Have you ever noticed how sometimes something wonderful falls right in your lap during an activity when it wasn’t your actual goal? Mark Martin has probably experienced this before, so when his plans to try for a top five finish in Sunday’s LifeLock 400 turned into a victory lap, he might not have been as surprised as a younger driver. This didn’t stop him from expressing his joy to the world in a bright smile that certainly speaks miles about his opinion about his good fortune and the final result at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

Mark Martin looks as stunned at his victory as the other drivers

Fuel conservation again played a pivotal role in the final standings in the race as race leaders Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle misjudged the amount of fuel they had used during their battle and ran out of fuel in the final two miles of the scheduled 400 miles. Mark Martin on the other hand had been in fuel-conservation mode for a large part of the race, which included turning off cooling fans and units in order to save fuel, and resulted in his car having enough fuel to complete the last 44 laps. He crossed the line just 2.992 seconds ahead of Jeff Gordon, who also had enough gas to complete the race due to fuel conservation.

This victory was Mark Martin’s 38^th career win and moved him through the pack from 13^th to 8^th position in the series standings, just 321 points behind series leader Tony Stewart, who managed to finish seventh on Sunday. This is the third victory of the 2009 Sprint Cup season for Mark Martin’s No. 5 V Chevrolet tying him with Kyle Busch for the Cup Series lead.

Jimmie Johnson, who managed to lead the race for 146 laps and twice built up leads of more then seven seconds, managed to coast into the pit. After refueling, he drove around Martin’s car and crossed the finish line in 22^nd position.

Denny Hamlin finished third, just ahead of Carl Edwards in fourth, and Greg Biffle who grabbed fifth position, despite running out of fuel on the backstretch of the final lap. Juan Montoya finished sixth, Tony Stewart took seventh, Kurt Busch managed eighth, Brian Vickers survived to finish ninth, and the top ten was filled out by Clint Bowyer.

Image: Zuma Press

Good news for those involved in the Chase. Saturday’s practice times/speeds were faster for most than qualifying. Three of the top six times were the likes of Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle - the top three in the Chase standings.

Biffle’s No. 16 car posted the fastest time during the practice round, cutting up the Kansas Speedway at 167.385 MPH. Biffle is tied for second in the Chase standings, along with Johnson, who finished the practice round with a top speed of 166.528. Edwards posted the third-best top speed in the No. 99 car at 167.271.

So what are we looking at this afternoon? Well, the Kansas Speedway has been notorious for being extremely hard to win for those 12 drivers involved in the Chase. It’s all been almost expected to see a wreck that will impact the race standings. So, here’s my prediction. With the history of the track hard to ignore, I’m staying on the side of caution. Both Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart looked impressive in practice Saturday, however both are starting near the back of the pack. With so much to make up, I don’t feel comfortable choosing either as a hands-down winner. But I do feel comfortable picking either Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon.

Martin starts alongside Johnson on the front row after Montoya was disqualified. Gordon will start in the 13th position. Yet, it’s hard to ignore Biffle and his chase for a third-straight win. So, here are my top three finishers for today’s race. Gordon will win, followed by Martin and Biffle fighting for second.

Now, time to sit back and wait for that green flag.

The winless streaks by drivers such as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick have ranked amongst some of the biggest stories so far this season. They came into this week’s race at Watkins Glen as some of the odds-on-favorite to win, but alas, Kyle Busch shut the door on those plans yet again. This week’s “List of the Week” will feature the 10 longest winless droughts amongst the drivers inside the top-20 in points.

10. Matt Kenseth - 22 races - Last Win: Homestead-Miami Speedway, Fall 2007
9. Jeff Gordon - 27 races - Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Fall 2007
8. Greg Biffle - 29 races - Kansas Speedway, Fall 2007
7. Tony Stewart - 36 races - Watkins Glen International, Summer 2007
6. Jamie McMurray - 40 races - Daytona International Speedway, Summer 2007

5. Martin Truex Jr. - 45 races - Dover International Speedway, Spring 2007
4. Kevin Harvick - 57 races - Daytona International Speedway, Spring 2007
3. David Ragan - 60 races - No NSCS wins
2. Brian Vickers - 68 races - Talladega Superspeedway, Fall 2006
1. Elliott Sadler - 141 races - Auto Club Speedway, Fall 2004

