One of our esteemed members of the media panel asked this question in choosing Carl Edwards to win Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway: “What’s the next step after 'overdue?' ”
It’s becoming increasingly apparent the answer could be, “There’s always next year.’’
Not everyone is ready to get off the Edwards bandwagon, though. He received five votes this week, one short of Tony Stewart’s six. Mark Martin had five votes, Jimmie Johnson three and there was even a lone vote for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Stewart was an obvious pick; he won at Pocono earlier in the season after crashing in practice and starting at the back of the field. He’ll have to do it again this time. Stewart, who would have been on the pole after rain washed out qualifying, wrecked in Saturday’s practice and will start in back once more.
Mark Beech, Sports Illustrated: MARK MARTIN
Here's where racing's most venerable competitor gets off the schneid. Martin is oh-for-his-lifetime at Pocono, but 31 career top-10 finishes prove that he knows how to drive there. Running with the best equipment he's ever had, his time is now.
Viv Bernstein, Charlotte NASCAR Examiner: MARK MARTIN
Because Jimmie can't win every week.
David Caraviello, NASCAR.com: CARL EDWARDS
He's good at Pocono, and he's overdue for a victory this season. With the Chase looming, it's high time for the No. 99 team to begin building some momentum. And some back flips, too.
Liz Clarke, Washington Post: JIMMIE JOHNSON
Again.
Shawn Courchesne, Hartford Courant: TONY STEWART
Smoke showed in June that his team has the tricky Pocono triangle figured out. No reason not to expect a repeat performance.
Greg Engle, National NASCAR Examiner: TONY STEWART
He did it before, can he do it again? Usually the conditions from the first race to the second Pocono are far different. This time around though the weather conditions are pretty close. Look for a Tony Stewart sweep.
David Exum, NASCAR Scene: TONY STEWART
Stewart will pull off the Pocono sweep.
Tony Fabrizio, Tampa Tribune: JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
If there was one positive Montoya and his team could take out of Indy, it was the knowledge they're fast enough to win.
Brant James, St. Petersburg Times: JIMMIE JOHNSON
That hum on the horizon is the sound of another Jimmie Johnson summer surge powering up. He has three top-5s and a win (last week at Indianapolis) in his last five races. He has two wins (both in 2004) and a 9.6 average finish at Pocono. Johnson is off to rack up some more wins and steal the bonus points edge from teammate Mark Martin.
Tom Jensen, SPEEDtv.com: TONY STEWART
To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man, and this year, Stewart is The Man so far.
Josh Lobdell, Detroit NASCAR Examiner: CARL EDWARDS
This is the week tat we will find out if the Ford boys have been sandbagging a little bit. If Edwards can go out and win he will be the fourth contender for the 2009 championship. If he cannot, this is a three-way Chevy battle for the Cup, and the Ford guys must look to their new engine progam to catch back up.
Dustin Long, Landmark Newspapers: CARL EDWARDS
The winless drought ends now.
Mike Massaro, ESPN: JIMMIE JOHNSON
Indy was a pretty good indicator that this team is ready to turn up the heat.
Ryan McGee, ESPN The Magazine: DENNY HAMLIN
Hey, all he'll have to do to improve on his June trip to Pocono race is make it through the first lap without going up in smoke.
Joe Menzer, NASCAR.com: TONY STEWART
The last guy to sweep both Pocono races in the same season was Denny Hamlin, Stewart's former teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. Now Tony's on his own and seems to have this place covered in his new Stewart-Haas Racing ride.
Rick Minter, RacinToday.com: MARK MARTIN
It takes a smart driver to win at Pocono, and Mark's plenty smart.
Mike Mulhern, MikeMulhern.net: DALE EARNHARDT JR.
He ran second last summer, he ran strong at Indy ... he's got to break this jinx sooner or later.
Bob Pockrass, NASCAR Scene: MARK MARTIN
He came close to a win last week. And isn't Pocono something like Indy? Well, I don't know about that. What I do know is Martin is loving his car these days, and at Pocono, where the car isn't great all the way around, being happy with it in general can go a long way.
Nate Ryan, USA Today: CARL EDWARDS
He led the most laps in June and would have won if not for getting snookered on fuel strategy. The first 2009 backflip is beyond overdue for last year's leading winner.
Jim Utter, Charlotte Observer: TONY STEWART
This is where Tony Stewart finally broke through into the win column and he did it in dramatic fashion – starting from the rear of the field in a backup car. Even with the same drama, I expect the same result.
Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal: CARL EDWARDS
What's the next step after "overdue" . . . ?
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