By the Numbers: Pocono

Kurt Busch, Hamlin at right place to work out kinks

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
June 5, 2008
01:15 PM EDT

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Five drivers have won the last eight races at Pocono Raceway, but two drivers have owned the place recently, victory or not.

Denny Hamlin walked into Pocono in 2006, earned the pole and won his first Cup Series race during the June event. A month later, he did it all over again. And last year, although he didn't win there, he landed a pair of top-10 finishes.

Before Hamlin, there was Kurt Busch. After Hamlin, there was also Kurt Busch.

Busch, for the most part, had struggled at the track until the July 2005 event when he started second, led 131 of 200 laps and won in dominant fashion. The two races Hamlin won in 2006, Busch finished right behind him. And after a hiccup in this race a year ago (won by Jeff Gordon), Busch was back in Victory Lane in the July race.

All that history could benefit both drivers as they prepare for Sunday's Pocono 500 (12:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Both need a break: Hamlin has finished 24th or worse in three of the last four events this year, and Busch hasn't had a top-10 since Daytona.

2.8Average finish for Denny Hamlin in his four races at Pocono. Hamlin has two victories, a third and a fifth. The most recent trip there was the only time he failed to lead a lap.

1,422Points scored by Kurt Busch in the last 10 Pocono races, more than any other driver. Currently, Busch is 21st in the Sprint Cup standings.

Hamlin vs. Busch

Pocono statistics since 2005

D. Hamlin	Start	Finish	Led	Ku. Busch	Start	Finish	Led

2005	N/A	N/A	N/A	2005	2	22	2
	N/A	N/A	N/A		2	1	131
2006	1	1	83	2006	2	2	31
	1	1	151		7	2	4
2007	2	6	49	2007	27	16	0
	6	3	0		2	1	175
Average	2.5	2.8	283	Average	14.4	14.6	347

Back in Time

June 14, 1987Tim Richmond wins the Miller High Life 500 to become the second driver with three consecutive Pocono victories (Bobby Allison, both 1982 and June 1983, is the other). Richmond leads 82 laps and beats Bill Elliott by a second to the finish line. It was the first race Richmond ran in 1987 after taking the first 11 events off while battling illness, which ultimately was discovered to be AIDS.

10 Key Facts

1Active driver with more than four starts at Pocono who has also finished on the lead lap of every start: Brian Vickers, 14.4 average finish.

3Consecutive top-10 finishes for Matt Kenseth this season, moving him from 22nd to 16th in points. He has never won at Pocono, but he has finished 14th or better in the last four starts there.

4Times in the last five Pocono races that Kurt Busch has finished first or second. His other finish was a 16th in this race last year. Last July he led 175 of 200 laps to win.

4Winners in the last five Pocono races that started on the front row. Jeff Gordon won the June race last year from the 18th starting position. Forty-three of 60 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 starting spot.

6Drivers on the entry list with more than one victory at Pocono: Bill Elliott (5), Jeff Gordon (4), Bobby Labonte (3), Jimmie Johnson (2), Terry Labonte (2), Denny Hamlin (2) and Kurt Busch (2).

20.0Average finish for Clint Bowyer in his four starts at Pocono, the worst among the drivers ranked in the top 12 in points.

21Different drivers who have earned the pole position in the last 25 races at Pocono. Denny Hamlin (both 2006 events) and Jeff Gordon (June 1996 and June 1998) are the only repeat pole-sitters since 1995.

29.5Average finish for David Ragan in his two starts at Pocono (26th and 33rd). Ragan sits 13th in the Cup standings, eight points behind 12th-place Kasey Kahne (19.8 average finish).

377Laps led by Mark Martin in his 42 starts at Pocono, the most among drivers who have not won at the track. Martin has finished second six times, most recently in the 2004 July race to winner Jimmie Johnson.

1,527Miles between Fort Worth, Texas, and Long Pond, Pa., with a stop in Nashville, Tenn., along the way. Kyle Busch will be competing in all three series races in three days in three locations. It is 695 miles from Texas (Truck) to Nashville (Nationwide) and 832 miles from Nashville to Pocono (Cup).

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Pocono Raceway

Active drivers, based on victories

Driver	Starts	Wins	Top-5	Top-10

Bill Elliott	46	5	14	22
Jeff Gordon	30	4	15	21
Bobby Labonte	30	3	5	9
Terry Labonte	52	2	7	21
Jimmie Johnson	12	2	4	7
Denny Hamlin	4	2	3	4
Kurt Busch	14	2	7	7
Tony Stewart	18	1	5	13
Carl Edwards	6	1	2	2
Ryan Newman	12	1	5	6