Pocono rain scrubs Saturday

POCONO, Pa. - Weather once again steals the headlines in NASCAR Winston Cup competition. Final practice for the forty-three car field was cancelled as rain continued to soak the 2.5-mile triangle. Radar showed no improvement in the weather, as a storm cell bringing heavy showers took station over the Northeast.

Cup teams were able to practice yesterday morning. Smart teams rehearsed race runs, in anticipation of the impending precipitation.

The weather posed a particular problem for the No. 9 Evernham Dodge team of Bill Elliott. Elliott broke three bones in his foot after a crash at Charlotte, and has been experiencing some pain. Pocono requires a lot of shifting and there was concern that Elliott's foot might become uncomfortable. The No. 9 team contracted ARCA driver Frank Kimmel to stand- in for Elliott as a back-up driver for this event.

Evernham had planned on putting Kimmel in the Dodge Intrepid during Saturday's practice.

"Whenever you lose track time it hurts," said Evernham. "You never know to what level until you get on the track Sunday. The biggest thing was we had hoped to get Frank in the car so he could get some laps today and get used to it. If not, it's going to be cold turkey tomorrow."

"He (Bill Elliott) led me all week to believe that he was (going to get out of the car). Now he's telling everybody that he's not. We'll have Frank standing by anyway."

Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Chevrolet will bring the field down for the green flag on Sunday, followed by Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Championship point leader Matt Kenseth rolls off from the 25th position.

The ARCA race which was scheduled for today has been canceled for the weekend. The Giant 200 has been rescheduled for Friday, July 25 following Winston Cup Bud Pole qualifying.