NASCAR: Pennsylvania 500 - Pocono Raceway

Newman wins fifth Cup pole of season

LONG POND, Pa. -- Ryan Newman left no doubt about who has the car to catch at Pocono Raceway when he backed up the fastest practice speed with his fifth pole of the season in qualifying Friday.

Newman hustled his Dodge around the 2�-mile triangular track at 170.358 mph to claim the top starting spot for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. He continued to demonstrate his liking for the track, where he qualified second seven weeks ago before finishing fifth in the Pocono 500.

Newman extended his Winston Cup series lead in poles this year.

He said speed is not necessarily the most important factor at Pocono. "You have to have track position,'' he explained. "And fuel mileage is very important. Jimmie Johnson won last Sunday in New Hampshire in part by saving gas over the last quarter of the race.

Defending race champion Bill Elliott -- the biggest winner in Pocono history -- will start 11th as he seeks his sixth victory here.

Rusty Wallace has four victories on the mountaintop, Dale Jarrett three and Terry Labonte two.

LONG POND, Pa. -- Late caution flags helped Ryan Newman stretch his gas to the end, allowing him to barely hold off hard-charging Kurt Busch and win Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Newman, who started on the pole, would not have been able to make the final 46 laps without stopping. But crashes involving rookie Casey Mears and Bobby Labonte slowed the field for a total of 12 laps in the Pennsylvania 500.

Newman used the same strategy to win two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway, and Jimmie Johnson won with a fuel economy run last Sunday in New Hampshire. Newman said he wasn't thinking entirely about fuel as Busch made a determined bid after the race went green for the final 12 laps.

Earnhardt moved into second place in the standings, passing Jeff Gordon, who was spun out by Dave Blaney on the 124th lap. Four-time series champion Gordon wound up 36th and fell to third in the points.

Points leader Matt Kenseth, among those who made late gas stops, finished 13th. He leads Earnhardt by 232 points and Gordon by 308 after 20 of 36 races.

Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, three-time Pocono winner Bobby Labonte, blew his Chevy engine before crashing on lap 181.

I saw most of the race, there were a couple of crashes I remember. I thought Bodine was going to catch Newman on the last 2 laps but there were alot of cautions at the end.

1 Ryan Newman #12 Dodge
2 Kurt Busch #97 Ford
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 Chevrolet
4 Michael Waltrip #15 Chevrolet
5 Terry Labonte #5 Chevrolet
6 Jeff Burton #99 Ford
7 Joe Nemechek #25 Chevrolet
8 Todd Bodine #54 Ford
9 Dave Blaney #77 Ford
10 Sterling Marlin #40 Dodge

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