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  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. Looking for Three-Peat at Pocono

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. Looking for Three-Peat at Pocono

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads to Pocono Raceway with winning on his mind. Last year he swept both NASCAR Sprint Cup events at the 2.5-mile track, becoming only the seventh driver in track history to accomplish this feat. The stakes are even higher this weekend as he attempts to capture a third straight victory. Only two drivers have won three consecutive races at Pocono; Bobby Allison (1982 – 83) and Tim Richmond (1986-87).

    Earnhardt has an average finish of 2.5 over the last four races at Pocono and is hopeful that trend will continue Sunday in the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400.

    “It seems like guys that run well at Pocono can sustain it. I’ve seen guys sweep there and we were able to do it last year. I like the track, and we have run well there since the repave. I anticipate us being competitive again and hopefully getting three in a row,” Earnhardt said.

    If you consider Hendrick Motorsports’’ record at Pocono, Earnhardt has even more reason to be confident, although one of the most significant threats to a three-peat may come from within the organization.

    Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers have won the last five races at Pocono and their 17 victories at the track are the most of any team. Seven different drivers have won for HMS including Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte, Gordon, Kahne, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr.

    Earnhardt has seven top-five finishes this season, one win at Talladega and is currently ranked fifth in the point standings. However, the revamped No. 88 team, with new crew chief Greg Ives, has struggled with inconsistency. Last week at Dover Earnhardt had to start from the rear after replacing a broken gear. He was able to move up through the field, but a penalty for speeding on pit road resulted in a disappointing 14th place finish.

    This weekend at Pocono, Earnhardt’s greatest challenge will be putting last week’s mistakes behind him. A focused driver, crew chief and pit crew could be all that stands between him, his second victory of the season and that coveted three-peat.

    It could also be the beginning of another sweep and the opportunity to add his name to the record books. No driver has ever swept Pocono twice, but Earnhardt will have some competition as Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin compete with him to be the first to do so.

  • Logano Leads Team Dover to Victory Over Earnhardt Jr. and Team Pocono

    Logano Leads Team Dover to Victory Over Earnhardt Jr. and Team Pocono

    In spite of buying his glove the night before the game, Joey Logano led his Monster Mile softball team to a 12 to 6 victory over the Pocono Raceway team led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., with an assist from Darrell Wallace Jr.

    The game featured media members and corporate sponsors on both teams, as well as other NASCAR celebrities including former driver and broadcaster Todd Bodine. Pocono Raceway President/CEO Brandon Igdalsky also participated, hitting a home run in the game.

    Unfortunately, Igdalsky will still have to wear the ‘I Love the Monster Mile’ T-shirt due to his team’s loss.

    “My team kicked everyone’s butt,” Logano said in the post-game media conference. “This is new for me for sure. I had fun though. I had a blast. I was bummed out when it was over because I wanted to keep playing.”

    In addition to this being the first ever stick and ball game for Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Darrell Wallace Jr. confirmed that they too were newbies to being at bat and running the bases.

    “I played basketball before but baseball was never really my thing,” Wallace said. “My guys play on the road, especially if they have a day free. They’ll fly in and try to find a baseball field to go play some softball. I got to play with them in Fontana so I had a little leg up.”

    “I was surprised at how well Joey played,” Wallace continued. “He’s good at ping pong and fooz ball. But I did have two runs so I carried my Pocono team.”

    “I never played in school,” Junior said after the game. “We had a company team and I played on it a couple years. So, I had an idea of what I was getting myself into.”

    “But that doesn’t mean I’m very good at it.”

    In addition to the celebrity softball game, the three drivers did talk some about racing, from what races they wanted to win, their best moments in the sport, to what they thought about both of the Dover and Pocono race tracks upcoming in the race schedule.

    For Dale Earnhardt Jr. he has just two tracks that would be most meaningful to him personally to get in the win column.

    “The 600 at Charlotte would be great to win,” Junior said. “I’ve never won a points race at Charlotte. Darlington is a driver’s race track so winning that would mean a lot to me. Those two really would mean the most to me.”

    Darrell Wallace Jr. said that his best racing year to date was last year, winning both with Kyle Busch Motorsports and on the dirt at Eldora.

    “We were really strong with Kyle Busch and everyone on the Kyle Busch team,” Wallace Jr. said. “We picked up four wins in the Truck Series so that was a great time for me, just getting my name out there.”

    “I think what surprised everyone was the Eldora win. I don’t think anybody picked me to win that race. So, that would have to be the best.”

    “Hopefully my best year will be this year,” Logano said. “But last year was the best year of my life getting married. It was an awesome experience. And having a shot at racing for a championship was a highlight. When we got to Homestead, it was just a great year altogether.”

    “Last year was great for me too, winning the Daytona race and getting some other wins,” Dale Jr. said. “We hadn’t won in so long and we weren’t winning races for the last several years. So, to be able to get multiple wins in the season felt good. Winning Daytona early and getting the pressure off for that Chase, which was the first year of the Chase and everybody was nervous. So, that was good.”

    All three drivers shared their excitement about heading to both Dover and Pocono in the next few weeks, enjoying each track for its uniqueness and for the variety of things to do off-track in the area.

    “Dover is great,” Junior said. “It’s a real challenge because the concrete is so challenging. Getting the car to have good balance there and getting it to turn without losing rear grip is tough. So, it’s a real difficult track just going through the weekend from practice to the race. But it’s fun.”

    “There are a lot of great places to go eat around there. It’s a good area. I enjoy it. I think it’s pretty fun and we’re looking forward to it.”

    “Dover for me is a special place, for one being from the northeast, from Connecticut, which is not too far from there. So, I get to see a lot of family that comes there,” Logano said. “I made my first Xfinity start there and barrel rolled the first time I was ever there. I went back there the year after and they had the program that moved and changes.”

