Pocono Raceway
Track data:
Race #: 20 of 36 (7-24-05)
Track Size: 2.5 Mile
Event: Pennsylvania 500
Location: Pocono, PA
Number of Laps: 200
Length of Event: 500 Miles
Length of Front Stretch: 3,740 Feet
Length of Long Pond Stretch: 3,055 Feet
Length of Back Stretch: 1,780 Feet
Degree of Banking in Corner #1: 14 degrees
Degree of Banking in Corner #2: 8 degrees
Degree of Banking in Corner #3: 6 degrees
Qualifying data:
Last year's event pole winner: Casey Mears 171.720 mph 7-30-04 52.411 seconds
Last year's event winner: Jimmie Johnson 126.271 mph 8-1-04 3 hrs, 57 min, 35 sec
Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne 172.533 mph 6-11-04 52.164 seconds
Track race record: Rusty Wallace 144.892 mph 7-21-96 3 hr, 27 min, 03 sec
Historical data:
Previous winners at Pocono:
Bill Elliott (5) Darrell Waltrip (4) Tim Richmond (4) Rusty Wallace (4) Bobby Allison (3)
Geoffrey Bodine (3) Jeff Gordon (3) Bobby Labonte (3) Dale Jarrett (3) Richard Petty (2)
Harry Gant (2) Cale Yarborough (2) Dale Earnhardt (2) Terry Labonte (2) Jeremy Mayfield (2)
Jimmie Johnson (2) David Pearson (1) Benny Parsons (1) Neil Bonnett (1) Alan Kulwicki (1)
Kyle Petty (1) Ricky Rudd (1) Tony Stewart (1) Ryan Newman (1) Carl Edwards (1)
Races won from the pole: 9 of 55 events (16%)
Races won from in top 10: 39 of 55 events (71%)
Races won from outside top 10: 16 of 55 events (29%)
Track Milestones
Buddy Baker won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Bud Pole at Pocono in 1974.
Richard Petty won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Pocono, the Purolator 500 on August 4, 1974.
Qualifying ahs been canceled due to weather twice at Pocono Raceway: June 1982 and June 2002.
The race at Pocono has been shortened by rain four times: 1974, July 1986, July 1991 and July 2002.
Qualifying Update
There have been 17 different Bud Pole winners in the 18 races at Pocono since June 1996.
Qualifying was canceled in June 2002 due to weather.
Track Update
Jimmie Johnson swept both Pocono races in 2004; Bobby Labonte swept both in 1999. There was a
different race winner in each of the eight races in between those two sweeps, including Labonte who won there in
July 2001.
Manufacturer Update
Bill Elliott won the 2002 Pennsylvania 500, the first victory by a Dodge driver at Pocono since Richard
Petty won the 1976 Purolator 500, the third race in Pocono history.
The Money
Purse $4,795,586
NASCAR NEXTEL Leader Bonus $80,000
MBNA Mid-Race Leader Bonus $5,000
Tire/Fuel Data
Goodyear Tire Codes: Left-side — D-6838; Right-side -- D-6842
Other Tracks With This Same Tire Combination: None
Estimated Pit Window: Every 34 -38 laps, based on fuel mileage
Notebook
The field will consist of 43 cars. The 43rd position is reserved for a past NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion,
if needed. If unused, it will go to the next eligible owner.
Two qualifying laps will be used to determine the starting positions with the adjustments made afterwards as
required.
There have been 55 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Pocono Raceway since the first race was held there in
1974. There was one race a year from 1974 through 1981 and two-a-year since 1982.
Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott lead all other drivers, each with five Bud Poles at Pocono.
Casey Mears is the defending Bud Pole winner for the Pennsylvania 500.
Jimmie Johnson is the defending race winner of the Pennsylvania 500.
The pole position has been the most productive at Pocono, producing nine race winners.
Thirty-one of 55 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Pocono have been won from the first four starting
positions.
Eleven of the last 16 races at Pocono Raceway have been won from a starting position of fifth or better.
Only six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Pocono have ever been won from a starting position worse than
15th, most recently by Carl Edwards who won the 2005 Pocono 500 from 29th, the farthest back that a
race winner at Pocono has started.
In 23 years of twice-a-year NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Pocono since 1982, a sweep has occurred only
five times: Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1985), Tim Richmond (1986), Bobby Labonte (1999) and
Jimmie Johnson (2004).
Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond are the only drivers to win three straight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races
at Pocono.
