Kurt Busch Quotes Prior to Cup Qualifying Regarding Johnson and Keselowski

NASCAR fans siding with Kurt Busch (Getty)

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO JIMMIE JOHNSON’S COMMENTS TOWARDS YOU YESTERDAY IN THE MEDIA CENTER? “When you said Jimmie was in here, I didn’t know if you meant (Jimmy) Spencer or (Jimmie) Johnson (laughs).

“It’s one of those emotions that boiled over and I felt like the way that we raced each other on the track was what champions need to do. And that is to bring the cars home where they were running on track. Third and fourth is where we were and that’s where we crossed the line. Where we raced each other with a juke-and-jive and rubbin’, that’s racing. I was caught up in it this week following it. I talked to my dad about things and my dad was like, ‘well, that’s rubbin’. That’s racing, son. That’s how it works.’ He just gave me that confidence to know and he’s the one that taught me a lot about racing. Everything that I’ve done in racing is to try and make him proud. He’s like, ‘it’s rubbin’ is racing.’ I’m putting the “R” back in racing and rubbin’ is racing.”

ANY CONCERN ABOUT THE EMOTION BETWEEN YOU AND JIMMIE MIGHT BE A FACTOR IN YOUR CHASE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP? “It can. I look at year’s past before the Chase points system was implemented, back in the early 90’s when you had Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott running that year. When that group starts to separate themselves on who’s going to run for the championship, just like years past with Rusty Wallace and Dale Sr., it was those two guys. You always seem like you have two or three guys, and then it got down just to two guys who were going to compete for the championship. I’d love to see that atmosphere. If we can perform well enough in the Chase and be in position to race Jimmie Johnson for the championship head-to-head, that would be wonderful. For the way the new points system was structured, it’s not really possible because you can’t just focus on one guy. There’s going to be 12 guys that make this Chase and every one of them has a shot at the championship. I feel like you just can’t focus on one, you’ve got 11 other guys out there.”

JJ showing more emotion than ever (Getty)

WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT JIMMIE WAS THAT ANGRY LAST WEEKEND AFTER THE RACE? WHERE IS THE LINE FOR ‘RUBBIN’ IN RACING? “He was very excited after the race and came over to my car in my pit area where we were parked and was really excited. For me, I think the line was when he swerved at us to break the draft, that’s not a move of a five-time champion. That’s the move of a guy that has had an issue with a guy like me. We’ve raced each other hard and I’ve been spun out and wrecked a few times. We both know that we look at each other very sternly. That’s great competition. That blends into rubbin’ is racing. When you have a history with a guy, you just don’t forget about it. I learned from one of the greats about how to keep a memory of who does you right or who does you wrong and that was Jimmy Spencer. He taught me a lot.”

WHEN YOU FIRST MET YOUR TEAMMATE BRAD KESELOWSKI, WHAT WERE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF HIM? HAS YOUR RESPECT FACTOR CHANGED FOR HIM OVER THE LAST YEAR? “Brad’s done a tremendous job of blending into our system at Penske. He raced for Dale Jr. for a while and was following Jr.’s mold and that’s going to take you places. So is the Penske way of life. He’s done an incredible job of working with those Nationwide jobs in winning that championship.

“Now to have Paul Wolfe on his side on the Cup side, those two are definitely clicking and hitting on all eight cylinders. It’s neat to see his maturity continue to grow. The “Bad Brad” label is not as bad. He’s able to go out there now and compete at a level that’s going to get him a Chase berth. That’s what we want to see. Right now, he’s in great position to get that Chase berth.”

YOU’RE BEING AWFUL NICE ON JIMMIE. WHAT ARE YOUR REACTIONS ON WHAT HE SAID ABOUT YOU? “It’s great. It means that I’m in his head and if I’m in his head, he’s got to worry about us running through this Chase.”

WHAT’S A COMFORTABLE POINTS MARGIN WHEN LOOKING AT MAKING THE CHASE? “I’m glad that we’re in a more comfortable position, being up in the top-four and having an 88-point cushion on the cutoff. You can gain 40-some points in a race and you always think of that as the ‘big cushion’. So right now we have a two-race cushion. I’m glad that we can sit on the outside of the fence and not be one of those guys racing their way in or trying to race for a win. How many guys like David Ragan, Paul Menard, (Denny) Hamlin could fall into that, (Tony) Stewart’s going to be in the mix. You’ve got guys like Dale Jr. who doesn’t have a win and is right on the edge. There’s going to be a half-a-dozen guys going into Richmond with the stress level pegged.”

