Pocono Report Card

A+
Tony Stewart – Another perfect grade for Mr. Stewart. Do you suppose he ever got those in school?
Carl Edwards – He had a great run going and led the most laps, but the Office Depot team beat the Aflac guys on pit road. You know that Carl only has one thing on his mind though – championship!

A
David Reutimann – After a tough race in Dover, the Coke 600 winner was back in Chase contending form.
Ryan Newman – Is this guy on a roll or what?
Others – Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, Jimmie Johnson

A-
Sam Hornish, Jr. – The former open-wheeler is showing that he has what it takes on ovals, and even on rovals.
Kasey Kahne – Should have finished 10th, but a spin on the last straightaway relegated him to 15th.
Others – Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer

B+
Casey Mears – Another strong top 15 run
Michael Waltrip – Made a nice recovery after his unique pit road entrance earlier in the race.
Others – Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex, Jr.

B
Brian Vickers – Not sure what has happened with the lead Red Bull driver lately, but he needs to pick it back up to stay in the Chase hunt.
AJ Allmendinger – His finish didn’t show it, but he had a bad fast car all day long.
Others – Mark Martin, Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch

B-
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – Is Lance McGrew feeling pressure now? Oh yeah, you can guarantee it.
Kevin Harvick – I wonder how long until Kevin starts asking for Todd back as crew chief.
Others – Joey Logano, Elliott Sadler, David Ragan

C+
Robby Gordon – Personally, I’m just amazed he was able to race 500 miles at Pocono after winning the Baja 500 on Saturday. Wonder how many energy drinks he downed in that two day period.
Scott Speed – As a rookie, he is still struggling to figure these cars out.
Others – Bobby Labonte, Paul Menard, Regan Smith

C
Dexter Bean – Despite coming into pit road too fast and getting a penalty for taking out the commitment cone, I was impressed with his first ever Sprint Cup start.
Kurt Busch – He had a strong car until mechanical problems ruined his day
Others – David Stremme, John Andretti, Denny Hamlin

C-
Patrick Carpentier – I was glad to see the Canadian open wheeler back in a car, but sad to see him park it a short time into the race.
Other start and parks – Sterling Marlin, Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek, David Gilliland