Pennsylvania 500 Race Review

Pocono Raceway -- 08/03/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Monday Aug 4 2008 4:12pm

It's now clear to see what a disaster last week's race at Indianapolis was, because it has apparently become the benchmark against which subsequent races are measured.

I've already heard countless comparisons between Sunday's Pocono race and Indy, like "at least the tires didn't turn to powder," or "at least they could run more than 10 laps at a time," or just plain "at least it wasn't Indy."

It was better than Indy, but that didn't exactly make it a barn burner. The race was almost four hours in length including a 40-plus-minute rain delay. In the end, it came down to fuel strategy and Carl Edwards crossed the finish line with an almost four-second lead, as several other teams ran out of gas.

Fuel mileage races are part of the game in NASCAR, but it's a little like watching a cross between a chess match and a long-distance marathon. The question is not who will pass who for the win, but who will pit at the right time and save enough fuel to make it to the end.

In fairness, Edwards, a previous Pocono winner, had one of the best cars Sunday, using what crew chief Bob Osborne described as a "more aggressive" set-up than the ones they've been using. The 99 car led a total of 53 laps - bettered only by Mark Martin, who led 55. Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson were the only other lap leaders in double digits. Martin, Kahne and Johnson all finished in the top 10.

Edwards started the race from 15th position - quite a bit higher than the 29th-place starting spot he won from in 2005. Johnson and Martin, who started side-by-side on the front row, shared the lead in the early going.

The turning point of the race came when dark skies threatened at around lap 130 of the scheduled 200 laps. Edwards, leading the race, was among a handful of frontrunners, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, who opted to pit, anticipating that the race would go green again after the rain. At least 19 other teams stayed out, gambling that the race would be called for weather.

This temporarily inverted the field, placing the leaders mid pack after they pitted. Ultimately, the race did get underway again after the rain delay. As pit stops cycled through, Edwards and the others were back at the front of the field.

As the race wound down, the only real drama was whose fuel would last and whose wouldn't. Edwards was apparently not told to conserve fuel despite an almost five-second lead, and he crossed the finish line on fumes. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon all ran out of gas on the final lap. Kyle Busch, David Gilliland, Reed Sorenson, and Kurt Busch were among those who had run short of fuel earlier.

Following Edwards across the finish line were Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan. Rounding out the top 10 were Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, and Jeff Gordon.

Lap leader Mark Martin was not hurt as much by the fuel issue as he was by his own team's performance on pit road. The No. 8 team had two exceedingly slow pit stops that took Martin out of contention.

Other notable finishes included Matt Kenseth - 11th; Earnhardt Jr. - 12th; Denny Hamlin - 23rd; Kyle Busch - 36th; and Kurt Busch - 38th.

Points leader Kyle Busch's poor finish allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to narrow the points gap between 1st and 2nd in the standings - 253 points after Indy - to just 176 points after Pocono.

Other big climbers among the Chase contenders were race winner Carl Edwards, up two spots to 3rd, Kasey Kahne, up two spots to 7th, and Kevin Harvick, up two spots to 11th.

On the flip side, Jeff Burton fell two spots to 5th, Denny Hamlin down two to 10th, and Matt Kenseth - despite finishing a respectable 11th - down two spots to 13th - below the Chase cutoff for now.

Remarkably, less than a one-race points total now separates the eight Chasers from 7th to 14th in the standings. Those drivers - Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan - are just 126 points apart. A maximum of 195 points can be earned in one race.

This week, it's on to the road course at Watkins Glen, where the points picture will most likely be shaken, not stirred. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, both four-time winners here, are still searching for that elusive first win of the season.