Race Report for the Pennsylvania 500

Kyle Petty, #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge Finished: 19; Started: 25

ATLANTA, GA. August 02, 2004 -- Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge
team was one of just over a dozen teams that got it right on Sunday. Petty and
the team stayed in the top 25 all afternoon and challenged with the top
competitors of the day. The mechanical mind of crew chief Greg Steadman made the
changes the Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge needed to make Petty move forward.
Petty didn't disappoint behind the wheel. Racing a grueling 500 miles is not an
easy accomplishment for any competitor, but Petty battled to the last turn.
Petty, racing for position, slightly brushed the wall with eight laps to go, but
fortunately a caution waved for another problem on the track. Petty quickly hit
pit road, got four new tires, and returned to climb to 19th - where he finished
the day.

"It was a good run for us," said Petty. "We just hung in there all day. We made
the right calls and the car wasn't bad. I needed the whole track to get around
some of those guys. Track position meant a lot today. It was tough to pass, but
we did a good job all around."


OVERVIEW:

Jimmie Johnson made it a sweep Sunday of the Pocono Raceway by winning Sunday's
Pennsylvania 500. The event was the second stop for the NASCAR Nextel Cup tour
at the demanding, 2.5-mile, triangular-shaped track. In June Johnson also bested
the field. He returned to Pocono on Sunday and dominated by leading 124 laps of
the 200-lap race. It was his 10th career win.

Sunday's race was going to be a crapshoot for many. After heavy fog and rain on
Saturday washed away the final, and only, practice for Sunday's race many teams
had to guess as to what might and might not work on Sunday. To complicate the
process, Sunday's forecast called for a mix of sun, clouds, and possible
thunderstorms. The weather never did define itself during the course of the race
and that led to a mixture of track conditions throughout the 500 miles. Handing,
horsepower, and transmissions were all put to the test during the grueling race.
Many of the sports top teams struggled with one problem or another and staying
on the lead lap proved to be the day's biggest challenge - along with not
finding your day cut short behind the wall. The only consistent through Sunday's
race was the duo of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. Johnson led early and often
on Sunday, but was always shadowed by a strong running Mark Martin. Martin, like
the rest of the field, just wasn't as strong as
Johnson on Friday. Martin was able to keep slight pressure on Johnson, but
never seriously contended for the win. It was Johnson's year to dominate Pocono,
and capped it off with another impressive victory on Sunday.

1. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
2. Mark Martin, Ford
3. Kasey Kahne, Dodge
4. Greg Biffle, Ford
5. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
19. Kyle Petty, Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge
33. Jeff Green, Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge


Jeff Green, #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Finished: 33; Started: 32

Green and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team had engine problems end
their day early on Sunday. Green first came to pit road with motor problems on
lap 97, just before the halfway mark of Sunday's event. Soon after the "Helping
Hands" crew were behind the wall making repairs to the problem. Green returned
to the track and gained every position possible before retiring from the event.
A finish that might have been worse, if not for the hard work and repairs to the
Cheerios Dodge, Green and the team came home 33rd.

"We just need to keep working and getting things better," said Green. "We had a
good test at Indy so hopefully we can turn things around there."



"I always end up being the man in
the middle." Dr. Maurice E. Gibb
www.pettyracing.com
the_disco_ball@yahoogroups.com
















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