr. 91.2

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2007 races (6 total) at Pocono.

Qualifying/Race Data

2007 pole winner: Ryan Newman (170.062 mph, 52.922 seconds)
2007 race winner: Jeff Gordon, 136.887 mph, 6-10-07)
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.

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 six races at Pocono. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) 12/1

# Two wins, seven top fives
# Average finish of 14.6
# Average Running Position of 7.5, second-best
# Driver Rating of 116.6, second-best
# Series-high 207 Fastest Laps Run
# Average Green Flag Speed of 159.711 mph, second-fastest
# 920 (82.9%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
# 190 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) 11/1

# Four wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s; two poles
# Average finish of 10.2
# Average Running Position of 11.1, fifth-best
# Driver Rating of 97.5, fifth-best
# 422 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
# 796 (71.7%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most
# 225 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) 8/1

# Two wins, three top fives, four top 10s; two poles
# Average finish of 2.8
# Series-best Average Running Position of 4.6
# Series-best Driver Rating of 133.1
# 172 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
# Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 160.242
# Series-best 93.9% (663 total) Laps in the Top 15
# 138 Quality Passes (average of 34.5 per race), ninth-best average

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

# One top five, four top 10s
# Average finish of 16.4
# Average Running Position of 12.0, eighth-best
# Driver Rating of 95.5, seventh-best
# Average Green Flag Speed of 159.030 mph, ninth-most
# 829 (74.7%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
# 239 Quality Passes, third-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) 8/1

# Two wins, four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
# Average finish of 10.7
# Average Running Position of 12.5, ninth-best
# Driver Rating of 93.8, ninth-best
# Average Green Flag Speed of 159.305 mph, fourth-fastest
# 788 (71.0%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
# 204 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Mark Martin (No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet) 19/1

# 19 top fives, 29 top 10s
# 10.7 average finish
# Average Running Position of 11.9, seventh-best
# Driver Rating of 95.2, eighth-best
# 28 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 159.155, eighth-fastest
# 831 (74.9%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
# 193 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Ryan Newman (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) 25/1

# One win, five top fives, six top 10s
# 13.6 average finish
# Average Running Position of 8.6, third-best
# Driver Rating of 101.9, fourth-best
# Average Green Flag Speed of 159.226, sixth-fastest
# Series-high 931 (83.9%) Laps in the Top 15
# 249 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) 8/1

# One win, five top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
# Average finish of 12.4
# Average Running Position of 10.5, fourth-best
# Driver Rating of 103.2, third-best
# 36 Fastest Laps Run, tied for sixth-most
# Average Green Flag Speed of 159.357, third-fastest
# 879 (79.2%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
# Series-high 266 Quality Passes

Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota) 75/1

# Three top fives
# 14.4 average finish
# Average Running Position of 11.8, sixth-best
# Driver Rating of 97.0, sixth-best
# 66 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
# 810 (73.0%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most

NASCAR: Pocono 500

Kyle Busch will go for his fifth win of the season at Pocono Raceway this weekend, as he tries to keep adding to his lead atop the driver standings in the Pocono 500.

Busch wrapped up his Sprint Cup Series-leading fourth win of the season in last weekend’s Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway. With the win, Busch increased his points lead to 142 points over second-place Jeff Burton. After winning last week at Dover, Busch now has equaled his win total from the past three seasons combined. Busch has never won at Pocono before, with his best career finish being a fourth place in the 2005 Pocono 500.

The defending champion of the Pocono 500 is Jeff Gordon, who is also the active leader in wins at Pocono with four. Gordon also won the Pocono 500 in 1996 and 1997 and he won the Pennsylvania 500, also held at Pocono, back in 1998. Gordon is still searching for his first win of the season, but he’s getting closer after three Top 5 finishes in his last four races.

Trailing Gordon on the Pocono wins list are Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch, all with a pair of wins at Pocono. Hamlin and Johnson both recorded their two victories in one season, as Hamlin swept both Pocono races in 2006 and Johnson pulled off the sweep two years earlier in 2004. Hamlin and Johnson have both posted one win so far this season, but they had very different days at Dover last week where Hamlin was involved in an early crash and finished dead last in 43rd spot, while Johnson cracked the Top 10 in seventh place.

