Pocono Raceway - The Pennsylvania 500 (News & Notes)

[HacheMan]

The Pennsylvania 500
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway's 2.5 mile triangle for the 21st race of the 2010 season, the Pennsylvania 500. Brian Brown took a look at past performances, season trends, and talked to NASCAR contacts to predict how the field should finish on Sunday.


When: Sunday, August 1, 2010; 1:18 p.m./et.


Weather: Showers with a high around 68; wind out of the ESE at 7 mph. There is a 40% chance of precipitation.


The Track: Pocono Raceway

Pocono Raceway is a 2.5 mile tri-oval with three completely different banked turns. It has 14 degree banking in turn one, eight degree banking in turn two, and six degree banking in turn three.


Key to Race: THE POCONO TOUGH TRIANGLE

Pocono has three long straight-aways after each of the turns. This unique configuration forces engines to run at high RPM levels three times on each lap. The increased engine stress and longer than usual length of the race places a premium on brakes and engine durability. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin (four times) have won the last nine races at Pocono. All six of these drivers are great picks.


Qualifying Procedures:

45 cars will attempt to qualify for 43 spots. Cars not in the top 35 in the 2010 owner point standings will have to qualify based on speed. Starting positions 1-43 will be determined by qualifying runs on Friday, July 30 at 3:40 pm/et.


Fantasy Cheat Sheet:

Top 5

No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin has been awesome at Pocono during in his career. In eight starts he has four wins including a win at the track earlier this year.
No. 2 Kurt Busch: Busch won two of the last 10 Pocono races. This is a great opportunity for the No. 2 team to notch another strong finish.
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has finished 15th or better in 15 of his 16 career starts at Pocono. This will be a good chance for him to get his first top five finish since June's New Hampshire race.
No. 29 Kevin Harvick: Harvick has cracked the top five in five of the last seven races this season and has had past success at Pocono. He should be one of the best cars on the track again this weekend.
No. 14 Tony Stewart: Stewart won June 2009 race at Pocono and has finished in the top 10 in nine of the last 10 races at the track. Smoke will be flying again this weekend.


6 to 10

No. 5 Mark Martin: Martin has finished in the top five in 19 of his 47 career starts at Pocono. We project he will just miss another top five finish.
No. 99 Carl Edwards: Edwards has been very good at the track the last few races. He is a solid pick this weekend.
No. 24 Jeff Gordon: Gordon has four career victories at Pocono. He should be battling for the lead all day.
No. 39 Ryan Newman: Newman has finished in the top 18 in the past 10 races at Pocono. He will compete for the pole this weekend and should crack the top 10.
No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya: Montoya finally appeared to figure Pocono last season. He has driven well on flat-tracks and is someone to use this weekend.


11 to 20

No. 18 Kyle Busch: Rowdy had his best run at Pocono this June. He should flirt with the top 10 this weekend.
No. 33 Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished in the top 15 in six of the last seven races at Pocono. He will have a good car again this weekend.
No. 9 Kasey Kahne: Kahne has always been awesome during qualifying at Pocono and he was one of the better drivers at the track in race-trim the past few races. He is a decent fantasy option this weekend.
No. 17 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has finished inside the top 17 in the past nine races at Pocono. He should have another fast sled on Sunday.
No. 31 Jeff Burton: Pocono has been a good track for Burton during his career. With some luck he could be in the top 10 when the checkers fly late Sunday afternoon.
No. 00 David Reutimann: Reutimann brought a very strong and fast car to Pocono in two of the last three races. He should be back in the top 15.
No. 56 Martin Truex Jr.: Truex Jr. has averaged a 17th place finish in his five career starts at Pocono. We think he will finish right around his average on Sunday.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Pocono has never been one of Biffle's better tracks. He will finish inside the top 20, but we don't think he has the track figured out enough to crack the top 10.
No. 77 Sam Hornish Jr.: Hornish Jr. has cracked the top 11 the past three races at Pocono. We don't see him matching this success, but a top 20 finish isn't out of the question. This is a good chance to get No. 77 onto your roster one last time.
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior had one of the best cars in three of the last six Pocono races. He should have a top 10 car on Sunday, but we expect he will make a mistake and blow another opportunity for a top 10 finish.

21 to 30

No. 20 Joey Logano: Logano improved on last year's 23rd and 27th place finishes at Pocono this season. He will just miss cracking the top 20 this trip to Long Pond.
No. 12 Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 21st in his first trip to Pocono and should finish right around the same spot in his second trip.
No. 1 Jamie McMurray: McMurray has just three top 10 finishes in 15 career Pocono starts. He won't make it four on Sunday.
No. 43 A.J. Allmendinger: A.J. has been decent in the past two Pocono races. He is worth using as a fourth driver in all leagues.
No. 98 Paul Menard: Menard's average finish at Pocono is 27th. He should finish a little better than his average this weekend.
No. 78 Regan Smith: Has never finished outside the top 35 at Pocono during his career and he finished 18th in June. He is an interesting sleeper pick.
No. 47 Marcos Ambrose: Ambrose finished sixth at Pocono last June, but his struggles this season make him a poor fantasy choice.
No. 19 Elliott Sadler: Sadler has averaged a 25th place finish the last eight races at Pocono. He isn't a great pick.
No. 6 David Ragan: Ragan was terrible at Pocono the past three races. He isn't worth using this weekend.
No. 82 Scott Speed: Speed hasn't had much luck at Pocono is his career. He is only worth using as a fifth driver in deep leagues.