    “They had the ‘Monster’ holding my car and then when you moved it, it showed the ‘Monster’ slamming it into the race track. I was like this is great, thanks, glad to be back!”

    “But it’s a special place to me. My XFINITY races have been very good there with four wins. I haven’t had a Cup win there yet, but it’s been close. I consider it my favorite race track. It’s one of those places that you could drive around by yourself on it and you’d never get bored.”

    “It’s just so entertaining being up and down in the race track and the racing is always competitive there. It’s a fun place to be.”

    “I agree with Joey and Junior,” said Wallace Jr. “It’s a fun place all around. In 2012, I had my fourth XFINITY start there and we sat on the pole for the K&N race. After that, I saw Joey and threw the pole flag at him and he ended up winning the race. He comes back to me and he threw the checkered flag back at me.

    “He had signed it ‘To the Pole Sitter from the Race Winner’. I actually have that flag framed in my apartment.”

    “But to be able to sit on the pole several times there is pretty special. It’s a place where you let it all hang out and you never get bored.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. also has special feelings for the track known as the ‘Tricky Triangle”, especially after winning both of the two Pocono races.

    “When I won last year, it was the first time I’d ever won at Pocono,” Junior said, “So, that was a great feeling to finally win there. I’ve been going to that track in the summer time for years.”

    “I had no idea we were going to sweep. That was a big surprise. It’s such a difficult race to win. It’s real hard to get around the leader and you have to be up front the whole race. You’ve got to run hard. You can’t afford to let a guy by because it’s so hard to get back around.”

    “We won last year so you go in real happy and excited and expect to do better. I think our cars are faster and better and I hope that trend stays.”

    Of course, the drivers also took a moment to remember Steve Byrnes, after getting the word at the softball game that the broadcaster had lost his battle to cancer.

    “Him and Dad were great friends,” Junior said. “Steve would tell me many, many times stories about my Dad, something they did together or something funny that happened between them. They were good pals.”

    “I was happy that he got to see everything over the past weekend and to see how much he mattered to everybody.”

    “I’ll second what Dale said,” Logano said. “It is neat that he could get to see everything that the NASCAR teams and NASCAR fans did for him last week at Bristol. That was something special. When you get that kind of respect from this industry, it means you are very special.”

    “I got to know him doing some of the Race Hub shows. He was obviously a great person. I got to learn a lot from him. He’d give me little tips and pointers during commercial breaks. We would just talk and I thought that relationship was special. I cherish those moments.”

    In addition to remembering and paying tribute to Steve, all of the drivers took a moment to recognize the fans that came out to the Trenton Thunder ball park to mix in some NASCAR with some baseball. In fact, the line for autographs throughout the game, especially for Dale Earnhardt Jr., often stretched the length of the stadium.

    “I think this is great,” Junior said. “To be at a ball park is a great environment. Everybody is having fun and enjoying themselves. I tired to sign every autograph and to get everyone I could in between.”

    “It’s cool to be recognized in these kinds of places,” Wallace Jr. said. “For me to spend five minutes signing autographs while Junior is spending an hour and five minutes is really cool.”

    “I look up to Dale in a lot of ways and to see him give back to the fans and the sport is really neat. That’s what pushes me.”

    “It is impressive what Dale does with the fans,” Logano acknowledged. “A lot more people like him more than me! I know why and it’s OK.”

    “My life has gotten busier since the Daytona 500 but I cannot imagine what his life is like. He takes the time to meet every fan. I like meeting the fans in person and on social media and to hear what everyone is talking about.”

    So, how did the drivers sum up their softball experience, whether on the losing or winning side?

    “I gave 110 percent out there,” Wallace Jr. said. “And Logano was just awkward. It was like Forrest Gump when he ran, all arms and legs flying.”

    “But he still got his team to Victory Lane.”

     

  • Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky Spends Off-Season Time in Cuba

    Pocono President Brandon Igdalsky Spends Off-Season Time in Cuba

    Pocono President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky admittedly leads an interesting life. But this off-season, he had the unusual opportunity to go to Cuba, joining the select few who were the first to visit the island after President Obama normalized relations.

    “I’m a member of YPO, Young Presidents’ Organization, and the Chair of the Education Committee of the Pennsylvania Chapter and decided we should go to Cuba and check it out,” Igdalsky said. “So, we did so as a chapter and there were 22 couples who went on a Friend to Friend mission. We got a chance to meet some great people, talk to some interesting political folks there from the Cuban government, and talk to the people about the way they see things. We tried to get a real feel for what Cuba was back before all this happened, to see how it is now and to see the potential of what that country can be.”

    While Igdalsky and his fellow travelers were briefed about what to expect on their foray into Havana, he also experienced more surprises than he had expected.

    “The briefing we got the night before we left at our dinner, they said we’re going to land, we’re going to see this big beautiful terminal that the Canadians built and then we will drive right past that and go to the barn at the back of the airport,” Igdalsky said. “And that was pretty much what they did. They sent the Americans to the back of the airport. We didn’t get to go to the new, fancy terminal they had there. I guess it was the original terminal there at the airport.”

    “I was surprised when I got there,” Igdalsky continued. “I was surprised by the people, how much they love Americans and how friendly they are in general.”

    “Tourism has become a big, big piece for them. They are getting three million tourists a year right now. And that’s without the American market. That’s the one thing they are kind of scared about because if the American opens up and everyone wants to go there, they can’t handle it. They are at their capacity right now for what they can sustain tourism-wise. You’ve got eleven million people and you have three million people coming each year. That’s a drain on them. And their economy, the way it is structured, isn’t really geared toward that yet.”

    “You can see change afoot,” Igdalsky said. “You can hear the way they talk about the past, the present and the future. They’re excited about the possibilities of negotiations opening up with the US government and they are really excited about what the future holds for them as a people.”

    “And it’s a very proud country. They are proud to be Cubans. Regardless of all of the political crap that we see, they don’t really see it. They won’t talk about any of that stuff. They just want to talk about life and living and enjoying life as best they can.”

