Tony Stewart won The Pocono 500 last June, but it wasn’t easy. First he had the Pole Position due to “Mother Nature” and points. Then, an unfortunate wreck in practice, would send him to the rear of the field to start the race. He then would fight his was to the front of the field. He finally, gambled on fuel to stay out and finish ahead of Carl Edwards to win the race.

The win would also mark Stewart’s 34th career win in the Cup series. He ended up beating Carl Edwards by 2.004 seconds. Following them through the checkered was David Reutimann, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Montoya, Jeff Burton and Sam Hornish Jr., to round out the top 10 finishers.

Now let’s break down the numbers and see who you should watch, statistically speaking for Pocono.

June, 2009 Stats

Cautions – 5 for 20 laps @ 10%

Race Time – 3:36:35

Average Speed – 138.515

Leaders – 12

Lead Changes – 22

Margin Of Victory – 2.004 sec

Track Specs

2.5 mile tri-oval

200 laps – 500 miles

14 degree banking – turn 1

8 degree banking – turn 2

6 degree banking – turn 3

Straights

3,740 feet – Front

3,055 feet – Long Pond

1,780 feet – North

63 – Races

12,414 – Laps

2,573 – Cars

673 – Leaders

708 – DNF’s @ 2.45%

55 mph – Pit Road Speed

65 mph – Pace Car Speed

Estimated Pit Window

32-34 laps

Winner Numbers

21.875% – Won from pole

71.875% – Won from top 10

28.125% – Won from outside top 10

Recent Winners

2009 – Denny Hamlin

2009 – Tony Stewart

2008 – Carl Edwards

2008 – Kasey Kahne

2007 – Kurt Busch

2007 – Jeff Gordon

2006 – Denny Hamlin

2006 – Denny Hamlin

Top Avg Fin – Last 4 @ Pocono

7.0 – Kasey Kahne

7.3 – Jimmie Johnson

7.5 – Carl Edwards

9.0 – Jeff Gordon

11.0 – Mark Martin

11.3 – Matt Kenseth

12.0 – Tony Stewart

12.8 – Ryan Newman

13.3 – Kevin Harvick

13.5 – Greg Biffle

Top % Of Laps In Top 15 (Last 4 @ Pocono)

92.1 – Carl Edwards

88.8 – Mark Martin

85.1 – Matt Kenseth

83.9 – Kasey Kahne

82.6 – Greg Biffle

81.1 – Jimmie Johnson

73.9 – Brian Vickers

71.3 – Jeff Gordon

71.0 – Tony Stewart

67.4 – Denny Hamlin

Most Laps Led (Last 4 @ Pocono)

40 – Carl Edwards

37 – Jimmie Johnson

36 – Kasey Kahne

27 – Denny Hamlin

17 – Mark Martin

13 – Tony Stewart

6 – Clint Bowyer

5 – Kurt Busch

5 – Brian Vickers

Avg Running Position (Last 4 @ Pocono)

6.5 – Carl Edwards

8.0 – Matt Kenseth

8.3 – Kasey Kahne

8.8 – Mark Martin

9.0 – Jimmie Johnson

10.5 – Greg Biffle

11.3 – Jeff Gordon

12.5 – Brian Vickers

13.3 – Tony Stewart

13.8 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Top Driver Ratings @ Pocono (Last 10 Races)

115.9 – Denny Hamlin

105.9 – Kurt Busch

103.1 – Jimmie Johnson

101.7 – Tony Stewart

100.3 – Carl Edwards

98.8 – Mark Martin

97.3 – Jeff Gordon

96.3 – Ryan Newman

93.9 – Brian Vickers

92.0 – Kasey Kahne

Fastest Early In A Run @ Pocono (Last 10)

161.080 – Denny Hamlin

160.811 – Kurt Busch

160.777 – Jimmie Johnson

160.566 – Mark Martin

160.452 – Jeff Gordon

160.417 – Tony Stewart

160.269 – Kasey Kahne

160.238 – Carl Edwards

160.207 – Jeff Burton

160.177 – Matt Kenseth

Fastest Late In A Run @ Pocono (Last 10)

158.315 – Denny Hamlin

157.875 – Mark Martin

157.816 – Kurt Busch

157.594 – Jimmie Johnson

157.582 – Matt Kenseth

157.580 – Tony Stewart

157.485 – Ryan Newman

157.466 – Jeff Gordon

157.460 – Carl Edwards

157.435 – Kasey Kahne

Laps In Top 15 @ Pocono (Last 10)

