Skip to search.

Breaking News Visit Yahoo! News for the latest.

×Close this window

NASCAR Preview

Last Updated Monday, Jul 31, 2006 1:21 am, EDT

Pennsylvania 500

Status: Final Pocono Raceway

Race Capsule

Pocono Raceway
  • What:

    Race 22 of 38 on Sprint Cup circuit

  • Where:

    Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA

  • When:

    July 23, 2006 2:05 pm EDT

  • Laps:

    200

  • Track Length:

    2.5 miles

  • Race Length:

    500.00 miles

  • Purse:

    $4,836,658

Drivers to Watch

Denny Hamlin Finished sixth at New Hampshire and remained 12th in the standings; trails Biffle by just 18 points; has run inside the top 12 in eight of his last 10 races; leads Clint Bowyer by 34 points for first place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings; won his first Nextel Race at this track in the Pocono 500; was runner-up to Earnhardt at Richmond and won the season-opening Budweiser Shootout, a non-points event.
Kasey Kahne Finished eighth at New Hampshire to end a skid of three consecutive races outside of the top 20; fell one spot to sixth in the standings but trails Burton by just 33 points for third place; leads the series with four wins; registered his second consecutive seventh-place finish at this season's Pocono 500 and captured the checkered flag at the Coca-Cola 600; has registered six top-five finishes and 11 top-10s this season; won the Samsung/RadioShack 500 to record his third career victory; also visited Victory Lane at Atlanta after registering consecutive fourth-place finishes at California and Las Vegas; finished 27th in this event last season and has two top-10 finishes in five starts at this track.
Jeff Gordon Ran 15th at New Hampshire and remained ninth in the standings; made bold late move at Chicagoland, bumping Matt Kenseth in lap 263 and going on to win the USG Sheetrock 400, his second victory in three weeks; continued his dominance on road courses by winning at California; it was the first victory in the last 20 races for Gordon, whose previous best finish this year was a second at the season-opening Daytona 500; the four-time Nextel Cup champion has been obscured this season by Hendrick Motorsports teammate and current points leader Jimmie Johnson; three-time winner at this track finished 13th in this event last season and has two poles, 12 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s in 27 starts here.
Jeff Burton Veteran driver continues to quietly move his way up the standings with consistent performances; finished seventh at New Hampshire and climbed one spot to third in the standings with 2,478 points, 311 behind leader Jimmie Johnson; has placed inside the top 15 in each of his last 13 races, including 10 top-10 finishes over that span; ran second from the pole at Chicagoland, his best finish of the season; placed ninth at the Pocono 500 to rebound nicely from poor performance in this event last season, when he finished 37th; has six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 25 career starts at this track.
Kyle Busch Climbed four spots to fourth in the standings after capturing the checkered flag last week at New Hampshire, his first victory this season and third career; trails Burton by just 23 points for third place and owns a slim four-point lead over Mark Martin, who is in fifth; ran third at Chicagoland one week after placing second at Daytona; looks to rebound from 22nd-place finish at Pocono 500; placed just 39th in this race last season after crashing on lap 151; placed fourth in last year's Pocono 500, his only other Nextel start at this track.
Matt Kenseth Has finished outside the top 10 in four of his last five starts but still trails Johnson by just 68 points for the standings lead; ran 14th at New Hampshire; appeared primed to win at Chicagoland before getting bumped by Gordon with four laps remaining en route to a 22nd-place finish; after three straight top-five finishes from May 28-June 11, ran 13th and 17th the next two weeks; leads the circuit with 10 top-five finishes; placed fifth in this season's Pocono 500 but struggled to 36th place in this event last year; has three top-five finishes and six top-10s in 13 career starts at this track.
Kevin Harvick Has placed inside the top 10 in five of his last seven races and is eighth in the standings with 2,408 points, just 20 points behind Earnhardt and 66 ahead of Gordon; climbed one spot in the standings after running fifth at New Hampshire, his second consecutive top-five finish; captured the checkered flag at Phoenix on April 22, his only victory this season; placed 13th in this season's Pocono 500 and has just three top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at this track; placed sixth in this event last season.
Tony Stewart Has struggled over the last two weeks since winning the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, finishing 37th at New Hampshire and 32nd at Chicagoland; has plummeted in the standings and currently is 11th with 2,331 points, just 11 behind Biffle; defending series champion persevered through a right shoulder injury to finish third at this year's Pocono 500, one of his eight top-five finishes this season; crashed in both the Nextel and Busch races at Charlotte and suffered from a fractured right scapula; was runner-up to Johnson at Talladega, his second straight second-place finish; won his first race of the season at Martinsville; finished seventh in this event last season and has fared well at this track, capturing one checkered flag, one pole, four top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 15 career starts.
Jimmie Johnson Has a series-leading 15 top-10 finishes and has placed inside the top 12 in all but two races this season; ran ninth at New Hampshire and increased his standings lead over Matt Kenseth to 68 points; drove to victory this season at Talladega, Las Vegas and the season-opening Daytona 500; also won the Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway; absolutely dominated the circuit over the first six races, registering two victories among five finishes inside the top six; won both races at this track in 2004 and has fared well here, registering one pole, three top-five finishes and five top-10s in nine starts; placed 10th in this season's Pocono 500 and ran 12th in this race last season.
Carl Edwards Was runner-up to Kyle Busch to complete a thrilling triple-duty weekend at New Hampshire, where he won the Busch race on Saturday and also competed in a Whelen Modified event; rebounded from consecutive poor outings at Chicagoland and Daytona and climbed one spot to 13th in the standings; trails Biffle by 146 points; recovered nicely from a slow start this season, registering six top-10 finishes in nine races from April 22-June 25; finished just 25th in the Pocono 500; ran fourth in this event last season and won last year's Pocono 500.
Greg Biffle Ran third at last Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, his eighth top-10 finish in his last 10 starts; climbed two spots to 10th in the Nextel Cup standings with 2,342 points; owns a slim 11-point lead over defending series champion Tony Stewart for the last spot in "the Chase for the Nextel Cup" with seven regular-season races remaining; rebounded nicely from poor finish at Daytona by running 11th at Chicagoland; registered seven straight top-10 finishes from May 6-June 25; defending series runner-up captured his first victory of the season at the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington Raceway on May 13; ran sixth in last month's Pocono 500 at this track and has two top-10 finishes in seven career starts here; finished 17th in this event last season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Finished last at New Hampshire, completing just 34 laps before withdrawing with engine trouble; dropped four spots to seventh in the standings with 2,428 points but trails Burton by just 50 points for third place; ran fifth at Chicagoland; captured the checkered flag at Richmond, his first victory of the season that snapped a string of 27 starts without a victory; has placed inside the top 15 in 14 of 19 races this season; ran 14th in the Pocono 500 and has struggled at this track, registering just four top-10 finishes in 13 career starts; placed 32nd in this event last season.
Mark Martin Finished fourth at New Hampshire to end a streak of five consecutive races outside the top 10; is fifth in the standings with 2,451 points, six ahead of Kahne, four behind Kyle Busch and 27 behind Burton; has three top-five finishes and nine top-10s this season; finished 17th at this year's Pocono 500 but has fared well at this track, registering three poles, 19 top-five finishes and 27 top-10s in 39 starts; finished third in this event last season.