Race Review: Pennsylvania 500

Hello, race fans. Actually, the race was called the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Presented by Old Spice Swagger. But that wouldn’t fit in my title space. This is the twenty-first race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. And the second visit to Pocono this year. Usually, when they go to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. it rains at least some of the weekend. This visit was no exception. Qualifying was rained out on Friday. So the field was set by owner points, with Tony Stewart and Jimmy Johnson on the front row. This time, not only was qualifying rained out, the race was rained out. The race was run on Monday, under sunny skies. There will be a competition caution on lap 20 so everyone can see what the green track is doing to the tires. They can pit before lap 20, but may not add fuel.

Tony Stewart crashed his car into the wall during practice on Saturday, so he will start from the rear in his back-up car. He did that the last time we came to Pa. and won the race. Can he do it again? We’ll see. 09 this time is veteran Sterling Marlin. 36 is Patrick Carpentier. And 64 is Mike Wallace. With 14 Tony Stewart, starting from the rear, 24 Jeff Gordon will start from the pole.

So, here we go! 48 Jimmy Johnson leads and sets sail. 14 thinks he has a flat tire and pits. He goes a lap down, but will get it back when the competition caution comes out in six more laps. And the car is easier to drive. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya and 39 Ryan Newman battle for ninth. 42 keeps the spot.

The competition caution comes out on lap twenty-one. 14 Tony Stewart is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. 11 Denny Hamlin comes out of the pits first. 71 David Gilliland stays out a lap to lead, then pits. 7 Robby Gordon was too fast on pit road. 11 chooses the outside for the restart. 39 and 18 Kyle Busch battle. 5 Mark Martin pushes 39 past 18. 18 gets by 5, and they battle some more. 42 bumps 18 ahead of 5, and gets by 5. 42 gets by 18 for eighth.

The second caution comes out when 98 Paul Menard cuts a tire. 14 goes into the pits for more adjustments. 11, the leader pulls ahead. 42 and 18 battle again and 39 and 9 Kasey Kahne battle. 11 gets warned not to change lanes before the Finish Line at the restart. 9, 39 and 5 get by 18. 5 catches and passes 39.

The third caution comes out when they blow the cover off the caution light. 98 Paul Menard gets his lap back. 14 is now too tight, after being too loose. 20 Joey Logano and 31 Jeff Burton battle for position. 6 David Ragan gets by 31 for twenty-third. 47 Marcos Ambrose gets by 31. And Green Flag Pitting begins. 00 David Reutimann leads. 17 Matt Kenseth leads when 00 pits. 6 leads when 17 pits. 47 leads when 6 pits. 47 pits and 11 is back in the lead. 14 hasn’t pitted yet. He’s in third. 99 Carl Edwards on four new tires, drives by 14 for third.

The fourth caution comes out during the commercial, while 14 is in the pits. So, he stays on the lead lap. 96 Bobby Labonte was sent spinning. 9, 00, 17, 6, 47, 26 Jamie McMurray, 14 and 19 Elliott Sadler stay out, as they had just pitted. 48 takes four tires and finds himself in nineteenth. 18 pushes 99 past 19. 48 is falling back on the straight-away. He decides something is wrong with the engine and pits. Maybe a plug wire. He comes back out in front of the leader 9. After a few laps, 9 puts 48 a lap down. But he is the only car not on the lead lap. 48 gets warned about not keeping the minimum speed. 14 and 99 get by 6. 18 and 29 Kevin Harvick battle. 12 David Stremme gets by 18. 42 gets by 18 for twenty-first. 42 gets by 12.

On lap 126, 26 starts another round of Green Flag Pitting. 9 heads for the pits, and 11 takes the lead. 29 leads when 11 pits. 9 leads when 29 pits. 48 is now two laps down in thirty-sixth. 11 catches 9 and takes the lead. 99 gets by 17 for sixth. 5 and 47 battle for eighth.

The fifth caution comes out on lap 142, when 6 gets into the wall. 48 pits early and has the hood up. He leaves the pits as the leaders enter pit road. They changed the carburetor. 5, as the leader, chooses the outside for the restart, when 5, 83 Brian Vickers, 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. and 31 stay out. 1 Martim Truex, Jr. and 34 John Andretti stay out and get the wave around. 42 drives through the middle to get by both cars. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 18. 9 goes through the middle for fifth.

The sixth caution comes out for spinning 7 Robby Gordon. 12 got into him. 48 gets one of his two laps back. The leaders stay out. 48 pits to change spark plugs. And he has to come back in for the hood pin. 2 Kurt Busch takes the lead from 5. 42 gets by 20 Joey Logano for fifteenth. 48 is now three laps down.