Kurt Busch impressed with teammate Brad Keslowski (Getty)

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT BRAD’S TOUGHNESS? “You’ve got two tough tracks in a row. Martinsville would be the toughest with someone with a foot problem like that. He’s a tough character. He’s going through the rehab portion of it, doing what he can to go through the pain to try to get it better for when he really needs (it) and that’s when the Chase starts. He just needs to do the right things from the doctors and follow their lead. I’m just here to lend a hand and try to help up relieving his duties on the Nationwide car, so that the No. 2 team is focused. I worked with those Miller guys for years and they want to be in the Chase. They want to be a player towards the championship.”

CAN YOU SPEAK ABOUT THE DYNAMIC INSIDE THE TEAM AND HOW BRAD HAS BEEN ABLE TO ADD TO THE TEAM? WILL THAT CHANGE IF YOU ARE BOTH TITLE CONTENDERS? “I felt like Brad’s intensity for that Nationwide car really kept him back a little bit last year. But that was the focus, to bring that championship home in that Nationwide car and continue to build on the Cup side. So to see him settle in with Paul (Wolfe) and where they are as a team (is great). Their pit crew on the No. 2 car is hands-down faster than the No. 22 this year. Those guys have that desire, youthful exuberance, to go and to try different things and find it. Right now they’re putting it together. My team needs to feed off of that and find the groove the next few weeks to be that championship leader within the Penske team.”

DO YOU THINK THAT YOU AND JIMMIE WOULD HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION IF YOU HAD MORE TIME AFTER THE RACE? “If we would have run into each other in the motor coach lot afterwards, the adrenaline would have calmed down a bit and there would have been a better discussion. He’s was really amped up. He felt that I did him wrong. The response that we got from different people this week and the race fans, they said it was exciting and that’s what they wanted to see. That’s the intensity and passion that our sport is built off of. This is a bunch of guys running stock cars in the Southeast. This isn’t open-wheel racing where we’re supposed to pass each other clean and be leading by 10 seconds.”

Busch has a runner-up finish and win in last two road races

WITH BRAD LIKELY TO BE IN THE CHASE, HOW DOES THAT DYNAMIC CHANGE WHEN THE TEAM HAS TO SUPPORT TWO CARS IN THE CHASE? “It’s just more hard work from those fabricators in the back. Like last year, we made the Chase, Brad didn’t. If there was a car that was built off of new specs and went to the wind tunnel and showed brand new numbers, obviously it would go to the championship-running team. Now if you have a new car that is built and it spits out these great numbers and you have to have this next week at Charlotte, we need to have two now. Maybe if I was going to run my car at Charlotte, then he would get that car and I would get the new one based off of where we are in points.

“I go back to some of my memories at Roush Racing when had five cars in the Chase. We had cars going everywhere. We had people pulling ropes like it was tug-o-war trying to get the best pieces for them. I remember winning the Loudon race the year that I won the championship and Mark Martin wanted that car for Phoenix. Where do we stand?

“I’m up there in points, but Mark Martin is the veteran and the guy supposed to be running for this championship level. It gets very difficult when you have a lot of cars in the Chase. Luckily at Penske Racing, we have the facility and the people to crank out good new equipment if something comes up.”

DID YOU EVER ANTICIPATE BEING THIS GOOD OF A ROAD RACER? “It’s been a work in progress. I thought all along I could run hard on the road courses. The one race that helped me get to this point in my career was winning at Southwest Tour race at Infineon. It was only my second time on a big-time road course like that. Racing in the Grand Am Series in Rolex cars, just trying to run anything that I can on a road course over the years. I always thought road courses had a feeling of an ‘off-weekend’ where there weren’t points at stake. It was to go have fun and enjoy the atmosphere. That’s the mentality that I’ve taken. It’s led to a few poles and one win. I’ve actually got one win here in the Nationwide car. It’s fun to get out there and test your skills at a road course because we run so many ovals that you still want to be the jack of all trades on road courses. I’ve had fun running on dirt tracks and street stock cars and even my NHRA Pro Stock car.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Keselowski Wins at Pocono; Sits Comfortably in Wild Card Chase

Sporting News Wire Service

Brad Keselowski's second win on the season (Getty)

LONG POND, Pa. -- Brad Keselowski's challenge to the rest of the Sprint Cup field: "I can beat you with a broken leg."

