NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top Story News Schedule Race Update/Results Statistics Point Standings Starting Grid Race Preview Driver Info Team Info Track Info Season Chart All-Time Wins Odds Weather NASCAR - Sprint Cup - 5-Hour Energy 500 Preview From The Sports Network   DATE: Sunday, June 12th SITE: Pocono Raceway (1968) -- Long Pond, Pennsylvania TRACK: 2.5-mile tri-oval - 3,740 feet (Frontstretch); 3,055 feet (Backstretch) ANNUAL: 30th CAPACITY: 100,000 (Grandstand Seating) TELEVISION: TNT ANNOUNCERS: Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Kyle Petty RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio START TIME: 1 p.m. (et)/Green Flag 1:15 p.m. (et) DEFENDING CHAMPION: Denny Hamlin RUNNER-UP: Kyle Busch POLE WINNER: Kyle Busch (Finished 2nd) LAPS: 200 MILES: 500 QUALIFYING RECORD: Kasey Kahne, 2004 (172.533 m.p.h.) RACE RECORD: Rusty Wallace, 1996 (144.892 m.p.h.) TOTAL PURSE: $4,945,083 (2010 figures) PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $212,875; 2nd Place - $220,854; 3rd Place - $163,146 2010 Finish Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start 1 Denny Hamlin 5 6 Kurt Busch 4 2 Kyle Busch 1 7 Jeff Burton 13 3 Tony Stewart 6 8 Juan Pablo Montoya 7 4 Kevin Harvick 22 9 Clint Bowyer 2 5 Jimmie Johnson 25 10 AJ Allmendinger 17 2010 5-Hour Energy 500 Facts and Figures AVERAGE SPEED: 136.303 m.p.h. TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 44 minutes, 30 seconds MARGIN OF VICTORY: Under Caution CAUTION FLAGS: 8 for 27 laps LEAD CHANGES: 14 among 7 drivers POLE WINNER: Kyle Busch (169.485 m.p.h.) Past 5-Hour Energy 500 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed 2010 -- Denny Hamlin (5th) -- Toyota -- 136.303 m.p.h. 2009 -- Tony Stewart (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 138.515 m.p.h. 2008 -- Kasey Kahne (1st) -- Dodge -- 125.209 m.p.h. 2007 -- Jeff Gordon (18th) -- Chevrolet -- 136.887 m.p.h. 2006 -- Denny Hamlin (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 131.656 m.p.h. 2005 -- Carl Edwards (29th) -- Ford -- 129.177 m.p.h. 2004 -- Jimmie Johnson (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 112.129 m.p.h. 2003 -- Tony Stewart (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 134.892 m.p.h. 2002 -- Dale Jarrett (13th) -- Ford -- 143.426 m.p.h. 2001 -- Ricky Rudd (1st) -- Ford -- 134.389 m.p.h. 2000 -- Jeremy Mayfield (22nd) -- Ford -- 139.741 m.p.h. 1999 -- Bobby Labonte (3rd) -- Pontiac -- 118.898 m.p.h. 1998 -- Jeremy Mayfield (3rd) -- Ford -- 117.809 m.p.h. 1997 -- Jeff Gordon (11th) -- Chevrolet -- 139.828 m.p.h. 1996 -- Jeff Gordon (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 139.104 m.p.h. 1995 -- Terry Labonte (27th) -- Chevrolet -- 137.720 m.p.h. 1994 -- Rusty Wallace (1st) -- Ford -- 128.801 m.p.h. 1993 -- Kyle Petty (8th) -- Pontiac -- 138.005 m.p.h. 1992 -- Alan Kulwicki (6th) -- Ford -- 144.023 m.p.h. 1991 -- Darrell Waltrip (13th) -- Chevrolet -- 122.666 m.p.h. 1990 -- Harry Gant (16th) -- Oldsmobile -- 120.600 m.p.h. 1989 -- Terry Labonte (23rd) -- Ford -- 131.320 m.p.h. 1988 -- Geoff Bodine (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 126.147 m.p.h. 1987 -- Tim Richmond (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 122.166 m.p.h. 1986 -- Tim Richmond (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 113.279 m.p.h. 1985 -- Bill Elliott (1st) -- Ford -- 138.974 m.p.h. 1984 -- Cale Yarborough (12th) -- Chevrolet -- 138.164 m.p.h. 1983 -- Bobby Allison (7th) -- Buick -- 128.636 m.p.h. 1982 -- Bobby Allison (3rd) -- Buick -- 113.579 m.p.h. NOTE: Formerly called Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500 (1982-85), Miller High Life 500 (1986-89), Miller Genuine Draft 500 (1990), Champion Spark Plug 500 (1991-93), UAW-GM Teamwork 500 (1994-96), Pocono 500 (1997-2009), Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 (2010). Past 5-Hour Energy 500 Pole Winners (Finish) 2010 -- Kyle Busch -- 2nd 2009 -- None -- Weather 2008 -- Kasey Kahne -- 1st 2007 -- Ryan Newman -- 2nd 2006 -- Denny Hamlin -- 1st 2005 -- Michael Waltrip -- 5th 2004 -- Kasey Kahne -- 14th 2003 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 12th 2002 -- Sterling Marlin -- 4th 2001 -- Ricky Rudd -- 1st 2000 -- Rusty Wallace -- 10th 1999 -- Sterling Marlin -- 4th 1998 -- Jeff Gordon -- 2nd 1997 -- Bobby Hamilton -- 39th 1996 -- Jeff Gordon -- 1st 1995 -- Ken Schrader -- 3rd 1994 -- Rusty Wallace -- 1st 1993 -- Ken Schrader -- 2nd 1992 -- Ken Schrader -- 4th 1991 -- Mark Martin -- 3rd 1990 -- Ernie Irvan -- 17th 1989 -- Rusty Wallace -- 22nd 1988 -- Alan Kulwicki -- 27th 1987 -- Terry Labonte -- 37th 1986 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 9th 1985 -- Bill Elliott -- 1st 1984 -- Neil Bonnett -- 14th 1983 -- Darrell Waltrip -- 2nd 1982 -- Terry Labonte -- 5th Last Race Results RACE: STP 400 (June 5th) SITE: Kansas Speedway -- Kansas City, Kansas MILES: 400.5 LAPS: 267 WINNER: Brad Keselowski RUNNER-UP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. THIRD: Denny Hamlin FOURTH: Jeff Gordon FIFTH: Carl Edwards POLE WINNER: Kurt Busch (Finished 9th) TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 55 minutes, 10 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 137.184 m.p.h. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.813 seconds CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 22 laps LEAD CHANGES: 17 among 9 drivers LAP LEADERS: Kurt Busch - pole; J. Montoya 1; Kyle Busch 2-8; J. Montoya 9-17; Kurt Busch 18-45; L. Cassill 46; C. Mears 47; Kurt Busch 48-83; C. Edwards 84-112; Kyle Busch 113-116; D. Hamlin 117-140; T. Stewart 141-153; D. Hamlin 154-159; Kurt Busch 160-204; T. Stewart 205-211; D. Hamlin 212-215; Kurt Busch 216-258; B. Keselowski 259-267. 5-Hour Energy 500 Entry List Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name 00 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine 1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/McDonald's 2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Miller Lite 4 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Toyota/Red Bull 5 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com 6 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/UPS 7 Robby Gordon (Orange, CA) Dodge/Speed Energy 9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Stanley 11 * Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Ground 13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Toyota/GEICO 14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Office Depot/Mobil One 16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M 17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/Affliction Clothing 18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's 20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Home Depot 22 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil 24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/DuPont 27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards 29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Okuma 31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar 32 Terry Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Ford/U.S. Chrome 33 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Chevrolet/Cheerios/Hamb. Helper 34 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Taco Bell 36 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Golden Corral 37 Tony Raines (LaPorte, IN) Ford/TBA 38 Sam Hornish Jr (Defiance, OH) Ford/Long John Silver's 39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Haas Automation 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target 43 A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Ford/Richard Petty Motorsports 46 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Red Line Oil 47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Clorox/Kleenex 48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's 50 T.J. Bell (Reno, VA) Toyota/Green Smoke 51 Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) Chevrolet/Security Benefits 56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 60 Mike Skinner (Susanville, CA) Toyota/Big Red 66 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Toyota/HP Racing 71 Andy Lally (Northport, NY) Ford/TRG Motorsports 78 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/Furniture Row Racing 81 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Chevrolet/Whitney's Collision 83 Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) Toyota/Red Bull 87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/NEMCO Motorsports 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Amp Energy/Nat'l Guard 99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Kellogg's * - defending champion. Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) Driver 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Denny Hamlin --- --- --- --- Won 6th 3rd 38th Won Kyle Busch --- --- --- 4th 22nd 8th 43rd 22nd 2nd Tony Stewart 7th Won 27th 29th 3rd 5th 35th Won 3rd Kevin Harvick 39th 25th 20th 8th 13th 11th 13th 24th 4th Jimmie Johnson 3rd 12th Won 6th 10th 42nd 6th 7th 5th Kurt Busch 40th 36th 5th 22nd 2nd 16th 8th 37th 6th Jeff Burton 6th 14th 24th 19th 9th 13th 5th 9th 7th Juan Pablo Montoya --- --- --- --- --- 20th 38th 8th 8th Clint Bowyer --- --- --- --- 21st 10th 39th 12th 9th Carl Edwards --- --- --- Won 25th 14th 9th 2nd 12th Joey Logano --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 23rd 13th Ryan Newman 32nd 5th 30th 34th 11th 2nd 18th 5th 14th David Reutimann --- --- --- --- --- 38th 19th 3rd 15th Paul Menard --- --- --- --- --- 28th 25th 29th 16th Matt Kenseth 35th 3rd 21st 32nd 5th 9th 7th 16th 17th Dale Earnhardt Jr 12th 4th 6th 33rd 14th 12th 4th 27th 19th Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 21st Martin Truex Jr. --- --- --- --- 24th 3rd 17th 18th 25th Kasey Kahne --- --- 14th 27th 7th 22nd Won 15th 27th Greg Biffle --- 20th 11th 30th 6th 30th 15th 11th 28th Mark Martin 2nd 2nd 36th 7th 17th 7th 10th 19th 29th Jeff Gordon 5th 13th 4th 9th 34th Won 14th 4th 32nd Jamie McMurray --- 32nd 9th 10th 18th 29th 20th 13th 36th Brian Vickers --- --- 13th 2nd 4th 35th 2nd 21st --- Mover of the Week Dale Earnhardt Jr - Started in the 28th position and finished 2nd Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Tony Stewart Darkhorse - Jeff Gordon Last Week's Pick to Win (Carl Edwards) - Finished 5th Last Week's Darkhorse (Dale Earnhardt Jr) - Finished 2nd NOTES: Currently 11th on the points list, Denny Hamlin seeks to regain his