2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway

2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway Preview:

The big 2.5 mile triangle that makes up Pocono Raceway will host the NASCAR Sprint Cup stars this weekend. The Sprint Cup drivers raced here just six weeks ago when Tony Stewart claimed his first win as an owner/driver. Can he back up that win this weekend to sweep both 2009 Pocono races?

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office 1-800-RACEWAY

The Track:

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.

Race Distance:

200 Laps = 500 Miles

The Big Picture:

Jimmie Johnson's win in last week's Brickyard 400 moved him past his teammate Jeff Gordon for second place overall in the points. Tony Stewart continues to lead.

At the other end of the top twelve Greg Biffle moved up two spots to eleventh. Biffle replaced Kyle Busch in the top twelve. Kyle finished 38th in Indianapolis and fell all the way to 14th.

The top twelve are now:

1. Tony Stewart
2. Jimmie Johnson -192
3. Jeff Gordon -207
4. Kurt Busch -446
5. Carl Edwards - 498
6. Denny Hamlin -536
7. Ryan Newman -548
8. Kasey Kahne -572
9. Mark Martin -583
10. Juan Montoya -593
11. Greg Biffle -609
12. Matt Kenseth -625

Storylines:

After Sunday only five races will remain until the top twelve drivers will be locked into the 2009 Chase for the Cup. While Stewart, Johnson and Gordon are pretty well assured to make the Chase the attention turns to the battle to make the Chase.

Realistically David Reutimann, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer still have a shot to crack the top twelve. The Race to the Chase is turning into the home stretch.

Media Coverage:

TV: ESPN Sunday, August 2nd, 1:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:10PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2008 Polesitter: Jimmie Johnson

2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

Last Year:

The 2008 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 brought the focus of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series back to the great racing and pit strategy that NASCAR is normally known for. Carl Edwards' team made all the right calls to claim the win

Mark Martin dominated the first half of the race. However a mistake on pit road put him back in the middle of the pack and he was never able to recover. NASCAR is so competitive that any little mistake can be difficult to overcome.

Predictions:

Pocono Raceway has seen season sweeps by a single driver six times. Most recently Jimmie Johnson in 2004 and Denny Hamlin did it in 2006. Since Tony Stewart put down such a convincing performance in June he must be considered the favorite this weekend.

For my backup pick this week I'm going back to the 2004 sweeper and the winner last weekend in Indianapolis. Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team are solidly on track after last week's big win. This team knows how to win in Pocono and makes a great backup pick this weekend.