There are some race tracks that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits that are tough to figure out. Some are due to the racing surface, some because of the race conditions, and some are just tough on equipment. Then, you have Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. This track is considered a tri-oval, however there are only three corners. It’s high speed, yet the corners have very low banking.
Whatever the case may be, the one thing that is true is that Pocono is a challenging race track for any driver, and this weekend the best in the series came to Pennsylvania to do battle in the Pocono 500.
The weekend started up damp, as rain in the Pocono mountains halted any track activity on Friday, including qualifying. That put points-leader Tony Stewart on the pole with Jeff Gordon on the outside. Unfortunately for Stewart, his pole was short lived as during practice on Saturday, he crashed in the second turn, which forced him to a back-up car and put him at the rear of the field for the start of the race.
When Sunday’s race festivities began, there were many questions waiting to be answered. Questions surrounding Stewart and how he would perform from the back, questions surrounding Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his second race under crew chief Lance McGrew, but most importantly, how would NASCAR’s new double-file restart rule change the racing on the track?
Everyone at the track and watching on TNT would find out, as it was teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon leading the field to the green flag, and immediately problems came for Denny Hamlin. Right after the green flag came out, the engine died heading into the first turn, and it wouldn’t restart. The caution flag was posted as Hamlin tried to get the engine to turn over, but eventually needed a push from the tow truck to get to the garage.
This caution would also provide the first chance to see the new restart procedures. This is how it works – the lead car has the option of starting on the inside or outside line, the second place car starts beside the leader, and from third on back, the odd-numbered positions start on the inside row while the even-numbered positions start on the outside row.
Gordon elected to start on the outside lane and it immediately worked to his advantage as he jumped out to the lead, however one lap later Johnson ran him down and took his first lead of the day. Johnson would hold his lead until the second caution on lap 13 when Hamlin, who returned to the race track after replacing a fuel pump cable, again slowed and stopped on the track.
The round of pit stops did not change much near the front except for some strategies of whether to take two tires or four. Johnson and Matt Kenseth decided to get two tires and got out ahead of the field followed by Greg Biffle.
The green came back out on lap 17 and Johnson once again got the jump on the field by taking the outside lane on the restart. He would hold the lead until lap 39 as both Biffle and Carl Edwards caught him and battled for position, with Edwards barely leading at the line, but finally completing the pass coming out of the first turn.
Edwards began pulling out to a slight lead as green-flag pit stops began, eventually giving up the position as he, Kenseth, Biffle, Gordon and Johnson all pitted together for scheduled service. After all the cars came in for new tires and fuel, Edwards reclaimed the lead by a half-second over Biffle.
The race had a long, green-flag run only one quarter into the event as Edwards began pulling away by nearly 2.5 seconds on the field. The second round of green-flag stops began on lap 75 as Kenseth hit pit road for his scheduled service. Johnson pitted the following lap, and then Edwards came down on lap 77, giving the lead to Stewart. Edwards retook his lead on lap 79 when Stewart came in for his service.
Edwards proved to have the car to beat at this point as he again showed his strength out front, leading his teammate, Biffle, by just over a half-second. However, Edwards reported to his team that he would have to pit early since on the previous stop, they did not get the car full of fuel. Edwards came to pit road on lap 101, handing the lead over to Biffle.
The race got interesting three laps later as the yellow flag came out for the third time on the afternoon for debris. Johnson was coming to hit pit when the caution was posted and completed his stop, however pit road was closed as the caution was posted before he entered pit road. Johnson was penalized by going to the back of the pack on the restart.
The cars who had not pitted came in for service as it was Biffle leading the field off pit road, but Edwards got the lead back having pitted a few laps before the caution came out.
The green flag came back out on lap 109, but the race was quickly slowed again on lap 113 after David Stremme hit the wall out of turn two following contact with Earnhardt Jr. No drivers came to pit road and Edwards led the field to the green flag once again on lap 118.
Things started to get a little dicey up front as Edwards, Kenseth and Stewart battled for the lead over the next four laps. Edwards eventually gained the advantage on lap 122 and would hold the position until he pitted on lap 138 along with Stewart, handing the lead position to Kenseth.
Over the next five laps, the lead cars would cycle through four different drivers before going back to Edwards.