    One of the things that impressed Igdalsky the most was the sheer beauty of the landscape of the island itself.

    “That was one of the things that really blew me away,” Igdalsky said. “I thought it was just going to be all these old buildings that were dilapidated and falling down. And you saw some of that. But you also saw these big, beautiful hotels and resorts and country clubs that they have managed to keep up. So, the structure is already there.”

    Another aspect of Cuba, for which it is well-known, is its older cars. And with Igdalsky being a car guy, that was also of interest to him as well.

    “I knew the older cars were going to be there but I thought that few would be in good shape given the age and the fact that they are on an island with salt water,” Igdalsky said. “I was absolutely blown away by the quality of some of those cars, what they have done to keep them looking fantastic. The interiors looked like they just rolled off the show room floor.”

    “They’ve redone them to almost original spec,” Igdalsky continued. “They have plastic on the leather and cloth so that it doesn’t wear. A lot of them no longer have the original V-8 engines and now are running diesel engines. I was in a ’56 Bel Air and it had a Mercedes diesel five cylinder engine in it. These guys have so much pride in their cars, the same kind of pride we have in our cars. You see that passion for their cars as you talk to them and ride around with them.”

    “As we talked to our driver, he said “Yeah, I have two wives, my wife and my car.”

    While Igdalsky did not do any business particularly as it relates to Pocono Raceway, he did meet some business leaders passionate about their country’s development. And of course, he brought back the obligatory Cuban cigars and rum.

    “There are entrepreneurs there that are starting to change the perception of the country,” Igdalsky said. “There are two hundred some odd jobs where people can be self-employed and don’t have to work for the government. You are seeing some development coming out of the ground floor.”

    “And you see the excitement. We talked to people that had restaurants and other businesses and you could see the excitement as they talked about their love for their country and what the future holds for them, crossing that boundary of the unknown and to be part of the country they love.”

    “I didn’t do any business at all,” Igdalsky continued. “This was all about bringing medical and art supplies to the island. We also did some education stuff as well.”

    “It was a very unique experience. I was there more as a human than as a race track owner or promoter.”

    “As I said, I like to travel and to see that world. I was really surprised by the people and I have a new-found love for the Cuban people and their country.”

     

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins and Sweeps at Pocono Raceway

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins and Sweeps at Pocono Raceway

    In 2006 it was Denny Hamlin. This time around, it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who won for the second time this year at Pocono Raceway, effectively sweeping the season. Earnhardt picked up his third win of the season and his 22nd career victory in NASCAR’s most elite series. The last time he swept a race was in 2002 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Earnhardt credited the win to a team effort led by crew chief Steve Letarte saying, “Steve did a great job, really, with his strategy to get in that position. We’re not in that position just on car alone. We had a fast car and I drove a good race, but Steve’s strategy gave us a chance to win.”

    Letarte cited the work the team has done since their first visit to the track earlier this season.

    “I feel we unloaded a better car for the second Pocono than we did the first Pocono,” he said. “You cannot ever assume a winning car is going to be good enough the next week. While we were excited to win (in June) and we’ll take it, there was room for improvement, so we worked very hard between that race and this race.”

    Coming in second in the GoBowling.com 400 was Kevin Harvick who definitely had his fair share of battles today, and third was Joey Logano.

    The dominant car of the race was Jeff Gordon. After leading a race-high 63 laps, the No. 88 team strategy bested Gordon, and ultimately left the five-time Brickyard winner to finish a disheartening sixth place. Fortunately for Gordon and his fans, he was able to maintain the regular season points lead.

    The race started when there was nearly a caution on lap one when Brad Keselowski almost lost his car after Kurt Busch attempted a pass of the No. 2 car. Fortunately, the race continued on smoothly until Jimmie Johnson encountered his first problem of the day.

    The first caution of the day came when debris was reported on the track after Johnson brushed the wall and as soon as he went down, a tire blew. The 48 team went a lap down but almost immediately regained it when yet another caution came out.

    Danica Patrick brought out the second caution while running in 10th as she clipped the wall which resulted in a blown tire.

    Another two cautions were brought out and Kyle Busch’s day ended early when he encountered engine issues. After that, the race remained relatively quiet, despite the fact that there were three different pit strategies going on by the time that Johnson hit the wall and ruined his day.

    On the restart, Denny Hamlin got a little loose which caused a 13 car accident that was reminiscent of what you would expect to see on a superspeedway like Talladega or Daytona. Cars that ran so well earlier in the day suddenly found themselves behind the wall. Drivers like Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards found themselves out of the running.

    Another driver involved in the accident was race runner-up Kevin Harvick.

    Under this caution, eventual race winner Earnhardt chose to pit, making it so he would only have to pit once more and only for a splash of gas when the time arose.

    When the race restarted on lap 126 drivers were wary of gas, and it turns out that that wouldn’t be an issue, as the race went on to have two more cautions. On the first one, Earnhardt was able to take the lead for the first time and after the second caution, he was able to hold off a hard charging Harvick with three laps to go, and take the win.

    The fourth place finisher was Clint Bowyer who ran strongly throughout the entirety of the race and fifth place went to Greg Biffle.

    Jeff Gordon retains the points lead by 17 over second place Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brad Keselowski (-70) is third followed by Matt Kenseth (-89) and Ryan Newman (-115).

