After a completion yellow induced Brickyard 400 where tires disintegrated every 10 laps due to the top-heavy CoT, NASCAR drivers and fans alike should get their fill of exciting, side-by-side racing with far fewer cautions at the Sonoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at 2.20 p.m. this Sunday.

The 2.5-mile, tri-oval super-speedway is kindest to drivers who start from the front row. Five of the past six winners at Pocono have started the race from the pole. Kasey Kahne won in June from the pole while Denny Hamlin has two wins as the pole-sitter. The other Busch, Kurt, has won here twice from the outside. Jeff Gordon is the only other winner at Pocono, in 2007, who won at Pocono and did not start at the front of the grid; he started 18th and won it.

Who will win the Pennsylvania 500?

Good news for Kyle Busch detractors is that Busch will most likely not win on Sunday as he has had some tough-times at Pocono. Not that that can't change this weekend, but with Kyle back to racing the Craftsman trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races again he'll have to work twice as hard against a field of drivers who are all determined not to allow Busch the luxury of riding in the all-important clean air.

Funny things happen at Pocono that allow drivers like Vickers, Labonte, Alimendinger to race well while Busch, Biffle and Stewart are generally relegated to the back of the pack. Sunday it should be no different. Looking at the odds you can see that Vickers, who is usually around 50/1 -100/1 range to win, has dropped to 15/1. This should make you pay attention.

Another thing gamblers need to pay attention to, and we have seen how important this is throughout the season, is pit-position. The one and only reason Johnson held off Hamlin and Kenseth last week was that he had control of pit-road in the first position and Johnson's crew chief Chad Knauss was able to use it effectively during Johnson's last two-tire pit stop to take the lead with 10 laps left in the race.

Keep in mind the Brickyard, Phoenix, and Pocono have similar attributes and teams use similar strategies at these venues. Johnson had the fastest car once again last weekend and, starting from the pole, it was not a huge surprise that he also won the race.

Gamblers should wait until qualifying to bet this race so they can leverage their position as much possible. However, even before the qualifiers the winner will be either the No. 48 car, or despite a rash of bad-luck, the No.11 car. Both drivers have won this race twice with Hamlin coming off consecutive third-place showings in 2007-2008 at Pocono. If you don't like him to win, place a unit or two on Hamlin finishing in the top three. As of now I like the No. 11 car to win, but that could change if another driver starts from the top of the grid.

Pick! Denny Hamlin, No.11, (8/1)

SOLID GOLD PICKS

Sportsbook.com has listed many matchups on the Pennsylvania 500 this weekend. Last weekend I continued a play that has been lucrative all season; going against Kyle Busch when he is entered in all three races. We backed Denny Hamlin for two units at +1.25. In fact had it not been for an especially efficient Johnson pit-crew Hamlin would have likely won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard rather than finishing the race third. Busch had a long day, but managed to finish 15th. The two unit win brings my record Over-the-Wall to 12-12 with +.30 units on the season after 20 of 36 Sprint Cup races completed.

LONG ODDS PICK

Back in June Burton ran one of the best races at Pocono. He began the race in the 20th spot on the grid and managed to finish the race in fifth place. Burton has never won here but has always run well as he has posted seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes at Pocono. Richard Childress Racing's Burton could use a good showing this weekend as he has dropped to third place behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the Chase standings with only six races to go until the Chase begins. Burton is currently 271 points behind Kyle Busch. If you are looking for a good long odds proposition on one driver, Burton at 25/1 is as good as you will get for your money; while having a realistic chance of actually winning the race.

Pick! Jeff Burton, 31, (25/1)

SQUARE TIRE PICK

Greg Biffle (+1.15) vs. Matt Kenseth (-1.45)

Another driver who got better at Pocono as the race wore on was Biffle who began the race in the 33 position on the grid and finished the race 15th. Kenseth finished in the top-10 at Pocono but his race was not nearly as impressive as he improved only five spots from his 13th position start to finish seventh. Biffle is currently in seventh place in the Sprint Cup standings but recently has had a top-10 finish at the Brickyard last week and a top-five finish at the Lifelock.com the week before. It looks like whatever was troubling the Rousch Fenway Racing Ford has been corrected since Biffle's string of three top-five finishes at the end of May. While Pocono started Biffle's spell of high finishes Pocono could just as easily put the No. 16 car right back in the top five once again. RFR teammate Kenseth is currently right on the bubble in 11th place and 638 points behind the leader. At this point in the season the Sprint Cup leader board features a mere 100 point differential between seventh and 12th place so doing well in each race is crucial right now with every point a premium.

This is one of those matchups where we'll see both drivers close the entire race. I like the way Biffle has been driving recently and his Ford seems to be much faster than we saw in June. Besides, Biffle even led Pocono for four laps in June to Kenseth's two. If Biffle can get some clean air I like him to finish before Kenseth in this match-up.

Pick! Greg Biffle, No. 17, (+1.15)

Pennsylvania 500 Odds*
Sunday, Aug 3rd (2:00pm EST)

AJ Allmendinger100/1
Bill Elliott 100/1
Bobby LaBonte100/1
Brian Vickers 15/1
Carl Edwards 7/1
Casey Mears 100/1
Chad McCumbee 150/1
Clint Bowyer 35/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12/1
Dario Franchitti 150/1
Dave Blaney 100/1
David Gilliland 100/1
David Ragan 40/1
David Reutimann 100/1
Denny Hamlin 8/1
Elliott Sadler 40/1
Greg Biffle 15/1
J.J. Yeley 125/1
Jamie McMurray 50/1
Jason Leffler 150/1
Jeff Burton 25/1
Jeff Gordon 12/1
Jimmie Johnson 11/2
Joe Nemechek 125/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 80/1
Kasey Kahne 11/2
Kevin Harvick 25/1
Kurt Busch 40/1
Kyle Busch 6/1
Mark Martin 25/1
Martin Truex Jr. 28/1
Matt Kenseth 15/1
Michael McDowell 125/1
Michael Waltrip 100/1
Patrick Carpentier 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
Reed Sorenson 100/1
Regan Smith 125/1
Robby Gordon 100/1
Ryan Newman 40/1
Sam Hornish Jr. 100/1
Scott Riggs 100/1
Terry Labonte 100/1
Tony Raines 125/1
Tony Stewart 10/1
Travis Kvapil 100/1

*Odds courtesy of Bodog.