Pocono Int'l Raceway - Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Jess
RESULTS
1. Carl Edwards
12. Dale Jr.
15. Martin
22. Casey
28. Brian
30. David (1LD)
38. Kurt (2LD)
43. Michael (DNF - ENGINE)
Another fuel mileage race! Uhg!
It did take long for some of our guys to face trouble. I was soon suspecting that Michael was having some sort of issue because after the Lap 1 caution he was on pit road for a lengthy period of time. Several laps later Kurt would spin and bring out the caution - luckily his amazing talent behind the wheel kept him from hitting anything! Unfortunately for Michael he couldn't recover like Kurt did because the #55's problems were out of his control: the engine was dying.
He barely made it to the competition caution on Lap 21, but I'll give him a lot of credit because he stayed out to lead a lap and collect five bonus points before taking the poor NAPA Camry to the garage. Judging by his 42nd-place starting spot the motor was going south long before the race - the lack of practice on Saturday gave the crew no time to diagnose the problem and thus no time to change engines.
On the #44 radio David was having a tough time with the handling of his car but like always he makes the best out of it. Shawn wasn't spotting this weekend and I had a hard time catching the new spotter's name; I think it was Clayton but don't quote me on that. He was doing a great job and spotting is no simple task. I also liked him because he was very encouraging and willing to help when he could. David was running extremely competitive laps at points, well into the top 10 compared to the rest of the field.
Green flag and yellow flag pit stops ensued with teams opting to do four tires and two tires. Generally Dale Jr. ran well the entire race - everyone else was up and down depending on what other teams chose to do. Something that surprised me was that Brian, who was awesome at Pocono in June, seemed to be struggling. His teammate AJ Allmendinger also was having a very trying day.
Rain began to fall after the midway point of the race and the red flag flew on Lap 131. If only the race had been canceled! Most of the leaders had pitted before the race was stopped, leaving Kurt in 6th and David in 7th! But alas the track was able to be dried off and racing resumed again. A small shower would lengthen a caution on Lap 138 but for the rest of the day it was clear sailing.
Fuel strategy didn't work out for the #2 team in the least, for he ran out of gas two laps before he was supposed to pit. This absolutely killed his chances of a good finish and made me seriously worried that David was going to run out as well. Thankfully he didn't and was able to make his green pit stop without trouble.
After this it was very difficult to keep up with what drivers were on what strategy and who could make it and who had to stop again...it was driving me insane! All I knew was that in the last few laps I was praying that there was enough fuel in the #44's gas tank to keep him where he was running in 12th. But he ran out with half a lap to go.
That was one of the most heartbreaking things ever...they worked so hard and didn't deserve to finish 30th. Kurt also ran out (again) and so did Brian at about the same time David did. It was horrible.
One guy who was saved by fuel mileage was Casey. He was able to drive by the other cars coasting to the finish and salvage a decent finish. Not a noble way to do it but you take 'em how you get 'em! Dale Jr. ran out on the frontstretch and participated in a drag race with Jeff Gordon (also running on fumes) to the line! It was so funny to watch - they must have felt like they were weighed down with lead!
Michael's second last-place in a row has brought him within 100 points from dropping out of the top 35 again.
I hope he can have a good run at the Glen this weekend and get a bigger gap between he and 36th.
#44 Quotes of the Race
(Before the green)
David: "If I need to set the pit road speed light, if I want to set the max, do I run it up to five grand and then press the button?"
Ryan: "No, don't touch this one!"
David (joking): "Don't tell me what to do!"
POINT STANDINGS
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr. -176
16. Brian -750
17. Martin -795
18. Kurt -924
24. Casey -1095
27. David -1196
32. Michael -1423 (33rd in owner points, +63 from 36th)
1. Carl Edwards
12. Dale Jr.
15. Martin
22. Casey
28. Brian
30. David (1LD)
38. Kurt (2LD)
43. Michael (DNF - ENGINE)
Another fuel mileage race! Uhg!
It did take long for some of our guys to face trouble. I was soon suspecting that Michael was having some sort of issue because after the Lap 1 caution he was on pit road for a lengthy period of time. Several laps later Kurt would spin and bring out the caution - luckily his amazing talent behind the wheel kept him from hitting anything! Unfortunately for Michael he couldn't recover like Kurt did because the #55's problems were out of his control: the engine was dying.
He barely made it to the competition caution on Lap 21, but I'll give him a lot of credit because he stayed out to lead a lap and collect five bonus points before taking the poor NAPA Camry to the garage. Judging by his 42nd-place starting spot the motor was going south long before the race - the lack of practice on Saturday gave the crew no time to diagnose the problem and thus no time to change engines.On the #44 radio David was having a tough time with the handling of his car but like always he makes the best out of it. Shawn wasn't spotting this weekend and I had a hard time catching the new spotter's name; I think it was Clayton but don't quote me on that. He was doing a great job and spotting is no simple task. I also liked him because he was very encouraging and willing to help when he could. David was running extremely competitive laps at points, well into the top 10 compared to the rest of the field.
Green flag and yellow flag pit stops ensued with teams opting to do four tires and two tires. Generally Dale Jr. ran well the entire race - everyone else was up and down depending on what other teams chose to do. Something that surprised me was that Brian, who was awesome at Pocono in June, seemed to be struggling. His teammate AJ Allmendinger also was having a very trying day.
Rain began to fall after the midway point of the race and the red flag flew on Lap 131. If only the race had been canceled! Most of the leaders had pitted before the race was stopped, leaving Kurt in 6th and David in 7th! But alas the track was able to be dried off and racing resumed again. A small shower would lengthen a caution on Lap 138 but for the rest of the day it was clear sailing.
Fuel strategy didn't work out for the #2 team in the least, for he ran out of gas two laps before he was supposed to pit. This absolutely killed his chances of a good finish and made me seriously worried that David was going to run out as well. Thankfully he didn't and was able to make his green pit stop without trouble.
After this it was very difficult to keep up with what drivers were on what strategy and who could make it and who had to stop again...it was driving me insane! All I knew was that in the last few laps I was praying that there was enough fuel in the #44's gas tank to keep him where he was running in 12th. But he ran out with half a lap to go.
That was one of the most heartbreaking things ever...they worked so hard and didn't deserve to finish 30th. Kurt also ran out (again) and so did Brian at about the same time David did. It was horrible.One guy who was saved by fuel mileage was Casey. He was able to drive by the other cars coasting to the finish and salvage a decent finish. Not a noble way to do it but you take 'em how you get 'em! Dale Jr. ran out on the frontstretch and participated in a drag race with Jeff Gordon (also running on fumes) to the line! It was so funny to watch - they must have felt like they were weighed down with lead!
Michael's second last-place in a row has brought him within 100 points from dropping out of the top 35 again.
I hope he can have a good run at the Glen this weekend and get a bigger gap between he and 36th.#44 Quotes of the Race
(Before the green)
David: "If I need to set the pit road speed light, if I want to set the max, do I run it up to five grand and then press the button?"
Ryan: "No, don't touch this one!"
David (joking): "Don't tell me what to do!"
POINT STANDINGS
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr. -176
16. Brian -750
17. Martin -795
18. Kurt -924
24. Casey -1095
27. David -1196
32. Michael -1423 (33rd in owner points, +63 from 36th)