    Complete Results for the GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway:

     

    Position Car No. Driver
    1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    2 4 Kevin Harvick
    3 22 Joey Logano
    4 15 Clint Bowyer
    5 16 Greg Biffle
    6 24 Jeff Gordon
    7 1 Jamie McMurray
    8 31 Ryan Newman
    9 11 Denny Hamlin
    10 5 Kasey Kahne
    11 42 Kyle Larson
    12 13 Casey Mears
    13 41 Kurt Busch
    14 9 Marcos Ambrose
    15 3 Austin Dillon
    16 51 Justin Allgaier
    17 38 David Gilliland
    18 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    19 34 David Ragan
    20 83 Ryan Truex
    21 26 Cole Whitt
    22 7 Michael Annett
    23 2 Brad Keselowski
    24 98 Josh Wise
    25 32 Travis Kvapil
    26 37 Dave Blaney
    27 36 Reed Sorenson
    28 33 Alex Kennedy
    29 99 Carl Edwards
    30 10 Danica Patrick
    31 23 Alex Bowman
    32 78 Martin Truex Jr.
    33 27 Paul Menard
    34 47 AJ Allmendinger
    35 43 Aric Almirola
    36 14 Tony Stewart
    37 55 Brain Vickers
    38 20 Matt Kenseth
    39 48 Jimmie Johnson
    40 66 Joe Nemechek
    41 40 Landon Cassill
    42 18 Kyle Busch
    43 93 Johnny Sauter
  • Earnhardt Jr. Holds off Harvick to Complete Sprint Cup Season Sweep at Pocono

    Earnhardt Jr. Holds off Harvick to Complete Sprint Cup Season Sweep at Pocono

    News – NSCS Recap
    August 3, 2014

    LONG POND, Pa. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. realized that it took a bit of luck for him to win at Pocono Raceway in June. But he knew his team was firing on all cylinders Sunday when he completed the season sweep.

    Benefitting from impeccable pit strategy, Earnhardt led the final 14 laps and a car with the performance to hold off Kevin Harvick on a restart with three laps to go to ring up his third victory of the 2014 season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400.

    “It wasn’t about luck this time,” said Earnhardt, who roared past Brad Keselowski in the June race after Keselowski caught a piece of trash in his grill and began to overheat.

    Earnhardt credited crew chief Steve Letarte and his team for not resting on their laurels at Pocono.

    “We were determined to go home from the last win and improve the car,” Earnhardt said. “Steve and the guys studied and improved the setup. We had a little luck on the win the last time with Keselowski having the debris and we wanted to be in the driver’s seat this go-round with a faster car.”

    Letarte said the homework paid off in a faster Chevrolet.

    “I feel we unloaded a better car for the second Pocono than we did the first Pocono,” he said. “You cannot ever assume a winning car is going to be good enough the next week. While we were excited to win (in June) and we’ll take it, there was room for improvement, so we worked very hard between that race and this race.”

    The result was Earnhardt’s second season sweep of his career (Talladega 2002). He also became the first driver to sweep at Pocono since Denny Hamlin in 2006.

    Almost from the outset, Sunday’s 400-miler was a battle of pit strategies regarding fuel strategy and tires. Throw in a 13-car wreck that took much of the field out of contention for the final 34 laps and crew chiefs had their hands full.

    Letarte made the ultimate decision to take four fresh tires with 39 laps to go, then bring Earnhardt back for a splash of gas 10 laps later.

    “All we needed to get there was a gallon or two while the rest of the guys in front of us needed four tires and a full tank,” Earnhardt said “We were on pit road for two seconds in the box and they were in their pit stalls for 12-14 seconds. We were able to leapfrog those guys. We weren’t technically leading the race when the (next) caution came out, but we were ahead of those guys on where we needed to be.

    “It takes a really, really smart guy to understand what to do and take those gambles. Sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don’t. I’ve got a lot of faith in Steve and the strategy he used today gave us the opportunity to get by some guys that we probably weren’t going to pass on the race track.”

    It was the fifth consecutive Sprint Cup victory at Pocono for Hendrick Motorsports, which also had Jeff Gordon in contention for much of the race.

    Gordon, a six-time winner at Pocono, led a race-high 63 laps. He also became the first driver to lead 1,000 laps at Pocono and passed the 24,000 mark in career laps led in Sprint Cup competition.

    Joey Logano, who led the first 30 laps, finished third ahead of Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle.

    Saving fuel, Biffle found himself with the lead after AJ Allmendinger’s crash brought out a caution with 21 laps left. But Biffle couldn’t hold off Earnhardt, who took command with 14 laps to go.

    “I was heartbroken when that caution came out,” said Biffle, who thought strategy had given him a fighting chance. “That just killed our day. We had a 20th-place car but got track position and drove our butt off. (If the race stayed green) it was going to be ‘Mickey Mouse’ –- who would run out of fuel — unless those guys could catch us.”

    Earnhardt had opened a 2.7-second lead on Harvick when Kurt Busch hit the wall, bringing out another caution that created the final restart.

    “With Kevin, I’m racing one of the best,” Earnhardt said. “That guy is going to get everything he can out of his car. I was anticipating him being right there on the inside going into (Turn) 1. I knew I was just going to have to really get brave, drive it down in there and pray for it to stick.”

    Harvick, who overcame a pit road speed penalty on Lap 96 and found himself 14th after driving over a storm drain in avoiding major damage during the 13-car melee, gave it all he could.

    “I timed that last (restart) pretty good,” Harvick said.. “But I couldn’t turn into the corner like I needed to to stay beside him. I thought if I could get beside him going into (Turn) 1 I’d have a chance, but he was a little better than I was in Turn 3.”

    On his way to his Victory Lane celebration, Earnhardt took a phone call from team owner Rick Hendrick.

    “I just thanked him for how much he changed my life and how he has supported me,” Earnhardt said. “I wanted to thank him and make sure he understood how much I appreciated him. I wanted him to know how much it meant to me that I got the chance to drive this car and get a win today.”

  • Erik Jones Finds Redemption at Pocono Raceway with Top Ten Truck Run

    Erik Jones Finds Redemption at Pocono Raceway with Top Ten Truck Run

    Erik Jones, the 18 year old driver of the No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, put his two bad ARCA Racing experiences at Pocono Raceway behind him, redeeming himself with a top-10 finish in his first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Race at the Tricky Triangle.

