Backstretch Motorsports

Long Pond, PA) — Intensity in racing is nothing new. Strategies of speed and performance are tough enough to maintain. Compound them with the unexpected factors that can happen during an event, it can be downright nerve-racking. That is when the heat is on. Winners know it and know how to deal with the heat it brings.

Increasing intensity as the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup looms ever closer is overwhelming, and can take even the most seasoned of championsip contenders to the brink of self-destruction.

Carl Edwards won the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, his 11th victory in 142 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. He not only etched his name into the records books at Pocono Raceway again, he gained another all-important 10 bonus points that put him in second-place potential in the Chase berth.

But not without some heated and unsure moments.

A week after the Indy tires, it was the Pocono rain that brought the unknown dimension to the strategy for today’s contest at the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track. The other unknown factor was pure blind luck.

The red flag at lap 131 brought argument between the No. 99 Office Depot Fusion driver Carl Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing crew chief Bob Osborne that was intense.

Coming in as the rain began meant giving up a leading position. Osborne had hopes that the race would go back to green and the combination of Roush-Yates horsepower and fuel mileage strategy would play into the No. 99 team’s hands, But as it began to rain harder, it could have gone the other way.

“I think we were both about 51 percent on the come in side and neither one of us were gonna argue.” Edwards told Osborne in intereview after the race. “But the argument came when it started raining real hard, then we were trying to blame one another for the idea of coming. He said it was my idea and I really felt like it was his idea, so that’s where the argument came.”

Others that didn’t take the gamble before the red flag would have to stop again. It proved to be the undoing for them and the 99 team were looking like heros.

When Edwards and Johnson came to pit road in the rain on Lap 128, Kahne inherited the lead, followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Martin. The winner of the June race at Pocono, Kahne didn’t want to see the race resume after the stoppage.

“I think it will probably go green again—maybe not—but (crew chief) Kenny (Francis) said to stay out,” Kahne said during the delay. “I’d just rather call it a day. I think we’re a second-place car to Carl Edwards right now.”

As it turned out, the race resumed, and Kahne was half right. Edwards was indeed the class of the field, but the one extra pit stop Kahne was forced to make dropped him to seventh at the finish.

The No.99 restarted in 25th position. It was all up to Edwards to race it back to P1. He did just that and once he was in front, nobody else even got close.

“It was a little stressful at moments.” said Osborne. “You know, the rain comes. We’re not sure what we wanted to do. You know, we talked about what we would do if the rain cleared up and they got the track dry. That’s what we ended up doing. Then it started raining harder. Carl’s on the pit box with me, and we’re arguing at that point why we did what we did.”

Edwards credited Osborne, a Penn State graduate engineer with the right decision.

“Bob did a great job.” he told reporters in post-race press conference. “Wasn’t so sure about halfway through when we were yelling at each other. But, you know, Bob did an unbelievable job. Jack, you know, the engine was awesome. The pit crew was awesome. Luck went our way today.”

In retrospect, both should be willing to take the credit, because the strategy earned Edwards his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the year and his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in eight races at Pocono Raceway.

Tony Stewart came home second, 3.858 seconds back. Polesitter Jimmie Johnson was third, coasting across the finish line after running out of fuel in the final corner.

Kevin Harvick rallied from a first-lap spin to finish fourth. David Ragan was fifth, followed by Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon.

Michael McDowell (24th) was the highest finishing rookie.

Kyle Busch leads the point standings by 176 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The road course at Watkins Glen International is next on the schedule next weekend for the Sprint Cup Series.

NASCAR Race Number 21
Unofficial Race Results for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 - Sunday, August 3, 2008
Pocono Raceway - Long Pond, PA - 2.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 500 Miles - Purse: $5,037,783

