Denny Hamlin’s raced at Pocono Raceway twice….and he can’t get any better no matter how hard he tries. Two races, two poles, two wins….not bad for a guy who hadn’t even seen this joint six weeks ago. Hamlin led early and often today to sweep to the Pennsylvania 500 victory for his second career win….he’s now tied for 94th on the all-time win list. Win #51 for Joe Gibbs Racing was worth $230,100 from the over $4.8M in posted awards.
Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer get together and Carl Edwards pays the price….we’ve seen this story before, haven’t we? They just change the names of the players….
Bobby Labonte (8th) had his best finish since he was 8th at Phoenix in April.
Martin Truex Jr (10th) had his best finish since he was 8th at Texas in April.
Robby Gordon (13th) had his best finish since he was 13th at Darlington in May.
Joe Nemechek (17th) had his best finish since he was 16th at Darlington in May.
STREAKIN….Kevin Harick has 4 Top-10’s in a row. Jimmie Johnson has 9 Top-10’s in the last 10 races.
Kurt Busch has 6 Top-10’s in the last 7 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is NOBODY! It takes a 20 position move to nab this coveted award….honorable mention goes to Bobby Labonte (+19). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Kasey Kahne (-28 ), followed by Clint Bowyer (-27) and Carl Edwards (-23).
Ken Schrader led today for the first time since he once for 17 laps at Martinsville Speedway last October. He’s the 43rd driver to lead a lap this season….last year we had 51 different leaders.
Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart move back into the “Chase” this week while Dale Earnhardt Jr and Greg Biffle fall out. We’ve hung up our first “Magic Numbers” of the season this week…..that’s the spot where a driver can finish to clinch a spot in the “Chase”. In leader Jimmie Johnson’s case, that number is 17th. Hamlin sweeps everything this week as he advances the most spots in the standings (12th to 8th) while Dale Earnhardt Jr falls the same number of positions (7th to 11th).(Stock Car Fans)(7-23-2006)
