Throughout the week, drivers in the Truck, Busch, and Cup series along with the Grand National division wore small black logos reading "WCF (William Clifton France) Innovator, Pioneer, Friend 1933-2007" to pay tribute to former NASCAR president Bill France Jr. Ryan Newman won his third consecutive pole during qualifying.

Defending race winner Denny Hamlin aspired to become the first driver since Tim Richmond to record 3 consecutive Pocono victories.

Michael Waltrip, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Jeremy Mayfield, Dale Jarrett, and Mike Bliss failed to make the race.

The start of the race was halted by a nearly two-hour rain delay as the estimated green flag was set to wave at 2:20 PM.

Letarte's intuition proved correct as the race was called after 106 laps were completed, and Jeff Gordon ended up with his third Pocono 500 win.