The seventh caution comes out when 7 and 12 get racing each other. 7 bumps 12 and gets by. 12 retaliates and sends 7 spinning. They both get docked 5 laps. Gordon, for hitting Stremme during the last caution. Stremme for rough driving. 48 is now two laps down. 18 and 29 battle. 20 gets by 96 Bobby Labonte.

The eighth caution comes out during the commercial for debris.42, 77 and 82 Scott Speed were in the pits when the caution came out. So they stay on the track. 88 gets fuel only to come out of the pits first. 33 Clint Bowyer already pit and is now leading. He chooses the outside. 82 gets waved around. 48 is now one lap down. They go Green with thirty laps to go. There is lots of three-wide out there. 18 gets into the wall. 5 gets by 99.

The ninth caution comes out when 11 knocks 00 into 47 and they both go off spinning. 39 gets by. The back half comes in for tires. 48 is now on the lead lap! 33 chooses the outside. 77 and 9 get by 42. The tenth caution comes out when 6 gets into 96, who spins into 20. They collect 43 Reed Sorenson and 55 Michael Waltrip. 96 was trying to be patient, but no one else was. 48 manages to get by it all.

9 and 42 get together, but they both recover. 39 and 88 get together. 11 and 33 battle for the lead. 11 takes the lead. 48 gets by 2 for tenth! 33 gets loose and 42 gets by for second. 44 AJ Allmendinger gets by 99 for nineteenth. 2 and 48 battle again. 24  gets by 48. And they battle again. 14 gets by 17. 9 and 77 battle for fourth. 9 finally gets by. 77 gets back by 9. 83 is all over 9. 5 and 83 battle for sixth. 83 keeps the spot.

And 11 Denny Hamlin wins the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. His Grandmother has just died, so it is a very emotional win for him. And pretty quiet in Victory Lane. What a great race! So much racing going on. And they said Pocono was a boring race. Wrong!

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Race Review: Pocono 500

Today’s race review is the 14th race of the season, the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Qualifying was rained out on Friday, so the field was set by owner points. That put 14 Tony Stewart on the Pole and 24 Jeff Gordon starting second. However, Tony crashed his car in the first practice on Saturday and will start the race last, in a back-up car. That will put 48 Jimmy Johnson on the pole. 7 Robby Gordon was in the Baha 500 on Saturday, leaving Travis Kvapil to practice the car. He won the race, by the way. But will start the Pocono 500 from the rear. 09 is Sterling Marlin. 51 is Dexter Bean. 36 is Patrick Carpentier. He’s a road-racer of sorts, and Pocono is almost a road course. Pocono Raceway is a triangle with three different corners. It’s not really an oval. But it’s not really a road course, either. Some call it a “roval”.

So, here we go. There is trouble for 11 Denny Hamlin right at the start. There’s a puff of smoke and he has no power. Denny pulls the car out of everyone’s way, but the first caution comes out because he has stopped on the track and can’t get going. The track truck comes out and pushes him to the pits. A couple of cars pit during this caution. 24 Jeff Gordon is leading.

NASCAR listened to the fans and they decided they wanted double-file restarts, like they had in the All-Star race. So, starting this week, all restarts will be double-file. With the leaders battling each other and the lapped cars battling each other. It’s a bit comfusing about the line-up because the lead lap cars pit first, followed by the lapped cars the next lap. They will line up behind the lead-lap cars by how they came out of the pits. Not necessarily by position on the track. If any cars stay out instead of pitting to put themselves ahead of the leader, these cars will be given the go-around by the pace car with one to go and they will take their place on the tail end of the lead lap. And any Lucky Dog will be behind everyone else.

Back to racing. 83 Brian Vickers dives low to try to get by. 48 Johnson takes the lead. 83 and 99 Carl Edwards battle. 2 Kurt Busch and 24 battle for second. 39 Ryan Newman and 24 battle for third. 16 Greg Biffle pushes 39 past 24 and then follows 39 by. The second caution came out during the commercial. 11 is again being pushed off the track. Denny was fastest in final practice. 9 Kasey Kahne is in the pits with the hood up. The throttle hung up. Six cars did not pit.

48 is the leader and chooses the outside lane to restart. 5 Mark Martin and 16 battle. And they are four-wide! 83 and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya battle. 14 gets by 07 Casey Mears, 42 and 83. 16 gets by 17 Matt Kenseth for second. 99 Carl Edwards is up to fourth. 31 Jeff Burton slides back to seventh, from third. 14 is up to twelfth. 11 is back out of the garage, 22 laps down. 9 is up to twentyth after histhrottle problem was resolved. 17 gets loose and 17 and 99 almost get together.

