Pocono and Iowa

Pocono and Iowa

 

July 30, 2012

For Dale Earnhardt Jr., it’s a case of two challenges met, one remaining. Earnhardt snapped a four-year winless drought in June and following Sunday’s fourth-place finish at Indianapolis has taken the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship lead. Earnhardt hadn’t occupied the No. 1 points position since September 2004. His next 2012 goal: win the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Jimmie Johnson’s amazing run of five consecutive championships came to an end a year ago but his emphatic Indianapolis victory – his fourth at the Speedway – establishes the Californian as a solid favorite to win title No. 6. Johnson, reigning champion Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski top the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ seeding derby with three wins and nine bonus points apiece.

Stewart (third) and Johnson (fourth) topped current top 10-ranked drivers when the series visited Pocono Raceway in June – the first race held on the track’s new asphalt surface.

It’s time to put up or fold for drivers battling for a pair of Chase "wild card" berths currently held by Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch. Joey Logano won the 2.5-mile track’s June race. Ryan Newman, who has one win this season, also has a Pocono victory. Jeff Gordon (five Pocono wins) and Carl Edwards (two) must end 2012 winless streaks to keep their fading Chase hopes alive.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. swept both NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Iowa Speedway a year ago and kept his streak alive with a victory at the 0.875-mile track in May. Now just 13 points behind standings leader Elliott Sadler, Stenhouse hopes to become the series’ first to win four straight at the same track since Kyle Busch assembled a five-win streak at Texas Motor Speedway (2008-10).

Saturday night’s race ends this year’s Nationwide "Dash 4 Cash" bonus program with Stenhouse, Sam Hornish Jr., Austin Dillon and Iowa’s Michael Annett vying for a $100,000 payoff as the highest finishing eligible driver. A fan selected by random drawing and paired with the winning "Dash 4 Cash"-winning driver also wins $100,000.   

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points-eligible drivers hope to win for the first time at Pocono Raceway on Saturday. "Visitors" Elliott Sadler and Kevin Harvick won the series’ first two visits in 2010-11 and Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski represent formidable road blocks for series regulars this year – especially since they have experience on the repaved Pocono layout.

Points leader Timothy Peters was solid with top-10 finishes in both races. Standings runner up and Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Ty Dillon won last year’s Pocono ARCA race and warmed up with a third-place finish in last weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.