NASCAR Pocono 500 Predictions

NASCAR Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

The 21st Sprint Cup race of the 2010 NASCAR season takes us back to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA. for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. The race is set to get underway on Sunday, August 1^st at 1:00 P.M. (ET).

Last week Jamie McMurray followed up his earlier win in the Daytona 500 with a win in the prestigious Brickyard 400. Kevin Harvick remains in the top spot in the Sprint Cup standings with 2920 points. Denny Hamlin is the odds-on-favorite to win at Pocono, but there are a few other drivers that might have something to say about that. The following is a preview of the top seven drivers in the Sprint Cup point standings along with their current odds to win this week.

Kevin Harvick 10/1
With a second place finish in the Brickyard 400 last week, Harvick maintains the top spot in the standings with 2920 points. In the first race at Pocono this season he finished fourth. Last year in this race he finished 12^th after starting 23^rd. Harvick’s best finish in this race was in 2008, when he ended up fourth after starting 21^st. He has six top 10 finishes at this track and four in this race.

Jeff Gordon 10/1
Gordon currently has 2736 points and is 184 points out of the lead. Last year in this race he started third and ended up eighth. He has won four times at this track, but his only victory in this race was back in 1998 after starting second. For his career, Gordon has 24 top 10 finishes at Pocono and 12 in this race.

Denny Hamlin 7/2
With a 15^th place finish last week, Hamlin moves up one spot in the standings with 2660 points, 260 out of first. He won the first race at Pocono this season and won this race in 2009 after starting ninth. In 2006 he won both races at this track as he looks to accomplish that feat again in 2010. Hamlin has seven top 10 finishes in nine career starts at Pocono, including four in this race.

Jimmie Johnson 11/2
After finishing 22^nd last week, Johnson now has 2659 points, 261 points back. In the first race at this track this season he finished fifth.

Last year in this race he started second but ended up 13^th. Johnson won this race in 2004 after starting 14^th. He has finished in the top 10 in five of his last six races here and has a total of 10 top 10’s in his career including four in this race.

Kurt Busch 20/1
With a 10^th place finish last week, Busch is 262 points out of the lead with a total of 2658 points. He finished sixth here earlier in the year and in last year’s race he started fourth and finished ninth. Busch is a two-time winner in this race with victories in 2005 and 2007 after starting from the second position each time. He has 10 top 10 finishes at this track including six in this race.

Kyle Busch 11/2
Busch’s eighth place finish in Indianapolis gives him 2630 total points, 290 behind Harvick. He had a second place finish in the first race at Pocono this year and in last year’s race he started 14^th and finished 16^th. Busch’s best result in this race is a pair 12^th place finishes in 2006 and 2007. In 11 career starts at this track he has only cracked the top 10 three times.

Jeff Burton 20/1
Burton holds onto the seventh place in the standings with 2615 points, 305 points out of first. Earlier in the year at this track he finished seventh. Last year in this race he started 17^th and finished 21^st. Burton’s best career finish in this race was in 2000 when he ended up second after starting eighth. He has 16 top 10 finishes at Pocono and eight in this race.