31 to 35

No. 83 Reed Sorenson: Pocono has always been a challenging track for Sorenson. Avoid using him this weekend.
No. 37 David Gilliland: Gilliland has quietly notched three to top 30 finishes in the past four races. Look for him to drive another conservative race this weekend.
No. 71 Bobby Labonte: Labonte is usually decent at Pocono. This isn't a bad weekend to use him.
No. 38 Travis Kvapil: Kvapil has averaged a 23rd place finish at Pocono during his career. He is worth using this race.
No. 7 P.J. Jones: Jones takes the wheel of the No. 7 car this weekend. He isn't much of an option.


Field Fillers

No. 55 Michael McDowell
No. 13 Max Papis
No. 34 Kevin Conway
No. 36 Casey Mears
No. 46 J.J. Yeley
No. 66 Dave Blaney
No. 87 Joe Nemechek
No. 09 Landon Cassill
No. 64 Todd Bodine
No. 26 David Stremme


Brownie's Picks

Top Four:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Kevin Harvick

Sleepers:

1. Sam Hornish Jr.
2. Regan Smith

Bust of the Week:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

[gremlinlad]

Indy's driver selections were horrible... think Goodyear Tire company played a major roll in a lot of the selected drivers failing.. Go back to 6 ply truck tires and let them race at 85 mph. that would be interesting to say the least. lol

 

[HacheMan]

Sunoco Red Cross Penn 500
Track history: Pocono Raceway is a very demanding track not only on the drivers, but on the equipment as well. It is a 2.5-mile triangular oval with different length straightaways and different banking in the three turns. The front stretch is 3,740 feet where the cars are going 200 mph into a tight 14-degree banked first turn. The backstretch is 3,055 feet leading into an 8 degree sweeping turn 2. The short straight is 1,780 feet running into a tight 6 degree turn 3. The track has been described as "the superspeedway that drives like a road course". The facility was built in 1968 as a three-quarter mile raceway and was expanded to its current 2.5-mile configuration in the early 1970's.

August 4, 1974: The first 500-mile NASCAR race, the Purolator 500, was held on August 4, 1974. With a 144.122 mph lap in the Bud Moore No. 15 Ford, Buddy Baker qualified on the pole to lead the 35-car field. He led 11 laps and finished 2nd. Richard Petty started his No. 43 STP Dodge 3rd on the grid, led 152 laps and took the win in the rain-shortened (480 miles) inaugural event.
August 3, 2009: Qualifying was rained-out for the 2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 and set by owner's points. That put Tony Stewart and the No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet on the pole. Unfortunately, Stewart wrecked in practice, went to a backup car and had to start the race in 43rd. He never led a lap but managed to get through the field to finish 10th. Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota were the class of the field. He started 6th, led the most laps (91 of 200) and took the checkered flag.

June 6, 2010: Pole-sitter, (18) Kyle Busch, brought the field to the green for the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 after a 2-hour rain delay. He led 32 laps and finished runner-up to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, (11) Denny Hamlin. Hamlin, who started 5th in the lineup, was ahead of (14) Tony Stewart (finished 3rd) by over 2 seconds with two laps to go. Hamlin's other JGR teammate, (20) Joey Logano (finished 13th), spun and brought out the caution forcing a green-white-checker finish. Hamlin held off a charge from Busch during the overtime GWC and took the white flag before a multi-car wreck caused the race to finish under caution. This was Hamlin's fourth victory in nine starts at Pocono Raceway.

Your fantasy game won't allow you to pick all track favorites so Mid-Pack Attack is here to help. A mid-packer may not win the race but has as good a shot at a top 15 finish as track favorites Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. There were 45 cars on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's Cup race. Here are our picks for Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Mid-Pack picks

Kasey Kahne was one of the drivers involved in the last lap wreck during the GWC finish here in June. He was credited with a 27th place finish. His four previous Pocono starts resulted in a win, a 7th, a 15th and a 5th. In the last three races this season he finished 2nd, 6th and 13th. Even Kyle Busch likes the way Kahne has been driving lately. He will be driving Busch's No. 18 entry in the inaugural truck race this weekend at Pocono. Kahne is undefeated in the trucks; two starts, two victories. The extra laps at Pocono on Saturday could mean another win on Sunday.

Joey Logano's average finish in three starts at Pocono is a 21st place. That number doesn't tell the whole story. In this race in 2009, he was running in the top 15 but got collected in someone else's wreck (finished 27th). This past June, he was running 5th with 2 laps to go when Kevin Harvick got into the rear of Logano's Toyota. After the spin and the GWC finish, Logano was scored in 13th place. In NASCAR Statistics loop data, he is ranked 3rd in Quality Passes. While running in the top 15, he passed 130 times in those three races. We think Logano will complete the deal this weekend with a top 15 or better.

A worst finish of 11th in the last three races at the Long Pond track tells us Sam Hornish Jr. knows how to get around the Tricky Triangle. The former IndyCar driver likes flat tracks and likes Pocono's three long straightaways even more. In June, Hornish led 16 laps and was the leader with about 10 laps to go. When it was over, he scored that "worst" finish of 11th. Give the No. 77 a look for a fourth or fifth driver this weekend.

Okay, maybe Juan Pablo Montoya can't drive a Dodge. He averaged a 28.5 finish in four starts with that make at Pocono. Now, in a Chevy, he averaged a 6th place in three starts at the Pennsylvania track. They were a pair of 8's and a runner-up in August 2009. Montoya might have finished better than 8th in June, but he was caught speeding in the pits on lap 80. After his drive-thru penalty, he barely stayed on the lead lap and spent the next 80 laps working back into the top ten. He may be a little cautious after what happened last week at Indy, but we feel he's a good choice for another top ten this weekend.