1541 – Mark Martin – 80.7%

1447 – Tony Stewart – 75.8%

1443 – Ryan Newman – 75.5%

1437 – Jimmie Johnson – 75.2%

1435 – Kurt Busch – 75.1%

1401 – Brian Vickers – 73.4%

1366 – Jeff Gordon – 71.5%

1330 – Matt Kenseth – 69.6%

1202 – Denny Hamlin – 79.8%

1197 – Carl Edwards – 62.7%

Laps Led @ Pocono (Last 10)

391 – Denny Hamlin

364 – Kurt Busch

209 – Carl Edwards

158 – Brian Vickers

146 – Jimmie Johnson

146 – Kasey Kahne

93 – Mark Martin

62 – Tony Stewart

61 – Greg Biffle

38 – Jeff Gordon

Top Teams @ Pocono (Avg Finish)

7.50 – Stewart-Haas

11.75 – Earnhardt Ganassi

13.13 – Hendrick

13.40 – Roush Fenway

14.86 – Richard Childress

17.88 – Team Red Bull

Top Similar (Shallow Tracks) Avg Fin

Pocono & Brickyard

5.5 – Jimmie Johnson

6.5 – Jeff Gordon

8.5 – Kasey Kahne

9.3 – Carl Edwards

9.3 – Tony Stewart

9.5 – Greg Biffle

9.8 – Mark Martin

11.5 – Ryan Newman

13.0 – Clint Bowyer

15.0 – Juan Montoya

Top % In Top 15 At Similar Tracks

Pocono & Brickyard

90.3 – Greg Biffle

86.7 – Jeff Gordon

86.6 – Jimmie Johnson

84.0 – Mark Martin

77.2 – Carl Edwards

75.9 – Kasey Kahne

75.6 – Bill Elliott (1 race)

75.3 – Tony Stewart

66.8 – Brian Vickers

66.4 – Ryan Newman

Top Avg Running Positions (Last 4 Races)

Pocono & Brickyard

7.3 – Jimmie Johnson

8.5 – Greg Biffle

8.5 – Mark Martin

8.8 – Jeff Gordon

9.8 – Carl Edwards

11.3 – Kasey Kahne

11.8 – Tony Stewart

13.3 – Ryan Newman

15.0 – Bill Elliott (1 race)

15.3 – Brian Vickers

Spoiled – Wingless Avg Fin Leaders

Last 8 (2010 Season Races)

6.75 – Kyle Busch

8.75 – Denny Hamlin

10.13 – Jeff Gordon

10.38 – Kevin Harvick

11.25 – Ryan Newman

12.00 – Mark Martin

12.88 – Carl Edwards

13.00 – Martin Truex Jr.

13.88 – Kurt Busch

13.88 – Matt Kenseth

Who’s Hot – Last 3 Race Avg Fin (2010)

3.7 – Kyle Busch

7.0 – David Reutimann

7.0 – Jeff Gordon

7.7 – Kurt Busch

7.7 – Denny Hamlin

8.0 – Kevin Harvick

8.7 – Matt Kenseth

10.0 – Brian Vickers

10.3 – Ryan Newman

11.7 – Jeff Burton

11.7 – Mark Martin

Drivers to watch –

Denny Hamlin – 9.5 Average finish and 3 wins makes him  a strong pick here. He has also placed 6th, 3rd, 3rd, 23rd and 38th.

Jeff Gordon – 9.8 Average finish. In the last 20 races, he has 13 top 15 finishes. Last 7 races here – 3rd, 1st, 4th, 14th, 10th, 4th and 8th.

Jimmie Johnson – 9.8 Average finish with 2 wins in 2004. In his 16 race career, he has only finished worse than 15th just once. He placed 42nd in 2007. In the last 5 races at Pocono, he has a 6.8 average finish.

Tony Stewart – Average finish 13.1. He has 13 top 15 finishes in the last 20 here. His last 9 races here were – 7th, 3rd, 7th, 5th, 6th, 35th, 2nd, 1st and 10th.

Not So Hot

Joey Logano – Average finish 25.0 placing 23rd and 27th.

A.J. Allmendinger – Average Finish 23.4. Last 4 races – 12th, 19th, 30th and 17th.

David Ragan – Average finish 22.7. His last 5 races – 33rd, 24th, 5th, 26th and 22nd.

Kyle Busch – Average finish 21.4. His last 5 races here – 12th, 43rd, 36th, 2nd and 16th.

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