TZ’s Picks (Watkins Glen):
1. Tony Stewart - 2nd - 42.5 points
2. Robby Gordon - 27th - No points
3. Marcos Ambrose - 3rd - 41 points
4. Kyle Busch - 1st - 41.5 points
5. Carl Edwards - 10th - 36.5 points
6. Kevin Harvick - 6th - 38 points

Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart - Top Five - 10 points
Sleeper Pick - Marcos Ambrose - Top Five - 10 points
Steer Clear of - Greg Biffle - Outside Top Fifteen - No points lost

Roc’s Picks (Watkins Glen):
1. Kyle Busch - 1st - 43 points
2. Tony Stewart - 2nd - 42 points
3. Denny Hamlin - 7th - 39 points
4. Carl Edwards - 10th - 37 points
5. Jeff Gordon - 25th - No points
6. Robby Gordon - 27th - No points

Lock of the Week - Jeff Gordon - Outside Top Fifteen - No points
Sleeper Pick - Robby Gordon - Outside Top Fifteen - No points
Steer Clear of - Kasey Kahne - Top Fifteen - (Minus) 10 points

Head-to-Head:
TZ - 219.5 points (3,597.5 cumulative)
Roc - 151 points (3,476 cumulative)

Do You NASCAR Fantasy League
Standings After Watkins Glen:
1. Dalli’s Mom
2. Vanilla Thrillaz
3. Bruce’s Team of Bits
4. TMAX Racing
5. Super Smokers
6. Team Legacy
7. raracing
8. AlexRyan
9. Jimmie’s Rockets
10. do you nascar

Though they may not admit it, several drivers in the Sprint Cup garage area were probably a bit smitten when NASCAR was forced to cancel qualifying for the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Friday. The simple fact of the matter is that several drivers near the top at points are going to receive a better starting position that they likely would have, and while it still may not exactly give them a shot at winning Sunday’s race, it obviously provides a good path towards a better finish. That would be the guys like Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne who historically get left in a position where they have to work just a little harder to keep their Chase hopes alive after a long day of racing at Watkins Glen. And, as for guys like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Kevin Harvick - drivers that are typically considered to be among the favorites to win anytime we go road course racing - they should be just as happy that there was no qualifying on Friday - or, at least they almost were.

Per the NASCAR rulebook, no qualifying means that the field will be set based on car owner points from top to bottom with the small caveat of the past champions provisional to be taken into account. Now, that was almost enough to keep the road course ringers from making their way into the show, but because Ron Fellows is replacing Regan Smith for DEI and PJ Jones is driving the no. 96 HOF Racing entry this weekend, both drivers had enough owner points to receive the opportunity to run on Sunday. Max Papis and Marcos Ambrose almost missed the cut as well, but with only 45 entries, they managed to squeeze by as well.

The two cars that failed to “qualify” were Brian Simo and Boris Said, both considered to be road course specialists. This marked the second year in a row that Said showed up at Watkins Glen only to watch Mother Nature end his weekend before he ever even started the engine ….. and, it was also the second year in a row that a veteran driver climbed out of their car to make room for Said’s talents and expertise. Last year it was Bill Elliott stepping out while Boris drove the no. 21 Wood Brothers car to a 14th place finish. This year, it was Kyle Petty sacraficing his no. 45 Petty Enterprises car - 40th in owner points - to give Boris yet another break.

“Boris is known around the world as one of the premier road-course racers,” said Robbie Loomis, vice president of operations at Petty Enterprises. “He’ll give us another great opportunity to assess our program. Everyone at Petty Enterprises is grateful to Boris for helping us out.”

Transactions:
- Hendrick Motorsports has announced the release of Casey Mears for next season.
- Richard Childress Racing has extended Clint Bowyer’s contract through 2011.
- Roush-Fenway Racing has extended Greg Biffle’s contract through 2011.
- Gillette-Evernham Motorsports has signed Elliott Sadler through 2010.
- Richard Childress Racing has announced the addition of the #33 car as a fourth Cup team in 2009.
- Petty Enterprises has signed Bobby LaBonte through 2012.
- Roush-Fenway Racing has signed Carl Edwards through 2011.
- Due to a lack of sponsorship, Chip Ganassi Racing is forced to shut down the no. 40 car driven by Dario Franchitti for the remainder of the season.
- Hendrick Motorsports has signed Mark Martin to drive the no. 5 car full-time in 2009 and part-time in 2010.
- Tony Stewart announced his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing to go to Stewart Haas Racing (formerly Haas CNC Racing) as a 50% owner and a full-time driver in 2009.
- Ryan Newman has announced that he will not re-sign with Penske Racing for the 2009 season.
- JTG Dougherty Racing has signed Marcos Ambrose to drive their new no. 47 entry in the Sprint Cup Series next year.
- Martin Truex Jr. has re-signed with DEI for the 2009 season.
- HOF Racing has released JJ Yeley and will replace him with Brad Coleman in the no. 96 car.

