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Pocono Raceway, Pocono, PA (2.5-mile triangle)

• Bud Pole Qualifying: Friday, July 21 (Speed at 4:30 p.m. AT, 3:30 p.m. ET)
• Race: Sunday, July 23 (TNT/TSN at 2:30 p.m. AT, 1:30 p.m. ET)

Fast Facts
Next race: Pennsylvania 500 (Race No. 20 of the 36-race NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season)
The track: Pocono Raceway, Pocono, Pa.
The date/time: Sunday, July 23, 2:10 p.m. (EDT)
TV: TNT, 1:30 p.m. (EDT). Radio: MRN/XM Satellite
Posted awards: $4,836,658
Race length: 500 miles, 200 laps
Track layout: 2.5-mile
2005 winner: Kurt Busch
2005 polesitter: Jamie McMurray
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10: 1. Jimmie Johnson 2,789. 2. Matt Kenseth 2,721. 3. Jeff Burton 2,478. 4. Kyle Busch 2,455. 5. Mark Martin 2,451. 6. Kasey Kahne 2,445. 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,428. 8. Kevin Harvick 2,408. 9. Jeff Gordon 2,342. 10. Greg Biffle, 2,342.
Practice/Qualifying Schedule: Friday – Practice, 12:05 p.m. – 1:35 p.m., Qualifying, 3:40 p.m. Saturday – Practice 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Final Practice 11:05 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

Event Stats - underlined when link is activated

Leaderboard, Points, Manufacturer & Rookie Standings Through 19 of 36 Races here

Practice Results - click here

Qualifying Order - click here

Qualifying Results - click here

Starting Lineup - click here

Race Results (unofficial) here

Point Standings (post-race, unofficial) here Hamlin Makes it Back-to-Back Wins at Pocono Raceway

LONG POND, PA. (July 23, 2006) -- It must take a lot to impress NASCAR Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Denny Hamlin.

The first-year NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rookie driver for Joe Gibbs totally dominated the field Sunday at Pocono International Raceway and calmly said it was a "pretty uneventful" day afterwards.

Hamlin crossed the finish line first for the second time this season at Pocono and was comfortably ahead of runner-up Kurt Busch. Hamlin also won the first race of the season at Pocono and is now batting two for two at the tricky Pennsylvania tri-oval. This is the first year he has ever raced at Pocono. Click here for the rest of the story.

Visit Victory Lane - click here

Post-Race Notes

• Denny Hamlin won the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway, scoring his second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory in his 27th career start.
• Hamlin also won the June race at Pocono, six races ago, and became the first rookie to sweep both races at a track since Jimmie Johnson won both races at Dover in 2002.
• Hamlin won both Pocono races from the Bud Pole. The last driver to sweep both races from the Bud Pole in a single season was Jeff Gordon at Martinsville in 2003.
• Hamlin’s two victories at Pocono in 2006 marked the sixth time that a driver has swept both races at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin joined Jimmie Johnson (2004), Bobby Labonte (1999), Tim Richmond (1986), Bill Elliott (1985), and Bobby Allison (1982).
• Hamlin scored his eighth top-10 finish in 20 races this season. He has posted top-15 finishes in 14 of the 20 races.
• Hamlin climbed from 12th to eighth in the point standings, the highest points position of his 27-race career. ,li>Hamlin led the most laps for the second time in his career. He also led the most laps at Pocono in June when he scored his career-first victory, leading 83 laps.
• Hamlin led five times for 151 laps including the final 20 laps in the Pennsylvania 500, a career high.
• This was team owner Joe Gibb’s 51st NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory. Gibbs has scored six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories at Pocono Raceway: Bobby Labonte (three), Denny Hamlin (two) and Tony Stewart (one). It was Gibbs fourth victory in 2006.
• Joe Gibbs Racing has won at least one race each season 1993-2006, 14 consecutive years.
• Kurt Busch (second) scored his eighth top-10 finish in 2006 and his sixth top-10 finish in 12 races Pocono Raceway. Busch has finished first, second and second in his last three races at Pocono.
• Jeff Gordon (third) scored his ninth top-10 finish in 2006. It was his 19th top-10 finish in 28 races at Pocono Raceway. He remained ninth in the point standings and is now 50 points ahead of 11th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Brian Vickers (fourth) scored his fifth top-10 finish in 2006. This was his third top-10 in six races at Pocono Raceway - all topfives.
• Kevin Harvick (fifth) scored his 11th top-10 finish 20 races in 2006, including the last four races. It was his fourth top-10 finish in 12 races at Pocono. Harvick extended a 32-race streak of running at the finish that began at California last September, the longest current streak.
• Jimmie Johnson (sixth) posted his 16th top-10 finish in 2006, the most of all drivers. He remained first in the point standings, now 97 points ahead of second-place Matt Kenseth. Johnson has been ranked among the top 10 for 89 consecutive races. He has scored 10 straight top-15 finishes in 10 races at Pocono Raceway.
• Jeff Burton (ninth) scored his 13th top-10 finish in 2006. It was his 14th straight top-15 finish extending a streak that began at Texas in April. It marked his 13th top-10 finish in 26 races at Pocono Raceway.
• Kyle Busch (12th) extended a streak of six straight top-15 finishes that began at Michigan in June.
• At least one of the Raybestos Rookie-of-the Year contenders has scored a top-15 finish in all 20 races this season. Hamlin has been the highest finishing rookie in 11 races in 2006.

