Pocono 500 - Pocono Raceway

Jeff Gordon Wins Rain-Shortened Race in Pocono
With Sunday’s Pocono 500 red-flagged for rain after 106 laps, Jeff Gordon was looking at clouds more intently than he ever had. Brilliant pit strategy propelled the NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader to his fourth victory of the season and 79th of his career after the clouds opened up and the event at Pocono Raceway was called at 7:35 p.m. ET, six laps past the halfway point. The red-flag period lasted 34 minutes, as track crews at the 2.5-mile speedway attempted in vain to dry the asphalt in time to restart the race before darkness fell. “I’ve never looked at clouds as hard as I am now, trying to figure out what they’re going to do,” Gordon said during the stoppage, hoping for more rain. For the second straight race, polesitter Ryan Newman took second. Newman was on the verge of passing Gordon on Lap 104 when NASCAR called the final caution, then stopped the race two laps later. Martin Truex Jr., last week’s race winner at Dover, was third, followed by Casey Mears and Tony Stewart. Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10. Gordon fought brake problems all afternoon and could have run only eight more green-flag laps before pitting for fuel. “We had a great car,” he said. “We just needed track position.” Crew chief Steve Letarte took care of that problem by keeping Gordon on the track when the seven cars ahead of him in the running order came to the pits for fuel and/or tires on Lap 65. Gordon and Mears, who also stayed out on Lap 65 under a caution for debris in Turn 3, had to pit for tires and fuel on Lap 82, and with rain approaching from the northeast, Gordon ran hard to the halfway point and rocketed back to the front as the cars ahead of him were forced to refuel. When Gordon pitted from the lead on Lap 82, polesitter Ryan Newman assumed the point, but with rain starting to sprinkle the Tunnel Turn, Newman had to pit for gas on Lap 95. Carl Edwards inherited the lead through the cycle of pit stops but had stop for fuel on Lap 98, handing Gordon the top spot. As the race reached Lap 100, the rain began to fall in earnest. One lap later NASCAR slowed the race, after Newman had erased a deficit of more than two seconds and powered his No. 12 Dodge beside Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet moments before the caution flag flew on Lap 104. “Yes, we were fortunate, lucky — whatever you want to call it — that the rain came when it did,” Gordon said. “Steve made a gutsy, great call based on the radar. He was watching the radar all day. It was risky, but it really worked out pretty awesome.

Pocono 500 Notes

· Race Results · Chevrolet Post-Race Quotes · Dodge Post-Race Quotes · Ford Post-Race Quotes · Toyota Post-Race Quotes · Rookie Post-Race Quotes · Point Standings · Owner Point Standings · WIX Filters Lap Leader Notes · Rookie Rain-Delay Quotes · Final Practice · Practice 2 · Ford Saturday Quotes · Dodge Saturday Quotes · Rookie Saturday Quotes · Starting Lineup · Qualifying Results · Dodge Qualifying Quotes · Chevrolet Qualifying Quotes · Ford Qualifying Quotes · Toyota Qualifying Quotes · Rookie Qualifying Quotes · Practice 1 · Chevrolet Friday Quotes · Ford Friday Quotes · Dodge Friday Quotes · Qualifying Order · Entry List · Weekend Schedule · Raybestos Rookie Notes · Toyota Notes and Quotes · Team Red Bull Notes · Chad McCumbee Notes

· Jimmie Johnson Notes · Matt Kenseth Notes · Denny Hamlin Notes · Jeff Burton Notes · Carl Edwards Notes · Tony Stewart Notes · Clint Bowyer Notes · Kevin Harvick Notes · Kyle Busch Notes · Kurt Busch Notes · Mark Martin Notes · Jamie McMurray Notes · Dale Earnhardt Jr. Notes · Ryan Newman Notes · Bobby Labonte Notes · Greg Biffle Notes · J.J. Yeley Notes · Elliott Sadler Notes · David Stremme Notes · Juan Pablo Montoya Notes · Tony Raines Notes · Sterling Marlin Notes · Reed Sorenson Notes · David Ragan Notes · Casey Mears Notes · Jeff Green Notes · Kasey Kahne Notes · Ricky Rudd Notes · Scott Riggs Notes · Dave Blaney Notes · Ward Burton Notes · Jeremy Mayfield Notes · Bill Elliott Notes

Three Poles in a Row for the Rocketman
It's a pole trifecta for the Rocketman. Ryan Newman won his third pole position in a row on Friday afternoon at Pocono Raceway. Newman will lead the field to the green flag for the Pocono 500 after turning in a qualifying lap of 52.922 seconds, at an average speed of 170.062 mph. This is his 41st Bud Pole 202 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races and his fourth pole in 2007. This is Newman’s second pole and fourth front-row start in 11 races at Pocono Raceway. Newman became the second driver this season to post three consecutive Bud Poles. Jeff Gordon posted three-in-a-row from Phoenix through Richmond. This is the third time in his career that Newman has scored three (or more) consecutive Bud Poles. He had three in-a-row in 2003 and four in 2004. Denny Hamlin posted a lap of 53.167 seconds, at 169.278 mph an will join Newman on the front row. It is his third consecutive front-row start in three races at Pocono. Martin Truex, Jr. will start third after posting his fourth top-10 start in 2007. The week after scoring his first career NEXTEL Cup victory, Truex posted his career-best qualifying effort. Kyle Busch qualified fourth, scoring his season-best qualifying effort and his fourth top-10 in 2007. Busch has started from the top-10 in each of his past three races at Pocono. He started 28th and 38th in his first two races here. Brian Vickers (ninth) was the fastest of the drivers required to qualify on time. Chad McCumbee will start 35th for his first career NASCAR NEXTLE Cup race. He will be the 58th driver to compete on NASCAR premier circuit this season.