And he did.

Staying out on the track on old tires under a caution with 21 laps left in Sunday's Good Sam RV 500 at Pocono Raceway, Keselowski pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart on Lap 185 to secure his second victory of the season -- despite driving with a broken left ankle.

Keselowski, who was injured in a hard crash during testing Wednesday at Road Atlanta, kept Busch at bay over the final 10 laps. With the second win this year -- and the third of his career -- Keselowski's fortunes took a dramatic turn with respect to the Chase.

Having cracked the top 20, Keselowski is in position to claim the first wild card spot, being the only driver in positions 11-20 with more than one victory.

Busch came home second, followed by Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.

Kurt Busch and Johnson had a heated exchange after the race because of some last-lap contact and had to be separated by their crews. The star drivers took turns bumping into each other on the final lap. Busch said it was simply hard racing and Johnson, the five-time defending Cup champion, overreacted.

"You want to race, let's race," Busch said. "I raced him smart, raced him clean, and he wants to come back here and (complain) about it. Why can't we race each other like this and put on a show for the fans?"

Pocono Results

Final Pocono Driver Ratings Following All Practice & Qualifying Sessions

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Good Sam RV Insurance 500
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, August 7, 2011 - 10:16 am (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds     Practice 1   Practice 2   Qualified   Pocono 1*

 1. Carl Edwards 8/1              4th               10th            4th           37th                       
Two-time winner; using winning Las Vegas and Darlington runner-up chassis this week.
 2. Jimmie Johnson 5/1         6th               17th            18th           4th                      
Two-time winner with 9.3 average finish; had best 10-consecutive lap average in practice.
 3. Jeff Gordon 5/1                25th              18th           31st           1st      
Five-time winner with 10.3 average finish in 37 starts; finished runner-up at Indy last week.                      
 4. Kurt Busch 10/1                2nd               15th            5th            2nd
Two-time winner and five time runner-up in 21 career starts; using new chassis this week.                           
 5. Denny Hamlin 4/1            39th               24th           6th            19th                          
Four-time winner; fastest in average lap times during final practice despite slow single laps.
 6. Kyle Busch 10/1                9th               11th           11th            3rd   
Three top-five finishes in 13 starts, including two of last three; using new chassis this week.                       
 7. Ryan Newman 30/1           1st                7th            12th           9th  
2003 winner with 13.1 average finish in 19 starts; using car that raced at Pocono and Kentucky.
 8. Kasey Kahne 30/1            15th               1st             2nd           12th                           
2008 winner with 16.3 average finish in 15 starts; last top-10 Pocono finish came in 2009
 9. Kevin Harvick 12/1            26th              3rd            10th            5th  
Has current streak of three straight top-five finishes at Pocono; using 11th-place Kansas chassis.
10. Matt Kenseth 15/1            11th              27th           20th           8th                             
Average finish of 14.1 in 23 starts; using car that finished sixth at Kansas and won at Dover.

* Results from the first Pocono race this season held on June 12, 2011.

Note: Last week’s Brickyard 400 can also be helpful because of the similar long straightaways and flat banking.
               
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.

Pocono Driver Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes

Ragan's best finish at Pocono was fifth-place in 2008 (Getty)

DAVID RAGAN – QUALIFIED 15TH: “Hopefully that will end up in the top 15. We thought we had a legitimate shot of a pole run or top-five run, and I think the track is a little bit warmer now than it was maybe 20 minutes ago, but I missed my marks a little bit through the tunnel turn. The car got a little bit tight, but, other than that, it was a pretty solid lap. I think our race car is gonna be close for Sunday. We’ve got some little adjustments to make to try and make it better. It’s an OK lap. You’re never completely satisfied unless you’re on the pole, but I think that will give us certainly something to race with. It’s a lot better than 25th.”