Hendrick Success
Hendrick Motorsports, the leading car owner at Pocono. HMS has won 10 Pocono races with five different
drivers: Tim Richmond (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Jimmie Johnson (two), Geoffrey Bodine (one) and
Terry Labonte (one).
Would You Believe?
Mark Martin leads all drivers at Pocono, with and 18 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes in 37 races, yet has
not posted a victory at the Pennsylvania speedway. He has six second-place finishes there, most recently in
August 2004.
Nuggets
Defending NEXTEL Cup Champion at Pocono Raceway
Kurt Busch has competed in nine races at Pocono Raceway, scoring three top-10 finishes, all top fives.
However, he finished 26th in this race one year ago and 22nd there in June.
Points Leader at Pocono Raceway
Jimmie Johnson has competed in seven races at Pocono Raceway posting two victories (both races in 2004)
and four top-10 finishes. All seven of his Pocono finishes have been top-15s. Johnson finished sixth at Pocono
Raceway in June.
Starting Up Front is not the Only way to Victory at Pocono Raceway
Carl Edwards started 29th and won the Pocono 500 in June, the furthest back a race winner has started at
Pocono since the track opened in 1974.
Pocono Sweeps
There have been five seasons with sweeps at Pocono since the track has hosted twice-a-year races beginning
in 1982, including two in the last six seasons: Jimmie Johnson (2004) Bobby Labonte (1999), Tim Richmond
(1986), Bill Elliott (1985) and Bobby Allison (1982).
Winners Galore
There have been 17 different Bud Pole winners in the last 18 races at Pocono Raceway. Qualifying was
rained out in the 2002 Pocono 500.
There have been 10 different race winners in the last 11 races at Pocono, since 2000. Only Jimmie Johnson
has won two races during the period, both in 2004.
Latest Dominators at Pocono
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have each scored three top-10 finishes in their last three races at Pocono
Raceway.
No Manufacturer Domination at Pocono
A Ford, a Dodge and a Chevrolet have each visited the winner's circle in the last four races at Pocono.
“First-Timers” at Pocono
Jeremy Mayfield posted his career-first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory at Pocono Raceway.
Casey Mears posted his career-first Bud Pole at Pocono Raceway.
“Last-Timers” at Pocono Raceway
Mark Martin has scored 26 top-10 finishes in his 37 races at Pocono Raceway but has never won there. He
has finished second six times at Pocono Raceway, most recently in this race one year ago.
Rusty Wallace has 16 top-10 finishes, including four victories, in his 43 races at Pocono Raceway. Wallace's
best finish in his last six races at Pocono was 11th (twice).
And the Beat Goes On
Elliott Sadler leads all drivers, running at the finish in 13 races at Pocono Raceway, the longest streak among
active drivers at the track. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Dave Blaney have all been running at the
finish in 11 races at Pocono Raceway.
Owner Domination at Pocono Raceway
Rick Hendrick is the all-time winning owner at Pocono Raceway, posting 10 victories with five different
drivers: Tim Richmond (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Jimmie Johnson (two), Terry Labonte (one) and
Geoffrey Bodine (one).
Starting and Finishing Up Front at Pocono
Mark Martin has a 7.1 starting average and a 10.7 finishing average in 37 races at Pocono Raceway.
His starting average is the best among drivers with more than six starts. His finishing average is the best among
drivers with more than 25 starts. Martin is one of just six drivers with a starting and finishing averages of 10th or
better. He joins Coo Coo Marlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers, Tim Richmond and Jeff Gordon.
Top 10 Lap Leaders at Pocono Raceway
Driver Starts Laps Led
1. Gordon, Jeff 25 841
2. Bodine, Geoffrey 39 806
3. Wallace, Rusty 43 735
4. Waltrip, Darrell 44 616
5. Jarrett, Dale 37 521
6. Petty, Richard 30 500
7. Earnhardt, Dale 41 455
8. Elliott, Bill 44 427
9. Martin, Mark 37 350
10. Allison, Bobby 21 344
Would You Believe?
Tony Stewart has finished 37th, 27th, 35th and 29th in the last four races Pocono Raceway.
Pocono May Spell Trouble for Some of the Top 10
Greg Biffle has scored only one top-10 finish in five races at Pocono Raceway.
Rusty Wallace has not scored a top-10 finish in his last six races at Pocono Raceway.
Kurt Busch has finished 26th and 22nd in his last two races at Pocono Raceway
Ryan Newman has not scored a top-10 finish in his last three races at Pocono Raceway.