    Jones finished sixth in his virgin Pocono Truck voyage, surviving ten extra laps and some wild and crazy restarts to do so.

    “Yeah, the ARCA races, we were fast but we just didn’t have the finishes we wanted,” Jones said. “The Truck race was good. We definitely got the truck better as the run went on.”

    “We had a fast Tundra from the start of practice; I just wish we could’ve been on that outside line on that last restart at the end of the day,” Jones continued. “We probably should’ve run third, but don’t know if we had anything for the win.”

    “It was a good day overall,” Jones said. “Eric (Phillips, crew chief) did great calling the race and getting us good track position for the end.”

    While the young driver praised his crew chief, he also gave major props to the man with whom he has shared his seat Kyle Busch.

    “Having Kyle to talk to – he’s definitely a big resource that I have gone to and said ‘hey, how do you get around this place,’ Jones said. “He’s been a big help to me. Definitely just on the job learning with Kyle on the side and that’s been the way I’ve done it for the past year.”

    “My mentor has definitely been Kyle, even throughout my whole career,” Jones continued. “I’ve never really had a mentor or driver coach up until last year when Kyle was helping me out. Especially this year, he has really been helping me out a lot. It’s pretty cool that I have Kyle to go to.”

    While Jones gave total credit to Busch for his success at Pocono and throughout the 2014 season to date, he also acknowledged that it is sometimes difficult to pop in and out of the Truck seat with his owner and mentor.

    “It’s tough,” Jones said. “You always want to race week in and week out. I’m grateful for every opportunity I get.”

    “But it definitely makes it hard to stay in that rhythm when you’re not in the truck and doing it every week,” Jones continued. “We have great race trucks and that definitely makes it a lot easier to get back in when they are so good. It’s tough but we make it work along the way.”

    Jones also credited his teammate Darrell Wallace Jr., who drives the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Tundra, as well as his manufacturer for the success that he has had so far this season and especially at Pocono this weekend.

    “Toyota has put a lot into the trucks this year,” Jones said. “I’m getting a strong truck and they put a lot of time building it and in the wind tunnel. It all worked out for this year.”

    “My teammate in the No. 54 has been fast and we’ve been fast as well,” Jones continued. “That has been paying off throughout the season and I hope we can keep it going and ahead of the game so far. I think everyone is trying to catch up with us. So, we want to stay ahead of it and stay fast.”

    While Jones is a bit unsure of what the future holds for the 2015 season, he has definitely got his goals for the remainder of the season after completing his Pocono run.

    “Right now I’ve got the rest of the Truck season with seven more races. So, I’ll do that and two more Nationwide races with Gibbs at Bristol and Phoenix. I’m definitely looking forward to all of them honestly,” Jones said.

    “Next year, if I could be back full-time in the truck, that’d be great,” Jones continued. “I’d love to run here for a driver’s championship; hopefully bring one home to Kyle and everybody.”

    “Right now we’re focused one hundred percent on the owner’s championship for the second year in a row. I think that would be pretty good for us,” Jones said. “Obviously next year hopefully the focus can be the driver’s championship for me but right now we’re all looking forward to trying to go out and get that owner’s championship.”

    Just as he experienced at the Tricky Triangle, Jones admitted that the Truck Series is definitely challenging for him as a young, up and coming driver.

    “I’d say the thing I like most about the Truck Series is the competitiveness and running with the veterans,” Jones said. “And it’s always fun to go to the race track and feel like I have a chance to win this weekend. That’s what is so fun for me and everybody on this deal.”

    “The challenge for me, last year more so than this year, has been really adjusting to the competition level,” Jones continued. “Some of these guys have been racing trucks for so long. They really know how to run these races and they know what they need their truck to do. It took me awhile last year to get adjusted to that competition level and I’m still really trying to figure it out fully this year. So, that’s’ been the biggest challenge.”

    Jones is hoping that his continuing top-10 finishes will also help attract some additional fans to his burgeoning base.

    “It’s not easy,” Jones said of his effort to garner new fans. “Obviously social media has been big for me to connect with people that don’t know who I am. That’s been a huge part for me.”

    “Just going to all the autograph sessions and doing everything on Twitter to stay involved is how I interact with fans,” Jones continued. “The biggest thing for me is trying to meet people, be friendly with them and be open to them.”

    So, what does Jones want fans to know about him, especially after finishing his maiden Truck voyage at Pocono?

    “I guess the biggest thing is that I want to be competitive,” Jones said. “I want to be successful. And I want to move on and be fast.”

    “That’s the biggest thing to me to be successful every weekend. Hopefully we can keep the top-ten finishing streak going and keep it alive for Toyota.”

     

  • Darrell Wallace Jr. Transitions from Eldora Win to Tackling the Tricky Triangle

    Darrell Wallace Jr. Transitions from Eldora Win to Tackling the Tricky Triangle

    Darrell Wallace Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, is ready to make the difficult transition from one of the sport’s highest highs, a coveted Truck win at Eldora Speedway, to the trickiness of Pocono Raceway where he will race the Pocono Mountains 150 in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series.

    Even though he is in Long Pond, PA, he is still savoring his ‘W’ in the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora and in fact, just recently had the opportunity to celebrate with his race team.

    “Luckily the race was a Wednesday night race so we had the whole weekend to sit back, reflect on it and let it sink in,” Wallace said. “I’m still pumped up about it of course. We had our team dinner last night and we were talking about it.”

    “It’s been a fun week.”

    “Eldora was a surprise; a shocker,” Wallace said. “But we did it. If we can just finish out the rest of the season strong and we can keep it going, we will be fine.”

    While Wallace now has turned his attention to Pocono, he admits that the track is more difficult to figure out than even racing on the dirt, at least in his book.

    “It is a tricky triangle for a reason,” Wallace said. “It is grueling on the mindset of a driver, especially me.”

