NASCAR NNCS (POCONO) - STATS ADVANCE

An organization has swept the Pocono Raceway races every year since 2004.

That year, Hendrick Motorsports won with Jimmie Johnson sweeping both the Pocono 500 and the Pennsylvania 500.

In 2005, Roush Fenway Racing accomplished the feat, with wins by Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch. Last season, Joe Gibbs Racing grabbed two Pocono wins, both by Denny Hamlin.

Jeff Gordon won this year’s Pocono 500, which would put the pressure on him, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch to carry on the tradition.

Hamlin almost made it three-for-three this past June, leading a race-high 49 laps. For such a unique layout, Hamlin’s Pocono success is noteworthy.

A glimpse of Hamlin’s three races: - Two poles, two wins - 283 laps led - 4.9 Average Running Position - 137.5 Driver Rating - 164 Fastest Laps Run - 92% of his laps were in the top 15

Hamlin’s teammate, Tony Stewart, also has a solid shot at a Pocono win. Stewart, already coming off two consecutive wins at Chicagoland and Indianapolis, has a Pocono Driver Rating of 102.8 and won there in 2003. He has four consecutive top-10 finishes at the 2.5-mile track.

Kurt Busch will once again be a favorite at Pocono. Busch, who won here in 2005 and has a second-best Driver Rating of 109.9, is just 13 points out of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup top-12 cutoff mark.

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Light Dodge) • One win, six top fives • Average finish of 15.7 • Average Running Position of 8.7, second-best • Driver Rating of 109.9, second-best • 108 Fastest Laps Run, second-most • Second-fastest Green Flag Speed • 720 Laps in the Top 15, second-most • Second-fastest Speed in Traffic – speed when there is another car within one car length under green

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) • One win, two top fives • Average finish of 16.6 • Driver Rating of 91.7, 10th-best • 52 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) • Four wins, 14 top fives, 20 top 10s; two poles • Average finish of 10.4 • Driver Rating of 93.9, ninth-best • Average Running Position of 12.2, ninth-best • 324 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most • 600 Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most • 161 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet) • Two wins, three top 10s • Average finish of 2.7 • Series-best Average Running Position of 4.9 • Series-best Driver Rating of 137.5 • Series-high 164 Fastest Laps Run • Fastest Green Flag Speed • 92% of his laps were in the top 15 – highest percentage of any driver

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) • One top five, four top 10s • Average finish of 16.3 in 13 races • Average Running Position of 11.3, sixth-best • Driver Rating of 98.4, sixth-best • Eighth-fastest Green Flag Speed • 709 Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most • 191 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), third-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) • Two wins, three top fives, six top 10s • Average finish of 11.2 • Average Running Position of 13.6, 10th-most • Driver Rating of 90.8, 11th-best • Fifth-fastest Green Flag Speed • 597 Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most

Mark Martin (No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet) • 19 top fives, 28 top 10s; three poles • 10.8 average finish • Average Running Position of 11.8, eighth-best • Driver Rating of 95.4, eighth-best • Series-best Closer – 29 positions improved over the last 10% of races • 27 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most • 665 Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet) • One win, five top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole • Average finish of 12.8 • Average Running Position of 10.9, fifth-best • Driver Rating of 102.8, fourth-best • 35 Fastest Laps Run, tied for fifth-most • Fourth-fastest Green Flag Speed • 702 Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most • Series-high 201 Quality Passes

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) • One top five, two top 10s • Average finish of 12.3 • Average Running Position of 11.4, seventh-best • Driver Rating of 96.3, seventh-best • 22 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most • Third-fastest Green Flag Speed • 115 Quality Passes in three races, third-best average

At Pocono Raceway: • There have been 59 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Pocono Raceway since the first race there in 1974. There were single races the first eight years and two each year since 1982. • Buddy Baker won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Bud Pole. • Richard Petty won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race. • There have been 33 different Bud Pole winners at Pocono. Only 13 drivers have more than one Bud Pole there. • There have been 27 different race-winners, led by Bill Elliott with five victories. Seventeen drivers have won more than once there. • Opened in 1968 as a .75-mile track, Pocono Raceway held its first race on the 2.2-mile oval in 1971. • All NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Pocono have been scheduled for 500 miles. • There have been eight car owner season sweeps, including each of the past three seasons (two of the car owner sweeps were with different drivers). • There have been 20 Bud Pole winners in the last 24 races. Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon (two each) are the only repeat Bud Pole winners there since 1995. Qualifying was canceled once. • The Bud Pole has been swept just three times: Denny Hamlin (2006), Ken Schrader (1993), Bill Elliott (1985) • There have been 12 different race winners in the 14 races since Bobby Labonte swept in 1999. Jimmie Johnson swept 2004 and Denny Hamlin last season to be the only repeat race winners. • Twelve of 58 Pocono races have been won by the Bud Pole winner, including both races in 2006 by Denny Hamlin. • The June 2005 race was won from 29th by Carl Edwards – the deepest in the field that a race winner ever started. • There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, including two of the past three seasons. • Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers and J.J. Yeley have finished on the lead lap in all of their races.

In Pennsylvania…

• There have been 94 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races in Pennsylvania.

Track

Location

Races

Year(s)

Pocono Raceway

Long Pond

1974-Present

Bloomsburg Fairgrounds

Bloomsburg

1953

Heidleberg Raceway

Pittsburgh

1949-60

Langhorne Speedway

Langhorne

1949-57

Lincoln Speedway

New Oxford

1855-65

New Bradford Speedway

Bradford

1958

Pine Grove Speedway

Shippenville

1951

Reading Fairgrounds

Reading

1958-59

Sharon Speedway

Sharon

1954

Williams Grove

Mechanicsburg

1954

• One hundred and thirty-four NASCAR drivers have their home state recorded as Pennsylvannia. (Note: Over the years many drivers have not provided or have changed their home of record.)

• Four race winners on the top-three NASCAR circuits are from Pennsylvania:

Driver

NNCS

NBS

NCTS

Mario Andretti

Mark Donohue

Dick Linder

Jimmy Spencer

Pocono Active Streaks • Brian Vickers has started in the top 10 in all seven of his Pocono races. • Kyle Busch has started in the top 10 in three consecutive races. • Kurt Busch has started in the top 10 in five of the last six races and finished in the top five in three of the last four races. • Denny Hamlin has started in the top five and finished in the top 10 in three consecutive races. • Tony Stewart has finished in the top 10 in four consecutive races.

Driver Rating at Pocono Denny Hamlin 137.5 Kurt Busch 109.9 Brian Vickers 105.5 Tony Stewart 102.8 Ryan Newman 99.8 Kevin Harvick 98.4 Martin Truex Jr. 96.3 Mark Martin 95.4 Jeff Gordon 93.9 Carl Edwards 91.7 Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005 and 2006 races (5 total) at Pocono.

Pocono Raceway Data Race #: 21 of 36 (8-5-07) Track Size: 2.5 mile • 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

Qualifying/Race Data 2006 pole winner: Denny Hamlin (169.827 mph, 52.995 seconds) 2006 race winner: Denny Hamlin, 132.626 mph, 7-23-06) Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne (172.533 mph, 52.164 secs., 6-11-04) Track race record: Rusty Wallace (144.892 mph, 7-21-96)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 28-30 laps, based on fuel mileage.