MARCOS AMBROSE – QUALIFIED 27TH: “That’s not what we wanted. When you’ve only got one lap it’s hard to really know what you’ve got out there. I tried, but I just got a little loose off of one and lost a lot of momentum.”

GREG BIFFLE – QUALIFIED 16TH: “That’s a relief. It was really good and it’s really good to see it brightening up out here. I was a little unsure of the grip level, so I probably didn’t take full advantage of what was out there. I got about seven-eighths of it. In one and two I probably could have got the gas down a little bit sooner and could have carried a little more speed through the tunnel, but in three I think I was right on the money.”

CARL EDWARDS – QUALIFIED 4TH: “I went down in turn one and Bob said, ‘Man, that was a little scary,’ so there’s a lot of grip out there. I’ve got to give Ryan Newman some trouble. I actually beat Ryan Newman in qualifying here at Pocono, so that’s huge. I’m proud of my lap. I’ve got to say that Joey Logano’s lap was a very, very fast lap. Mine felt amazing, so he did a really good job and now we’ll go race. It’s gonna be great. We’ve got Ortho, Aflac, Ford, hopefully we’ll get them a win.”

Kahne and Busch both look to be strong

KURT BUSCH - QUALIFIED FIFTH: “It was a decent qualifying effort. I told Steve (Addington, crew chief) we could really be scratching our heads if we were back 25th or so. To be fifth, that’s a great start. We’ll get a good pit box selection. In race trim, we’ve been struggling. This car has been tight with us all weekend. We’re going to jump out of our setup and go to Brad Keselowski’s (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) setup. He went through a rough wreck earlier this week; it’s great to see him in the car, pushing hard. These young kids, they’re made like rubber bands, they can bounce back from anything. So we’re going to have to go to his setup to get our car freed up enough to try and win this bad boy on Sunday.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI - QUALIFIED 13TH: “We had a really good Turn 3, a decent Turn 2, but the car bottomed out too much in Turn 1. We were really good yesterday in race trim, so we feel pretty good about that. We’ll have to fight through some traffic tomorrow. We’ll do what we can.”

PAUL MENARD - QUALIFIED 7TH: “It was a pretty good lap for the CertainTeed/Menards team. That gives us a good starting spot for tomorrow’s race. It’s good to get that behind us and now we can focus on continuing the momentum from last week’s (Brickyard 400) win.”

JEFF BURTON - QUALIFIED 8TH: “We are happy with that lap. The track is getting faster and faster. We feel good about that lap. We were a little behind in qualifying trim yesterday, we were really happy in race trim but weren’t where we wanted to be in Q trim. We made a lot of changes this morning and that got us a lot closer. The car drove good and that is ok.”

3 straight Pocono Top-5's for Harvick

KEVIN HARVICK – QUALIFIED 10th: “The last couple of years we’ve had our cars handling really good and as you get into the race there is a lot of fall-off in the tires. But our Budweiser Chevrolet has been really good in race trim. We only made one qualifying run at the end of the second practice yesterday. Qualifying has been a struggle for me. The cars are like this pretty much every week but it’s few and far between that I get all of it out of it. But still, a lot left out there; but a good lap for us.”

CLINT BOWYER - QUALIFIED 14th: “Hopefully that will get us near the top-15. Starting position and track position on a track this side is key. Hopefully we an keep it there.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY - QUALIFIED 16th: “It felt like it was a really good lap. This is one of the tracks that you come to that when the sun goes away or cools off, you pick up so much grip. For me, it was right between needing to shift and not needing to shift. I did two qualifying runs in practice and shifted in one and didn’t shift in the other and I felt much better about downshifting. I did that all three corners there and the engine certainly is over-reved when you come out of the corners, but it seems like the car accelerates really well. This has been a really tough track for me. Turn three has been really hard and I had the goofiest line of all time coming through there because I want to run low and everyone else runs high. The more worn out that pavement gets on the outside; the better it is for me because I just haven’t been able to figure it out. But, it was a good run for our Bass Pro Chevy.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA – QUALIFIED 22nd: “I think our Target Chevy is pretty good here. We’ve done a lot of work. We unloaded a little bit off from where we needed to be and we did a lot of changes. I think the biggest road course thing is downshifting now you know, with the gear they allow you to run now. There is a big benefit if you know how to use it and myself being a road racer, it always helps.”

