Kurt Busch Wins Pocono Race
Kurt Busch was in the zone at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, leading the race seven for 175 of the 200 laps. It was total domination and the rest field was running for second place. It was a long time coming for Busch, his last victory came at Bristol Motor Speedway in March of 2006, 51 races ago. It was the 16th career win in 241 races for Busch and the Dodge victory was only the second one for the auto maker this year. Juan Pablo Montoya also won in a Dodge at Infineon.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who sat on the pole for the Pennsylvania 500, finished second after an up and down day. Earnhardt complained about a third of the way through the race that his team had put the wrong setup in the car and it was undrivable. On lap 123 Earnhardt spun coming off Turn 3, bringing out the caution. That was the break that he needed. The team changed the left side shock and when the race resumed, Earnhardt, with a new-found setup, drove to the front. On lap 145, Earnhardt took the lead and held it for eight laps, but couldn't hold off the hard charging car of Kurt Busch.

Pre-race favorite Denny Hamlin didn't have the performance that he had when he dominated both races in 2006 -- but still managed to finish in the third spot. Points leader Jeff Gordon brought his Chevrolet home in fourth followed by teammate Jimmie Johnson, the winner of the past two races Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin and Casey Mears to round out the top ten. With Gordon finishing fourth, he still leads Hamlin by 366 points and Matt Kenseth by 411 points in the Nextel Cup standings. The Nextel Cup Series will move to Watkins Glen International next Sunday, August 12th, for the Centurion Boats at The Glen.
To read the full article...     (Insider Racing News)
For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)

Robby Gordon Parked
NASCAR benched owner/driver Robby Gordon Sunday morning at Pocono Raceway, prohibiting him from competing in the Nextel Cup Series' Pennsylvania 500.

NASCAR took the action after Gordon flaunted several NASCAR rules and directives from officials in Saturday afternoon's Busch Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Gordon's No. 7 Ford, which he qualified in 30th position, will be driven in the race by P.J. Jones. Jones is a close friend of Gordon's and a multi-talented racer who practiced Gordon's car on Saturday while the owner was in Montreal.

Jones will drop to the rear of the 43-car field at the start due to the driver change.

Gordon came into the weekend 27th in both the Nextel Cup driver and owner standings. The Montreal event was his fifth Busch Series start of the year in his Robby Gordon Motorsports cars.

"I want to start by expressing my regrets to the sponsors, fans, and all competitors for any part I played in the miscommunication, confusion and uncertainty surrounding the finish in this weekend's Busch race in Montreal," Gordon said in a statement posted on his Web site.

"It was not my purpose to disrespect the authority of NASCAR or the officials. I do respect their authority to run the race and make the calls, and I understand the significance of the black flag. I strongly disagree with the calls that affected me at the end of the race. Being spun under the yellow and not being allowed to resume my position prior to the spin put me in a position to react as I did. Nonetheless, I accept NASCAR's decision and I intend to move forward under the rules."

NASCAR last sat a Cup driver in April 2002 at Martinsville Speedway when Kevin Harvick was held out of the Cup race after he was involved in a flagrant rough driving incident in that Saturday's Craftsman Truck Series race, followed by a confrontation with NASCAR officials.

Jones last made a Nextel Cup start at Infineon Raceway in June, where he started 43rd in Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 Toyota and finished 12th, the car's best finish this season.

Jones has 23 career starts, with one top-five finish.

After the event Gordon protested the calls vigorously and proclaimed he had won the race. He met with NASCAR president Mike Helton for more than an hour after the race.

A NASCAR spokesperson said further sanctions against Gordon would be considered at the sanctioning body's early-week competition meeting.(nascar.com)

Statement From NASCAR Concerning Robby Gordon
As a result of his actions on the race track at Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Montreal, NASCAR has parked driver Robby Gordon for today’s Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Referencing Section 12-2 of the 2007 NASCAR rule book … “if the act or omission of a member is determined by a NASCAR official to constitute a threat to the orderly conduct of the event, NASCAR may take emergency action against that member …” That action includes parking a driver for an event. Parking is final, non-appealable and non-reviewable.

Towards the end of Saturday’s race at Montreal, Robby Gordon demonstrated blatant disrespect and disregard for NASCAR directives – on multiple occasions. His actions were certainly disruptive to the orderly conduct of the event. NASCAR will continue to review this situation and address any further actions at the beginning of this week.

P.J. Jones will be driving the #7 car today – he practiced in it here on Saturday. Since he did not qualify the car, he will start the race at the end of the line.