Teams Without an Assigned 2009 Driver:
- Dale Earnhardt Inc. - No. 01 car
- Penske Racing - No. 12 car
- Stewart Haas Racing - No. 4 car
- Dale Earnhardt Inc. - No. 15 car
- Joe Gibbs Racing - No. 20 car
- Wood Brothers Racing - No. 21 car
- Bill Davis Racing - No. 22 car
- Yates Racing - No. 28 car
- Richard Childress Racing - No. 33 car
- Furniture Row Motorsports - No. 34 car
- Chip Ganassi Racing - No. 41 car

Drivers Without a Definitive 2009 Ride:
- Regan Smith
- Casey Mears
- Ryan Newman
- Paul Menard
- Dave Blaney
- Travis Kvapil
- Tony Raines
- Reed Sorenson
- Scott Riggs
- JJ Yeley
- Johnny Sauter
- Jeremy Mayfield
- David Stremme
- Jacques Villeneuve
- Kenny Wallace
- Ken Schrader
- Ward Burton
- Dario Franchitti

*Credit photo to Newscom.

This week NASCAR heads to Waktins Glen International for one of their two road course races of the season on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. The race comes just one week after NASCAR made history for itself when they raced in the rain last Saturday in the Nationwide Series in Montreal, which most critics feel came off as a huge success. As of right now there are no plans to break out the rain tires on Sunday, but there’s still plenty to look forward to with just five races remaining until the cutoff for the Chase.

Recent Winners:
2007 - Tony Stewart
2006 - Kevin Harvick
2005 - Tony Stewart

Recent Polesitters:
2007 - Jeff Gordon
2006 - Kurt Busch
2005 - “Rained Out”

the Usual Suspects:
Tony Stewart is in the midst of the longest winless streak in his Sprint Cup career, but that should be of little concern to the no. 20 team this weekend. ‘Smoke’ built up a bit of momentum for himself after a 2nd place finish last week at Pocono, and now he heads to Watkins Glen where he holds the best driver rating over the past 3 years and has the second best average finish amongst active drivers. He’s one three of the last four races at the Glen, along with a 2nd place finish in 2006.

The only driver to breakup Stewart’s winning streak at the Glen in the past four years was Kevin Harvick, the winner of this event in ‘06. In his seven career races at Watkins Glen, last year’s 36th place finish is his only run outside of the top-15. He also has four top-10’s in that span ….. Jeff Gordon is considered a threat to win at most tracks, but perhaps even moreso at road courses. Once dubbed “King of the Road”, Jeff has had a rough go of it with only one top-10 finish here since 2002, but he did win 3 of the 4 events prior to that stretch ….. The series points leader, Kyle Busch, was never thought of much as a road course racer heading into this season, but already in 2008 he’s managed to win the Nationwide Series race in Mexcio and then went onto win the Toyota Save/Mart 350 at Infineon. After a 33rd place run at Watkins Glen in his rookie season, Kyle has since rebounded with back-to-back top-10’s ….. Denny Hamlin has run here only twice, finishing 10th and 2nd in those races.

the Unusual Suspects:
Robby Gordon has been in dire need of some good runs for the sake of his own race team, Robby Gordon Motorsports, and many fans have long expected that success to come at one of NASCAR’s two road course events. Robby has six top-5 finishes in eight races run here, and even won the event while racing for RCR back in 2003. He currently has a string of three consecutive top-5 finishes at Watkins Glen.

Marcos Ambrose competed in his first Sprint Cup event earlier in the season at Infineon. Known for his road course specialties, Marcos didn’t disappoint, as he had a great top-five effort going until issues late in the race put an end to his day. This will be his first visit to Watkins Glen with the Cup Series as he once again fields the no. 21 Wood Bros. Racing entry, but there’s no reason to think he won’t rise to the occasion once again ….. Juan Pablo Montoya is always a favorite to keep an eye on at road course races as well. An incident with Kevin Harvick here last year put an early end to his day and he finished 39th, but that should be considered a one-off deal. He does have an Infineon win to his credit at the Cup level.