Joey Logano Captures Pocono Pole

Logano takes his second pole of season

Joey Logano, with a qualifying lap speed of 172.055 mph, captured the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Coors Light Pole Award at Pocono Raceway.

This was Logano’s second series pole of the 2011 season, his third series career pole, his first series pole at “The Tricky Triangle” and becomes the youngest pole winner (at the age of 21 years, 2 months, 13 days) at Pocono.

Starting second and on the outside pole with a qualifying lap speed of 171.648 mph, will be Kasey Kahne, followed by Martin Truex Jr. (171.494), Carl Edwards (171.474), and Kurt Busch (171.468).

Denny Hamlin qualified in the sixth position with a lap speed of 171.448 mph, while last week’s Brickyard 400 winner, Paul Menard (171.370) starts seventh, Jeff Burton (171.367) eighth, Greg Biffle (171.171) ninth and
Kevin Harvick (171.122) will round out the top-ten starting positions.

Failing to make the starting lineup were the #35 driven by Geoffrey Bodine, the #50 driven by T.J. Bell and the #60 driven by Mike Skinner.

The Good Sam RV Insurance 500 is scheduled to get underway Sunday afternoon with the approximate start of the race around 1:20 PM (EDT) with ESPN beginning their (pre-race) coverage at 12:00 PM (EDT).

Starting Lineup

Newman Fastest in First Pocono Practice Session

Ryan Newman, with a lap speed of 170.026 mph, was the fastest during the first Good Sam RV Insurance 500 practice session at Pocono Raceway.

Second fastest was Kurt Busch with a lap speed of 168.621 mph, and was followed by AJ Allmendinger (168.517 mph), Carl Edwards (168.360) and Mark Martin (168.300).

Rounding out the top-ten during practice were Jimmie Johnson (168.284), David Ragan (168.108), Paul Menard (168.039), Kyle Busch (167.976) and Brad Keselowski (167.679).

“Happy Hour” for the teams will be later this afternoon from 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM (EDT) and then the teams will return Saturday morning for their 10:40 AM (EDT) scheduled qualifying session

Pocono Practice 1 Speeds

Driver Chassis Selection For Pocono Good Sam RV Insurance 500

Note: Not all teams report their chassis selections in their PR releases.

Kyle Busch using new chassis this week (Getty)

Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin Manion and the Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevy team will bring Chassis #1102, which will be making its fifth start of the season this weekend at Pocono. McMurray drove this car earlier this year at Las Vegas, Texas, Dover and in the first race at Pocono, where the #1 qualified 13th and finished 33rd after losing third gear early in the race.

Brad Keselowski: The #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-759 during Sunday's Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway. This is a brand-new chassis to the #2 fleet. The featured tag line on the bumper of the "Blue Deuce" this weekend at Pocono will be "Triple Hopping the Triangle." Triple hop brewing is the process that gives Miller Lite its award-winning, great taste. Pocono Raceway has long been known as the "Tricky Triangle" for its unusual triangle shape.

Mark Martin: crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-672 for Sunday's race at Pocono. This car was most recently raced at Michigan International Speedway in June and Kentucky Speedway in July.

David Ragan: Primary Chassis RK-759 last ran at Pocono and finished 17th, the backup chassis RK-711 last ran at Darlington and finished 21st.

Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 754 for the 500-mile event at Pocono Raceway. This Dewalt Ford Fusion has been run previously this season at Martinsville, Dover and the first Pocono race in June. Australian Word of the Week: Good Oil = Useful Information or A Good Idea.

Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-640 debuted in May at Darlington where it qualifying ninth and leading six laps before finishing seventh. It spent time in the wind tunnel afterward and made its second career start at Pocono in June. There, it qualified 15th and rallied its way into the top-five by lap 124, only to be felled two laps later when Stewart reported that he had lost third gear. The balky transmission prevented Stewart from getting up to speed quickly on restarts, which conspired to leave Chassis No. 14-640 in 21st place when the checkered flag dropped. Idle since, the car returns to Pocono for the Good Sam RV Insurance 500.

