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 after 106 laps were completed, and Jeff Gordon ended up with his third Pocono 500 win. The actual race distance was 265 miles. At 106 laps, it is the second shortest 500-mile race in US motorsport history (the 1976 Indianapolis 500 ran 255 miles).
The caution for rain was called at exactly the right moment for Gordon. Right as the caution was called, Newman was in position to pass Gordon for the win. In addition, it was discovered after the race that Gordon's car had suffered a mechanical failure and would have had to spend time in the garage had the race restarted.
The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 57th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 34th modern-era Cup series. The season began on Saturday, February 12. The ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 18, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Ford 400.
James Dennis Alan Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with the basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. He has won 48 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Coca Cola 600 in 2022 and the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019, and 2020; he is the fourth person to win the race in back-to-back seasons, alongside Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Sterling Marlin.
The M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Starting in 2022, it is the only Cup Series race at the track after the other Cup Series race at Pocono, the Pocono Organics CBD 325, was removed from the Cup Series schedule in favor of a race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The race has been held sometime in mid-to-late July or early August each year except for 1971 when it was held in September, 1974 when it was held in April, and 2020 and 2021 when it was held in June a doubleheader with the other Cup Series race at Pocono. Kyle Busch is the defending winner of the event.
The 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 58th season of professional Stock car racing in the United States and the 35th modern-era NASCAR Cup series season. It was started at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 12 with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on Monday, November 20, with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chase for the Nextel Cup began with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 17, at New Hampshire International Speedway. This was the last full-time season with the Gen 4 car.
The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 33rd modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Saturday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Kurt Busch, who drove a Ford for Roush Racing, was the Nextel Cup champion. It would be the last time until 2012 that the championship would be won by someone other than Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.
Steve Letarte is a sportscaster and a NASCAR crew chief. Born in Cornish, Maine, he is currently at NBC Sports as a color analyst on their telecasts for NASCAR. He left Hendrick Motorsports following the 2014 season after 20 years with the team. From September 2005 to November 2010, he was the pit crew chief for Jeff Gordon, taking over the No. 24 Chevrolet from Robbie Loomis. From February 2011 to November 2014 he was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief. He returned in 2021 to be the crew chief of Corey Lajoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports team.
The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 36th modern-era Cup series. Beginning on February 10 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout, the season ended on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. The Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and was contested over the final ten races.
The 2007 NASCAR Busch Series was the twenty-sixth season of the NASCAR Busch Series. It began on February 17 with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 17 with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards clinched the Busch Series championship on November 3 during the O'Reilly Challenge with 2 races remaining. The 2007 season was the final season of the series under Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship. In 2008, the Busch Series became the NASCAR Nationwide Series sponsored by insurance company Nationwide Insurance with a $70 million contract for 7 years.
The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500, the 51st running of the race that traces its lineage to the 1957 Rebel 300, was the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a suburb of Florence.
The 2007 Nextel Open and Nextel All-Star Challenge was a professional auto race held on Saturday, May 19, 2007, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. Native Carolinian and former NBA superstar Michael Jordan was the grand marshal of the event.
The 2007 Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the 48th iteration of the event. It was held on May 27, 2007, with a crowd of 175,000 spectators in attendance in Concord, North Carolina at Lowe's Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. Casey Mears of the Hendrick Motorsports team won the 400-lap race starting from 16th position. Joe Gibbs Racing's J. J. Yeley finished second and Kyle Petty driving for Petty Enterprises took third.
The 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was the sixteenth stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the first of the season's two road course events. It was held on June 24, 2007 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California before a crowd of 102,000. The 90-lap race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya of the Chip Ganassi Racing team who started from thirty-second position. Kevin Harvick finished second and his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton came in third.
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th modern-era Cup season. It was contested over thirty-six races, and began on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race, followed by the 50th Daytona 500 on February 17. The season continued with the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup beginning on September 14 with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and concluded with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16.
The 2007 Dodge Dealers 400 was the twenty-eighth stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the second in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on September 23, 2007 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware before a crowd of 137,000. Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards won the 400-lap race starting from fifteenth position. His teammate Greg Biffle finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. took third.
The 2007 UAW-Ford 500 was the 30th stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 7, 2007 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, before a crowd of 155,000. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the 188-lap race starting from 34th position. His teammate Jimmie Johnson finished second and Dave Blaney was third.
The 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on June 6, 2010 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It was the fourteenth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The event was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EDT on TNT, but it was delayed by rain to 3:00 p.m. It was also broadcast on the radio station Motor Racing Network at 12 p.m. EDT. The race consisted of 200 laps, 500 miles (804.67 km).
This article documents historical records, statistics, and race recaps of the Daytona 500, held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 2012 Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 10, 2012, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, United States. Contested over 160 laps, it was the fourteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Joey Logano of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race from the pole while Mark Martin finished second and Tony Stewart finished third.
The 2006 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006, before a crowd of 65,000, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, a short track that holds NASCAR races. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won the 500‑lap race starting from the ninth position; Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second, and Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte was third.
The 2006 Bank of America 500 was the 31st stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fifth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 14, 2006, before a crowd of 175,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The circuit is an intermediate that holds NASCAR races. The 334-lap race was won by Kasey Kahne of the Evernham Motorsports team, who started from second position. Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson finished second and Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton was third.
