Chance for Pocono repeat well within Kahne's sights

Leading up to June's Pocono 500, Kasey Kahne was 12th in the Sprint Cup Series standings. But when the series reached the tricky Pennsylvania triangle, he led 69 laps and cruised to victory by 3.7 seconds over Brian Vickers to pick up his second win of the year, proving that he may be a worthy Chase contender.

Eight weeks later, Kahne remains solidly among the top 10 and well above the 12th-place cutoff to make NASCAR's postseason. He is currently ninth, 81 points ahead of 13th-place Kevin Harvick.

Fast facts

What	Pennsylvania 500
When	2 p.m. ET Saturday
TV	ESPN, 1 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 2 ET

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• By the Numbers: Pocono

Kahne knows he needs to close the regular season strong -- starting with Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 -- if he wants to stay locked into the Chase. If recent history is any indicator, he has an even chance to win: two of the last four June winners at Pocono also won in the series' return visit later in the year.

"We've missed it a couple times in the last month as far as the finish, but we've had good points in all those races," Kahne said. "The next six races are tracks that I've run well at in the past and look forward to going back to them again. If things go smooth and we don't have the wrecks and things that can happen in the sport, we should have a shot at making the Chase."

The Gillett Evernham team will come loaded with the same car Kahne dominated with in June; it's the first time the car has been raced since going to Victory Lane in June.

"As fast as it was in June during qualifying and the race, I think it should be strong, a car that can run in the top 10 if we make the right adjustments," Kahne said. "I don't see why we can't have a shot at another win. As good as it was the first race, if we do the right things, we should have another shot."

While Kahne wants to solidify his chances to compete for the series title with a strong Pocono run, the race's defending winner would simply like to salvage his season.

Last August, Kurt Busch used a well-timed win at Pocono to propel himself on a strong stretch run and into the Chase. This year, he's six positions and 281 points behind the 12th-place cutoff position, currently held by Clint Bowyer.

"We just need to get it turned around," Busch said. "I know how kind that place has been to me through the years, and we sure could use another good shot of that kindness this weekend."

Busch had made up some ground following his rain-aided win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and a fourth-place result at Daytona. But engine problems left him 28th at Chicago and tire troubles contributed to an accident that dropped him to 40th at Indianapolis, making his Chase chances appear bleak.

"You keep the attitude of never saying never and you keep on trying hard as you can 'til the end," Busch said. "We've had a really strong showing in the Pocono races, especially during the last few years. We won the July race in 2005 and finished second in both races there during my first year with Penske [2006]. We come in there as the defending champions this weekend. We had a strong top-10 finish there just last month. If we can just keep up the competitive strength we've been able to display there, we should be in the thick of things again on Sunday."