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Jeff Gordon rolls into Pocono Raceway with not only the series standings lead, but also looking to sweep both races there this season. Gordon won the Pocono 500 in June and now looks to become the seventh driver to pull off the Pocono season sweep. If Gordon succeeds, he will put himself with some pretty exclusive company.
The first driver to sweep both races at Pocono was Bobby Allison in 1982. Allison went on to make it three consecutive races at Pocono when he put his Buick in Victory Lane in 1983. Bill Elliott was soon to follow in Allison’s footsteps, grabbing both Pocono victories in 1985.
The third driver must have taken a page from Allison’s notes because Tim Richmond put his Chevrolet in Victory Lane three consecutive times including a sweep in 1986 and the first race at Pocono in ’87. Allison and Richmond are the only two drivers to achieve that at Pocono. The fourth driver, Bobby Labonte (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge), was in his fifth year driving for Joe Gibbs Racing when he swept both races in 1999. Labonte ended up finishing second in the series standings that season.
The two most recent drivers to sweep were Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet) last season and Jeff Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in 2004.
Of all six drivers that have accomplished the sweep feat, Hamlin was the only one to do it as a rookie in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.
Gordon has captured two Bud Poles and four wins at Pocono. He also has been very consistent, posting 20 top-10 finishes there in 29 starts. If Gordon wins, he also will take the lead in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup seeding with five wins, giving him 5,050 points when the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup begins.
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