Kurt Busch – Kyle’s older brother – won at Pocono in 2007 and 2005, and he could really use a victory this week to get back on track. Kurt Busch is well back in the points standings in 21st place, after failing to win a race so far while only recording one Top 5 finish.

Pocono 500 Driver Rating

In four career starts at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin has an unbelievable average finish of 2.8. He has finished in the top 10 in each race and captured two victories, both coming in 2007. Maybe even more remarkable, he has been in the top 15 in 93.9% of his laps at Pocono. A few weeks back, Hamlin had a streak of five consecutive top 10s. After last week’s disappointing 43rd place finish at Dover, Pocono is the perfect place for him to right his ship.

Tony Stewart has nearly worked his way out of the Chase. He is 11th in the Sprint Cup standings and couldn’t be more thrilled to get to Pocono. He has never really qualified exceptionally well there, but he leads all drivers with 266 quality pass over the last six races held at the track. He has only led nine laps there in the last three years, but with an average finish of 9.5, he’s a safe fantasy choice.

Coming off a 13th place finish in the Best Buy 400, Brian Vickers looks to build momentum for a run at the Chase. Vickers has an average finish of 14.7 over the last three years. He has three top 5s at the track, but would like to forget his two runs last season. He failed to finish in the top 15 in either event. Vickers is a risky fantasy option. If you get the 2005/2006 version, you’re in good shape. Unfortunately, if you stumble into the 2007 option, better luck next week.

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Pocono 500 PreQ

Although he has yet to visit victory lane Jeff Gordon has reeled off four consecutive top 10 finishes. Gordon had just three top 10s through the first nine events before pulling it all together. He is due for a win and it could very easily occur at Pocono Raceway where he is the defending race champion. He has two wins and 14 top 10s in the last 20 starts at the track with an average finish of 10th place. Gordon and his #24 DuPont Chevrolet team had ready for a trip to victory lane and he looks poised to attain that feat this weekend in the Pocono 500.

There have been some shenanigans between Gordon and former teammate Kyle Busch in the last few weeks. While both drivers are over the incidents there could be more fireworks at Pocono if the PreQ forecast as anything to say about it. Busch, the winner of four of 13 races this season, sits second on the PreQ as he is averaging a 3rd place finish over the last six races. He has not run exceptionally well at Pocono in his career recording just two top 10s in six starts with a 17th place average finish but if Busch has shown anything this season it is that he is a contender on any track. He will once again be a force to be reckoned with.

OK, we have been saying that we are fans of Juan Pablo Montoya this season and to avoid him for the most part. This weekend, however, is a race in which you will want Montoya in your lineup. The former open wheel driver has a knack for the flat-banked superspeedways averaging a 13th place finish in three career starts. Much like the road courses Montoya has run well on these particular track types. He has also proven us wrong a few times this season finishing outside the top 20 four times this season with one top 10. He should be in store for a good day this weekend at Pocono and be able to record his second top 10 of the season.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Montoya is David Ragan. Ragan has been running extremely well this season posting eight top 15s on the year as he sits 13th in the point standings. Ragan, unlike Montoya, does not like the flat-banked superspeedways. In his three career starts Ragan is averaging a 25th place finish with a 30th place average finish in his two Pocono starts. Ragan has been running much better this season on tracks in which he ran poorly his rookie season but with just three flat-banked superspeedways on the circuit he has not yet had the chance to gain much experience. Watch him closely to see how well he runs in practice and qualifying as he might be a driver you will want to avoid this weekend.

There have been rumors swirling around the garage that is more than likely Jamie McMurray’s last season with Roush Fenway Racing. For one, the team has to get below NASCAR mandatory limit of four teams. For two, McMurray has just not been that good in the #26 Crown Royal Ford. In two seasons he has 11 top 10s in 39 starts although he did win a race last season (Daytona). McMurray is also currently being out driven by teammate David Ragan (although he expect both to have long weekends). McMurray has just two top 10s in 10 career starts with an average finish of 23rd place. Like teammate Ragan we would avoid McMurray as well.

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Driver Handicaps: Pocono

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for Sunday's Pocono 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
• Denny Hamlin has two wins and a 2.8 average finish in four starts.
• Jeff Gordon has four wins and leads all drivers with 870 laps led.
• Tony Stewart has finished seventh or better in five consecutive races.
• Mark Martin leads all drivers with 29 top-10 finishes.
• Kurt Busch has two wins and two runner-up finishes in the last five races.

