Elliott endures to capture fifth Pocono victory

LONG POND, Pa. -- Bill Elliott finally converted qualifying prowess into a trip to Victory Lane on Sunday when he passed Sterling Marlin's dominant Dodge with 19 laps remaining and won the shortened Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

PHOTO GALLERY • Pennsylvania 500 • Steve Park-Dale Earnhardt Jr. Accident • Steve Park-Dale Earnhardt Jr. Accident Aftermath

The scheduled 200-lap run on the 2.5-mile tri-oval was cut to 175 laps by impending darkness and a threat of more rain. The race previously was delayed for more than three hours by two red flags.

After a 75-lap green flag run in the middle of the event, two cautions in the last 36 laps ultimately set up Elliott's first victory in 22 races, since last fall's Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Elliott -- who started from the Bud Pole for the series leading fourth time this season -- steadily pulled away after making a stunning outside pass in Turn 1 on the 157th lap and was 1.721 seconds ahead of Kurt Busch at the finish.

	Bill Elliott has 42 Winston Cup victories. Credit: Autostock

It was Elliott's fifth career victory at Pocono but his first since 1989 and his 42nd career win. He led 35 laps in two turns at the front to become the 10th different winner in the past 10 races. The win also gives Dodge back-to-back wins for the first time since it rejoined the series in 2001.

"It don't get no better than this," Elliott said. "When Ray (Evernham) asked me to drive his car, people probably thought he was a little bit crazy --- even I thought he was a little schizo at the time."

In a season when the fans and media have made a big deal about youngsters Busch, leading Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Jimmie Johnson and second-place rookie Ryan Newman, Elliott made a big impression on Busch after the final restart with 24 laps to go.

"I thought the car to beat would have been the 40 car (Marlin) because the 9 was a little loose on the get-go," Busch said. "I thought we could get by him (Elliott) and we'd be racing the 40, but, come to think of it, the 9 car sat there and rode all day long behind the 40 car -- played possum -- and he showed his cards and went."

"We didn't need that last caution to get everybody bunched back up," Marlin said. "The track changes as you go, and it just wasn't to our favor -- we just got beat. I wish we could have won, but that was all we had. I'm just glad we're out of here."

PENNSYLVANIA 500 • Results • Standings

Elliott said he was driving as hard as he could and that the cooling temperatures in the early evening and cooling his tires while circling under caution worked in his favor. On the next-to-last restart, he said he found out all he needed and that playing possum had nothing to do with it.

"I learned that he (Marlin) was fast and I was going to have a hard time catching him," Elliott said. "I think when the racetrack cooled off, it hurt him more than me. I was trying to pass Sterling as hard as I could earlier. I could get close but I couldn't make the pass.

"I was really good down into (Turn) 1 and I felt like if I could ever make that pass and get in the clean air I could put some distance on him. I rolled it in there (Turn 1) pretty hard and it stuck."

Any thought that Marlin might be a pretender to the NASCAR Winston Cup championship evaporated Sunday. Despite faltering in the stretch and missing a chance at a $150,000 NASCAR Winston Leader Bonus, Marlin led 106 laps and finished third in the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge.

	Steve Park goes skyward after hitting the guardrail in the opening lap at Pocono.

In doing so he virtually doubled his point lead, unofficially to 106 points on Mark Martin.

Last June's Pocono winner, Dale Jarrett, was fourth and Newman was fifth for the second consecutive race.

Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Terry Labonte and Ricky Rudd rounded out the top 10.

Marlin had the dominant car for most of the day, but failed to hold on through what is becoming a traditional wild finish to a Winston Cup race.

Dodge drivers Jerry Nadeau and Jeremy Mayfield were both involved in the final two cautions. The race's fourth, with 36 laps remaining, came out when Nadeau nudged Mayfield into a spin off the Tunnel Turn that resulted in heavy contact with the Jersey Barriers on the turn's inside.

Two laps after the race's restart, with 30 laps remaining, Nadeau backed his car into the Tunnel Turn's outside wall when he cut down a tire, to bring out the fifth and final caution. Neither driver was injured.

Two red flags delayed the race for more than three hours before 30 laps had been run.

The first red, displayed for 1:04.51, came out after Rusty Wallace, Steve Park and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were involved in a crash coming off Turn 1 on the first lap. Track crews had to replace 110 feet of guardrail and 16 posts that were damaged when Park hit the barrier, without injury.

Both Earnhardt Jr. and Wallace rejoined the race, but finished 37th and 40th, respectively. Wallace took the biggest hit, dropping four spots in the points, to eighth.

After 27 laps were in the books, the second rain shower of the day brought the red flag out again after the day's second caution flew at lap 25. The race was stopped for 2:02.20 while the rain stopped and the track was dried.