16 is catching the leader 48. 14 gets by team mate 39 for tenth. 48 gets loose and 16 takes the lead. 48 takes the lead back. 99 and 16 battle with 48 for the lead. 99 takes the lead. 00 David Reutimann and 83 get by 39. 31 heads for the pits to start Green Flag Pitting. 51 Bean hits the committment cone, comming into the pits and knocks it out of the way. 55 Michael Waltrip doesn’t see any committment cone and spins into the pits.

5 Mark Martin takes the lead when 99 pits. 2 Kurt Busch leads when 5 pits. When all the pitting is over, 99 is back in the lead. 39 led a lap. 2 gets by 18 Kyle Busch for eighth. 14 gets by 18 for ninth. 17 starts another round of Green Flag pitting and many followed him in. 14 Stewart takes the lead. 14 pits and 99 is back in the lead. 39 is having engine issues. “Like there’s water in it”, he says. 99 didn’t get both cans of fuel in, and will be short on gas. Larry McReynolds declares he will have to make an “extry stop”.!?

31 pits. 48 heads to the pits as the second caution comes out. They make their pit stop even though pit road is closed, and he over-shoots his pit stall. The caution was for debris in the tunnel turn. 96 Bobby Labonte is the Lucky Dog. 39 was too fast exiting. 48 goes back into the pits. 18, 24 and 00 are three-wide for eighth. 12 David Stremme gets into the wall, and the fourth caution comes out for debris. 99 is leading and chooses the outside for the restart. 17 and 14 get by 99. 17 takes the lead. 99 gets second back from 14. 48 gets by 00 for seventh. 2 pits with water  blasting out of the over-flow.

31 again starts Green Flag pitting. 39 leads, then pits. 26 Jamie McMurray leads, then pits. 19 Elliot Sadler leads, then pits. 07 takes the lead as the only car still not having pitted. 99 takes the lead and 07 pits. 2 is back out after a water pump issue. The fifth caution comes out with 43 to go for debris. 55 Michael Waltrip is the Lucky Dog. 16 has no brakes. Rain is coming, so 24 stays out to lead. But sunshine is back out, so he pits. 14 Stewart came out of the pits first, to lead. The cars that went back in to top off their fuel will fall behind everyone else.

They go Green with 35 laps to go. 39 and 00 get by 5. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. gets by 5. 5 pits. 16 makes a pit stop. 18 is pitting. 17 and 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pit. 9 pits. 31 gets by 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. for tenth. They are playing a fuel mileage game, and the leaders are all slowing down. 48 gets by 99 for second. 99 gets back by 48. 48 runs out of fuel and finishes seventh instead of third.

And 14 Tony Stewart, in his own car, wins the Pocono 500. Tony won the non-points All-Star race last month. This is his first points win as an owner/driver. He remains at he top in the points. Kyle Busch, who won the Nationwide race on Saturday against all the amateurs,(and smashed his Gibson guitar Trophy) finishes 22nd and falls three spots in the points. I guess he can’t beat the Pros, like he can the little guys.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Have a good week.

Race Review

Pocono 500

Long Pond, Pa.

