From the July, 2007 issue of Stock Car Insider
Stewart Pounces on 2nd Consecutive Win! - SCI July 30th Issue
Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is Pocono Raceway
Next week, the NASCAR Nextel Cup teams head to the "Tro-Val", as Darrell Waltrip affectionately refers to Pocono Raceway, for the Pennsylvania 500. Pocono is always a challenging track that offers amazing racing. It boasts 3 straightaways, including the longest in NASCAR, with 3 sharp, road course like turns.Races at Pocono are particularly stressful on the engines and transmissions. Drivers have to down shift going into the sharp, flat turns. Often times, drivers will use down-shifting to help brake and lose the enormous speeds they carry coming off the long straightaways. This creates more stress on the transmissions thus causing a few failures by the end of the race.
Next week at the "Troval", expect Denny Hamlin to continue to deliver. In three starts at Pocono, Denny has an average finish of 2.7.
Other drivers to note:
Jeff Gordon - Average Finish 9th
Mark Martin - Average Finish 11th
Jimmie Johnson - average Finish 11th
Brian Vickers - Average Finish 12th
Next Week's Schedule:
(all times CST)
Nextel Cup: @ Pocono Raceway
8/3/07 - 03:40pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Pennsylvania 500 Qualifying
8/4/07 - 10:50am NASCAR Nextel Cup Pennsylvania 500 Practice
8/5/07 - 02:00pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Pennsylvania 500
Busch Series: @ Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
8/3/07 - 02:05pm NASCAR Busch Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 Practice
8/4/07 - 12:10pm NASCAR Busch Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 Qualifying
8/4/07 - 03:30pm NASCAR Busch Series NAPA Auto Parts 200
Craftsman Truck Series off until 8/11 @ Nashville Superspeedway
| See complete 2007 NASCAR Schedule |
String of Bad Luck Follows Johnson
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| For years Jimmie Johnson seemed immune to it. He was able to elude the bad luck that seemed to trip others. However, it seems that over the last seven races, bad luck has finally caught up with Jimmie Johnson. Beginning at Pocono and extending through to Indy, Johnson's average finish plummeted from 10th to 24th. The fiery 39th place finish yesterday at Indianapolis only added to the current twist of fate. Over this same period, Johnson has fallen from 3rd in the points to 9th, and currently sits only 252 points out 12th place. Could it be? Could the defending champion miss the cut for the 2007 Chase? While it is possible, I wouldn't bet the farm on it! Expect Johnson to rebound next week at Pocono where his average finish is 11th.
AllState 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway RecapTony Stewart was the hometown kid romancing the homecoming queen while Kevin Harvick was the silver-tongued devil looking to steal her away. Battling it out over the closing laps of the AllState 400, the hometown kid showed his mettle and won the girl of the dreams earning the right to kiss her hard, gritty and old lips one more time.And Tony did it in impressive fashion. The two-time former champion led 66 of 160 laps. However, Harvick made it interesting at the end. On the final restart, Harvick jumped around Stewart going into Turn 1. ``I just went down there on the restart and got real, real tight for some reason,'' Stewart said. ``Kevin got by us and I knew after 15 laps I could get around him. So I was just trying to be patient." Not long after the restart, Stewart pounced and passed Harvick in a bold move where both cars banged fenders going down the back stretch. In the end, Stewart's car was way too strong at the end of the race for anyone to catch him. The win is the second consecutive for Stewart which, if he qualifies, will position him with a high seed for the Chase. Other drivers to note: Series leader Jeff Gordon continued on with his steady assault on his 5th championship. Gordon finished a quiet 3rd after starting 24th. Gordon now has a 371 point lead over Denny Hamlin. Dale Earnhardt Jr had a top five car for most of the day. Racing in his last race at Indy with DEI, Jr was hoping to capture his first win at the beloved track. However, engine problems late in the race spoiled his hopes and contributed to Jr's 34th place finish. He now sits 12th in points, only 13 points ahead of 13th. Juan Pablo Montoya had his strongest finish at an oval track in the Cup Series. Juan ran in the top 10 for most of the day and finished exactly where he started, in 2nd place. Juan is currently 18th in points. Denny Hamlin had a quiet race at Indy. He finished in 22nd place, and maintained his 2nd place standing in the points.
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