Keep an Eye on at Pocono
• Kyle Busch: Not the best record at Pocono, but you can bet he will be up front again in his first track start with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Yates Racing: Travis Kvapil is still solidly hanging in there without sponsorship, and it's always good to have some Yates horsepower under the hood for the long Pocono frontstretch.
• Martin Truex Jr: Will look to build on his third-place finish last year and a good test session with teammate Mark Martin.
• Carl Edwards: Won the June Pocono race in 2005 and is coming off four consecutive finishes of ninth or better this season.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr: Still searching for the first win with Hendrick and will be racing the No. 88 Chevrolet that takes the void from the No. 25, a car that has done well in the past at Pocono.
• Jeff Burton: Lost the record of completing every lap in 2008 at Dover, but will look to stay as the only other driver besides Kyle Busch that has an average finish of 8.0 or better in all races this year.
• Ryan Newman: Won the 2003 July Pocono race and is coming off two top 10s at the track.

Pocono Rookie Report
Five freshman drivers will be in Pocono this weekend with three guaranteed starting spots in Sunday's Pocono 500: Regan Smith, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Michael McDowell. Dario Franchitti, who returns to the Sprint Cup Series this weekend after suffering a broken ankle at Talladega in April, and Patrick Carpentier must qualify on time. None of this year's rookie crop has made a Sprint Cup start at Pocono although McDowell finished first and sixth in two ARCA Pocono starts last season. Rookie Standings

Pocono Testing Report
Kurt Busch and Mark Martin topped the speed charts in last week's test session at Pocono Raceway. Testing Results

Qualifying Tidbits
Last August, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. scored his first career Sprint Cup Series pole at Pocono with a lap of 169.975 mph to boost Chevrolet's total to five pole positions in the last 12 events dating back to the June race in 2002 when qualifying was canceled due to rain. In last season's June Pocono stop, Ryan Newman scored his second career pole at Pocono Raceway after laying down a lap of 170.062 mph. In 2006, Denny Hamlin swept both poles at Pocono. Kasey Kahne, driving a Dodge, is the current track qualifying record holder after running a lap of 172.533 mph in the 2004 June event Ford won their last pole at the track after Todd Bodine took the top spot in this event in 2001.

RacingOne Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Kurt Busch
Pete Pistone: Carl Edwards
Rachael West: Carl Edwards
Kym Opalenik: Carl Edwards

Top 20 Driver Notes - Ordered by Current Standings

1. Kyle Busch: In the 2005 June race, Busch finished fourth in his first start Pocono Raceway. 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. This weekend Busch will be making his first track start with Joe Gibbs Racing along with running the Truck race in Texas and the Nationwide race in Nashville.

2. 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 year he finished 13th and 11th, respectively, which marked the fifth and sixth race he has competed at the track with Richard Childress Racing. All but three of his 13 top-10 finishes came with Roush Racing from 1996-2004. This weekend Burton will be back behind the wheel of the same car (chassis No. 245) that finished sixth at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

3. 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 (fifth top 10) in 16 Pocono starts with Dale Earnhardt Inc. In the 2004 July event, Earnhardt handed the controls of the No. 8 Chevrolet over to John Andretti on lap 52 after the second-degree burns he suffered in an American LeMans Series accident made it too difficult to finish the race. Junior's finishing average, of 17.3, took a hit in the 2006 July race with a 43rd-place finish. This weekend Junior will make his first Pocono start with Hendrick Motorsports in the same car (chassis No. 88-498) that was tested at the track last week.

4. Carl Edwards: In 2005, Edwards won this 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 has yet to post another top 10. His best finish in the last four races was a 14th in this event last year. This weekend Edwards will pilot the same car (chassis No. RK-587) that finished seventh at Richmond.

5. 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 25.7. 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 be driving a brand new car (chassis No. RK-314) that was tested at Pocono.

6. Jeff Gordon: In 30 starts at Pocono Raceway, Gordon has captured four wins, two poles, 12 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. His most recent victory came in this event last year when he led 26 laps from the 18th starting position in the rain-shortened race. His last of four Pocono DNFs came in the 2006 June race after he lost the brakes and crashed hard into the Turn 1 wall. Gordon leads all drivers in laps led at Pocono with 870.

7. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson swept the Pocono Raceway events in 2004, leading 63 percent of the laps there that season. His 42nd-place finish in this event last year ended a streak of 10 consecutive top 15-finishes at the track. Johnson was able to rebound in the August race with a fifth-place finish, which lowered his overall average to 10.7. This weekend, Johnson will be back in the same car (chassis No. 504) that he tested at Pocono.

8. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer's Pocono finishing average took a big hit in the 2006 July race 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. 247) that was tested at Pocono.

9. 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. This weekend Hamlin will be racing the same car (chassis No. 196) that finished seventh at Darlington.

10. 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. 248 in the 200-lap race. This is the same car that was tested at Pocono last week.

11. Tony Stewart: In 18 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 is currently riding a five race streak where he has finished seventh or better. His third-place run in the 2006 June event came in his first full race back after sustaining a shoulder injury at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Stewart, who has led a total of 100 laps at Pocono, will be racing the same car (chassis No. 179) that was tested at Pocono last week.

12. Kasey Kahne: Kahne, who holds the Pocono qualifying record, will be making his ninth start this weekend at the 2.5-mile track. His last of two top 10s came in this event in 2006 when he finished seventh.

13. David Ragan: Ragan has a 29.5 average finish in two 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-477) in the Pocono 500.

14. Ryan Newman: Last year in this event, Newman recorded his fifth top five in 12 starts with a second-place finish after starting from the pole. 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-570) that finished sixth in the NASCAR All-Star race last month.

15. Martin Truex Jr: Truex has competed in four races at Pocono Raceway. His third-place finish in this event last year is his best to date. Last June Truex made a strong run in the points and he hopes to do the same this season with a good run at Pocono. He will be shooting for his third Pocono top 10 driving the same car (chassis No. 015) that finished 13th at Bristol.

16. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has yet to reach victory lane at Pocono Raceway, but has posted seven top-10 finishes in 16 starts. His last top 10 came in this event last year when he finished the rain-shortened event in ninth. In 2005, he finished 30th or worse in both Pocono races for the first time in one season. Kenseth, who has led in seven races for 27 laps, has a 14.8 finishing average at the 2.5-mile track. This weekend Kenseth will return in the same car (chassis No. RK-606) that he tested last week at Pocono.

17. Juan Pablo Montoya: Montoya posted an average finish of 18.0 in his rookie season at Pocono Raceway in 2007. This weekend he will shoot for his first top 10 at the track driving the same car (chassis No. 815) that he tested last week at Pocono.

18. Travis Kvapil: Kvapil has competed in four races at Pocono Raceway. His best finish, of 17th, came in his first start in 2005 behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dodge. This weekend Kvapil will make his first Pocono start with Yates Racing and will drive the same car (chassis No. 601) that was tested last week at the track.

19. 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 (14.4). Vickers' three top 10s at the 2.5-mile all came with Hendrick Motorsports. His best finish was a second in this event in 2005 after leading 121 laps.

20. Bobby Labonte: Labonte has competed in 30 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 17.3 in his four starts with Petty Enterprises.

Racingone.com

Pocono 500 Odds and Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard

Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch and the No. 18 car continued their dominance in NASCAR at the Best Buy 400 last weekend as he won for the third time in five races, took his fourth checkered flag on the season, and increased his lead in the Sprint Cup standings over Jeff Burton to 142 points going into the Pocono 500 on Sunday June 8 at 2:30 p.m.

If you are planning on attending this year's Pocono 500 bring your autograph book. Pocono sports one of the best venues for getting autographs along pit-row. Those braving gas prices and bringing their land yachts for some infield docking should keep in mind that once you are there on the infield you can't leave so bring everything you need with you for the entire weekend-because you won't find a supply store on the infield.

Who will win the Pocono 500?

The 2.5-mile tri-oval located on Long Pond Road is known as the "tricky triangle." Jeff Gordon won last year's Pocono 500 but will have to race better than he has this year if he hopes to win here again. Gordon finished last weekend's race in fifth place and that brought him up four places to sixth from 10th in the standings for the Sprint Cup. But the reality is for Gordon to win again he's going to have to outpace JGR and the awesome Toyota's they have brought to each and every Sprint Cup race this year.

