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No surprises

Rudd happy to be returning to Pocono

	• Lugnuts • On the track • In the pits • Stop 'n' Go • Finish Line

From CNNSI.com

NASCAR doesn't really afford its drivers anything in the way of a mulligan -- you make a mistake, miss the set up, drop the ball on a pit stop, you don't get a do-over. This weekend's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono is the closest a Winston Cup driver is ever going to get.

It was only five weeks ago that NASCAR was last in the hill country of eastern Pennsylvania. And if the brief amount of time between races gives drivers a chance to improve on what they did in the recent past, you have to think that Ricky Rudd is exceptionally happy to be going back.

Five weeks ago, Rudd not only took the pole, bettering Sterling Marlin by almost 2 mph, but he also went on to a dramatic victory against Jeff Gordon, the points leader, who had led the most laps. Even more important than it being Rudd's first win since the fall 1998 race at Martinsville and moved him from fourth to third in points, the victory elevated Rudd to that rarified air occupied by Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon. Rudd trails that duo by 28 points.

Indeed, since winning at Pocono, Rudd has two third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish.

"I don't think it's a question that it's probably to our advantage to go back so soon," Rudd says. "Generally what happens is you race these tracks twice and a lot of times you race once at the beginning and then you don't return until six months later. The weather is different, the rules have changed, your car has evolved. But we're going back on such a short time frame that basically everybody's equipment is pretty much the same."

After testing earlier this week at Indianapolis, Rudd said he has a feeling he will win his first Winston Cup title this year -- and what better place to get a jump on things than Pocono?

Bill Elliott Elliott has 20 top-10 finishes in 37 starts at Pocono, including five victories. Elliott was 27th in the Pocono 500 last month. "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" has two top-10 finishes in his last four starts. Jeff Gordon Gordon leads active drivers in money won at Pocono. He's won there three times -- most recently this race in 1998. In 17 career starts at Pocono, Gordon has 12 top-10 finishes, including a second-place effort last month. Dale Jarrett Jarrett has won twice at Pocono, most recently the 1997 Pennsylvania 500. He has 16 top-10 finishes there in 29 career starts and is third all-time in money earned at the track. He finished third there last month. Rusty Wallace Wallace has four wins at Pocono, including this race last year. He has 14 top-10 finishes in 33 career starts there. Wallace finished 16th in the Pocono 500 last month.

Flattery Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd proved Sunday why they're fighting for the points lead. The three combined to lead 280 of 300 laps of the New England 300. While Jarrett came out on top, all three put on quite a show. Flag Rusty Wallace lasted just 11 laps in Sunday's New England 300 before he blew an engine. Wallace ended up 43rd -- dead last -- dropping him two spots to sixth in the points. Flattery Steve Park finished sixth in the New England 300. That's his best finish for since he was second in the MBNA Platinum 400 in Dover on June 3. It was his eighth top-10 performance of the season. Flag Jeremy Mayfield looked on his way to a great performance in Loudon last week when he qualified third. By the time the checkered flag flew, Mayfield was 89 laps down, in 39th place.

Kevin Harvick had another strong weekend on the Winston Cup and Busch circuits. Saturday night, Harvick won the Carquest Auto Parts 250 in Madison, Ill. The next day, he was eighth in the New England 300. Jack Sprague continued to attract attention in the Truck series. A week after becoming the series' first $4 million winner, Sprague led 183 of 200 laps to win the New England 200. Kyle Petty finished 26th Sunday in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. It was Petty's first trip back to Loudon since his son Adam's death there 14 months ago.

NAPA Auto Care 250 -- 3:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC): 250 miles, 250 laps. 2000 pole winner: Jeff Purvis. 2000 winner: Jeff Green. Pennsylvania 500 -- 1 p.m. Sunday (TNT): 500 miles, 200 laps. 2000 pole winner: Tony Stewart. 2000 winner: Rusty Wallace.

What's with the non-mentioning of race sponsors by broadcasters, like the Sam's Club-Hills Bros. Busch race on NBC. Have networks always refused to acknowledge race sponsors when they are not their sponsors as well, like Pepsi and Tropicana were for NBC? . -- Dan, Maynard, Mass. I think the NBC coverage of the Pepsi 400 and the Tropicana 400 was the poorest I've seen in a long time. The graphics are lousy, the commentators are not up to speed on anything and they had poor camera angles throughout the race! Give it up and give it back to FOX! -- Brian, Tulsa, Okla. When will people stop being so rude as to cheer when bad things happen to Jeff Gordon? Cheering your favorite driver is fine, leave it there. -- Martin, Punta Gorda, Fla. Is NASCAR ever going to stop changing the rules? It seems there are rule changes every week. Name any other sport where this happens. -- Rick, Colorado Springs, Colo. Why have the networks forgotten about the picture-in-picture during commercials? Keep that and I will be happy. NBC is doing OK, but I still miss D.W. & Larry Mac. -- Larry, Thibodaux, La. The restrictor plates have to go! Wait, maybe we should have a lighter baseball in Colorado so we can limit the number of home runs. -- Owen, Eden Prairie, Minn. It is refreshing to see someone like Tony Stewart with a passion for what he does. That's better than the corporate drones like Jeff Gordon making sure to get his drink of Pepsi in. Keep it up, Tony! -- C.J., Linwood, Mich. I guess no one remembers the career of Darrell Waltrip. Darrell had a pretty bad temper, too. It didn't hurt racing or his career. It won't hurt Tony Stewart either. -- Susan, Alex Bay, N.Y. Stewart has a hot temper, but wouldn't you? They just yanked him 20 spots for having the inside line? Is this just NASCAR's way of penalizing the driver or themselves? -- Daniel, Van Wert, Ohio.

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