Elliott Sadler has scored only two top-10 finishes in 13 races at Pocono Raceway.
Dale Jarrett has not scored a top-10 finish in his last five races at Pocono Raceway.
Pocono Roller-Coaster
Tony Stewart has scored eight top-10 finishes in 12 races at Pocono, but has finished 37th, 27th and 35th in
his last three races there.
Dale Jarrett has scored 18 top-10 finishes in 36 races at Pocono, but has finished 42nd, 21st, 26th, 24th and
13th in his last five races there.
Ricky Rudd has finished 37th, 39th, 19th, 12th and 28th in his last five races at Pocono Raceway.
WHO'S HOT Heading to Pocono
Tony Stewart has scored five top-five finishes, including three victories, in the last five races.
Jimmie Johnson has scored 13 top-10 finishes in 2005, two more than any other driver.
Rusty Wallace has posted 15 top-15 finishes in 19 races in 2005, tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most among all drivers.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored three consecutive top-10 finishes, his first three straight top-10s since he posted six
in a row between Richmond and Charlotte last fall.
Matt Kenseth has finished 11th or better and climbed from 24th to 16th in the point standings in the last five races.
Roush Racing drivers have won eight of the 19 races in 2005. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won five while Joe Gibbs Racing has three victories. Dale Earnhardt Inc., Richard Childress Racing, and Evernham Motorsports each have one.
The Race to the Chase
With seven races remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup formally begins at New
Hampshire the “magic number” for elimination is 1,092. Any driver more than 1,092 points behind 10th place
can not mathematically make the Chase providing the driver in 10th starts the remaining seven races.
There are 10 drivers eligible for the championship run since no drivers outside the top 10 are within 400
points of the leader.
Of the 10 drivers eligible at this time, six have yet to post a victory in 2005.
Five of the nine race winners this season are not currently eligible for the Chase.
The 10 eligible drivers have accounted for over 50 percent of the top-five finishes (48 of 95) and 48 percent
of the top-10 finishes (91 of 190) this season.
Elliott Sadler, currently ninth in the point standings, has just one top-five finish but has posted nine top-10s.
Top 10 Heading to Pocono
First
Jimmie Johnson finished 13th in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and remained first
in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Johnson has led the standings after 15 of the 19 races this season. He has
scored two victories in 2005 winning at Las Vegas and Lowe’s. He is the only driver to score 13 top-10 finishes in the
first 19 races in 2005, two more than any other driver. Johnson ranked first after 19 races one year ago, then 165 points
ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. His lead one year later is by 77 over second-place Greg Biffle. He has ranked among the top-
10 drivers since Las Vegas in March 2004, 52 straight races. Johnson has competed in seven races at Pocono Raceway
scoring two victories and four top-10 finishes. All seven of his finishes at Pocono have been top-15s, including victories
in both races in 2004. He has led in four races at Pocono Raceway. His 7.6 average finish is the best of all drivers that
have competed in more than one race there. Johnson finished first in this race one year ago and sixth there this past June.
Second
Greg Biffle finished fifth in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and remained second in
the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Biffle has ranked among the top-five in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point
standings since race No. 2 at California. He trails first-place Jimmie Johnson by 77 points. Biffle ranked 25th in the point
standings after 19 races one year ago. Biffle has scored five victories in 2005, the most of all drivers. He has scored 11
top-10 finishes in the first 19 races, two less than Johnson. Biffle has competed in five races at Pocono Raceway finishing
11th or worse in four of his five races there. His only top-10 finish at Pocono, fouth, came in this race one year ago. Biffle
finished 30th there this past June.
Third
Tony Stewart finished first in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and remained third in
the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Stewart has scored five top-five finishes, including three victories, in his last
five races. He has scored 11 top-10 finishes this season. He trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 85 points and is just
eight points behind second-place Greg Biffle. Stewart was 380 points behind Johnson after race No. 14 at Pocono. He has
made up 295 points on the points lead in the last five races. Stewart ranked fourth in the point standings after 19 races one
year ago. He has competed in 13 races at Pocono Raceway, scoring one victory (June 2003) and eight top-10 finishes.
Since his victory he has posted four straight finishes of 27th or worse at Pocono, including two DNFs, his only DNFs at
Pocono. He finished 35th in this race one year ago and 29th there this past June. Stewart has led in five races at Pocono.