One such driver (not named Kyle Busch) is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin was one of the unlucky Chase drivers who got involved in the pile-up 17 laps into the Best Buy 400. Hamlin tumbled five places in the standings from fourth to ninth place; 420 points behind the Sprint Cup leader Kyle Busch. On the season, Hamlin has far exceeded expectations for Joe Gibbs Racing where he was expected to be fighting to keep his spot on the roster with the addition of Busch in the off-season. Hamlin has quickly become one of the marquee attractions in the JGR stable and is likely one of the few drivers that might be able to challenge Busch for the Sprint Cup title this year. But Hamlin will need to avoid early pile-ups like last weekend if this is to happen.

Gambler's investing in this race should be aware of qualifying results. Winners in four of the past five races on the tri-oval have come from the front row of the grid; twice from the pole by Denny Hamlin and twice from the outside by Kurt Busch. In recent memory at Pocono you'll be hard pressed to find a driver with more success than Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No.11 Toyota has literally burned up the track. Hamlin has recorded two wins, three top-five and four top-10 finishes with an average finish of 2.8! In fact if you don't feel like the price is right for Hamlin to win, investing in Hamlin to finish in the top three is a sound investment but you'll only get 9/5 from Sportsbook.com.

Hamlin has led 283 laps on the Pennsylvania tri-oval and sixth place is his worst finish. One reason for Hamlin's success is his crew chief Mike Ford is able to bring his best cars to Pocono to give Hamlin a shot at wining every time he gets behind the wheel of his Toyota. Starting from the pole helps as well. Another reason Hamlin has done well is his ability to handle the turns; especially the high bank turns where Hamlin is known to do some of his best work. Keep an eye on turn three as the upper part of the corner has new asphalt so most of the drivers will look to establish ownership of the high-side rather than take chances with the old surface on the bottom coming out of the turn as they head for the start-finish line which most likely following a JGR car and driver; for our purposes lets hope it is the No. 11 car.

Pick! Denny Hamlin, 6/1

Pocono 500 Solid Gold Picks

Sportsbook.com has listed many matchups on the Best Buy 400, considered one of the hardest tracks to race on in the Sprint Cup, this weekend. Last week, our pick Jeff Gordon at +1.05 finished the Best Buy 400 in fifth place, which was great for the No. 24 driver. The problem was he was going against Matt Kenseth who finished the race fourth, costing us one unit on my Square Tire Pick. This brings my record Over-the-Wall to 9-9 with -1.55 units on the season with 13 of 36 Sprint Cup races completed.

Long Odds Value Pick

Newman has had some success at Pocono winning the fall race in 2003 back when it was the Winston Cup. Ryan Newman, in the No. 12 Alltel, Roger Penske Dodge, has notched five top-five and six top-10 finishes with an average finish of 13.6. It appears that the troubles that Dodge has had with their engines earlier in the season might be over. Newman managed to lead the Best Buy 400 for six laps and the Coca-Cola 600 for one lap. However, Newman has not finished better than fourth place since his win at Daytona for the first race of the year. Newman is in 14th place and 555 points behind the leader in the Sprint Cup standings and will be going all out in an effort to get within the top 12 places in the standings that comprise the Chase. Last year at the Pocono 500 he started from the pole and finished second and in the August race, the Pennsylvania 500, he started fourth place and finished in seventh. So Newman has done well in the past at Pocono it remains to be seen if he can win at Pocono for the first time in five years.

Pick! Ryan Newman, (30/1)

Square Tire Pick

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (-1.45)/Greg Biffle(+1.15)

