2006 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway

Pocono Raceway bills itself as "The Superspeedway That Drives Like A Road Course." This giant 2.5 mile triangle features a long, wide frontstretch that lets the drivers fan out. Pocono can provide some real excitement as all eyes are on the top ten in points. Can anyone make a strong move into the top ten as we start to count down the last seven races before The Chase For the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup begins?

Speedway ticket office 1-800-RACEWAY

Pocono Speedway is a 2.5 mile three-cornered speedway. The triangle-shaped track has three different corner lengths and bankings making it very difficult to set up a car and to drive well. Pocono is, in a word, unique.

Even though Pocono is difficult to set up for and drive. Pocono Raceway frequently hosts great racing with events often decided within the last couple of laps.

200 Laps = 500 Miles

Only seven races remain until the top ten drivers are locked in to The Chase. Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle are tied for ninth and tenth.

Tony Stewart is in eleventh just eleven points back. Rookie Denny Hamlin is in twelfth just eighteen points out of The Chase.

The current top ten in points are:

1. Jimmie Johnson -0
2. Matt Kenseth -68
3. Jeff Burton -311
4. Kyle Busch -334
5. Mark Martin -338
6. Kasey Kahne -344
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -361
8. Kevin Harvick -381
9. Jeff Gordon -447
10. Greg Biffle -447

The pressure is on as The Race To The Chase has only seven races left.

Defending champion Tony Stewart and defending Pocono winner Denny Hamlin find themselves eleventh and twelfth in points. Can these Joe Gibbs teammates find success in Pocono and battle their way back into The Chase?

The tricky triangle of Pocono Raceway is a difficult place to make a strong move in the points, but Stewart and Hamlin need to have strong runs this week to get their seasons back on track.

TV: TNT Sunday, July 23rd, 1:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and XM Satellite

Actual Race: 2:10PM Eastern

$4,836,658

In 2005 Kurt Busch had the field covered as he lead the most laps on his way to a convincing Pocono win. Interestingly, Rusty Wallace ran second in that race in the car that Kurt Busch now drives. Could Kurt repeat his 2005 success in his new Penkse Racing Dodge?

Last year Roush Racing posted three of the top four finishers. Roush Racing is due for another breakthrough race this week as I expect that they will again put at least three drivers in the top ten.

My primary pick this week is a driver that was leading late in the race here in June on his way to a fading sixth place finish. Greg Biffle has had his team working well in 2006 and he knows how to get out front and lead in Pocono.

For my backup I'm going with one of Biffle's teammates. Mark Martin has never won at Pocono Raceway but he has an outstanding record here. Martin has six runner-up finishes at Pocono, along with 19 top-5s and 27 top-10 finishes. Mark could break through this week with a sentimental win which would help solidify his spot in the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.