Notes: Hamlin has another strong showing at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. -- Denny Hamlin is racing for wins and team morale; he's not agonizing over points at the end of the day sitting securely in the second position in the points after his third-place finish in Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.

Heading into the Chase for the Nextel Cup seedings, Hamlin said, "Right now we are trying to get the guys pumped up and the crew going. At the end of the day, I'm not looking at the point sheet."

Lap-by-Lap

Kurt Busch led 175 laps in the Pennsylvania 500, the most of any winner in Pocono history.

• Lap-by-Lap, click here
• Race Video, click here

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said he feels secure but his performance fell short of last season's Pocono sweep.

"It is just a fine balance here at Pocono and trying to find that balance is tough," said Hamlin, who finished sixth in the June race.

Hamlin said Sunday was up and down for his No. 11 Chevrolet that managed to stay within the top five for the majority of the day. However, brake issues prevented Hamlin from reaching the front of the line.

"... and we just couldn't get in the corner the way we needed to, but still this is a solid run for us, and what we needed to get back on track," he said.

Johnson shakes off the funk

Jimmie Johnson managed to make some gains, two spots to seventh, in what he called an uneventful day.

"... until a stop or two from the end. I got up to speed on pit road and I don't think the No. 01 [Mark Martin] knew I was outside of him and got into the side of me ... just a little cosmetic damage.

Overall Johnson, who finished fifth, said the day was great for the team and a finish they really needed after accidents in Chicago and Indianapolis.

"It has been a tough summer for us, we haven't been able to finish," Johnson added. "I made sure I didn't make any crazy mistakes on the track. We had great stops ... staying calm and focused under pressure is one thing our team has always been able to do."

Road to recovery detoured for Sorensen

Reed Sorenson stayed out of trouble for most of the race Sunday and even led the field to the green on Lap 143.

After winning the pole position in Indianapolis for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and finishing fifth, Sorenson likely thought his troubles were behind him.

Not if Carl Edwards is behind you.

"We got hit by the 99. Something happened with three or four of them up in front of us," Sorenson said. "I guess the Tunnel Turn there being so slow and everybody bottlenecking down in there. ... three or four of them were hitting and caused a wreck."

The No. 41 Dodge Charger finished 28th.

Hail to the chief

Sunday's Pocono victory wasn't Pat Tryson's first as a crew chief -- but in Victory Lane his driver, Kurt Busch, in only their sixth race together, delivered their first victory. He also disclosed the continuation of a Busch tradition, naming his racecar, which he dubbed "The PT Special" in honor of his crew chief.

An hour or so later, Tryson was standing next to the team's partially dismembered No. 2 Dodge, which had cleared inspection and was being reassembled to be returned to the transporter. When he took his cell phone off his ear after an extended stay, he laughed and told a visitor he'd been retrieving some of the 15 messages he'd received since leaving Victory Lane.

Told the news of Busch's declaration, his face took on an even greater glow as he laughed and said, "Nope, getting a car named for me is certainly a first, but I'll take it."

Dave Rodman contributed to this report.