Tony Stewart starts on Pocono Sprint Cup Race Pole

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

One week following an interesting Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series takes on another 2.5 mile track in the form of the triangular-shaped Pocono Raceway.

Through Friday afternoon qualifying for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 saw driver/owner Tony Stewart sailing his Chevrolet on to the pole for Sunday's event. Taking top spot at 171.393 miles per hour for the his 2nd pole of 2010, driver Stewart remains winless after 20 races. The Pocono qualifying session proved strong for the Stewart/Haas team as Ryan Newman placed the organization's #39 Chevrolet into 5th on the starting grid.

Starting second, Juan Pablo Montoya rolls into this weekend with some popular scars from the past race at Indy. With a car to beat at the historic track, a mistake in pit strategy and a late race crash which collected Dale Earnhardt Jr saw the #42 Target Chevy of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing end in the garage. The intense Montoya secluded himself immediately following his car's retirement from the Brickyard 400 but he returns to Pocono hungry for his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup win on an oval.

With less of a trouble finding victory lane, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin has five wins in the #20 FedEx Toyota including the NASCAR Sprint Cup's June event at Pocono. Hamlin will be starting the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 in 3rd spot ahead of Jeff Gordon, Newman and Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR Sprint Cup's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 is planned to receive its command to start engines at 1 P.M. Eastern time. However, weather forecasts are threatening the Long Pond, Pennsylvania track race Sunday. A 60% chance of thunderstorms exist in the area according to the Weather Channel.

Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Pocono Raceway

1) 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
2) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
3) 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
4) 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
5) 39 Ryan Newman U.S.Army Chevrolet
6) 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
7) 43 A J Allmendinger Insignia HDTV Ford
8) 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
9) 1 Jamie McMurray AXE Twist Chevrolet
10) 5 Mark Martin Hendrickcars.com / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet


Other Notables

13) 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite / Vortex Dodge
14) 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
17) 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
20) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet
21) 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
40) 33 Clint Bowyer The Hartford Chevrolet