The 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season began on February 10, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout and will end with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18 of that same year. ... The 2007 Daytona 500 is the first race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. ... The 2007 Auto Club 500 is the second race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. ... The 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 was the third race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, which took place on March 11, 2007 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... The 2007 Kobalt Tools 500, the fourth race of the 2007 NEXTEL Cup Season, is scheduled for Sunday, March 18, 2007 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. ... The Food City 500 is the fifth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, and will be scheduled to be run on Sunday, March 25, 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. ... The 2007 Goodys Cool Orange 500, the sixth race of the 2007 Nextel Cup Series, was held on Sunday, April 1 of that year at the 0. ... The 2007 Samsung 500, the seventh race of the 2007 Nextel Cup Series, was held on Sunday, April 15 of that year at the 1. ... The 2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was the eighth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season, and will be run on April 21, 2007 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. ... The 2007 Aarons 499 was the ninth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season, and was be run on April 29, 2007 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. ... The Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 is the tenth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup campaign, scheduled to be run on Saturday, May 5, 2007 at Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside the city of Richmond, Virginias state capital. ... The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500 is the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, is scheduled to be run on Saturday, May 12, 2007 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. ... The 2007 NEXTEL Open and NEXTEL All-Star Challenge is scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. ... The 2007 edition of the Coca-Cola 600, the twelveth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season is scheduled for Sunday, May 27, 2007 at Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. ... The 2007 Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa will be the thirteenth race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. ... The 2007 Citizens Bank 400 was the 15th race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season. ... The 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup is a ten-race series that will commence with the Sylvania 300 on September 18, 2007 at New Hampshire International Speedway and will conclude with the Ford 400 on November 18, 2007 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. ...

Overview

The 2007 Pocono 500, the fourteenth race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, was run Sunday, June 10, 2007 at Pocono Raceway outside of the village of Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race marked the start of the second half of the race to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup and the first telecast for TNT of six in the new NASCAR television package for 2007. Kyle Petty made his broadcasting debut on this day, replacing the late Benny Parsons who passed away from cancer during Speedweeks. Throughout the week, drivers in the Truck, Busch, and Cup series along with the Grand National division wore small black logos reading "WCF (William Clifton France) Innovator, Pioneer, Friend 1933-2007" to pay tribute to former NASCAR president Bill France Jr. The Pocono 500 is the first of two stock car races held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, on the NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule, the other being the Pennsylvania 500. ... The 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season began on February 10, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout and will end with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18 of that same year. ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Pocono Raceway is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania at Long Pond; it is the site of two annual NASCAR Nextel Cup races held just a few weeks apart in June and July. ... Long Pond, Pennsylvania is a location in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, a part of the Appalachian Mountains. ... The 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup is a ten-race series that will commence with the Sylvania 300 on September 18, 2007 at New Hampshire International Speedway and will conclude with the Ford 400 on November 18, 2007 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. ... Turner Network Television, usually referred to as TNT, is a cable TV network created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner. ... Kyle Eugene Petty (Born June 2, 1960 in Randleman, North Carolina) is an American NASCAR driver, the son and grandson of racing legends Richard Petty and Lee Petty, respectively. ... Benny Parsons (born July 12, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan, currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an American NASCAR announcer/analyst on NBC and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup (now NEXTEL Cup) champion. ...

Qualifying

With another impressive lap, Ryan Newman lived up to his namesake, "Rocketman" by recording his third consecutive pole. Defending race winner Denny Hamlin aspired to become the first driver since the late Tim Richmond to record 3 consecutive Pocono victories. Martin Truex Jr., fresh off his first NEXTEL Cup win, lined up in third. Failing to make the race were Michael Waltrip, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Jeremy Mayfield, Dale Jarrett, and Mike Bliss. Ryan Joseph Newman (born December 8, 1977 in South Bend, Indiana) is a driver in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. ... Denny Hamlin is a race car driver currently contracted to Joe Gibbs Racing. ... Tim Richmond (June 7, 1955 - August 13, 1989) was an American NASCAR race car driver. ... Martin Lee Truex, Jr. ... Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a professional race car driver and owner of Michael Waltrip Racing. ... Kenny Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is a NASCAR Busch Series driver who currently drives the #22 AutoZoneFord Taurus for PPC Racing. ... Kevin Lepage (born June 26, 1962) is a NASCAR driver from Shelburne, Vermont. ... Jeremy Allen Mayfield (born May 27, 1969 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a driver in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series who drives the #36 Toyota Camry for Bill Davis Racing. ... Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956 in Newton, North Carolina) is an American race car driver. ... Mike Bliss (born April 5, 1965, in Milwaukie, Oregon) is a NASCAR driver. ...

Race

The start of the race was halted by a nearly two hour rain delay as the estimated green flag was set to wave at 2:20 PM. When the race finally started, it was the same routine as last year; Hamlin leading the first lap. Although it was widely expected that Hamlin would again walk away with a victory, a caution flag set up a pit cycle. While Hamlin's crew opted for four tires, everyone else took two, and Hamlin would spend the rest of the day fighting through the field. Jeff Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte, called his driver in earlier than the rest of the field. With another rain shower approaching Pocono, he took the chance that all the other cars would have to pit after they did, thereby giving them the lead. Letarte's intuition proved correct as the race was called at lap 106 and Jeff Gordon ended up with his third Pocono 500 win. The actual race distance was 265 miles. Steve Letarte is Jeff Gordons crew chief in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. ...

Race notes

• Chad McCumbee replaced Petty in the #45 car, which Petty had driven since the 2001 season. The Craftsman Truck Series regular from Supply, North Carolina finished 25th.
• The TNT telecast was sponsored by Gillette Fusion razors.

Chad McCumbee (born October 15, 1984) is an American actor and stock car driver. ... The 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season began on February 11 and ended on November 23. ... The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a popular NASCAR racing series that features modified pickup trucks. ... Supply is a small unincorporated community in Brunswick County, North Carolina, USA located around the intersection of US 17 (Ocean Highway) and NC 211 (Southport-Supply Road/Green Swamp Road). ... The Gillette Fusion is a safety razor by Gillette and released in 2006. ... Collection of Modern Safety Razors - Gillette Fusion Power, Gillette M3Power, Mach3 Turbo Champion, Schick Quattro Chrome, Schick Quattro Power, Gillette Mach3, Gillette Sensor, Schick Xtreme3, Schick Xtreme SubZero, and Schick Xtreme3 Disposables A razor is an edge tool primarily used in shaving. ...

External links

• Complete race results
• Point standings