    “It’s just hard figuring out every corner because every corner is unique,” Wallace continued. “The guys brought me a fast Toyota Tundra and we just have to figure out where we need to gain speed. That’s the biggest thing. I think it’s mostly me but we will be fine by race time.”

    Wallace acknowledges that he may just need to lean on not only his crew chief but also his team owner Kyle Busch and teammate Erik Jones to make it around the three corners of Pocono.

    “My crew chief Jerry (Baxter) has been my biggest mentor and coach,” Wallace said. “He has been in the sport for a long time and he knows the ins and outs of it.”

    “I listen to what he has to say, through the frustrating moments to winning moments to losing moments, I try to take in everything he says,” Wallace continued. “We move forward as a team and that’s a huge part of being successful. Having the communication and relationship with your team is critical. Jerry is the team leader and we all listen to him. We’re giving him feedback and we’re trying to help each other progress as one.”

    “I think that is why we’re so dominant at KBM because we have the communication and we’re hitting on every note.”

    “Kyle (Busch) is the centerpiece of this team and we build off him,” Wallace said. “We try to be as fast as him and he is undefeated this season. Toyota is undefeated. We have two wins; Erik (Jones, teammate) has got one. So, we’re on a hot streak right now.”

    “We try to be patient and consistent and be ready to win.”

    Although his teammate Erik Jones is on the quiet-side, at least quieter than Wallace himself, the driver of the No. 54 has the greatest respect for him, especially with Jones’ performance so far at Pocono, where he has practiced consistently in the top-ten.

    “He’s quiet that’s for sure,” Wallace said of Jones. “But Erik is fast and he has speed. We sat on the front row at Iowa and he ended up winning the race. He has always shown speed and he is pretty fast here at Pocono.”

    “We bounce ideas off each other and places where we have been. We grow as a team and we will be just fine here.”

    So, what will success look like at Pocono for Darrell Wallace Jr.?

    “I would definitely be happy with a top five,” Wallace said. “I hate to say it, but we’re on a points run right now. We’re trying to bounce back up through the points.”

    “We have to be smart in the race,” Wallace continued. “The tunnel turn is the trickiest corner that you will ever get through.”

    “We have to be patient, calm and make smart decisions,” Wallace said. “We’ll let those other drivers make a bone head move and then there’s our top five opportunity.”

    “I’m on the level that I want to race,” Wallace continued. “We have to go out there and be smart about every call we make. We can’t get overexcited about what happened before because you get that special moment and then it’s time to get back to work.”

    Wallace finished final practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the 1th position with a time of 55.427 seconds and a speed of 162.376 mph. Wallace will qualify Saturday, August 2nd at 10:10 am and then race the ‘Tricky Triangle’ at 1:00 pm.

  • Loss of Crew Chief a Matter of Perspective

    Loss of Crew Chief a Matter of Perspective

    While the penalty to Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota team, resulting in the suspension of crew chief Darian Grubb, continued to reverberate throughout the garage and media center at Pocono Raceway, there were varying reactions from the drivers as to just how impactful that situation really was to a race team.

    And, as always, that reaction seemed very dependent on perspective, particularly whether the driver was in the thick of the experience at present or not.

    “It’s a tough deal,” Hamlin, the driver currently in the throes of crew chief loss, said. “It’s something that obviously affects our team.”

    “As an organization we were heading in the right direction so it kind of sucks because you lose a little bit of that momentum.”

    During his media availability at Pocono Raceway, Hamlin definitely attempted to put the best face on losing his crew chief for six weeks, citing the technology available to the team and also his familiarity with interim crew chief Mike Wheeler as giving him some comfort in the situation.

    “Darian is in constant contact with Wheels (Mike Wheeler) at all times and myself,” Hamlin said. “So, it’s not too bad as far as that’s concerned.”

    “Really, I’m in pretty good hands,” Hamlin continued. “I’ve been with Mike Wheeler longer than I’ve been with anyone in the Cup Series. Even though it’s tough losing those guys, I get who was car chief for 10 years, get him back to the race track.”

    Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who has also experienced crew chief loss due to suspension but is not currently in the throes of it, had a slightly different yet serious take on the situation.

    “Oh, it’s huge not having your crew chief there,” the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s Chevrolet said. “And the fact that we won without Chad (Knaus, crew chief) at the track is pretty amazing to be honest.”

    “The first portion of the suspension, the first weekend or two, it’s real tough on the morale,” Johnson continued. “Everywhere you go, you’re answering questions. So, there’s an emotional piece in the beginning and that’s really tough.”

    “Then you can’t wait for the first weekend’s practice to start and to figure out how you’re going to work through this and what kind of speed the car will have and how the team will perform”, Johnson said. “The element of truly having a conversation with someone and understanding how tight the car might be or how uncomfortable you might be, that element is so vital in our sport,”

    “And when somebody is in North Carolina and the others are at the track, it’s impossible to get that pulled together.”

    “But I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Johnson said. “It’s such a difficult thing to go through.”

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, had a different perspective, seeming to take any crew chief loss more in stride. In fact, from his vantage point, he did not think losing a crew chief to suspension was that bad at all.

    “I think it’s probably not as hard today as it was in the past just because of electronic communications and technology and all the ways they can chat on the computers,” Kenseth said. “The way they can do all of that stuff certainly I think it makes it easier as far as the technical aspect and changes to the car and setups and all of that kind of stuff.”

    In spite of minimizing the impact due to the technology, Kenseth did acknowledge that it is difficult simply from a lack of presence perspective when the crew chief is cast out due to a penalty.

    “You’re still missing your head coach, the guy who leads the people and gets them together and talks strategy and you’re still not looking in his eyes and talking face to face and doing all of that kind of stuff,” Kenseth said. “So, I think it’s not as hard as it was at one time but I think certainly you’d still want him here.”