Biffle's fortunes have certainly been on an upswing as he recorded his second straight top-five finish at Dover for Rousch Fenway Racing. He finished in second place two weeks ago at the Coca-Cola 600, and after winning the pole at Dover, finished the Monster Mile in third place. Biffle led for 164 of the first 170 laps until an alternator problem gave Carl Edwards the opportunity to claim the lead. Even with the problem, Biffle never fell below 8th place and was able to overcome the lack of oxygen to bring him up six places from 11th to 5th in the Sprint Cup standings. While he has never won at Pocono, I think that momentum will play a lot into this weekend's matchup and Biffle has it all when compared to Junior. Junior finds himself 271 points behind the leader in the Sprint Cup, but he is lucky to hold onto third place after being part of the huge crash 17 laps into the Best Buy 400. While he finished the race, the accident cost him the chance to move up on Burton and Busch. Looking at the statistics Junior has a better record at Pocono. Junior's average finish of 17.3 is slightly better than Biffle's 19.2. Junior has also never won at Pocono, but then it has been more than two years since Junior won a race at all. However, with four top-five and five top-10 finishes Junior has been better than Biffle who has only recorded one top-five and two top-10 finishes. Gambler's know that statistics are like a woman in a bikini; they don't reveal everything. I wouldn't be surprised if Biffle brings the same car as he did last weekend I wouldn't be surprised to see him win the pole and the race.

Pick! Gregg Biffle, No. 16, (+1.15)

Docsports.com

Kyle Busch is set to pull off trifecta

What’s happening in motor sports heading into the weekend, including Kyle Busch’s attempt to do three races in three series in three states in three days.

1 Kyle Busch is going for a historic NASCAR trifecta this weekend, with three races in three series in three states in three days.

Busch plans to qualify his Sprint Cup car at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania on Friday, then fly to Texas Motor Speedway for a Craftsman Series truck race Friday night.

He'll fly back to Pocono for practice Saturday then head to Nashville, Tenn., for a Nationwide Series race later that day, then return to Pocono for the Cup race Sunday.

"Shouldn't be that big a deal," Busch, 23, said when asked if he had the stamina for the whirlwind tour.

"The only thing that I do worry, we have a TV crew and stuff like that going with us," said Busch, who leads the Cup point standings. "That's kind of going to be probably the most draining thing, is just toting them around with us."

2 Robert Kubica returns to the site of his scary crash a year ago, Montreal, as the Formula One series holds the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Polish driver for the BMW Sauber team not only escaped the crash at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit with only minor injuries, he returned this year as one of the series' top contenders.

Kubica, 23, is fourth in the championship standings -- only six points behind series leader Lewis Hamilton -- and hopes to notch his first career Formula One victory this season.

3 The IndyCar Series holds the Bombardier Learjet 550K on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, where two of the series' top drivers -- teammates Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon -- have never won.

The Target Chip Ganassi teammates have a combined five top-three finishes at the 1.5-mile oval, but no victories.

"This track is one that I want to win at desperately," said Wheldon, the series 2005 champion.

Dixon, this year's Indianapolis 500 winner, said "it's a big pack race" and "you have to keep a conscious mind about the other cars around you."

4 Motorcycle racer Benny Solis Jr., 13, of North Hollywood is going for his third straight win Sunday in the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup, a developmental series for youngsters hoping to eventually reach the sport's top levels.

The race, at the Road America track in Elkhart Lake, Wis., is the third of the season. Solis won the opener at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama and at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma last month.

That's put Solis atop the series point standings, followed by Austin DeHaven, 14, of Santa Monica.

5 Locally, the Championship Off Road Racing series, which features off-road trucks racing in a closed-course arena, resumes Saturday and Sunday at the Fairplex in Pomona.

The first round of the AMA/USA Speedway National Championship motorcycle races is scheduled Saturday night at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

Also Saturday night, late-model stock cars lead the multi-race program at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, and sprint cars are featured at Perris Auto Speedway and Ventura Raceway.

latimes.com

Kahne quickest at Pocono qualifying

Long Pond, PA (Sports Network) - Kasey Kahne captured the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway. The No.9 Budweiser Dodge circled the 2.5- mile tri-oval in 52.873 seconds (170.219 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Kahne's first of the season and 15th of his Sprint Cup career. The last time he started on the front row, Kahne won the Coca-Cola 600 from the second starting position.

"My Dodge Charger is fast, we made hardly any adjustments from practice," said Kahne. "Our car is really well balanced and it felt perfect."

Starting alongside Kahne will be two-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson was the only other driver the crack the 53-second mark (52.986).

Mark Martin (53.287) and Regan Smith (53.335) will make up row two.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Carl Edwards (sixth), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seventh), Kyle Busch (10th), Kurt Busch (11th), Tony Stewart (12th), Matt Kenseth (13th), Dario Franchitti (14th), Jeff Burton (20th) and Jeff Gordon a distant (38th).

