It has been since last year at Talladega that Ford has been in victory lane, and that was with Jamie McMurray, who now drives a Chevy for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. But lady luck is a funny thing, and in the same week that Jack Roush crashed his private airplane and underwent major surgery, his driver Greg Biffle (#16 3M Ford) would win in one of the wildest races at Pocono Raceway in recent memory.
The day would begin under the threat of weather at Long Pond, PA, when the start of the race was delayed almost half an hour by rain. When the race started, Tony Stewart (#14 Office Depot Chevy) started from pole and Juan Pablo Montoya (#42 Target Chevy) would start alongside, looking to redeem himself after his dominance at Indianapolis the previous week ended in a crash. Stewart would lead the race early, that is, until Jeff Gordon (#24 DuPont Chevy) emerged in the lead. Jimmie Johnson (#48 Lowe’s Chevy) would climb to second when NASCAR threw the caution flag, a scheduled caution to check tire wear due to the recent rain.
On the ensuing restart, Gordon would take the advantage over his teammate Johnson, and became the car to beat throughout the race. Later on, caution would fly again as Elliot Sadler (#19 U.S. Air Force Ford) spun out of turn 3. Another caution would follow when Kyle Busch (#18 M&Ms Toyota) lost a piece of sheet metal from underneath his car. This would result in a series of pit stops, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88 Amp Energy Chevy) taking 2nd place out of the pits, only because Montoya stayed out.
After the restart, Gordon reassumed the lead before a scary wreck would result in a red flag, temporarily halting the race. Jimmie Johnson was bump drafting Kurt Busch (#2 Miller Lite Dodge) down towards turn 2, but too much bumping caused Busch to spin out of control, clipping Clint Bowyer (#33 The Hartford Chevy), and smashing into both the outside and inside walls. The cars behind the wreck attempted to slow down, but this resulted in Elliot Sadler being spun and colliding with the inside wall in a very scary wreck. Sadler was able to climb out of his car, albeit his engine lay a number of yards from his car. During the red flag, the rain returned, prolonging the race continuation even more.
When the rain cleared and strategies were sorted out, Sam Hornish Jr. (#77 PPG Dodge) emerged in the race lead, with Greg Biffle alongside. Biffle would take the advantage on the restart and would never look back, building an over four second lead as Biffle went on to win the Pennsylvania 500.
Here is the rundown of the finishers at the Sunoco-American Red Cross Pennsylvania 500:
1. 16 Greg Biffle
2. 14 Tony Stewart (Polesitter)
3. 99 Carl Edwards
4. 29 Kevin Harvick
5. 11 Denny Hamlin
6. 24 Jeff Gordon
7. 5 Mark Martin
8. 31 Jeff Burton
9. 56 Martin Truex Jr.
10. 48 Jimmie Johnson
11. 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
12. 39 Ryan Newman
13. 98 Paul Menard
14. 6 David Ragan
15. 33 Clint Bowyer
16. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
17. 00 David Reutimann
18. 17 Matt Kenseth
19. 9 Kasey Kahne
20. 12 Brad Keselowski
21. 78 Regan Smith
22. 1 Jamie McMurray
23. 18 Kyle Busch
24. 43 A.J. Allmendinger
25. 20 Joey Logano
26. 82 Scott Speed
27. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -1 Lap
28. 71 Bobby Labonte -1 Lap
29. 38 Travis Kvapil -1 Lap
30. 37 David Gilliland -2 Laps
31. 34 Kevin Conway (Rookie) -2 Laps
32. 83 Reed Sorenson DNF
33. 2 Kurt Busch DNF
34. 19 Elliot Sadler DNF
35. 7 P.J. Jones DNF
36. 36 Casey Mears (Start and Park)
37. 64 Todd Bodine (Start and Park)
38. 46 J.J. Yeley (Start and Park)
39. 47 Marcos Ambrose DNF
40. 87 Joe Nemechek (Start and Park)
41. 09 Landon Cassill (Start and Park)
42. 66 Dave Blaney (Start and Park)
43. 55 Michael McDowell (Start and Park)
DNQ: 26 David Stremme, 13 Max Papis
Kevin Harvick (#29 Shell / Pennzoil Chevy) retains the points lead by 189 points over Jeff Gordon. Here is the rest of the top 15 in points:
1. 29 Kevin Harvick
2. 24 Jeff Gordon -189
3. 11 Denny Hamlin -260
4. 48 Jimmie Johnson -277
5. 31 Jeff Burton -323
6. 18 Kyle Busch -356
7. 2 Kurt Busch -358
8. 14 Tony Stewart -361
9. 17 Matt Kenseth -398
10. 99 Carl Edwards -414
11. 16 Greg Biffle -428
12. 33 Clint Bowyer -516
13. 5 Mark Martin -550 (-34 from Chase)
14. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -645 (-129 from Chase)
15. 39 Ryan Newman -654 (-138 from Chase)
The next race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is Sunday at 1 pm ET from the Watkins Glen road course. Coverage begins at noon ET on ESPN.