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon lent his perspective on losing a crew chief due to suspension.

    “I think it depends on your communication and the overall team morale,” Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, said. “The quality of the cars doesn’t go away. In some ways, that  might allow a little bit more time preparing the cars at the shop.”

    “But with the Chase format, I couldn’t imagine going through that without Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) calling the shots,” Gordon continued. “You build this special relationship with your crew chief and it would be strange and awkward to be doing that with someone else.”

    “I think it’s impactful but it doesn’t mean you could not win races without them.”

    Hamlin, the only driver currently in the throes of the crew chief loss experience, admitted that he is trying his best to be positive about the penalty situation involving his crew chief. In fact, the driver is taking the perspective of using it as the ultimate in motivation for his performance in the upcoming GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    “Well, you use stuff like this as motivation to go out there and prove that you can run fast no matter what and you can run well,” Hamlin said. “We were on a run there last month and a half to two months that I feel like our cars were really starting to turn the corner.”

    “So, really, I’m excited about what these next six weeks brings,” Hamlin continued. “We’ve got some great race tracks ahead of us – a lot of them which we feel like we can win.”

    Losing your crew chief indeed seems to be just a matter of perspective.

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: In search of his third straight win, Johnson finished sixth at Pocono despite an accident on pit road with Marcos Ambrose that left the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet with right-side damage. Johnson now sits fourth in the points standings, 23 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “We failed at pulling off the ‘triple,’” Johnson said, “as did a certain horse. For this native of El Cajon, ‘California Chrome’ is what I call my trophy room. I’m a six-time Sprint Cup champion, so, in a sense, I’ve got two ‘triple crowns.’ That’s what is known as the ‘Jimmie Hat.’”

    2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt passed Brad Keselowski with five laps to go and won the Pocono 400. It was Earnhardt’s second win this season and first at Pocono’s 2.5 mile tri-oval. He is now third in the points standings, 22 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “What was that on Keselowski’s grill?” Earnhardt said. “I’ll tell you. The same thing that’s littering the infield of any NASCAR track—white trash.

    “Now, that’s a tough fate to befall a former Sprint Cup title winner. I guess that’s what you call a ‘paper’ champion.”

    3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished eighth at Pocono and regained the Sprint Cup points lead as Matt Kenseth struggled to a 25th-place result. Gordon now leads Kenseth by 16 points.

    “That’s three straight wins for Hendrick Motorsports,” Gordon said, “and five total on the season. Some say Rick Hendrick’s deep pockets are the reason we’re so dominant. There may be some truth to that. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won because of a white piece of paper. But in most cases, a Hendrick win can be attributed to paper that is green.’”

    4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished a disappointing 25th in the Pocono 400 and remained winless on the year. He dropped out of the top spot in the points standings and is now in second, 16 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “Pocono is just not one of my favorite tracks,” Kenseth said. “This ‘square’ doesn’t like triangles, and has a hard time finding ‘circles,’ namely ‘Victory.’”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano suffered his worst finish of the year, a 40th at Pocono, the result of engine failure with ten laps to go.

    “A hot dog wrapper? A grill?” Logano said. “Sounded like a perfect occasion for some Miller Lite. But it was not to be.

    “I’ll say it again. NASCAR is safer than the NFL. Why, you ask? Because men of color are just trying to break barriers, not other players.”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led with five laps to go at Pocono, but lost the lead to Dale Earnhardt as Keselowski tried to clear a piece of debris from his grill. It was Keselowski’s second runner-up finish in a row, and left him fifth in the points standings, 50 out of first.

    “Done in by a piece of paper that surrounds a hot dog,” Keselowski said. “In the business, that’s called getting ‘Vanilla Iced,’ because we got served by a ‘white wrapper.’

    “I was trying to use Danica Patrick as a pick. Just call me ‘GoDaddy.com,’ because I was trying to exploit her.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards was collected in a late crash initiated when Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch made contact. Edward’s day was done on lap 143, and he finished 41st. He is seventh in the points standings, 57 out of first.

    “Greg Biffle is set to sign an extension with Roush Fenway,” Edwards said. “Biffle’s never won a championship in his long tenure here. So, it’s no surprise he’s not ‘going places.’

    “Of course, my future here is a lot like a good back flip—up in the air. And speaking of ‘hang time,’ I don’t have any, because none of my teammates want to ‘hang’ with me.

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 14th at Pocono, as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won, joining Harvick, Joey Logano, and Jimmie Johnson in the two-win club.

    “I can certainly empathize with Brad Keselowski,” Harvick said. “I too know what a worthless white piece of paper is. In my case, it was several—when I ripped up my Richard Childress Racing contract.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch came home 12th at Pocono, posting a solid finish despite making contact with Kasey Kahne on lap 142 and losing considerable track position. Busch is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 55 out of first.

    “Tough break there for Brad Keselowski,” Busch said. “If you’ve got trash all up in your grill, try some dental floss.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Pocono and brought home a fourth-place finish, leading the Joe Gibbs Racing charge. He is eighth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 78 out of first.

    “Is Carl Edwards headed to Joe Gibbs Racing?” Hamlin said. “On the surface, it seems ‘Cousin Carl’ would be a great addition to the team. But, let’s face it, I’m not the only with who feels no amount of ‘kinship’ with Edwards.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 400

    Under surprisingly blue skies with no rain in sight, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 33rd annual Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

    Surprising: It may have been his first ever win at Pocono Raceway and his second win of the season guaranteeing him an opportunity to run for the championship, but surprisingly Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was focused more after the race on how he was going to share the victory with Junior nation.

    In fact, the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet advised the media that he planned to head over to his Twitter account because he “took a picture of myself over at the pylon and I’ll tweet that out later once I get to my phone.”

    “I joined Twitter in February at Daytona and I underestimated just how enjoyable that could be,” the race winner continued. “The interaction is unlike any other, and I get as much out of it, I think, as the fans that are following me.”

