Juan Pablo Montoya and his No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team have brought the same car they ran with at Indianapolis to Pocono. Montoya doesn’t believe the two tracks share as many characteristics as most, though. And he’s not particularly fond of the place, despite an eighth-place, fuel mileage run in June.

“Ponoco is one of our worst tracks. We finished eighth here last time, but it was luck.”

Montoya has been on the upswing of late, ripping off seven straight runs of 12th or better. As for last week’s near-miss, he’s put it behind him, but there’s no doubt it stung.

"At the time it was really frustrating, especially when you believe you didn't do anything wrong,” Montoya said. "We checked ourselves after the race. It seemed OK, and everything seemed to be in the right place. For some reason, they said we were speeding, and that's what it is.”

Jeff Gordon, who ran ninth in at the Brickyard, says he chooses to err onthe side of caution.

“I’d rather be consistent and a little bit conservative than get caught,” Gordon said on Friday from Pocono. “If I play it too aggressively, I get caught speeding — so it’s still in our hands. We can be more accurate with a tach than a speedometer, unless they gave us a digital.”

Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Mark Martin, still wonders if something couldn’t be done to alliviate situations Montoya found himself in last Sunday.

“I have wondered why we don’t have speedometers, but the tachs work well and the pit road speed works well. It is what it is ... it’s electronic.”

The 50-year old Martin is looking to end an 0-45 drought at Pocono, although he leads the series in top 5s (19) and top 10s (31) in Long Pond.

“It’s surprising we haven’t won at (Pocono) because we’ve run so well here.”

Hopefully, he says, the things that have worked so well for his No. 5 at other tracks will translate.

“We'll use some setups that have worked at Michigan and Indy ... I’m pretty optimistic that we’ll have a strong effort on Sunday.”

And as for the Chase, Martin seems to have come off his normal pessimistic attitude, stating that, “If we don’t stub our toe we should be fine.” My, the difference momentum and a change of scenery makes.

In the circuit’s visit to the track back in June, it was Tony Stewart who scored his first Cup win as an owner/driver. It was an amazing performance, having to start at the rear of the field after crashing his primary car in practice. After driving through the field, his pit crew got him off pit road before the other leaders in the event’s final stop. From there, the two-time Pocono victor conserved fuel and beat Car Edwards to the line.

“I’m all for (it) raining,” Stewart said, referring to the pit selection he will get since qualifying was rained out. The No. 1 pit stall he occupied in June was a major key in inheriting the lead late in the race.

As for the continued speculation that Stewart will field a third team under his Stewart-Haas Racing banner next season, he says he’d like to do so, but timing is the key.

“We are interested for sure. It’s a matter ‘of timing is everything.’ I don’t know that something will happen for next year ... it’s something at least as a company we feel comfortable with.”

He did note, however, that it’s getting close to being too late if sponsorship does not line up.

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