Edwards Wins at Pocono
Rookie Carl Edwards won his second Nextel Cup race of the year after running strongly all day at Pocono
Edwards took the lead from Brian Vickers on lap 172, and went on to take the win despite a green-white chequer finish, holding off Vickers before a crash for Bobby Labonte saw the race end under caution.
Vickers was also strong all day, leading over a hundred laps on his way to second place, his best ever Nextel Cup finish. Third was Joe Nemechek, while fourth was Vickers' young rookie teammate Kyle Busch, scoring his fourth top five finish of 2005.
Mark Martin finished fifth and was lucky that the caution came out when it did as he had a tyre going flat. Pole sitter and early leader Michael Waltrip finished sixth, one place ahead of points leader Jimmie Johnson who failed to make it three wins in a row at Pocono.
Flat tyres were a theme throughout the day, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr each suffering multiple flat tyres. The caution leading to the green-white chequer was brought when Ryan Newman hit the turn one wall after suffering a flat left front tyre.
Greg Biffle's challenge disappeared when brake problems intervened, allowing Johnson to increase his points lead to 119 over Biffle, with Elliott Sadler next best 277 points behind Johnson.
Result of Pocono 500, Pocono Raceway
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Carl Edwards Ford 201 2. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 201 3. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 201 4. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 201 5. Mark Martin Ford 201 6. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 201 7. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 201 8. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 201 9. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 201 10. Rusty Wallace Dodge 201 11. Jamie McMurray Dodge 201 12. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 201 13. Dale Jarrett Ford 201 14. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 201 15. Jeff Green Dodge 201 16. Sterling Marlin Dodge 201 17. Travis Kvapil Dodge 201 18. Casey Mears Dodge 201 19. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 201 20. Ken Schrader Dodge 201 21. Elliott Sadler Ford 201 22. Kurt Busch Ford 200 23. Bobby Hamilton Jr Chevrolet 200 24. Dave Blaney Chevrolet 200 25. Mike Garvey Ford 200 26. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 199 27. Kasey Kahne Dodge 199 28. Ricky Rudd Ford 199 29. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 199 30. Greg Biffle Ford 198 31. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 198 32. Matt Kenseth Ford 197 33. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 195 34. Ryan Newman Dodge 194 35. Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 194 36. Scott Wimmer Dodge 170 37. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 165 38. Kevin Lepage Dodge 141 39. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 124 40. Jason Leffler Chevrolet 43 41. Kyle Petty Dodge 43 42. Morgan Shepherd Dodge 13 43. Greg Sacks Dodge 12
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