Road Course Ringers are sure to be a factor in any NASCAR road course race, regardless of the series. Though they don’t typically win these things at the Cup level, many of the drivers leave their mark with exceptional runs. Amongst the ringers included in this weekend’s entry list are: Ron Fellows (DEI) - two top-5’s in the last 4 years; Boris Said- finished 3rd in 2005; PJ Jones - finished 4th in 2002; and Brian Simo and Max Papis are on the list as well.

the Unusual Slackers:
Greg Biffle picked up his first ever top-10 Watkins Glen finish last year when he crossed the line in 10th, but each of his four starts previous to that were 30th or worse. His overall average here is 30.2 ….. When you think of road course racing, Kurt Busch isn’t a name that immediately jumps out at you as someone you need to avoid carrying on your fantasy roster, but like Biffle, he also has only one career top-10 at Watkins Glen. Four of his seven races here he has finished outside of the top-15 ….. Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to put together a string of solid runs here at one point, finishing 3rd, 5th, and 10th from 2003 to 2005, but in 8 years of racing here, he’s finished 35th or worse three times, holding an average finish of just 20.6.

Best Driver Ratings:
1. Tony Stewart - 137.9
2. Denny Hamlin - 112.1
3. Jeff Gordon - 108.2
4. Robby Gordon - 106.3
5. Jimmie Johnson - 104.5

Best Driver Averages:
1. Scott Pruett - 5.8
2. Denny Hamlin - 6.0
3. Tony Stewart - 6.1
4. Mark Martin - 8.8
5. Robby Gordon - 9.4

Watkins Glen Facts:
- 8 of the 25 races at Watkins Glen have been won from the pole position. The last driver to do so was Tony Stewart in 2005, but before that it hadn’t happened since Jeff Gordon did it in 1998.
- 16 of the 25 races have been won from a top-five starting position.
- The deepest starting position a driver has ever come from to win at Watkins Glen is 18th. Steve Park did it in 2000.
- Jeff Gordon holds the track record for most wins with 4.
- Mark Martin holds the track record for most poles (3), top-five’s (12), and top-ten’s (16).
- The most different leaders ever during a race at the Glen was 12 - back in 1995.
- Chevrolet leads the manufacturer race at Watkins Glen with 14 wins.
- 5 drivers currently in the top-12 in points have never led a lap at Watkins Glen: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and Clint Bowyer.
- In the midst of a 35 race winless streak, Tony Stewart’s last victory came here at Watkins Glen in 2007.

Video of the last 7 laps of the 2007 Centurion Boats at the Glen race:

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Tony Stewart
2nd Place - Robby Gordon
3rd Place - Marcos Ambrose
4th Place - Kyle Busch
5th Place - Carl Edwards
6th Place - Kevin Harvick

Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart
Sleeper Pick - Marcos Ambrose
Steer Clear of - Greg Biffle

***
My name is Michael and I wrote over at b5medias’s boxing and pro
wrestling blog, Jab and Grapple. b5’s staff of
writers is guest posting on other sports blogs this week. Look for Tim
over on the sports comedy blog dejuiced.

***

After August 3rd’s long slog of a Pennsylvania 500 one has to wonder
when either:

a) NASCAR joins the rest of the motorsports world and runs races in
the rain with rain tires as the did on August
2 in Montreal,  or
b) Removes at least one of the two races at Pocono.

I was amazed to hear Tony Stewart say during a rain stoppage that
Montreal was the first time many Nationwide Series drivers had driven
on rain tires. Greg Biffle admitted to NASCAR.com that “”I kind of was
looking forward to this because I’ve never raced in the rain, but I
don’t think I will be from now on.”

But what’s the real problem here? What racing problems could rainfall
bring about?

More bumping and unsure driving?The Cars of Tomorrow are
indestructible tanks that can bump and skid into other vehicles to
their heart’s content.

More crashes? The COT’s safety is un-paralleled and it’s not as if
they would be going at the high-end dangerous speeds in the rain
anyway.

Wet fans? Football plays in the rain and their fans have great fun in the wet.

What positives would rain running bring?

Exciting and unpredictable racing is sure to occur. There would be
added elements of strategy and NASCAR drivers wouldn’t seem so prissy
while waiting for a vacuum to suction off an itty bitty section of wet
track. Grand Prix Motorcycle racing competes in the rain why can’t
NASCAR?

