NOTEBOOK NASCAR

Hamlin, Stewart fall short again: Chalk up another sob story for Joe Gibbs Racing. For at least the fifth time this season, JGR cars were the class of the field in a NASCAR Nextel Cup race — but the organization is still winless. Sixth-place finisher Denny Hamlin, who won both Pocono races from the pole last year, led 49 of the 106 laps, but pit strategy lifted Cup points leader Jeff Gordon to victory in Sunday’s Pocono 500. Tony Stewart, who swapped the lead with Hamlin, his JGR teammate, twice between Laps 29 and 34, also had a car capable of winning the race, but Stewart had to settled for fifth when Gordon’s gamble paid off and the race was called because of rain after 106 laps. “I wish I would have stayed out,” Stewart said ruefully of his team’s decision to pit on Lap 65 while Gordon stayed on the track. “We talked about staying out on that one caution where Jeff got the lead, but everybody else in front of us came [in], and I didn’t want to make a bad mistake and stay out and have it hurt us. We played it safe and came in with everybody else. We still ended up with a top five, and that’s the best we’ve run here in a long, long time.”

Riggs closes in on top 35: After squeaking into the Pocono 500 by 0.008 seconds during Friday’s qualifying, Evernham Motorsports driver Scott Riggs made the most of the opportunity he created for himself. Riggs, whose No. 10 Dodge is 36th in owner points, finished 18th in Sunday’s race and gained 66 points on Johnny Sauter, who ran 40th. Sauter’s No. 70 Chevrolet is 35th in owner points and 20 points ahead of Riggs. “This helps us move closer to the top 35 in points, so all in all, it was a good race,” said Riggs. The top 35 in owner points are guaranteed starting spots in Nextel Cup races.

NASCAR renews Pocono contract: Though exact dates won’t be announced until August, NASCAR has renewed its contract with Pocono Raceway to hold two races at the 2.5-mile speedway in 2008, quashing speculation that Pocono might lose one of its dates. NASCAR renews all its deals with host tracks on a year-to-year basis. The sanctioning body reportedly is considering several significant tweaks to next year’s schedule, including the possible elimination of the off week after the season’s second race, at California Speedway.

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service