Matt Kenseth: will run primary chassis RK-763 which last ran at Kansas.

Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 318 is a brand new chassis that is slated to see action for the first time in Sunday's Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Kurt Busch and his Steve Addington-led "Double-Deuce" crew will be racing their "PRS-758" Dodge Charger in this weekend's action at Pocono Raceway. "We're rolling out another brand new Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger for this weekend at Pocono," said crew chief Addington. "We raced two of last year's cars there back in June. We crashed the primary car (PRS- 744) in practice and had to go to the backup (PRS-738). Kurt still won the pole, ran strong all day and finished second. We're coming back with this new piece thinking we can be even stronger this time around. Yeah, that means we're coming back to Pocono looking to win there on Sunday." The "PRS-749" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge (revamped car raced at Richmond) will serve as the backup car this weekend at Pocono.

Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 347 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 CertainTeed/Menards Chevy was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at the uniquely-configured raceway, where Menard earned his season-best starting position of second and drove it to a 14th-place finish. This race also saw track time this year at Dover where he brought home a 24th-place result after starting from the 20th position and at Auto Club Speedway where he started 15th and finished 16th.

Harvick using thrid-place Kansas Chassis this week (Getty)

Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 318 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The #29 team utilized this car to score an 11th-place finish at Kansas Speedway earlier this season. Harvick also raced this car to three top-10 finishes in 2010: third at Kansas, eighth at Charlotte (Oct) and sixth at Texas (Nov).

Jeff Burton will race Chassis No. 359 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for the 2011 season, Burton drove this Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala to a 21st-place result at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 333 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Good Sam Club Chevrolet Impala, built new for 2011, has now seen action three times this season. This includes a top-10 finish of seventh at Auto Club Speedway in March and two 16th-place finishes in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in May and Pocono 500 in June.

Ryan Newman: In six previous starts, chassis No. 39-609 has three top-five and four top-10 finishes. The car made its debut in July 2010 at Indianapolis and finished a respectable 17th. The car's second start came at Auto Club Speedway, last fall finishing 5th. Its final appearance of the 2010 season came at Texas and finished 20th. During the offseason, the car's front clip was updated for 2011. The car's first appearance this year came in March at Auto Club and scored his third top-five of the season. Newman followed up that impressive run with a top-10 finish at Pocono, a ninth-place finish. At the series' inaugural race at Kentucky last month, Newman fought an ill-handling racecar and rallied from one lap down to score a hard-earned fourth-place finish. This weekend will mark the car's fourth start in 2011.

Juan Pablo Montoya: will bring chassis #1103 to the racetrack for the fourth time this season when they come back to Pocono Raceway. Montoya last drove this chassis at Pocono in June, when he qualified 16th and finished seventh. Earlier in the season the chassis was used at Auto Club Speedway and at the All Star Race at Charlotte.

A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 729 for this weekend's event at Pocono. This Best Buy Ford Fusion has been run previously this season at Phoenix, Martinsville, Darlington and was utilized in the June race at Pocono Raceway.

Johnson is using Michaigan car this week (Getty)

Jimmie Johnson: will pilot chassis No. 659 in Sunday's event. He last drove that car at Michigan in June. Johnson finished 16th in backup chassis No. 623 at Las Vegas in March.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte and the #88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis 88-668. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a 21st-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in June.

Carl Edwards: The #99 Scotts Ortho team will unloading chassis RK-732 this weekend. This is the same Ford Fusion that Edwards won with at Vegas and finished second at Darlington. They also ran it at Pocono in June where he finished 37th after a broken valve.

- compliled by Jayski.com

Odds to Win Pocono Good Sam RV Insurance 500 from the Las Vegas Hilton

Denny Hamlin is the 4-to-1 favorite to win Sunday at Pocono (getty)

GOOD SAM RV INSURANCE 500
POCONO RACEWAY
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011