    “It definitely has some sort of a small effect on your personality, to have that kind of support directly right at your fingertips, knowing everybody is behind you 100 percent every day.”

    “I’ve enjoyed it a lot and it’s wins like this that certainly make it a whole lot more fun for everybody.”

    Not Surprising: There is no doubt that Brad Keselowski must be hoping that NASCAR forget Air Titan and develop Trash Titan after having to choose between trying to get some trash off his grille and finishing the race or trying to win and blowing up in the process.

    To make matter worse, the driver of the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale Ford had not only been leading the race at the time of the trash, but had also dominated the race, leading 95 laps.

    “You know, we were just running really hot and the motor was going to blow up so I had to do something,” Keselowski said. “So, I tried to follow the 10 down in the corner to get the debris off and I just checked up too much. I thought I had more room than I did.”

    “I’m not sure I did enough to make a difference,” Keselowski continued. “But I made enough of a difference to lose the lead in the process. I thought I had enough of a cushion. When I got down in the corner, the car got sideways and I realized I had made a mistake. It was too little, too late.”

    “It was really a flawless day except for my mess up.”

    Surprising: At the conclusion of the Pocono 400, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch shared something surprisingly snake-like in common. Kahne continued to be snake bit after crashing hard on lap 142 to finish 42nd, while third-place finisher Busch commented that he felt like he and his team were “shedding that new-team skin today and running up front.”

    In contrast to Busch’s shedding off of bad runs, the snake bit runs of Kasey Kahne continued. And the driver of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet was not happy about any of it as he emerged from the infield care center after his hard crash.

    “Well, I had just passed Kyle (Busch) and I caught (Ryan) Newman and I was passing him off Turn 3,” Kahne said. “We were side-by-side so Kyle was able to get a good draft down the straightaway. We got to Turn 1 and I was on the outside and then he knew if he didn’t clear me there, then I would pass him back because I just had.”

    “He just floored it and didn’t care there was someone out there and ran me right in the wall,” Kahne continued. “We both ended up wrecking. I think he wrecked a little bit, but I hit a good bit harder.”

    “Once we hit, my car just went hard right.”

    Not Surprising: Kyle Larson continued to prove himself to be a quick learner by winning the ARCA race at Pocono and also by mastering the art of shifting.

    “To be honest with you, I did miss a couple shifts,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “Yeah, just twice, which is a lot better than probably it would have been if I didn’t practice shifting a whole lot.”

    “But yeah, I mean, surprisingly there was only two times, when I was battling people and when I was pretty excited,” Larson continued. “I don’t know, I thought it was a good day.”

    It was indeed a good day as the rookie driver finished fifth, again scoring Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors, at a track where he had never been before.

    Surprising: ‘Home’ tracks were surprisingly good for Martin Truex Jr., who scored his second top-ten finish in two races, taking the checkered flag in ninth at Pocono this weekend and sixth at Dover last weekend. Since Truex is from southern New Jersey, he considers both tracks his ‘home’ turf.

    “We had top-10 cars all year but we were not able to finish races,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet said. “The last two weeks we finished the races and got some decent results. We’re gaining but still have a ways to get to where we want to be with our Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.”

    “I made a mistake on one of the restarts and lost a bunch of track position,” Truex, a native of nearby Mayetta, N.J, continued. “But on the last restart I was in the right line and got a little lucky. Earlier in the race we were unlucky on the restarts.”

    “I guess what goes around comes around.”

    Not Surprising: Even champs make mistakes, but their true measure is demonstrated as to how they handle those errors. Both Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart made pit road mistakes, Johnson with a spin on pit road and Smoke with a speeding penalty, but both were able to rebound, finishing sixth and thirteenth respectively.

    “My car somehow pivoted around that right-front tire changer and carrier,” Johnson said. “From there, we just went to work and did what the No. 48 does best and grind it out.”

    “100 percent driver error,” Stewart said of his pit road speeding issue. “I got to where I blew through all the lights.”

    “Had an awesome Mobil 1 Chevy all day, so great race, just the driver screwed it up this week.”

    Surprising: David Ragan had a surprisingly good Tricky Triangle run, finishing 18th in his No. 34 Taco Bell Ford.

    “That was fun to be racing up there with those guys,” Ragan said. “Obviously it’s been a tough year for us so hopefully this can be a turning point for our Front Row Motorsports team.”

    “It was nice to have things go in our favor today and do what we know we’re capable of doing.”

    Not Surprising:   Denny Hamlin, after scoring the pole, went on to prepare for the upcoming charity poker event for the next race at Pocono.

    “It was a challenge,” Hamlin said of his fourth place run in the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota. “Those are the cards you are dealt and you have to deal with it.”

    “I think in today’s world, strategy plays more into it than wheeling the car,” Hamlin continued. “The driver was at the mercy with the air that he’s dealt and the car that’s under him.”

    “Those were the cards we had today.”

    Surprising: One of NASCAR’s intrepid beat reporters Dustin Long became the story this past weekend, after breaking his ankle during an interview with eventual race winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    Junior bantered with Long in the media center after the race, telling Long to use the ramp and asking why he was so far away sitting at the furthest end of the media center from the dais.

    “I’m keeping my distance now,” Long replied.

    “I won’t push you again,” Junior bantered back.

    While Earnhardt Jr. did no such thing as Long tripped over one of the scales during the interview, the story took on a life of its own and will no doubt be one of the stories to remember in the 2014 season.

    Not Surprising: It was Jeff Gordon’s turn to snatch the points lead back from Matt Kenseth, after Kenseth stumbled early in the race to finish 25th in his Dollar General Toyota while Gordon brought his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet home in the 8th position.

    “It was a great effort, great race car again,” Gordon said. “I thought that was consistent all day long and the pit stops were fantastic.”

    Gordon now leads the winless Kenseth in the point standings by just 16 points.