winning ways this week at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin, an eight-time winner last year, has yet to taste victory in 2011, with just two top-10's in 13 starts. Last season, Hamlin held off Tony Stewart and teammate Kyle Busch in a pair of late-race restarts and then survived a wild finish to win at Pocono. Just before Hamlin crossed the line to take the white flag for the final lap, Kevin Harvick bumped Joey Logano and put Logano into a spin that set up a green-white-checkered finish. Hamlin pulled away on the final restart, while Busch moved around Stewart to take the second spot with one lap remaining. A nine-car pileup occurred on the final lap when Kasey Kahne was shoved down the track and into the grass. Kahne shot up the track and then slammed hard into the wall, as his car spun around on the track. Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle were among those drivers caught up in the incident. The 204-lap race ended under caution, with Hamlin picking up his fourth win in nine starts at Pocono. Hamlin is the last driver to win both races in one season, when he captured the Pocono double in 2006. Tony Stewart scored his first victory as both driver and owner in the Sprint Cup Series after charging from the rear of the field and gambling on fuel in the late-stages to win the 2009 race. Stewart earned the pole since qualifying at Pocono was canceled due to rain, but had to start last in a backup car after wrecking in the next day's practice. He beat Carl Edwards out of the pits by a little more than a car length and then captured the lead with 37 laps remaining. "Smoke" drove the final 102.5 miles without refueling his No.14 Chevrolet to become the first driver/owner to win a Cup race since Ricky Rudd did it in September 1998 at Martinsville. Stewart collected his 34th career victory and won at Pocono for the second time, with his first victory come here in June 2003. The two-time Cup Series champion also became the fourth driver to start from the back of the field and win that year. He joined Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Las Vegas) and Brad Keselowski (Talladega). Pole sitter Kasey Kahne reclaimed the lead on lap 185 and held on the rest of the way to defeat Brian Vickers by 3.702 seconds for his ninth career Sprint Cup title in 2008. Kahne led five times for a race-high 69 laps. In 2007, Jeff Gordon captured the rain-shortened Pocono 500 for his 79th career Sprint Cup title. Gordon, who started 18th on the grid, reclaimed the lead on lap 98 and held the advantage through the 106th and final lap, as the race was called due to inclement weather. Pole sitter Ryan Newman finished second under caution for his first top-10 finish at this race since 2003. Gordon, who's win total now stands at 81, is sixth on the current Sprint Cup points race. Gordon is a three-time winner of this race and the last repeat champion (1996-97). Overall, Gordon has four wins, two poles, 16 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes in 36 career starts at Pocono. He has led for 918 laps with an average finish of 10.528. Hamlin recorded the first of two back-to-back wins at Pocono with a 1.328 seconds victory over Kurt Busch in 2006. Hamlin, who later doubled in July, led six times for a race-high 83 laps. Hamlin started on the pole, leading for the first 21 laps and reclaimed the lead for the last time on lap 177 of the 200- lap race. The win, his first career title, came in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000. Hamlin has eight top-10's and four wins in 10 career starts at PR. Chevrolet has won this race 13 times, Ford nine, Pontiac and Buick twice and Oldsmobile, Dodge and Toyota once. Seven races have been won from the pole, including two of the last four years. This and That from Pocono: Opened in 1968 as a .75-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile oval in 1971. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974. Just one race was held from 1974 through 1981, and two a year since then. There have been 66 Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway since the first race there in 1974, when Buddy Baker won the first pole at Pocono. There have been 36 different pole winners at Pocono. Only 16 drivers have more than one Pole there. The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993), Denny Hamlin (2006). The pole sitter has won 13 of the 66 past races at Pocono. The furthest starting position by a race winner was 29th. The top-10 starting positions have won 47 of the 66 races (71.2%). There are four current race tracks the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series runs on that Mark Martin has not won a Sprint Cup race at, plus Martin ran five races at Nashville and four races at Riverside and didn't win: Pocono, Daytona, Indianapolis and Homestead. Martin is 0-for-48 with six finishes of 2nd at Pocono Raceway. Martin is attempting to become the eighth driver to win 50 poles, a mark he's been battling since the beginning of 2010. Martin has recorded three poles at Pocono. The next Sprint Cup Series race is the June 19 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway, as Denny Hamlin defends his title. 06/07 20:36:30 ET As of June 7, 2011, at 08:36 PM ET