Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, finished second at Brickyard, to extend his points lead to 184 points with six races remaining before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Four-time defending NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, also suffered handling woes and crossed the finish line in 22nd place. Johnson is now fourth in the points order.
Pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, led the most laps in today’s race until a two-car accident on lap 146 sent him to the garage. He was scored with the 32nd finishing position.
McMurray’s victory put team owner Chip Ganassi in a class of his own by becoming the first team owner in history to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season.
This victory marked the 12th time a Chevrolet driver has won the Brickyard 400; and McMurray’s win was the eighth consecutive for Team Chevy.
Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Pocono Raceway going into The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 on Aug. 1.
Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
· Enters Pocono seventh in points
· Seven top fives, 16 top 10s
· Average finish of 16.2
· Average Running Position of 14.2, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.1, 13th-best
· 45 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 853 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· 1,321 Laps in the Top 15 (62.5%), 11th-most
· 416 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), ninth-most
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite/Vortex Dodge)
· Fifth in points
· Two wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.9
· Average Running Position of 11.6, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 103.7, second-best
· 241 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.993 mph, second-fastest
· 1,489 Laps in the Top 15 (70.4%), sixth-most
· 402 Quality Passes, 12th-most
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
· 10th in points
· Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 13.3
· Average Running Position of 15.1, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 98.5, fifth-best
· 141 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.542 mph, ninth-fastest
· 1,270 Laps in the Top 15 (60.1%), 13th-most
· 384 Quality Passes, 13th-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
· Second in points
· Four wins, 16 top fives, 24 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 10.7
· Average Running Position of 11.0, third-best
· Driver Rating of 96.1, sixth-best
· 30 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
· 889 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.679 mph, sixth-fastest
· 1,532 Laps in the Top 15 (72.5%), fourth-most
· 482 Quality Passes, third-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota)
· Third in points
· Four wins, six top fives, seven top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 8.6
· Series-best Average Running Position of 9.3
· Series-best Driver Rating of 119.1
· Series-high 328 Fastest Laps Run
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 159.505 mph
· 1,405 Laps in the Top 15 (82.2%), eighth-most
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
· NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader
· Three top fives, six top 10s
· Average finish of 15.1
· Average Running Position of 14.6, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 90.1, 11th-best
· 911 Green Flag Passes, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.407 mph, 13th-fastest
· 440 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
· Fourth in points
· Two wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 9.5
· Average Running Position of 10.9, second-best
· Driver Rating of 103.7, second-best
· 119 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.940 mph, third-fastest
· 1,607 Laps in the Top 15 (76.0%), second-most
· 449 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Ford)
· 17th in points
· One win, three top fives, five top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 16.4
· Average Running Position of 14.0, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 92.0, 10th-best
· 155 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 899 Green Flag Passes, third-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.642 mph, seventh-fastest
· 1,290 Laps in the Top 15 (61.0%), 12th-most
· 449 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Ford)
· Eighth in points
· Three top fives, eight top 10s
· Average finish of 14.2
· Average Running Position of 13.1, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 89.6, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.555 mph, eighth-fastest
· 1,408 Laps in the Top 15 (66.6%), seventh-most
· 483 Quality Passes, second-most
Mark Martin (No. 5 Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)
· 13th in points
· 19 top fives, 32 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 11.1
· Average Running Position of 11.3, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 95.8, seventh-best
· 75 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.775 mph, fourth-fastest
· 1,589 Laps in the Top 15 (75.2%), third-most
· 431 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. ARMY Chevrolet)
· 15th in points
· One win, six top fives, seven top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.4
· Average Running Position of 11.6, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 94.5, eighth-best
· 857 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.436 mph, 12th-fastest
· 1,490 Laps in the Top 15 (70.5%), fifth-most
· 479 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet)
· Ninth in points
· Two wins, eight top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 11.9
· Average Running Position of 11.5, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 101.4, fourth-best
· 70 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 860 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.753 mph, fifth-fastest
· Series-high 1,612 Laps in the Top 15 (76.3%)
Series-high 485 Quality Passes
At Pocono Raceway
History
· Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.
Notebook
· There have been 65 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.
· There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.
· All NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been scheduled for 500 miles.
· Buddy Baker won the first pole.
· There have been 36 different pole winners, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race; 15 drivers have more than one pole there.
· The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993), Denny Hamlin (2006).
· Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.
· 28 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott, with five victories; 20 drivers have won more than once there.
· There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, the last by Denny Hamlin in 2006.
· Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond each won three consecutive races at Pocono.
· 47 of 65 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start.
· The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.
· Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 11 Pocono victories.
· Mark Martin leads all drivers in top fives (19) and top 10s (32), but has yet to win at Pocono. His best finish was second, six times (most recently in August 2004).
· Denny Hamlin (8.6) and Jimmie Johnson (9.5) are the only active drivers to average a top-10 finish.
NASCAR in Pennsylvania
· There have been 99 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.
· 137 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.
· There are three race winners from Pennsylvania in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver NSCS NNS NCWTS Dick Linder 3 0 0 Jimmy Spencer 2 12 1 Mark Donohue 1 0 0
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