1st driver/owner since Ricky Rudd to win a Cup race.
Tony Stewart won hoping not to run out of gas as the winner of the Pocono 500 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Stewart had just enough of an advantage over Carl Edwards who was also driving carefully to save fuel to take the victory. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson fell out of competition for the win running out of gas in the last lap sputtering to the end of the race.
Here’s the top 10:
1- Tony Stewart, Chevy
2- Carl Edwards, Ford
3- David Reutimann, Toyota
4- Jeff Gordon, Chevy
5- Ryan Newman, Chevy
6- Marcos Ambrose, Toyota
7- Jimmie Johnson, Chevy
8- Juan Montoya, Chevy
9- Jeff Burton, Chevy
10- Sam Hornish, Jr. Dodge
Aside from Edwards, the Roush team looking for improvement placed Greg Biffle in 11th, Jaime McMurray in 13th, Matt Kenseth in 16th, and David Ragan in 26th. Also looking for improvement, the remainder of Richard Childress racing found Clint Bowyer in 12th, Casey Mears in 14th, but Kevin Harvick continuing to struggle in 24th.
Richard Petty Racing could only secure a 15th place finish from last year’s winner, Kasey Kahne with the remainder of the team 20th or lower.
Pocono was a difficult race for Joe Gibbs shop with Kyle Busch, the guitar smashing ungracious punk of Nashville in 22nd immediately followed by Joey Logano, but Denny Hamlin, a driver who has done well on the Pennsylvania track finished a miserable 38th.
Looking at the bottom of the field, the bottom four teams finished 37 laps of less surely being “start and park” efforts. Dave Blaney, #40, completed 37 laps retiring due to a “vibration.” Joe Nemechek, #87, 36 laps, also had a “vibration.” David Gilliland, #71, completed 34 laps with a supposed ignition problem. Part-timer, Patrick Carpentier, 336 completed 32 laps leaving with a “vibration.” One might also question Sterling marlin’s effort in the 09 Dodge leaving after 56 laps with a fuel pump; however, James Finch‘s team has raced competitively in other events.
Okay, the Junior report, sad to say, same old same old. Dale Earnhardt Jr. botched a pit entry ruining his place in competition finishing near the tail of the lead lap in a non-competitive 27th dropping him back two spots in the standings. Perhaps there is a little break-in period with a new pit crew chief but the more these mistakes continue, the eyes will clearly be on the driver who almost seems distracted or preoccupied at times. What happened when David Stremme got pushed into the wall? Did #88 push him? If that’s the case, who knows what horrors await him on the track, but if there’s any consolation, next week’s event is the one the #88 team won last year.
Breaking down the points standings, clearly Pocono’s race firmly established Stewart-Haas’s team and Hendricks equipment supreme as Tony Stewart occupies 1st and teammate, Ryan Newman, moved into 4th while Jeff Gordon in 3rd and Jimmie Johnson in 4th are sandwiched between. Sadly for the Hendricks’ garage, Mark Martin dropped one point out of the top 12. The big winner in the points standings is Carl Edwards who leapt five positions to occupy 6th place. His second place finish and success at the tracks ahead could show his entry into the fight for the top. Denny Hamlin was the big loser dropping five spots. Paralleling Junior’s tough season, Kevin Harvick dropped two spots to 26th place. David Reutimann returned to the top 12 becoming more a top competitor as the season progresses.
The double file “shootout” style restarts looked like they accomplished their goal. This was one of the raciest Pocono events in memory. Seldom has there been so much racing and competition at the triangle shaped raceway.
It’s on to the big oval in Michigan where a good NASCAR performance could be a wonderful diversion for an area experiencing so much difficulty these days. While GM struggles in the real world, Chevrolet sits atop the NASCAR standings. Whatever happened to win on Sunday, sell on Monday?
TNN’s coverage was effective and a lot more oriented to the pure racing action and less emphasis on overall entertainment, a race fan’s dream.
Here’s the top 10:
1- Tony Stewart, Chevy
2- Carl Edwards, Ford
3- David Reutimann, Toyota
4- Jeff Gordon, Chevy
5- Ryan Newman, Chevy
6- Marcos Ambrose, Toyota
7- Jimmie Johnson, Chevy
8- Juan Montoya, Chevy
9- Jeff Burton, Chevy
10- Sam Hornish, Jr. Dodge
Aside from Edwards, the Roush team looking for improvement placed Greg Biffle in 11th, Jaime McMurray in 13th, Matt Kenseth in 16th, and David Ragan in 26th. Also looking for improvement, the remainder of Richard Childress racing found Clint Bowyer in 12th, Casey Mears in 14th, but Kevin Harvick continuing to struggle in 24th.
Richard Petty Racing could only secure a 15th place finish from last year’s winner, Kasey Kahne with the remainder of the team 20th or lower.
Pocono was a difficult race for Joe Gibbs shop with Kyle Busch, the guitar smashing ungracious punk of Nashville in 22nd immediately followed by Joey Logano, but Denny Hamlin, a driver who has done well on the Pennsylvania track finished a miserable 38th.
Looking at the bottom of the field, the bottom four teams finished 37 laps of less surely being “start and park” efforts. Dave Blaney, #40, completed 37 laps retiring due to a “vibration.” Joe Nemechek, #87, 36 laps, also had a “vibration.” David Gilliland, #71, completed 34 laps with a supposed ignition problem. Part-timer, Patrick Carpentier, 336 completed 32 laps leaving with a “vibration.” One might also question Sterling marlin’s effort in the 09 Dodge leaving after 56 laps with a fuel pump; however, James Finch‘s team has raced competitively in other events.
Okay, the Junior report, sad to say, same old same old. Dale Earnhardt Jr. botched a pit entry ruining his place in competition finishing near the tail of the lead lap in a non-competitive 27th dropping him back two spots in the standings. Perhaps there is a little break-in period with a new pit crew chief but the more these mistakes continue, the eyes will clearly be on the driver who almost seems distracted or preoccupied at times. What happened when David Stremme got pushed into the wall? Did #88 push him? If that’s the case, who knows what horrors await him on the track, but if there’s any consolation, next week’s event is the one the #88 team won last year.
Breaking down the points standings, clearly Pocono’s race firmly established Stewart-Haas’s team and Hendricks equipment supreme as Tony Stewart occupies 1st and teammate, Ryan Newman, moved into 4th while Jeff Gordon in 3rd and Jimmie Johnson in 4th are sandwiched between. Sadly for the Hendricks’ garage, Mark Martin dropped one point out of the top 12. The big winner in the points standings is Carl Edwards who leapt five positions to occupy 6th place. His second place finish and success at the tracks ahead could show his entry into the fight for the top. Denny Hamlin was the big loser dropping five spots. Paralleling Junior’s tough season, Kevin Harvick dropped two spots to 26th place. David Reutimann returned to the top 12 becoming more a top competitor as the season progresses.
The double file “shootout” style restarts looked like they accomplished their goal. This was one of the raciest Pocono events in memory. Seldom has there been so much racing and competition at the triangle shaped raceway.
It’s on to the big oval in Michigan where a good NASCAR performance could be a wonderful diversion for an area experiencing so much difficulty these days. While GM struggles in the real world, Chevrolet sits atop the NASCAR standings. Whatever happened to win on Sunday, sell on Monday?
TNN’s coverage was effective and a lot more oriented to the pure racing action and less emphasis on overall entertainment, a race fan’s dream.
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