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Pocono 500 - Pocono Raceway
Stewart Claims First Win of the Season
Johnson on Pocono Pole
Tony Stewart captured his first victory of the season, winning the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. Stewart, last season’s Winston Cup champion, took the lead for the final time with 11 laps remaining and held off Mark Martin to score his 16th career victory. Stewart led the field for 37 of the event’s 200 laps, while Sterling Marlin led the most laps on the day, staying out front for 44 circuits. It was Stewart’s first win since August of 2002, a span of 27 races. Martin scored his best finish of the season, coming home in the runner-up position. Current Winston Cup points leader Matt Kenseth finished in the third spot, extending his lead atop the standings to 176 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished fourth. Ryan Newman rounded out the top five in the finishing order.
Jimmie Johnson will start the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway from the inside of the front row after winning the pole position on Friday afternoon. Johnson turned in a qualifying lap of 52.741 seconds, at an average speed of 170.645 mph, around the 2.5-mile triangular track to earn his first pole of the 2003 season and the fifth of his career. The qualifying machine better known as Ryan Newman will make another start on the front row, this week from the outside-pole position, his third straight front-row start. Teammates Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart will start side-by-side on row two, starting third and fourth respectively.
