Pennsylvania 500 Picks
This week NASCAR returns to Pocono Raceway for the Pennsylvania 500 and thanks to a strange schedule, the last race was also held here, which should make handicapping this event just a little easier.
In case you have forgotten what happened last week, Tony Stewart started last after crashing his primary car in practice, yet still drove to victory in his first win as an owner-driver.
When handicapping the Pennsylvania 500, we have to look at last week’s race since Indianapolis and Pocono are very similar. Pay close attention to those drivers who bring the car they raced last week, especially if they had a good day at Indy.
Denny Hamlin 7/1
The amount of bad luck Denny Hamlin and his team have encountered this year is mind boggling to say the least and last week’s race is a prime example of what we’re talking about. In his first five races at Pocono, Hamlin looked unbeatable with two wins, two top-3’s and a sixth place finish. But after that, he has been victimized with bad racing luck. We have said it a few times already this year and we will say it again: If he can just stay away from the bad luck, Hamlin should return to the winners circle at Pocono.
Mark Martin 6/1
Mark Martin has always run extremely well at Pocono and it is one of the few tracks he has never won at despite usually racing well. If you remember back to the first race here, Martin was not very happy with his performance and promised to redeem himself when they came back to Pocono. Though we couldn’t find out if he was bringing the car at Indy to Pocono, if he does, we think he might just redeem himself with his first win here.
Live Longshot
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 30/1
If you listened to Earnhardt Jr. after he blew up last week, you would have heard him say how much he liked the car and that they will be bringing that same car to Pocono. While this year has been a major disappointment for Earnhardt Jr., we have noticed a change in this team since they switched crew chiefs and is just too good not to have a win by now.
Posted: 7/30/09 2:51 PM ET