When it comes to success at Pocono, here are some drivers with pretty good results. Stewart has one win and 13 top-10s in 18 starts, Ryan Newman has one win, two poles and six top-10s in 12 starts, Martin has three wins and 29 top-10s in 42 starts, Johnson has two wins and seven top-10s in 12 starts, Gordon has four wins and 21 top-10s in 30 starts and Bill Elliott owns five wins on the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

But Denny Hamlin's record at Pocono surpasses all of those numbers. The No.11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver, who will start 16th, has made just four starts, but already owns two poles, two wins, four top-10s and an amazing average finish of 2.750. In his first-ever look at the track in the spring of 2006, he led 83 laps en route to a victory. Then in the fall race he proved it wasn't a fluke by leading another 151 laps and winning again. Last year Hamlin "struggled" finishing sixth and third in his two starts.

There were 44 qualifying attempts sending just one driver home - J.J. Yeley.

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

Pocono 500 HOT! Sheet

One of the best fantasy buys of the season so far has been Dave Blaney. The #22 team probably comes pretty cheap in most leagues, but has been very valuable, especially in the last three races. As you can see on our chart, he has an average finish inside the top 12 in that span. He has posted a season high 9th place finish in two of the last three events. We look for that momentum to continue this weekend.

A man who is definitely on a mission week in and week out is Jeff Gordon. He is still searching for that first trip to victory lane, but he has come real close. That team has posted four straight top 10s, with an average finish of about 5th in that span. Last week at Dover he ran up front the entire race, and even led for three laps, before settling for 5th place. He is the defending champion of this event, so look out!

Not too far back from him on the sheet this week is Travis Kvapil. He has put together a nice string of races that has vaulted him in to position 18 in the standings. Over the course of the last five races, he has a 13.4 average finish. Even when he has started poorly, things have gone fine as he qualified 41st at Charlotte but managed to make his way up to 26th. Give him some consideration this weekend.

At the very bottom of our list this week is Kevin Harvick. He is still safely in the top 10 in the standings, but if things keep going the way they have, that is in jeopardy. At Darlington, he started 11th but had trouble and wound up 39th. He had a solid 14th place run in the 600, but followed it up with an awful weekend at Dover where he started 34th and finished 38th. Until things start going the right way, we’d stay away.

Another surprising name at the bottom this week is Tony Stewart. “Smoke” has gone UP in smoke recently as he has failed to finish on the lead lap in five of the last 6 races. At Charlotte, he led for 23 laps but fell back to 18th at the end. Last week, the Monster Mile ate him up as he was part of the big wreck early and that resulted in a 41st place showing. We’re not saying bench him because we know what he is capable of doing, but he gets our ‘buyer beware’ label this week.

profantasysports.com

Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer say they'll stick with their NASCAR teams

McMurray says he 'never asked to get out of my contract.' Bowyer purportedly is working on a long-term deal with Richard Childress Racing.

Two NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer, today denied speculation that they would leave their teams after this season.

McMurray, who pilots the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, rejected a report in the Charlotte Observer that he was seeking employment elsewhere for 2009.

"I never asked to get out of my contract, and [Roush Fenway] never said that they were going to release me," McMurray told reporters before qualifying for Sunday's Cup race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.

Asked if he wanted to remain with the team, McMurray said "yes." Asked if he was putting out feelers to other teams, he replied, "No, I have not."

Bowyer, meanwhile, said Richard Childress Racing exercised its option for Bowyer to keep driving the No. 07 Chevrolet in 2009 "and we are just working on a long-term deal right now."

There also has been speculation that Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 1 Chevy, might leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this year. But Truex recently told the Press of Atlantic City he also expects to sign a long-term deal to stay with DEI.

Each year NASCAR goes through a period of rumors and speculation about drivers changing teams the comingyear, a period dubbed the "silly season." But the season seems to arrive earlier each year; Pocono will be only the 14th race of the series' 36-race schedule this year.

Bowyer is eighth in the Cup point standings, and it's the top 12 in points after 26 races that are eligible to compete in NASCAR's Chase for the Cup championship over the final 10 races of the year. Truex is 15th.

But McMurray is 22nd in points, and the Missouri native continues to struggle in the shadow of other Roush Fenway drivers such as Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle.