Qualifying Notes

Who's Hot Heading to Pocono

• Jimmie Johnson has scored a top-15 finish in 17 of the 19 races in 2006. His other two finishes were 30th or worse.
• Jeff Burton has posted 13 straight top-15 finishes since Martinsville.
• Greg Biffle has scored more points in the last 10 races than any other driver.
• Kasey Kahne has won four races in 2006, the most of all drivers.
• Matt Kenseth is the only driver to score 10 top-five finishes in the 19 races this season.
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to score 15 top-10 finishes in the first 19 races of 2006.
• Greg Biffle is the only driver to lead at least one lap in 15 of the 19 races this season.
• Greg Biffle has scored top-15 finishes in nine of the last 10 races.
• Matt Kenseth ranks second in the point standings. After 19 races one year ago, he ranked 16th.
• Kyle Busch has scored five straight top-15 finishes.

Pocono Nuggets

Pocono Milestones
• Greg Biffle is expected to make his 125th consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start at Pocono.
  Starting Up Front May be Important at Pocono Raceway
• Five of the last 11 races at Pocono Raceway have been won from a front-row starting position including the June race won by rookie Denny Hamlin from the Bud Pole.
  Pocono Bud Pole Winner
• Ken Schrader leads all active full-time drivers with five Bud Poles at Pocono. Schrader has not had a top-10 start in his last nine races at Pocono. His last Bud Pole came there in June 1995. Bill Elliott also scored five Bud Poles at Pocono.
  Pocono Streaks
• Brian Vickers has posted five straight top-10 starts at Pocono Raceway, the longest current streak.
• Jamie McMurray has posted four straight top-10 starts at Pocono Raceway.
• Kurt Busch has posted four straight starts of third or better at Pocono Raceway.
• Jimmie Johnson has posted nine straight top-15 finishes at Pocono Raceway.
• Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch have each posted top-10 finishes in their last two races at Pocono Raceway, the longest streak among active drivers.
  Owner Dominance at Pocono Raceway
• Rick Hendrick has 10 victories at Pocono Raceway, the most of all car owners. Those 10 victories were scored by five different drivers led by Jeff Gordon (three), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (two) and Terry Labonte and Geoffrey Bodine (one each).
  Leading The Way
• Jeff Gordon has competed in 27 races at Pocono Raceway. He has led 841 laps in those races, the most of all drivers.
  Pocono Starters
• Only Ricky Rudd (53) and Terry Labonte (51) have competed in more than 50 races at Pocono Raceway. Kyle Petty has competed in 48 races at Pocono Raceway, the most by any active full-time driver.
  Bud Pole Winners Galore
• There have been 19 different Bud Pole winners in the last 20 races at Pocono, since July 1996. Qualifying was cancelled there in June 2002.
  Would You Believe?
• Mark Martin finished second at Pocono six times in 39 races but has never visited victory lane at the Pennsylvania superspeedway.
  Pocono Raceway Standouts
• Bill Elliott leads all drivers with five victories at Pocono Raceway. Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon lead all active drivers with three wins at the Pennsylvania superspeedway.
• Mark Martin leads all drivers with 19 top-five finishes in 39 races at Pocono Raceway.
• Mark Martin leads all drivers with 27 top-10 finishes at Pocono Raceway, the most among all drivers.
• Denny Hamlin leads all drivers with a 1.0 starting average at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin won in his first race there in June.
• Brian Vickers has a 4.6 starting average at Pocono posting top-10 starts in all five of his races at Pocono Raceway.
• Jimmie Johnson has a 8.33 finishing average in his nine races at Pocono Raceway, the best of all drivers with more than one start there.
  Season Nuggets
• Current point leader Jimmie Johnson was the point leader at the mid-point of the season. He was also the point leader at the mid-point in 2004 and 2005 and also was the point leader after Race No. 19 in 2004 and 2005.
• All 19 victories in 2006 have been scored by drivers ranked in the top-14 in the point standings.
• Greg Biffle is the only driver who has led at least one lap in 15 of the 19 races in 2006. Biffle has earned 95 lap leader bonus points, 60 more than point leader Jimmie Johnson who has 35.
• Greg Biffle, currently 10th in the point standings, has earned 1,508 points in the last 10 races, more than any other driver. Jeff Burton is second in points earned in the last 10 races earning 1,439, 69 less than Biffle. Point leader Jimmie Johnson ranks fifth during the last 10 races earning 1,395 points, 113 less than Biffle.
• Two drivers that ranked in the top-10 after Race No. 19 in 2005 failed to make the Chase. Elliott Sadler was ninth and finished 13th and Dale Jarrett was 10th and finished 15th.
• After 19 races in 2006, eight drivers are within the 400-point window. One year ago there were nine drivers within the 400-point window.
• In 2005 five of the top-13 drivers were separated by nine points or less with two drivers tied (Busch-fifth and Newman-sixth each scoring 2,347 points).
• After 19 races in 2006, five of the top-12 drivers are separated by 11 points or less and eight are separated by 25 points or less. Ninth-place Jeff Gordon and 10th-place Greg Biffle have each scored 2,342 points.
• Just 18 points separate 12th to ninth in the point standings.
• Greg Biffle, currently 10th in the point standings, is 11 points ahead of 11th-place Tony Stewart and just 18 ahead of 12th-place Denny Hamlin.
• Just 113 points separate 10th-place Greg Biffle and fourth-place Kyle Busch. That is the difference between a first to a 32nd-place finish (lap leader points not considered).
• After winning only three races in all of 2005, Dodge has won five of the first 19 races in 2006. Chevrolet has 11 victories while Ford has just three. One year ago Ford had eight victories at this point of the season.
• Ken Schrader remains the only driver that has competed in every race and has yet to lead in 2006.
• Four of the top-10 drivers have been running at the finish in every race in 2006: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick.
• Kasey Kahne (sixth), Dale Earnhardt (seventh), Jeff Gordon (ninth) and Greg Biffle (10th) are the only drivers among the top 10 in the point standings with more than one DNF. Gordon leads all drivers in the top 10 with four DNFs. That is the most DNFs of any driver ranked in among the top 24.
• At least one rookie has scored a top-15 finish in every race this season.
• Nine of the top-11 drivers changed point positions at New Hampshire.