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 15 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 200 190 5 $241,875 Running 6 53
2 20 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 200 170 $196,536 Running
3 1 48 Jimmie Johnson LOWE’S Chevrolet 200 170 5 $188,086 Running 3 34
4 21 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 200 160 $153,936 Running
5 16 6 David Ragan AAA INSURANCE Ford 200 160 5 $111,725 Running 1 1
6 30 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 200 150 $111,950 Running
7 7 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 200 151 5 $122,316 Running 2 41
8 2 8 Mark Martin Steak-umm Burgers Chevrolet 200 152 10 $126,933 Running 4 55
9 41 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 200 143 5 $93,675 Running 1 2
10 4 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 200 134 $126,311 Running
11 5 17 Matt Kenseth DEWALT Ford 200 135 5 $120,591 Running 2 3
12 12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet 200 132 5 $83,500 Running 1 1
13 9 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network Turbo HD Ford 200 129 5 $83,475 Running 1 2
14 6 12 Ryan Newman AVIS Dodge 200 121 $115,850 Running
15 17 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 200 118 $103,308 Running
16 19 28 Travis Kvapil HITACHI Power Tools Ford 200 115 $99,589 Running
17 34 45 Chad McCumbee Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge 200 112 $89,133 Running
18 18 70 Tony Raines Haas Automation Chevrolet 200 109 $66,975 Running
19 31 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 200 106 $70,425 Running
20 37 21 Bill Elliott Little Debbie Snacks Ford 200 108 5 $86,645 Running 1 1
21 39 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility/Team USA Chevrolet 200 100 $112,208 Running
22 33 5 Casey Mears Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevrolet 200 97 $84,050 Running
23 14 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 200 94 $105,341 Running
24 35 00 Michael McDowell # Champion Mortgage Toyota 200 91 $86,833 Running
25 36 01 Regan Smith # DEI/Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 200 88 $76,850 Running
26 26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge 200 85 $110,875 Running
27 29 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 200 82 $95,295 Running
28 8 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 200 79 $76,200 Running
29 40 66 Scott Riggs Haas Automation Chevrolet 199 81 5 $82,108 Running 1 1
30 28 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 199 73 $68,200 Running
31 24 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 199 70 $79,208 Running
32 25 10 Terry Labonte Charter Dodge 199 67 $64,375 Running
33 11 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios Racing/Betty Crocker Dodge 199 64 $103,611 Running
34 3 38 David Gilliland FreeCreditReport.com Ford 199 61 $74,472 Running
35 32 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 199 58 $91,039 Running
36 27 18 Kyle Busch M&M’S Toyota 199 55 $81,600 Running
37 38 7 Robby Gordon Menards/Johns Manville Dodge 198 52 $71,425 Running
38 10 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 198 54 5 $63,300 Running 1 5
39 43 96 JJ Yeley DLP HDTV Toyota 196 46 $71,175 Out Of Fuel
40 13 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 146 43 $90,933 Engine
41 23 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 138 40 $62,880 Accident
42 22 15 Paul Menard Menards/Energizer Chevrolet 137 37 $70,730 Accident
43 42 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 24 39 5 $62,999 Engine 1 1
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 100,000, Carl Edwards won the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, his 11th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear for the reason(s) indicated: #66 Riggs (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: (1) 34 Chad Chaffin.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 49 Mins, 46 Secs. Average Speed: 130.567 MPH Margin of Victory: 3.858 Seconds
Caution Flags: 7 for 31 laps: Laps: 2-4 (#29,78 accident turn 2); 9-11 (#2 spun frontstretch); 22-24 (Competition); 67-70 (Debris); 89-92 (Debris); 128-134 (Rain [Red Flag 41:06-Lap 131]); 139-145 (#15,78 accident turn 2).
Lead Changes: 25 among 13 drivers: J. Johnson (Pole); M. Martin 1-22; M. Waltrip 23; J. Johnson 24-35; M. Martin 36-53; C. Edwards 54; M. Martin 55-67; S. Riggs 68; C. Edwards 69-89; J. Johnson 90-110; C. Edwards 111-118; D. Earnhardt Jr. 119; M. Kenseth 120-121; C. Edwards 122-127; K. Kahne 128-154; G. Biffle 155-156; Kurt Busch 157-161; M. Kenseth 162; C. Edwards 163-165; J. Johnson 166; D. Ragan 167; J. McMurray 168-169; B. Elliott 170; K. Kahne 171-184; M. Martin 185-186; C. Edwards 187-200.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) Kyle Busch 3,059;(2) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,883;(3) C. Edwards 2,874;(4) J. Johnson 2,859;(5) J. Burton 2,833;(6) J. Gordon 2,678;(7) K. Kahne 2,592;(8) G. Biffle 2,589;(9) T. Stewart 2,569;(10) D. Hamlin 2,547;(11) K. Harvick 2,520;(12) C. Bowyer 2,512.
Coors Light Pole Award : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (168.215 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Mark Martin, #8
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99 EA Sports Move of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Mark Martin, #8 (165.685 mph, Lap 6) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Jimmie Johnson, #48
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Ryan Newman, #12 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Clint Bowyer, #07 (-1.064 seconds)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Michael Mcdowell, #00 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Carl Edwards, #99
USG Improving the Finish : Jamie Mcmurray, #26 (32 Places) WIX Lap Leader : Kasey Kahne, #9 (41 Laps)
Next Race: Aug. 10, 2008 - Watkins Glen International