CARL EDWARDS 8
JIMMIE JOHNSON 5
KYLE BUSCH 10
JEFF GORDON 5
MATT KENSETH 15
KEVIN HARVICK 12
DENNY HAMLIN 4
DALE EARNHARDT JR 30
GREG BIFFLE 20
TONY STEWART 12
KURT BUSCH 10
KASEY KAHNE 30
CLINT BOWYER 30
RYAN NEWMAN 30
DAVID RAGAN 50
MARTIN TRUEX JR 60
JUAN MONTOYA 40
MARK MARTIN 50
JOEY LOGANO 50
JEFF BURTON 50
JAMIE McMURRAY 100
BRIAN VICKERS 75
DAVID REUTIMANN 75
AJ ALLMENDINGER 75
PAUL MENARD 60
BRAD KESELOWSKI 40
MARCOS AMBROSE 200
REGAN SMITH 200
BOBBY LABONTE 1000
FIELD 300

Pocono Raceway Odds & Ends: Good Sam RV Insurance 500

At Pocono Raceway:

History

·         Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.

Notebook

·         There have been 67 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.

·         There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

·         All NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been scheduled for 500 miles.

·         Buddy Baker won the first pole.

·         There have been 37 different pole winners, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race; 16 drivers have more than one pole there.

·         The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993), Denny Hamlin (2006).

·         Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.

·         29 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon, each with five victories; 20 drivers have won more than once there.

·         There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, the last by Denny Hamlin in 2006.

·         Bobby Allison (1982, ’83) and Tim Richmond (1986, ’87) each won three consecutive races at Pocono.

·         47 of 67 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start.

·         The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.

·         13 of 67 races have been won from the pole, Bill Elliott (1985, 2002) and Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep) are the only drivers to have done it twice. Tony Stewart is the most recent driver to win from the pole in 2009.

·         Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 12 Pocono victories.

·         Mark Martin leads all drivers in top fives (19) and top 10s (33), but has yet to win at Pocono. His best finish was second, six times (most recently in August 2004).

·         Denny Hamlin (9.1) and Jimmie Johnson (9.2) are the only active drivers to average a top-10 finish.

Pocono Raceway Data

Race #: 21 of 36 (8-7-11)

Track Size: 2.5 mile (200 laps/500miles)

·     Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees

·     Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees

·     Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 3,740 feet

·     Backstretch: 3,055 feet

·     Shortstretch: 1,780 feet

Driver Rating at Pocono 

Denny Hamlin                118.6

Jimmie Johnson             106.4

Kurt Busch                    104.1

Jeff Gordon                    101.3

Tony Stewart                 100.7

Carl Edwards                  97.7

Ryan Newman                94.2

Mark Martin                    93.8

Kevin Harvick                  92.0

Kasey Kahne                  91.1

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (13 total) at Pocono.

Qualifying/Race Data

2010 pole winner: Tony Stewart (171.393 mph, 52.511 seconds)

2010 race winner: Greg Biffle, (132.346 mph, 8-01-10)

Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne (172.533 mph, 52.164 seconds, 6-11-04)

Track race record: Rusty Wallace (144.892 mph, 7-21-96)

NASCAR in Pennsylvania

·         There have been 101 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.

·         138 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.

·         There are three race winners from Pennsylvania in NASCAR’s three national series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Dick Linder	3	0	0
Jimmy Spencer	2	12	1
Mark Donohue	1	0	0

Las Vegas Hilton Pocono Odds to Win

Johnson Using Mediocre Darlington and Charlotte Chassis at Michigan

Johnson's success at Cal doesn't translate to Michigan

JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011
STARTS: 14 WINS: 1 TOP 5: 5 TOP 10: 9
CURRENT DRIVER POINT STANDINGS: 2nd POINTS BEHIND 1st: 6
FINISH IN POCONO: 4th 2010 FINISH AT MICHIGAN: 6th

RACE NOTES
Michigan International Speedway

• Johnson has made 18 Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, where he has two top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
• Michigan is one of only five tracks on which the Sprint Cup Series competes that Johnson hasn’t collected a win. The others are Chicago, Kentucky, Watkins Glen and Homestead.
• Johnson has completed 96.5% (3412 of 3535) of competition laps at the two-mile track and has led 524.
• He has an average start and finish of 7.8 and 15.2.