McMurray, who turned 32 on Tuesday and will make his 200th Cup start at Pocono, has two wins in his six-year Cup career, and one since he moved to Roush Fenway in 2006 from the team of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Regardless, McMurray said he remains confident. "Our cars have been really good,with Sonoma coming up and certainly Daytona," (where he won the summer race last year), "those are places that I feel that I can win every time."

latimes.com.

Trading Paint: Pocono 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 Pocono 500 in 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 13 races, the standings are as follows, with their pick of last week's winner in parentheses:

1. Steve Kaminski (Greg Biffle) -- 1,953
2. Jeff Bleiler (Carl Edwards) -- 1,744
3. Mike Pryson (Jeff Burton) -- 1,726
4. Antoine Pitts (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) -- 1,711

Jeff Bleiler -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Dover provided exactly what it needed to last week: reprieve from a pathetic run of winning picks finishing out of the top 20. Carl Edwards came through with a runner-up finish, but his 175 points matched that of Kaminski's guy, meaning Kaminski maintained his slim 209-point lead over me. Inexcusable. Forget chipping away; time to jackhammer on that thing.

• Winner -- Jeff Gordon. Take out a race in 2006 when his day ended early due to an accident, and in his last three starts at Pocono, he's finished first, third and fourth. I like his chances.

• Sleeper -- Denny Hamlin. He's two years removed from an incredible sweep at Pocono when he won both races from the pole. He finished sixth and third in the two races there last year, so there's no reason to believe he won't be near the front this weekend.

• No chance -- Kyle Busch. Hard to bet against the hottest driver in NASCAR, but considering his busy weekend (races in each of NASCAR's top series in three cities), it's hard to bet on him, too.

Steve Kaminski -- The Grand Rapids Press
What a great race this panel is having. The race for last place, that is.

Did you know that Jeff Bleiler, Mike Pryson and Antoine Pitts all have spent time in last place in recent weeks? Check it out. Just a measly 33 points separate the three cellar dwellers.

• Winner -- Denny Hamlin. He has had one top-20 finish in the past five races, and that was a seventh at Darlington. But his slump will end at Pocono.

• Sleeper -- Matt Kenseth. He has posted four consecutive top-seven finishes, so he is making his moving.

• No chance -- Jeff Burton. He hasn't had a top-five finish in 14 Pocono starts.

Antoine Pitts -- The Ann Arbor News
Only more week until we're at Michigan International Speedway. The only question that remains is whether or not I race on my home track leading the points standings. Now that would be a treat!

• Winner -- Jeff Gordon. He usually drives well at Ponono, with three career wins and 16 top-10 finishes in 22 starts there.

• Sleeper -- Juan Pablo Montoya. A 12th-place finish at Dover could set him up for something bigger this week.

• No chance -- Scott Riggs. He's in the worst spot of drivers who have started all 13 races, sitting in 35th.

Mike Pryson -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
What the heck is Kyle Busch doing, trying to pull off a Triple Crown this weekend?

The kid is running away with the regular-season points championship in the Sprint Cup series, the only series that really matters to the big boys. Here's hoping it works out for him, but, at the same time, here's guessing that he'll be gassed and be no factor come Sunday in Pocono.

I'm not going to go as far as call Busch my "No chance" pick this week, but if things do go south for him after this weekend, there will be a lot of second-guessers in his camp.

And speaking of second-guessers, here's what will happen at Pocono:

• Winner -- Jeff Gordon. At the halfway point of the regular (pre-Chase) season, Hendrick Motorsports has exactly one win. This superteam likely will have three drivers in the Chase (Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr.), but the team can't seem to buy a win (and they spent enough money in the offseason to buy at least a few wins by now). Gordon has been solid at Pocono the last few times out and is due for his first win.

• Sleeper -- Ryan Newman. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Newman is in the midst of a dogfight for that final Chase spot. I can't believe Penske will be out of the Chase this season. Newman was second and seventh at Pocono last year and should be solid again.

• No chance -- Clint Bowyer. In the last three races, he has finishes of 15th, 25th and 36th. By my book, which is a bit tattered, that's three weeks of going in the wrong direction. He's fallen back to eighth in the points and the pack is gaining on him.

mlive.com