Dropping The Hammer: A Preview Of The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Ah, so we're back in the luscious green scenery of the Poconos of Pennsylvania, where the summer heat and humidity are a common place to the drivers and fans as the strung out, single file racing at this 2.5-mile mammoth of a speedway for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 (Live, Sunday, 2 PM EDT on ESPN).

When the NASCAR Sprint Cup series last raced at Pocono Raceway, the battle to the checkers became a fuel mileage game that saw Jimmie Johnson sputter to the finish and Tony Stewart "gas" his way to the first victory of his Stewart-Haas Racing operation.

Chevrolet dominated the day with five of their entries finishing in the top 10. It was this race where the shootout restarts were introduced as an injection of freshness.

Simply put, this new restart rule has put new life into a lackluster season on the speedways with the safer, but competition killing Car of Tomorrow.

The 500-miler in June was only salvaged by the double-file field reboots and dramatic gas economy story lines that otherwise saw Hendrick and Stewart-Haas cars having a field day with the competition.

That's not to say that the "underdogs" like Brian Vickers, David Reutimann, Jeff Burton, Sam Hornish Jr., or Marcos Ambrose are out of the picture. In fact, they might be some of the dark horses to watch throughout Sunday's race.

Then there's the Juan Pablo Montoya story from last Sunday's late-race controversy, where the Colombian's speeding penalty ultimately killed the No. 42 team's shot at a victory at Indianapolis.

Pocono, which is similar in its layout to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, might be the first and best shot at what JPM may perceive for "vindication."

Points, revenge, sneakers, heat, engines—the story lines are plentiful! Perhaps that might help fans stay awake for what will be a parade of a race.

Keys To Victory

As I mentioned back in June, the keys to winning at this facility are a balance between horsepower and handling. Both play a factor with the fuel mileage game.

Some teams may apt to sacrifice running near the red line, fielding a car where the driver is assured of superior fuel mileage in the case of a long, green-flag segment.

Expect that to be the case for the drivers who are a virtual lock for the Chase, stroking for points rather than wins.

Others, which include those who may be out of playoff contention or desperately need a win to boost their chances for a top-12 berth, will go for maximum horsepower and handling.

In turn, this might make the "tortoises" of the field appear as if they were standing still for 200 laps.

For the literary folks, Sunday's race at Pocono could be likened to a NASCAR version of "The Tortoise and the Hare."

We all know how that one turned out in that Aesop fable. However, this is the Sprint Cup series, and anything can and will happen before that checkered flag unfurls atop the lucky winner and the 42 losers on Sunday.

Who To Watch At Pocono

Season sweeps at the triangularly-shaped super speedway are something of a rare beauty at Pocono.

Since the track was added on to the championship schedule in 1974, the season sweep has only occurred in four of the past 63 races at this track.

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