Fourth
Rusty Wallace finished eighth in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and remained
fourth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He is 230 points behind first-place Jimmie Johnson and trails thirdplace
Tony Stewart by 145 points. Wallace was 14th in the point standings after race No. 10 at Darlington. Wallace
ranked 19th in the point standings after 19 races one year ago. He has scored 15 top-15 finishes this season, tied with
Jimmie Johnson for the most among all drivers. Wallace has competed in 43 races at Pocono Raceway scoring four
victories and 16 top-10 finishes. He finished 17th in this race one year ago and 11th there in June. He has not scored a top-
10 finish in his last six races at Pocono. Wallace has led 735 laps at Pocono Raceway, third in laps led at the Pennsylvania
superspeedway behind Geoffrey Bodine (806) and Jeff Gordon (841).
Fifth
Kurt Busch finished second in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and climbed from
10th to fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 325 points and is
95 points behind fourth-place Rusty Wallace. Busch ranked seventh in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after
19 races one year ago. He has scored 10 top-10 finishes in 19 races this season. Busch and Ryan Newman have each
scored 2,347 Championship driver points. Busch gets the fifth-place ranking due to his victory at Phoenix. Busch has
competed in nine races at Pocono Raceway scoring three top-10 finishes He finished 26th in this race one year ago and
22nd there in June. Tenth to fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings are separated by 93 points.
Sixth
Ryan Newman finished seventh in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Newman
climbed from seventh to sixth the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 325
points and is tied with fifth-place Kurt Busch. He ranked eighth in the point standings after 19 races one year ago.
Newman has scored 13 top-15 finishes including nine top-10 finishes in 2005. Newman has competed in seven races at
Pocono Raceway, scoring one victory (July 2003) and three top-10 finishes. He finished 13th in this race one year ago and
34th there in June, his worst finish at Pocono Raceway and second DNF there. Newman has led in four of his seven races
at Pocono Raceway.
Seventh
Mark Martin finished 15th in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and dropped from
sixth to seventh in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 352 points and
is just 27 points behind fifth-place Kurt Busch. Martin ranked 15th in the point standings after 19 races one year ago. He
has posted nine top-10 finishes in 2005. Martin has competed in 37 races at Pocono Raceway scoring 26 top-10 finishes.
His best Pocono finish of second (six times) came most recently in this race one year ago. Martin has a 7.1 starting
average in 37 races at Pocono, the best among drivers with more than six starts at Pocono. He has a 10.7 average finish at
Pocono. He is one of just six of the 275 drivers that have competed at Pocono that has both a starting and finishing
average of 10th or better. He has led in 24 of his 37 races at Pocono. Martin finished seventh there in June.
Eighth
Jeremy Mayfield finished 19th in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway yet climbed from
ninth to eighth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Mayfield has scored 12 top-15 finishes in 19 races in
2005. He has climbed from a low of 26th in the point standings after race No. 3 at Las Vegas to a season high eighth-place
ranking. He trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 387 points and is just 35 points behind seventh-place Mark Martin.
Mayfield ranked 11th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 19 races one year ago. He has scored just four
top-10 finishes in 19 races this season. He has competed in 22 races at Pocono Raceway scoring two victories and nine
top-10 finishes. Two of his four career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories have come at Pocono Raceway, His most recent
Pocono victory came there in June 2000. Mayfield finished ninth in this race one year ago and 14th there in June.
Ninth
Elliott Sadler finished 39th in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and dropped from
fifth to ninth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Sadler has dropped from third to ninth in the last four races.
It marked his worst finish of the 2005 season. He has finished 20th or worse in seven races this season. Sadler has scored
12 top-15 finishes in 19 races in 2005. He trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 396 points and is just nine points behind
eighth-place Jeremy Mayfield. He ranked eighth in the point standings after 19 races one year ago. Sadler has scored nine
top-10 finishes in 2005. He has competed in 13 races at Pocono Raceway and has scored just two top-10 finishes there. He
finished 10th in this race one year ago and 21st there in June. Sadler has led in only two of his 13 races there.
10th
Dale Jarrett finished 16th in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and climbed from 11th
to 10th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. Jarrett trails point leader Jimmie Johnson by 418 points and is just
22 points behind ninth-place Elliott Sadler. Jarrett ranked 12th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 19
races one year ago. He has scored five top-10 finishes in 19 races this season. He has competed in 37 races at Pocono
Raceway scoring three victories and 18 top-10 finishes, but has not scored a top-10 finish in his last five races at Pocono..
His last Pocono victory came in June 2002. Jarrett finished 24th in this race one year ago and 13th there in June.
