This week, NASCAR ventured north of the Mason Dixon for the Pocono 500. This is the first of two Nextel Cup races that will be held in Long Pond, PA. The Pocono Raceway is one of the more unique tracks on the circuit. It's a 2.5 mile tri-oval. But, unlike Daytona or Talladega, the turns are sharp and the banking is limited. From above, it really looks a lot like a flat triangle. One would think that the unique nature of this track would give the advantage to the wiley veterans, right? Wrong. Carl Edwards had never even seen this track in person before Friday morning. Edwards said that his only experience with the track had come from video games. Yet, it was Edwards who celebrated with his patented back-flip off the window of his car when the day ended.
This win propelled Edwards from 9th to 4th place in the standings. Jimmie Johnson retained his top points position with a 7th place finish on Sunday. Greg Biffle and Elliott Sadler remain in 2nd and 3rd, respectively, despite the fact that neither had a top 10 finish in this race. Mark Martin rounds out the top 5 thanks to his 5th place finish.
Next week, NASCAR heads to the Michigan International Speedway for the Batman Begins 400.