As far as Pocono Speedway hosting two races a year, that’s only a
function of fortunate geography and it’s proximity to New York and
Philadelphia. It would have been nice to have moved one of the two to
Nazareth Speedway but that one-mile tri-oval sadly shut down for
business.

The Pocono races are usually long and unexciting (although Sunday’s
finish was fun). If I’m off to a NASCAR race from my Harrisburg, Pa.
home I’m choosing the Monster Mile at Dover, Del. over Pocono 10 times
out of 10. They’re both 120 miles from my door.

But again, the chances of only one race at Pocono per year look about
as good as racing on rain tires.

Written by Michael Sedor

With the cutoff for the Chase quickly approaching, a mere 5 races now separates us from the beginning of NASCAR’s playoff season. Yet, still, there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the air as to whom will be competing for a championship in the final 10 races and who will be racing to build momentum for the 2009 season. Only 80 points separates 7th place Kasey Kahne from 12th place Clint Bowyer, and only 46 points from Bowyer back to 14th place David Ragan. Even Brian Vickers all the way back in 16th still has a shot at this thing as he lingers 203 points out from the final Chase cutoff spot.

So, with 8 drivers still caught up in a tight race for those final 6 positions in the Chase, and 2 others still holding out hope, this week’s “List of the Week” is a look at each of the ten drivers’ average finish throughout races 22 to 26 on the Schedule - or, the final 5 races leading into the Chase, rather - since the inception of the Chase back in 2004. It should be noted, however, that of these 10 drivers, three of them - Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, and David Ragan - have not been full-time drivers through all four seasons that carried the Chase format, and these numbers reflect only race results from which the drivers were competing full-time.

10. Brian Vickers - 16th in pts - 21.5
9. David Ragan - 14th in pts - 21.2
8. Ryan Newman - 15th in pts - 17.9
7. Clint Bowyer - 12th in pts - 16.8
6. Greg Biffle - 8th in pts - 16.6

5. Kevin Harvick - 11th in pts - 15.6
4. Kasey Kahne - 7th in pts - 14.4
3. Denny Hamlin - 10th in pts - 12.1
2. Matt Kenseth - 13th in pts - 11.1
1. Tony Stewart - 9th in pts - 8.8

Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart also lead these drivers with the most wins during those races with 3 apiece; Harvick has 2 wins in the final 5 races leading to the Chase since 2004; and Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle each have a win to their credit as well.

Best Single Season Average Run Through Final 5 Races Leading to the Chase:
5. Kevin Harvick - 7.8 (2006)
4. Matt Kenseth - 7.6 (2006)
3. Matt Kenseth - 6.2 (2005)
2. Tony Stewart - 6.0 (2007)
1. Tony Stewart - 5.2 (2005)

Rain played a large part in pretty much anything NASCAR tried to accomplish this weekend, and Sunday’s race at Pocono was no different. It was also one of the more interesting weekends in Carl Edwards’ professional racing career, that’s for sure. He had to squeegee the rain off his own windshield under caution during Saturday’s Nationwide Series race in Montreal (in which he finished 6th). Then, after both of the Sprint Cup practice sessions were rained out on Saturday, his team unloaded off the hauler on Sunday with a car that Crew Chief, Bob Osbourne, described as “experimental.” Then, they had to weed their way through a slieu of pit strategies that overcame the field when rain crept its way back into Pocono a little over past the halway point in the race, and in the end, it was Carl Edwards stretching his fuel en route to his fourth win in the Sprint Cup Series this season.

Jimmie Johnson was looking to continue his current hot streak when he started the day out on the pole, but it was Mark Martin from the 2nd spot that led the first 21 laps of the race, which saw three caution periods. The first came on the very first lap of the race when Kevin Harvick was spun by Joe Nemecheck, and then just 7 laps later, it was Kurt Busch going around in a single car spin. The third caution was brought out by NASCAR on lap 21 as a competition caution due to the teams not having the opportunity to run Saturday’s practice sessions as a result of inclimate weather.

The field pitted during the lap 21 caution, and Johnson was able to take advantage of a slow stop by the no. 8 team and came out front to take the lead. But, Mark Martin was able to comeback up through the field to take the lead on lap 36 and stayed out front all the way until lap 66, minus a few laps in which he surrendered the lead during a round of green flag stops. The fourth caution was brought out on lap 66 for debris, and this time it was Carl Edwards jumping out to the front.

Edwards held onto the lead until the next caution on lap 87 - also for debris, but it was again Jimmie Johnson’s team getting him out up front off of pit road followed by Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr, and Matt Kenseth. Edwards came out of the pits in 7th, and Mark Martin came out 17th. Carl later passed Johnson for the lead under green on lap 111.

