2007 Pocono 500

Overview

The 2007 Pocono 500, the fourteenth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, was run Sunday, June 10, 2007 at Pocono Raceway outside of the village of Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race marked the start of the second half of the race to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup and the first telecast for TNT of six in the new NASCAR television package for 2007. Kyle Petty made his broadcasting debut on this day, replacing Benny Parsons who died from cancer during Speedweeks. Throughout the week, drivers in the Truck, Busch, and Cup series along with the Grand National division wore small black logos reading "WCF (William Clifton France) Innovator, Pioneer, Friend 1933-2007" to pay tribute to former NASCAR president Bill France Jr.

Qualifying

With another impressive lap, Ryan Newman lived up to his namesake, "Rocketman" by recording his third consecutive pole. Defending race winner Denny Hamlin aspired to become the first driver since Tim Richmond to record 3 consecutive Pocono victories. Martin Truex Jr., fresh off his first NEXTEL Cup win, lined up in third. Failing to make the race were Michael Waltrip, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Jeremy Mayfield, Dale Jarrett, and Mike Bliss.

Race

The start of the race was halted by a nearly two hour rain delay as the estimated green flag was set to wave at 2:20 PM. When the race finally started, it was the same routine as last year; Hamlin leading the first lap. Although it was widely expected that Hamlin would again walk away with a victory, a caution flag set up a pit cycle. While Hamlin's crew opted for four tires, everyone else took two, and Hamlin would spend the rest of the day fighting through the field. Jeff Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte, called his driver in earlier than the rest of the field. With another rain shower approaching Pocono, he took the chance that all the other cars would have to pit after they did, thereby giving them the lead. Letarte's intuition proved correct as the race was called at lap 106 and Jeff Gordon ended up with his third Pocono 500 win. The actual race distance was 265 miles.

Top ten results:

Race notes

*Chad McCumbee replaced Petty in the #45 car, which Petty had driven since the 2001 season. The Craftsman Truck Series regular from Supply, North Carolina finished 25th.

External links

* [http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/results/14poc2007results.htm Complete race results]
* [http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/standings/14poc2007points.htm Point standings]