NASCAR Cup Series

After last weekend’s triple-header at Dover International Speedway, the three national series go their separate ways this weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headlining at Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Nationwide Series heading to the Midwest for a Saturday night showdown at Iowa Speedway, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicking off the weekend in the Lone Star State with their race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway.

No one in chase history has made up the kind of deficit Hamlin faces and made the playoffs at this point of the schedule so Denny's chances seem slim to none. On the other hand, no driver the caliber of Denny Hamlin has ever found themselves in this kind of position 13 races into the season. Hamlin is very fast and will win this year but will it be enough to grab a wildcard spot?

When Ryan Newman first came on to the NASCAR scene in 2002, we all saw Newman as a shining light in the sport. Newman was a kid who had the potential to be a champion in the sport.

In 16 starts at the 2.5-mile track, Edwards has two wins, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has an average start of 19.0 and an average finish of 13.2.

Heading into the Pocono 500 in 2011, No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. got word that his lead engineer, Chad Johnston was becoming his crew chief.

Busch, who joined Furniture Row Racing near the end of the 2012 season, has helped lift the Denver-based single car team to a new level in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His driver rating at recent races is not only one of the best, but more importantly the former NASCAR champion has put himself in contention for a victory multiple times, including the past two Cup races in Charlotte, N.C. and Dover, Del.

Biffle has 20 Sprint Cup career starts at Pocono. In 2010 he earned his only victory at the “tricky triangle,” while his other stats include two top-five and four top-10 finishes.

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was black-flagged for jumping the final restart at Dover, a mistake that most likely cost him his third win this season. After serving a drive-through penalty, Johnson finished 17th, one lap down.

“This is a weekend that to me helps define what our program is about and what our organization’s about.”

Pit crews go through all sorts of training and recently Speedway Media was invited to see how the Stewart- Haas NASCAR over the wall teams train for their pit stops. They use what’s called a VertiMax system (www.vertimax.com) which they describe as “an innovative training system that allows pit crew members to simultaneously strengthen arm swing velocity and leg drive for maximum explosive speed, which is crucial when every millisecond counts.”