With just under 50 laps to go, Edwards held a nearly four-second lead over the field with at least one more pit stop to go, but strategies became very interesting four laps later as the field was slowed once again due to debris on the race track.
Gordon elected to stay out as rain began falling at the race track, hoping that it would lead to a stoppage of the race. However, it quickly moved out of the area and he came down pit road for service, giving the lead to Tony Stewart, who bead Edwards off pit road.
The restart of the afternoon came on lap 165, and now it became a guessing game of should the race stay green, would the drivers have enough fuel in the tank to make the distance. Gordon’s crew chief, Steve Letarte, said that he was good to go should the race not have another caution flag.
Stewart quickly jumped out to a 1.5-second lead over second-place running Johnson, who then begun a battle with Kasey Kahne, however it soon became a race to see who had enough fuel in the tank to make it to the finish. Mark Martin hit pit road first on lap 185 for fuel and two tires, while Kenseth came in two laps later for the same service.
Stewart, however, was told by his crew that they were staying out and trying to make it to the end by stretching their fuel. Having pitted on lap 159 it was going to be a tough task. With ten laps left, his lead over second-place was a little over two seconds, but with eight laps left his lead grew to 5.5 seconds and Stewart then began to conserve fuel by letting off the gas really early into the corners and not hitting the brakes.
With five to go, his lead was still stabilized at over five seconds, however his lead continued to shrink because of him letting off the gas and slowing his lap times down. With two to go, second place Edwards was gaining and nearly on the back bumper of Stewart, so when the white flag came out, Stewart began drafting off lapped traffic so he could save fuel but still remain ahead of his chasers. The strategy of his crew paid off as Stewart took the checkered flag in the Pocono 500, his first points victory as an owner/driver.
In victory lane, Stewart was asked how he was able to conserve enough fuel to get the win.
“I’m not telling,” Stewart said with a big smile on his face.
It is the first win for an owner-driver since Ricky Rudd won at Martinsville in 1998, in a race where he had to be pulled from the car in victory lane to receive oxygen and get cooled off.
The new restart procedures proved to work very well, and trying them out on a track that is wide and has many lanes to race in was a definite advantage. The rules may need a bit of refining, however, it is a step in the right direction for NASCAR.
Next week, the series makes a trip to Michigan and it’s 2-mile, D-shaped oval, the Michigan International Speedway. This track is wide, it’s fast, and much like Pocono, can be won on fuel mileage, as Earnhardt Jr. proved last year. Cars can run low or high, which will make it exciting to watch from the grandstands and at home on television.
My favorites here are Roush-Fenway drivers Edwards, Biffle and Kenseth. This is Roush’s house, and he proves that year in and year out. His team has proven that when the circuit comes to the track just outside of Detroit, the home of Ford Motor Company, his organization will be at it’s toughest.
Coverage of the LifeLock 400 starts next Sunday at 12:30 on TNT.
TOP 10: 1-Stewart 2-Edwards 3-Reutimann 4-Newman 5-Gordon 6-Ambrose 7-Johnson 8-Montoya 9-Burton 10-Hornish Jr.
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Biffle 15-Kahne 16-Kenseth 19-Martin 22-Kyle Busch 24-Harvick 27-Earnhardt Jr. 37-Kurt Busch
CAUTIONS: Five for 24 laps. Lap 2-4, 13-16, 104-108, 113-117, 158-164
LEADERS: 20 lead changes among ten drivers. Gordon 1-5, Johnson 6-13, Newman 14, Johnson 15-38, Edwards 39-45, Kurt Busch 46-47, Edwards 48-76, Stewart 77, Edwards 78-100, Biffle 101-105, Edwards 106-117, Kenseth 118-121, Edwards 122-137, Kenseth 138, Newman 139, McMurray 140, Sadler 141-142, Mears 143, Edwards 144-159, Gordon 160-161, Stewart 162-200
POINT STANDINGS: 1-Stewart, 2043 points 2-Gordon, -71 3-Johnson, -103 4-Newman, -203 5-Kurt Busch, -224 6-Edwards, -281 7-Biffle, -290 8-Kenseth, -298 9-Kyle Busch, -312 10-Burton, -318 11-Reutimann, -342 12-Hamlin, -361