NASCAR Racing News provided by Wallbanger Fantasy Racing

LONG POND, Pa. – Bobby Labonte looked at the newspaper last week and it struck him – it’s July and he knows which car he’ll be driving come February.

That’s a pretty good sign after two years where he hasn’t known until at least November what the upcoming had in store.

Labonte signed with JTG Daugherty Racing earlier this week to replace Marcos Ambrose in the No. 47 Sprint Cup car next year.

LONG POND, Pa. – Pocono Raceway is looking at more safety changes to its track in light of Kasey Kahne nearly flying over the wall between turns 1 and 2 when the Sprint Cup circuit visited the track in June. In that race, Kahne was forced down onto the infield grass, came back up the track and was hit by three cars at once and got airborne at the top of the wall.

LONG POND, Pa. – Elliott Sadler isn’t ready to be written off. On Saturday at Pocono Raceway, he showed why. Pulling away on the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish, Sadler won the Pocono Mountains 125 Camping World Truck Series race from the pole, his first victory since 2004 in any of NASCAR’s three national stock-car series.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jeff Burton turned the fastest lap during the final Sprint Cup Series practice session in preparation for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. The Richard Childress Racing driver turned a lap of 166.936 mph in the 1-hour session ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano, who was second fastest with a lap of 166.852.

LONG POND, Pa. – A 50-lap race? That’s what the Camping World Truck Series drivers were scheduled for when they made their Pocono Raceway debut Saturday. The track invited the series to the 2.5 triangular oval for the first time and used it to test out a unique Saturday show – a 50-lap truck race and a 50-lap ARCA race.

Saturday

At Pocono Raceway; Long Pond, Pa.

*: Rookie

LONG POND, Pa. – It’s easy for Chase Mattioli to talk about his Camping World Truck Series debut Saturday at Pocono Raceway.

Not only is it his truck debut, but he’s doing it at his “home” track and he even has got sponsorship from Pepsi to help make it happen.

Several Sprint Cup drivers were practicing their cars at Pocono Raceway and won’t get a chance to practice their Nationwide cars for the race tonight at Iowa Speedway.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jeff Burton turned the fastest lap during the final Sprint Cup Series practice session in preparation for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. The Richard Childress Racing driver turned a lap of 166.936 mph in the 1-hour session ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano, who was second fastest with a lap of 166.852.

LONG POND, Pa. – On a race weekend dominated by talk of fines and secrecy, SceneDaily.com’s panel of experts are in the mood for full disclosure.

Here are the selections for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway and a look at the season tallies. Most folks with so few wins would try to conceal that from you, but we’re all about transparency.

Roush Fenway Racing has been through this before.

Learning that their boss and team owner has been seriously injured in a plane crash is not something NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and teams are accustomed to, despite the fact that most of them spend a considerable amount of time in the air, flying from race track to race track.

Yet, Roush Fenway Racing has been through it twice now in eight years.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jeff Gordon turned the fastest lap of the 50-minute practice session Saturday morning at Pocono Raceway.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jimmie Johnson led Friday’s lone Sprint Cup Series practice session at Pocono Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

LONG POND, Pa. – Speedway Motorsports Inc. is planning for an Aug. 10 news conference at Kentucky Speedway, which likely will address the future of racing at the track and whether it will get a Sprint Cup race there in 2011.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jeff Gordon didn’t need to say anything to Rick Hendrick about re-signing Steve Letarte as his crew chief.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jimmie Johnson led Friday’s lone Sprint Cup Series practice session at Pocono Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

LONG POND, Pa. – Speedway Motorsports Inc. is planning for an Aug. 10 news conference at Kentucky Speedway, which likely will address the future of racing at the track and whether it will get a Sprint Cup race there in 2011.

LONG POND, Pa. – Jeff Gordon didn’t need to say anything to Rick Hendrick about re-signing Steve Letarte as his crew chief.

LONG POND, Pa. – Ryan Newman, one of two drives recently fined by NASCAR for damaging comments made about the sport, said Friday he was “frustrated” with the penalty at first because he didn’t understand why he was fined.

But he said he understands why NASCAR needs to try to protect its brand and supports NASCAR’s decision not to disclose the fines.

LONG POND, Pa. – Ryan Newman, one of two drives recently fined by NASCAR for damaging comments made about the sport, said Friday he was “frustrated” with the penalty at first because he didn’t understand why he was fined.

But he said he understands why NASCAR needs to try to protect its brand and supports NASCAR’s decision not to disclose the fines.

Here’s a look at the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Series standings and five drivers to watch in Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Pocono unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past 11 races at the track.

LONG POND, Pa. – Tony Stewart, seeking his first win of 2010, is used to starting up front at Pocono Raceway – but this time he earned it during time trials. With a lap at 171.393 mph Friday, Stewart claimed the pole for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the 2.5-mile triangular track. He edged Juan Pablo Montoya (171.096 mph) for the top starting spot in the second Sprint Cup race at Pocono of the season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has posted three top-10 finishes since NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series last visited Pocono Raceway in June.

The combination of two of those (an eighth at Loudon and fourth at Daytona) resulted in a move into the top 12 in the point standings for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

LONG POND, Pa. – For Dale Earnhardt Jr., it’s pretty simple as far as what he needs to do to get into the Chase For The Sprint Cup. With six races left before the 12-team Chase field is determined, Earnhardt Jr. is 14th in the standings and 93 points out of 12th.

LONG POND, Pa. – Denny Hamlin says NASCAR had a “pretty good logbook” of negative comments he made about the sport, and that he was fined, he believes, primarily for tweets, including messages that he said weren’t meant to be public.

Hamlin and Ryan Newman admitted that they were fined recently for comments that NASCAR determined were damaging to the sport. NASCAR has refused to disclose which drivers were fined and how much the fines were for.

LONG POND, Pa. – Denny Hamlin says NASCAR had a “pretty good logbook” of negative comments he made about the sport, and that he was fined, he believes, primarily for tweets, including messages that he said weren’t meant to be public.

Hamlin and Ryan Newman admitted that they were fined recently for comments that NASCAR determined were damaging to the sport. NASCAR has refused to disclose which drivers were fined and how much the fines were for.