Chassis
• Johnson finished 28th in primary chassis No. 659 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
• Backup chassis No. 623 crossed the finish line 16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Primary Car History – Chassis No. 659
Date Event Start Finish
05/07/2011 Darlington 19 15
05/29/2011 Charlotte 6 28

Backup Car History – Chassis No. 623
Date Event Start Finish
10/16/2010 Charlotte 10 3
11/07/2010 Texas 17 9
03/06/2011 Las Vegas 14 16

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO WIN AT MICHIGAN?
“We’ve been close and our fuel mileage has been kind of our nemesis with two or three things that have taken place there. We’ve led a fair amount of laps over the years and just kind of haven’t had the luck or the mileage or whatever it is at the end of the race. Looking forward to going back. We’re always looking forward to going racing in the area where the manufacturers are based and I want to put on a good show for all the Chevrolet fans and do my part to represent the bowtie. Looking forward to it. We’ve been making a lot of progress on our intermediate setups and race cars. I think this could be a win for the 48 this weekend.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PLANS FOR YOUR FIRST FATHER’S DAY?:
“Really just hanging with the girls. That’s all I’m after just spending time with my family. Will be exciting to say the least. Don’t know what to expect – I haven’t been through it before so I don’t know what to think from an emotional side, but very proud of my family and looking forward to that day.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES
Career Wins
• Johnson has 54 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Lee Petty for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, one victory behind Rusty Wallace.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (82).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but four (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead) of the 22 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 341 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 139 top-five and 212 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 11,470 laps (of 98,750) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 132,071 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 265 times.

Career Recognition
• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver three times, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

Jeff Gordon Wins For Fifth Time at Pocono

Jeff Gordon won the 5-Hour Energy 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway for his second win of 2011 and 84th win of his career. The win ties him with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for 3rd on the all-time win list in the series. The win was Gordon's fifth at Pocono, tying him with Bill Elliott for the most wins at the track.

Pole sitter Kurt Busch finished second followed by Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Montoya, Matt Kesneth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

Denny Hamlin led the most laps with 76 but lost a tire late and finsihed 19th. Points leader Carl Edwards had a valve in the engine break and spent a lot of time/laps in the garage, finishing 37th and now only leads Johnson by 6 points.

There were 18 lead changes among 10 drivers; 4 cautions for 14 yellow flag laps. The attendance is listed as 90,000, down from 105,000 last June.

Final Pocono Driver Ratings Following All Practice and Qualifying Sessions

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
5-Hour Energy 500
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, June 12, 2011 - 10:15 am (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds     Practice 1  Practice 2   Qualified   2010 Results* 

 1. Jimmie Johnson 6/1          3rd               5th            14th               10th       
Swept 2004 season; second fastest 10 consecutive lap average in Friday‘s practice.             
 2. Denny Hamlin 4/1             10th             1st              4th                5th
Four-time winner with track best 8.2 average finish; second best average practice speeds.     
 3. Tony Stewart 10/1             4th              12th            15th               2nd                           
Two-time winner with a series best 3.6 average finish in his last five starts.  
 4. Carl Edwards 7/1               1st               3rd              6th               3rd      
Two-time winner; using chassis that won at Las Vegas and was runner-up ant Darlington. 
 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12/1    13th            13th             21st              27th                   
Two-time runner-up; top average speeds in final practice. Using Dover/Fontana car this week.               
 6. Mark Martin 40/1               15th             6th              10th              7th                                  
Six-time runner-up with 11.1 average finish in 48 starts; had a terrific final practice.
 7. Kurt Busch 25/1                 5th               9th              1st               33rd
Two-time winner; wrecked primary car in final practice and is using backup, but it’s very fast.                    
 8. Kevin Harvick 12/1            21st            25th             32nd              4th                           
Finished fourth in both 2010 races tying a career best; using winning 2010 Michigan chassis.       
 9. Ryan Newman 40/1           6th               8th               8th               12th            
2003 winner with 13.1 average finish in 18 starts; using fifth-place Fontana chassis this week.                  
10. Jeff Gordon 12/1               9th             20th               3rd                6th         
Four-time winner, the last coming in 2007. Career average finish of 10.5 in 36 starts. 
 
* Results from the August 1, 2010 race held at Pocono, the last race run there.

Note: This will be the first Pocono race since 2004 that all teams don’t have to abide by the same gear ratio rule which should allow for a lot more passing than seen the past six seasons.
                    
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com.

Pocono Starting Lineup