Just click in the middle of the video for some reason it wont embed. Then come back here please.
Before I get to the other Pocono news let me say this, the hump of grass in the infield at Pocono saves that drivers butt. Had he hit that wall rather than fly over it he might not have been lucky enough to walk away clean and clear. The weekend at Pocono was filled with rain yet they got all three races in on Sunday. It was the rain soaked infield that gave that car the extra speed it needed to make that jump. I still like those old cars better than this new car of tomorrow but I have to admit that the new cars are far safer. Those ARCA cars are lighter than the Sprint Cup cars so I would guess had that been a Sprint Cup car it probably would not have cleared the fence and Pocono would be replacing some steel guard rail this week.
Ok now to the new of the day I guess when it comes to schedule silly season, in a press release today management at Pocono announces that starting with the 2012 season they are going to shorten both races at Pocono to 400 miles. There will be eight weeks in between the two races as well. I applaud this move as I think that most of the races in the top Nascar series are too long. 500 miles should be reserved for the big tracks like Daytona and Talladega, the Southern 500 as well should be 500 miles. When California’s Autoclub Speedway shortened their fall race to 400 miles last year the action was much better. I have to agree with someone that I heard on Nascar Radio today when they said that a 400 mile race causes crew chiefs to take bigger swings at the cars setup much earlier in the race and it seems to slow down this feeling that teams are just laying back waiting for the last 1oo laps to get their act together.
Here is the press release.
Long Pond, PA (August 10, 2011) ? Pocono Raceway’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974, a second Sprint Cup Series race was added to the Pocono schedule in 1982. Sunday’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500 was the 68thSprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway. Each race was scheduled for 500 miles and each produced its share of drama and excitement.
Starting with the June 10, 2012 Pocono Sprint Cup Series race, the scheduled distance for both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races will be shortened to 400 miles. “The 400 mile distance will make NASCAR racing at Pocono even more exciting,” stated Raceway President and CEO , Brandon Igdalsky. “Race strategies will change, fuel mileage calculations will be altered and I firmly believe that our fans will be treated to outstanding racing at the 400 mile distance.”
“NASCAR supports Pocono Raceway’s move to two 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2012,” stated Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Senior Vice President, Racing Operations . “We believe this will be a good transition for the fans and competitors. It will provide the teams with a new type of strategy and should make for even more exciting competition at a unique facility that has a long-standing history in our sport.”
Eight weeks after the Pocono 400. It will be the August 5, Pennsylvania 400. Both 400 mile races will have the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards as companion races. The August Pennsylvania 400 weekend will also feature a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on August 4.
Let me say this as well, the Nascar Camping World truck series race that was held at Pocono this past weekend was a very exciting race. It was only 50 laps. granted Pocono is a huge super speedway but 50 laps still had crew chiefs scrambling for setups if they didn’t have it right from the get go. Unless there is a caution, a 50 lap race at Pocono can be ran with only one pit stop. Of course rain delayed the finish until Sunday morning but it was still exciting when they got it going again because the setup from Saturday before the rain would not be the same on Sunday morning after all the rubber has been washed off the track, not to mention the difference in climate due to all the moisture in the air. During a red flag like the one we had on Saturday, crews can not touch the trucks. the only exception it they can cover it up to prevent anymore water from getting inside the cockpit area. On Sunday they were allowed to change the air cleaning filters and the drivers cool box filters but that is all that I know that they can touch.
After getting all of that done early Sunday morning Nascar restarted the truck race where it left off just after completing lap number 17 at Nine A.M. Sunday morning. Kevin Harvick came away with the win with fuel strategy being in full play after a green white checkered finish. This was Kevin’s first win in the truck series this year with only three starts, that’s pretty good odds if you ask me. When he is going to run the trucks I’d put my fantasy pick on him. Kyle Busch came in second with James Buescher, Johnny Sauter, and Austin Dillon rounding out the top five.
Johnny Sauter came out still in the points lead but that would not hold after his truck failed post race inspection for the right rear corner of the truck being too high. Here is Nascar’s press release on the subject.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The No. 13 team that competes in the Camping World Truck Series was penalized Tuesday as a result of rules violations committed this past weekend at Pocono Raceway. The No. 13 truck was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20B-12.8.1D (truck failed to meet maximum right rear bed panel height) of the 2011 NASCAR rule book. As a result, crew chief Joel Shear has been fined $5,000 while driver Johnny Sauter and owner Mike Curb have been penalized with the loss of six championship driver and owner points, respectively. The violation was discovered during post-race inspection Aug. 7.
The six-point penalty drops Sauter to second in the points standings behind Austin Dillon, who is out front by one point.
To be fair to the team, they wrecked their primary truck in practice and had only hours to get the backup truck ready to race. They transferred many of the suspension parts from the wrecked truck to the backup in the short amount of time that they had. Some one missed something somewhere along the way and to me that is understandable. I think that is the reason that the penalty was not a slam.
More later, I have to drive the truck. Stay safe out there.
TW
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