Welcome, race fans. This is the fourteenth race of the season. At the triangular shaped 2.5 mile track in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The only car that didn’t make it into the race was #96 J. J. Yeley. Why 44 cars couldn’t start on this big of a track, is beyond me. But I don’t make the rules. Dario Franchitti is back in the 40. 70 today is Jason Leffler from the Nationwide Series. He also competed in that Series race at Nashville this weekend. 18 Kyle Busch crashed his car in practice, as did 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. Both will start from the rear. 29 Kevin Harvick left his ignition switch on all night, and it drained his battery. He had to get a new battery to start the car, and will also start from the rear. 21 is Bill Elliott, who made it in on speed. 45 is Terry Labonte, in for Newscaster this week and all TNT televised races, Kyle Petty. He got in with a past Champion provisional. 9 Kasey Kahne is on the pole.
48 Jimmy Johnson leads the first lap. 99 Carl Edwards is moving up on the bottom of the track. 84 A. J. Allmendinger, 01 Regan Smith and 20 Tony Stewart are three-wide. 84 kept the car off 20 and looses the spot. 9 and 48 battle for the lead. 9 takes the lead. 18 gets by29 for thirty-fifth. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 2 Kurt Busch for ninth. And here, race fans, our electricity went out with a severe thunder storm. So I missed the first two cautions. 2 went spinning, but stayed on the lead lap. The lights come back on after the second caution, with cars exiting pit road. Forty-two laps are complete. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. stays out to lead. 48 takes the lead and 11 gets by 1.
The third caution involves 18. He wasn’t clear of 26 Jamie McMurray when he tried to slide in front of him, and 26 doesn’t let off. 18 goes to the garage. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and 24 Jeff Gordon battle. 88 gets by. 11 gets by 8 Mark Martin for third. When 11 was getting out of the pits, he hit another car with his right front. And there is some damage. 9 gets by 99 for fifth. The fourth caution comes out when 10 Patrick Carpentier and 77 spin together. 9 has to come back into the pits. They were going to take four tires, but decided on only two after they had lug nuts off. So they have to pit again to get those tires changed. 83 Brian Vickers stays out to lead. 6 David Ragan got into 31 Jeff Burton trying to miss the cone on the way out of the pits. Forty-two cars are on the lead lap.
48 quickly takes the lead. 11 pushes 99 past 16 Greg Biffle. The fifth caution comes out for 77 and 20 spinning together again. They collect 38 David Gilliland. 45 makes it past all that spinning. There is rain on the track, and we go to a Red Flag with the pace car leading everyone into the pits to dry the track. They dry the track, and the restart is on lap seventy-four. 48 is leading. 84 gets by 16 for seventh. The sixth caution comes out for 07 Clint Bowyer spinning in the pits. 42 of Juan Pablo Montoya is on fire. 07 started spinning out of control and 42 got into him while he was spinning. Montoya drives to the fire trucks to get out of the car. And they take their time putting the fire out.
Six cars stay out. 48 is first out of the pits. So, at the restart, it’s 19 Elliott Sadler, 43 Bobby Labonte, 22 Dave Blaney, 1, 11, 45, 48, 16, 99 and 20 in the top ten. 1 pushes 8 to gain position. 11 catches 19. 11 and 19 battle for the lead. 11 takes the lead. 8 and 43 battle. 48 and 99 get by 19 for second and third. 2 soars by 17 Matt Kenseth and 20. 12 Ryan Newman and 31 battle. 31 hangs on. 9 is up to seventh from thirty-third after the lug nut issue. 19, 43, 20 and 1 pit.
The seventh caution comes out for 55 Michael Waltrip who got into the wall. 45 Terry Labonte is the Lucky Dog. Out of the pits, it’s 88, 16, 9, 99, 11, 17, 48. 19, 20, 43 and 1 had just pitted before the caution and stay out. 20 takes the lead. 9 and 11 battle. 11 gets by 88 for sixth. 99 gets by 88 for seventh. 16 gets by 19 for second. The eighth caution comes out when 38 and 40 get together and 40 gets into the wall. 70 also has damage. 16 takes two tires and heads out before a crew member is clear. And then gets hit by 26 who is already going out of pit road. 48 and 24 stay out, with 9 out of the pits first. 9 gets by 24. 20 gets by 24. 16 gets by 24. 11 gets by 24. 9 catches 48 for the lead. 17 and 99 get by 24. 2 gets by 24. 31 pushes 1 and himself past 24. 9 takes the lead. 16 pushes 20 by 48.
The ninth caution comes out again for 77 and 40. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya is the Lucky Dog. He gets one of forty-two laps back. 18 is back in the race, eighty laps behind. 16 gets by 20 for second. 11 and 99 battle. 99 gets by. 99 and 11 get by 48. 48 pits using backward pitting strategy of a road course. 8 pits. 20 goes low and 99 gets by. 16 leads, then pits. 99 leads, then pits. 83 leading. 22 is fast entering pits, and 10 is fast exiting. Both will have to go down pit road. 16 is too fast exiting and will come back in. 9 is back in the lead. Twenty-eight cars are on the lead lap. 99 and 11 battle. 99 takes second from 11. 9 and 11 pit. 20 pits and is too fast exiting.
The tenth caution comes out when 18 spins. 99 was about to pit when the caution came out and stayed on the track, as pit road had closed as he was about to enter. 17 took the lead when 99 went to pit. 10 Patrick Carpentier is the Lucky Dog. 83 is leading at the restart with nineteen to go. 88 and 83 battle for the lead. 83 stays in the lead. 20, a lap down, gets out of the way so 9 can get by.11 gets by 88 for third. 9 takes the lead. 31 gets by 48 for fifth. 43 gets into the wall.17 doesn’t hit him, and we stay green. 31 and 88 battle. 31 gets by 88. 88 goes low to get back by 31 for fourth.
And 9 Kasey Kahne wins the race from the pole position.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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