Things started to get a bit more interesting when the race fell under caution on lap 127 due to rain - about 7 laps after the field cycled its way through a round of green flag stops. With pit road open, all but 19 cars decided to pit for fuel, including Edwards, Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Tony Stewart who led the field down pit road.

Kasey Kahne, the winner of the June race at Pocono, was handed the lead for the first time on the day by virtue of the leaders’ decision to pit, followed by Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, and Kurt Busch when the race was red flagged on lap 131 when the rain began to pickup.

The race restarted about a half hour later, and Joe Nemecheck and Paul Menard were the first to find out where the slick spots on the track were as they wrecked on lap 137 to bring out the 7th caution. Juan Pablo Montoya then blew his engine about 8 laps later, but NASCAR decided not to waive the caution. Kurt Busch inherited the lead on lap 158 when some of the cars in front of him started to make their scheduled green flag stops, but he was the next to work his way toward disaster after stretching his fuel out a bit too far, eventually running out of gas on lap 161. He was able to make it to pit road, but lost a ton of time on the track as a result.

Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson both found themselves back out in front momentarily as the 19 cars that stayed out during the rain caution all worked their way to the pits, but it was eventually Kasey Kahne back in the lead with 30 to go once they made their stops as well. Kahne continued to run the next 15 laps out front praying for the caution that never came, knowing that he would be forced to make one more pit stop while some of the other cars claimed that they could run the rest of the way without stopping.

Kahne and Mark Martin both made their final stops with 15 laps to go, handing the lead over once again to Carl Edwards as they watched their premonition come true. Edwards run out to more than a 6 second lead over Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson as he crossed the line to pickup his fourth win of the season.

Knowing that he couldn’t catch Edwards for the lead, Stewart backed off the throttle in the closing laps to conserve fuel, but still ran it hard enough to finish 2nd. Johnson ran out of gas right as he crossed the finish line in 3rd, and from there, things started to get ugly as a ton of cars behind him started to bobble as they ran out of gas as well. Kevin Harvick - who worked all day long to rebound from his spin on lap 1 - kept enough fuel in the tank to finish 4th, and 5th place went to one of the guys chasing him in the points, David Ragan.

Clint Bowyer overcame a long day of struggles to walk away with a 6th place finish. Behind him in 7th and 8th were Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin, both of whom made up a ton of ground despite having to make earlier stops under the green. In 9th was Jamie McMurray, who now has back-to-back top-ten finishes to his credit. And, 10th place went to Jeff Gordon, who ran out of gas after crossing the line and had to be pushed around the track by his Hendrick teammate, Casey Mears.

Other Notables:
Matt Kenseth finished in 11th. He made his final stop with 16 laps to go after he and Crew Chief, Chip Bolin, originally planned on trying to stretch their fuel out ….. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 4th coming going through the final turn, but ran out of gas just before the line and had to coast his way to the finish. He wound up 12th ….. Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman finished 13th and 14th ….. Denny Hamlin had previously finished no worse than 6th in his first five trips to Pocono, but wound up 23rd after his car got away from him late in the race. He was running 9th when he made his final stop of the day with 26 laps to go ….. Brian Vickers fell victim to a disappointing 28th place finish after running up in the top-15 for most of the day ….. The no. 18 team for Joe Gibbs Racing appeared to have finally gotten the flat track program turned around for Kyle Busch, as he ran inside the top-five late in the race. But, he ran out of gas and was forced to pit with just two laps to go, and they were unable to get his car restarted. He finished 36th.

Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. remain 1st and 2nd in the points standings, but Carl Edwards’ win moved him up two spots to third overall.  Jimmie Johnson held onto 4th, while Jeff Burton’s 21st place run dropped him down to 5th. Kevin Harvick came into the race 2 points out of the final Chase spot, but his top-five effort was enough to move him up to 11th in the standings, while Matt Kenseth gave up two spots and now finds himself on the outside looking in. He’s no 11 points behind 12th place Clint Bowyer.

the Grades:
the Race:  84%
the Drama:  94%
Coverage:  92%
Pre-Race:  90%

Overall Grade:  88.2%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Recommended Reads:
- Carl Edwards Captures 4th Victory of the Season in Pocono (Racing for the Win)
- Live on Type Delay: Pocono II, Part One (Rev Jim’s Rants ‘n’ Raves)