Pre-Race Notes & Quotes (as provided by the teams)

Dale Eanrhardt, Jr. “I feel like I’ve got something to prove at Pocono, because I’ve not felt comfortable there in several years, if ever. Not sure why. Our last race there a month ago was probably the best I’ve felt there in a while, but it still wasn’t great. We ran in the top-five, had some issues at the end and finished 14th. I think this weekend is probably going to be our best shot at getting that track figured out for the first time. We’re bringing a really good car – the one we raced at Michigan (finished third) and Chicago (finished fifth). Tony Jr. has taken it back to the shop, cut it up a little bit and made it better. And we’re probably bringing the most confidence we’ve had there in a long time. I’m also pumped up about this weekend because my boxing buddy Arturo Gatti is going for the welterweight belt Saturday night. It’s a big fight. I get pumped up when Arturo fights, so maybe that’ll help us, too.” In 13 career starts at Pocono, Dale Jr. has three top-five finishes and four top-10s. He has led four races there for 89 laps, the most coming in 2001 when he led 31 laps en route to his career-best finish at Pocono of second.

Dave Blaney Blaney has made 13 Cup Series starts at the 2.5-mile Long Pond, Pa., facility, starting as high as 15th and finishing as high as ninth. He has scored two top-10 finishes at the track.

Michael Waltrip NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will make his 21st start in the Pennsylvania 500; Waltrip's best finish in the event was fourth (2003) and his worst 38th (1991). Waltrip ranks fourth among all active NEXTEL Cup drivers with 41 starts at Pocono Raceway; his average starting position is 20.073 and average finish 19.829. Waltrip won the Bud Pole Award for the 2005 Pocono 500 and has three top-five and six top-10 finishes at Pocono Raceway.

Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick has 11 Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway. Of those 11 starts, he has compiled a record of three top-10 finishes. He finished sixth in this race a year ago and 13th in June. Although, Harvick has yet to win a race at Pocono, he has been running at the finish in all but two races. Kevin Harvick’s average starting position at Pocono Raceway is 18.7, with his best start of sixth coming in 2001 (went on to finish 20th). He qualified 12th at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in June. Harvick’s average finishing position is 17.8, with his best finish of sixth coming in 2002 and 2005.

Jeff Gordon “It’s definitely tight for those final spots into the Chase,” Gordon said. “I think Jimmie Johnson (first in points) and Matt Kenseth (second in points) are the only two who are comfortable right now. (more) -2- “There are about 12 guys fighting for the last eight spots, and that’s too many to worry about. And we never want to focus on what they’re doing or where they’re running during a race. “We must focus on things we can control, and that’s getting the best finish possible for us.” In 27 starts at the Pennsylvania track, Gordon has three wins, two poles, 12 top-fives, 18 top-10's and one very scary accident.

Tony Stewart From a driver's standpoint, what's your biggest challenge at Pocono? "All three corners are different - that's the most challenging part. It seems like you can always get your car good in two of the three corners, but the guys who are contending for the win are the guys who can get their car good for all three corners. That's a very hard thing to do - get your car good through all three sections of the race track. It's a little different now because we don't go through transmission and gear changes like we have in the past where we tried different combinations to find more speed. With the gears NASCAR says you can run, it's made it a totally different style of racing compared to what we've had in year's past at Pocono. It's evened things out for everyone." Stewart has four top-fives and 10 top-10s in 15 career starts at Pocono. Four of those top-10s have been seventh-place results (July 2005, June 2002, July 2002 and June 2001). His best finish is first at the 2003 spring race. Stewart scored his third career pole at Pocono in July of 2000. He now has 10 poles to his resume, with the last one coming 23 races ago at Martinsville. Stewart's first visit to Pocono came in 1986, where he raced a go-kart as a member of the World Karting Association.

Kasey Kahne “We had a good run at Pocono the last time we were there. Kenny (Francis, team director), Mike (Shiplett, car director), Keith (Rodden, engineer) and the team have a good setup for the track. That’s tough with three totally different turns. We’ll have the same Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger that qualified third and finished seventh last month. We needed a top-10 at New Hampshire ater disappointing finishes at Sonoma, Daytona and Chicago. There are seven races left to set the field for the Chase. Nothing is set. We have a lot of work ahead to earn one of those 10 spots in the Chase.” Kahne started third and finished seventh in the Pocono 500 earlier this season with the same chassis he is bringing with him for this weekend’s Pennsylvania 500. Kahne will be making his sixth start at Pocono Raceway in this weekend’s Pennsylvania 500. Kahne’s best finish at Pocono came in his rookie season, when he finished third in the Pennsylvania 500

Kyle Busch For the fourth time this season, Busch will commute between NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series events. He will participate in the majority of Thursday's Martinsville practice session before flying to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Busch will return to Martinsville on Saturday prior to Busch Series driver introductions and head back to Long Pond immediately following the race. Although Busch has posted a top-five finish at Pocono Raceway, the Las Vegas native has never led a lap at the 2.5-mile track in NEXTEL Cup competition. Busch did, however, earn a pole position and lead laps in the July 2003 Automobile Racing Club of America event.

Jeremy Mayfield "I’m looking forward to getting back to Pocono. Some great moments in my career have come at Pocono. This No. 19 team just needs something positive to happen where everything comes together – the car, the engine, the handling, the pit stops, the pit calls, the communication and my driving. This could be the week things come together for the No. 19 team.” Mayfield has nine top-10 and four top-five finishes at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania tri-oval. Mayfield has two wins at Pocono Raceway, one of the two being his first career NEXTEL Cup win in the 1998 Pocono 500. His best finish since then was a second in his Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger in the 2004 Pocono 500. Mayfield’s 24 starts at the Pocono Raceway are the third-most of the Dodge drivers, next to Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte.

Brian Vickers WHAT IS IT ABOUT POCONO THAT ALLOWS THE GMAC RACING TEAM TO EXCEL THERE? "I don't know. I wish we could figure out what makes the track so special for us because we'd apply to every other track we go to. Some drivers and teams seem to run well at certain places. Since the first time I went to Pocono to test during my rookie year, I've enjoyed the track. Couple that with the fact that the No. 25 team has historically run well at Pocono and that may provide some explanation as to the success there for us." In five NEXTEL Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Vickers has never qualified worse than eighth. He maintains an average starting position of 4.6 and an average finish of 9.4 at the venue.

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