Racing at Pocono shook things up a bit. Early crashes, points lead change, pit road police…
Good racing at Pocono with Joey Logano taking the pole and the win for the day… Seventeen lead changes… Greg Biffle had some engine issues with a lazy cylinder and fell back off the points lead after finishing midpack.
Early laps saw loose cars in turn 3. The new surface at Pocono raised questions on set-ups, speed and handling and the start of the race saw turn 3 serve up some free tickets to a slip-n-slide.
Landon Cassill went for a slide and AJ Allmendinger was caught up on the first lap. At the 13th lap, J.J. Yeley, Reed Sorenson and Tony Raines took the ride and beat up some sheet metal.
However, it was pit road that made for many surprises until drivers began to bite the brake and just roll with it as best they could. The re-surfacing at Pocono also did a number on the speed markers along pit road and caught many drivers with penalties. It was as if they set a speed trap just outside of town after a big party at the local hot spot…
NASCAR issued 22 penalties for surpassing the 55mph limit on pit road. Coming in, going out, whatever. Jimmie Johnson caught it twice and was still unclear on how it was lining up.
“When we get to the end of pit road, when your nose hits the line, you take off,” he said. “I did that the first time and I got nailed. All right, maybe I just overdid it. The second time, I waited until the tail crossed the yellow line and still got pinned. All we can come up with is that the yellow line versus the timing loop, that orientation is different here.”
Pit road penalties while racing speeds on the track were breaking records was a simple irony of racing this past weekend at Pocono. The drivers seemed to overcome these difficulties and make a good race of it as the laps ticked by.
Mark Martin and Joey Logano made a good run in the final laps with Logano getting in close as Martin went loose giving the Home Depot #20 the shot at the inside move and the win.
Johnson, despite the pit road issues, finished 4th just behind Stewart, who bounced back from two poor runs.
Dale Jr. continues to run well, picking up some lead laps and maintaining the points but the win is elusive.
Kurt Busch sat this one out following yet another penalty concerning confrontations with the press. David Reutimann filled the seat for Pocono and finished 21st. We don’t know if Busch watched the race or took the time for anger management. Kurt is making it difficult for fans and NASCAR to give him a ride. He is also making it very hard for sponsors to sign on. You would think driving a blank car in search of sponsor dollars would make you the sweetest thing since sprinkles on cupcakes…
Perhaps it was just as well that Kurt sat this one out. If the pit road police were issuing tickets it might have given him yet another notch in the wrong direction. Chewing the press is one thing… Police, and NASCAR officials, don’t take it all that well.
Pocono made for an interesting day. Greg Bilffle fell off the points lead to be replaced by team mate Matt Kenseth. Joey Logano gets his first Sprint Cup win of the season. We saw a bunch of speeding tickets handed out.
When we get the court date, we’ll let you know.