Home Depot Racing Team Report: Pocono July 2006

by TonyStewart.com


Updated: December 21, 2007, 1:37 AM EST

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Round 20 of 36
Pennsylvania 500
Pocono

Car No.: 20 — Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Teammates: Denny Hamlin in the #11 FedEx Chevrolet and J.J. Yeley in the #18 Husqvarna Chevrolet

Primary Team Members
Driver: Tony Stewart Crew Chief: Greg Zipadelli
Car Chief: Jason Shapiro Engine Builder: Mark Cronquist
Engine Specialist: Jarrad Egert (pronounced "Egg-ert") Spotter: Mark Robertson

Over-The-Wall Crew Members
Gas Man: Jeff "Gooch" Patterson Front Tire Changer: Ira-Jo Hussey
Catch Can: Brian "Shaggy" Larson Front Tire Carrier: Tom Dean
Windshield: Scott Geerts (pronounced "Gurtz") Rear Tire Changer: Todd Foster
Jackman: Jason Lee Rear Tire Carrier: Jody Fortson

Other Crew Members
Truck Drivers: Scott "Scooter" Crowell Brent Swim
Tire Specialists: Jerold Shires and Bill Byrne
Shock Specialists: Ronny Crooks and Dave Hansen Engineer: Adam Stevens
Pit Support: Jerry Cook, Alan Copley, Byron Goggin and Jim Williams

Team History at Pocono Raceway
Year Event Start Finish Status/Laps Led Earnings
2006 Pocono 500 18 3 Running/200 6 $182,311
2005 xPocono 500 26 29 Running/201 0 $108,961
2005 xPennsylvania 500 6 7 Running/203 0 $124,336
2004 Pocono 500 8 27 Running/194 1 $100,393
2004 Pennsylvania 500 8 35 Accident/107 0 $99,043
2003 Pocono 500 4 1 Running/200 37 $214,253
2003 Pennsylvania 500 33 37 Engine/153 15 $105,203
2002 %Pocono 500 7 7 Running/200 0 $96,043
2002 *Pennsylvania 500 10 7 Running/175 0 $96,043
2001 Pocono 500 4 7 Running/200 0 $64,340
2001 Pennsylvania 500 13 3 Running/200 0 $91,880
2000 Pocono 500 9 6 Running/200 38 $73,490
2000 Pennsylvania 500 1 26 Running/199 0 $56,490
1999 Pocono 500 12 6 Running/200 1 $53,255
1999 Pennsylvania 500 12 4 Running/200 0 $70,970

* Race cut short due to weather.
% Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.
x Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.

Car History - Chassis No. 136
This car tested twice - Charlotte May 1-2 and Indianapolis May 30 - before making its racing debut at the spring Pocono race. It enjoyed a strong showing at the 2.5-mile triangle, leading once for six laps before finishing a strong third. Its second start at Chicagoland produced results that weren't indicative of its performance. It qualified 34th, whereupon Stewart admitted the car was better than the lap he drove. The race proved Stewart correct, as Chassis No. 136 came from 34th to take the lead on lap 131. It stayed within the top-five for much of the race, and with less than four laps to go, was running third and poised to take over second-place from Jeff Burton. But just before a green-white-checkered finish, the gas tank ran dry. Chassis No. 136 went from being third to finishing 32nd, one lap down to race winner Jeff Gordon.

Year Event Start Finish Status/Laps Led Earnings
2006 Pocono (Spring) 18 3 Running/200 6 $182,311
2006 Chicagoland 34 32 Running/269 1 $132,386

Notes of Interest

  • The Pennsylvania 500 will mark Stewart's 268th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start and his 16th career Nextel Cup start at Pocono.
  • Stewart is currently 11th in the Nextel Cup point standings with 2,331 points, 11 points behind 10th place Greg Biffle and 458 markers behind series leader Jimmie Johnson. Stewart dropped four point positions after his 37th place finish last Sunday at New Hampshire. At this point last year Stewart was third in the standings with 2,587 points, 85 markers behind series leader Johnson. Stewart has scored 256 fewer points this year than he did last year heading into the 20th race of the season. Last year, Stewart won the championship.
  • Stewart is second in miles led this season, pacing the field for 992.95 miles. Greg Biffle is first with 1,237.51 miles led. Matt Kenseth is third with 868.20 miles led. Jeff Gordon is fourth with 577.51 miles led. And Kasey Kahne is fifth with 560.91 miles led. No other drivers have led more than 350 miles this season.
  • Stewart has led at least one lap in 14 of the 19 races held this season. Stewart's total of 923 laps led is the most of all drivers. Greg Biffle trails Stewart with a total of 872 laps led. Matt Kenseth is third in laps led with 640. No other drivers have led more than 369 laps. As a result, Stewart has earned a total of 90 lap leader bonus points, the second-most of any Nextel Cup driver and 55 more than championship point leader Jimmie Johnson.
  • Stewart has the ninth best average running position (13.767) in the 19 races held this season. Jeff Gordon leads this category with an average running position of 10.764, just 3.003 positions better than Stewart.
  • Stewart has recorded the fastest lap on the race track a total of 383 times in the 19 races held this season, second only to Greg Biffle who has recorded the fastest lap 446 times.
  • Stewart has the fourth-best driver rating 19 races into the season. His 98.7 rating is 1.1 points higher than fifth-place Jeff Gordon (97.6) and 2.7 points lower than third-place Jimmie Johnson (101.4). Greg Biffle leads this category with a 104.6 driver rating. Matt Kenseth is second with 103.4 driver rating. The driver rating is a formula consisting of wins, finishes, top-15s, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, laps led and lead lap finishes.
  • Stewart is the second-fastest driver early in a run in the 19 races held this season. His season rank of 6.7 is 1.2 points below series leader Greg Biffle (5.5), the best among Nextel Cup drivers during the first 25 percent of laps in a pit window under green flag conditions. Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin is third with an 8.5 rating, while Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are tied for fourth with an 8.9 rating. Matt Kenseth is fifth with a 9.0 rating.
  • Stewart has four top-fives and 10 top-10s in 15 career starts at Pocono. Four of those top-10s have been seventh-place results (July 2005, June 2002, July 2002 and June 2001). His best finish is first at the 2003 spring race.
  • Stewart scored his third career pole at Pocono in July of 2000. He now has 10 poles to his resume, with the last one coming 23 races ago at Martinsville.
  • Stewart's first visit to Pocono came in 1986, where he raced a go-kart as a member of the World Karting Association.
  • "You Must Be a Local" - transporter driver Scott "Scooter" Crowell is from Towanda, Pa.
  • Home Depot store #6956, located in Honesdale, Pa., will be represented on the lower rear quarterpanel of the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet during the Pennsylvania 500. Store #6956 was judged to be the outstanding store of the past week, thereby earning its place on the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine.
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