By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

We seriously dodged a bullet with Pocono. Chris and I both went to cover the races there this weekend, even though it was supposed to absolutely pour. Begrudging sunshine prevailed for the ARCA race on Saturday, but on Sunday, right after the opening hullabaloo and as the cars were completing what was supposed to be their final pace lap, the worst that everyone feared, happened. It started out as a few huge bullet-like drops. We were both way out in the grass in Turn 1, at the end of Pocono’s gargantuan frontstretch and about a half a mile from the nearest real shelter. So we buckled down under our ponchos and hoped we would wait out what the radio guys kept saying would be “a few sprinkles.” The cars got called back to the pit lane and had their little rain covers put on. Then, it was as if someone turned a hose on us. Ever had someone turn a hose on you when you’re in a flimsy dollar-store rain poncho? Man, what a trip. I honestly thought I was going to drown in the sodden scramble back to the car. At the very least, I thought the cameras would be destroyed. Fortunately, they weren’t, and after this biblical deluge ran its brief course, the sun came out, and we put on our changes of clothes and enjoyed an absolutely fantastic Sprint Cup race day at Pocono. Check out Chris’s photos of both Saturday’s ARCA race and Sunday’s Sprint Cup race in the Events section, and read the collected blog coverage here!

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By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

There was a whole lot of seriously wrecked race cars in the garage area following the Pocono race today–which means there’s a long, late night ahead for those whose job it is to work on them. Fortunately, no one was hurt in that hellacious wreck, and the crews were already sawzall-ing off smashed fenders with the cars barely off the tow hook. Best of luck to you, guys! Follow the jump for more of the twisted-sheetmetal photos Chris snagged.

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Continue reading "Last-Lap Wreck Aftermath" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Our Eastern ad director Butch somehow managed to score this Skybox suite at Pocono. Ever wondered what it’s like to watch the race from up in the box? Well for one, short of being a spotter, it’s pretty much the only way that you can see the entire track, especially at a behemoth like Pocono. And the race is still plenty loud, though they give you a little tv in the top corner and pipe in MRN radio so you can at least follow what’s going on. It’s a great vantage point, and along with the a/c and the heaps of catered food it beats the hell out of baking in the grandstands. But a few of the sensory delights of motorsports are missing, and if you’re the type of person who wants to be right in the thick of the action, sitting up in the box can feel a bit remote. While it was fun hanging out with Butch, we were rarin’ to get back into the infield grass and dirt after about a half-hour.

So here’s my advice if you’re ever presented with these opportunities: if you want a bird’s-eye view of the race so you can study the action around every foot of the track, never miss a wreck, enjoy a detailed perspective on the pit stops, and sip on cold drinks and socialize with your pals while you take in the race, opt for the suite. If you prefer bone-shaking exhaust, high-test smoke, tire particles in your hair, the risk of being run over, not being able to talk to (or hear) anyone else, and the possibility of getting into really cool places where you’re probably not supposed to be, try to score a hot pit pass. Follow the jump to see a few of Chris’s pics from the suite.

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Continue reading "Sweet Suite" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Amidst a massive last-lap wreck, Denny Hamlin took took the win on a green-white-checker restart after dominating the final part of the race at Pocono. Meanwhile, as eight smashed and smoldering race cars limped or were hauled back to the garage, a normally good-natured Joey Logano stormed into the No. 29 pit and got all up in Kevin Harvick’s face, and a bunch of pushing and shoving ensued. While all hell was breaking loose at the end of an otherwise pretty peaceful race, I was way out in the grass on Turn 1. Did anyone see what happened on TV?

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By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

NASCAR the sanctioning body loves throwing curveball rule changes at its race teams, and just last weekend when I was in the garage at Charlotte, NASCAR announced that teams would be limited to a 3.89 rear gear package for the Pocono race. That gave teams only a week to adjust the car’s entire setup for softer acceleration, different shift points, and slower top speeds. At Pocono, with its runway-like frontstretch, the longest straightaway in NASCAR, the change is comparable to restrictor plating the cars. I wonder why NASCAR wants slower race cars at Pocono so badly. Are they worried about them getting airborne?

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By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

For Denny Hamlin, Pocono is a feast or famine kind of track–he runs “either really good or really bad” here. Yesterday he was third fastest in both the first and the final practice, but 18th fastest in the second practice–which kind of proves his point. But he likes Pocono, he won the last race here, and he tends to do well at flat tracks–all points in his favor for Pocono. While Denny will be starting 5th, Kyle Busch won the pole for today’s race in qualifying, which makes the Joe Gibbs Toyotas the team to beat on this difficult track. However, Jimmie Johnson has been strong here too, but has had a string of bad luck over the last several races, including a near-DNF last week at Charlotte during which his team had to replace his car’s entire front clip outside the race in the dark. The No. 48 team may finally catch a break this weekend at Pocono, but between the Gibbs cars, Jimmie will have his work cut out for him.

NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Man, ARCA cars must be durable. From my vantage on the Turn 3 infield toward the end of today’s race at Pocono, I watched the No. 48 Ford turn lap after lap with this much smoke pouring out of it. Though I’m not 100% sure it wasn’t just from tire rub, it had the look and feel of a terminal engine: the car sounded terrible, it was emitting that burnt oily death-bed smell, and the smoke got worse when it got on the gas. Nevertheless, with only a dozen-odd laps to go, the No. 48 never pitted, and never brought out the caution flag–it was clearly too late to do anything about it, and the car was either going to finish the race or it wasn’t. When you see smoke like this coming out of a high-strung Sprint Cup car, it’s often because it’s dropped a valve , and after that it’s usually only a matter of seconds before the rest of the top end comes apart.  Good on the No. 48 for soldiering through and making it to the end–20th place is better than a DNF!

NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

An 80-lap ARCA race ran today at Pocono Raceway, and it was a great opportunity to ramble around the 2.5-mile track on a relatively un-crowded Saturday and scout out the best photo holes for tomorrow’s Sprint Cup run. Realistically, it might also be the only competitive laps that get to run here this weekend, if the approaching apocalyptic thunderstorm has anything to say about it. In any case, chalk one up for Goess–his first win in the ARCA series, though not his first at Pocono. Congrats! Chris snapped this photo of the victory burnout, and has a couple more for you below the jump.

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Continue reading "Craig Goess Wins His First ARCA Race" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’ve been all over 3- and 4-mile road courses, but this is the first NASCAR venue that I’ve been on the infield of where I can’t see all or most of the track at once. At 2.5 miles around, it feels almost comically huge. I wish I had a fish-eye lens so I could give you a more inclusive sense of this monstrous triangle. In terms of length, it’s basically the same size as Daytona, but the three corners and the lack of steep banking keep it from being a superspeedway (or requiring restrictor plates). Each of the three straightaways is a different length, and each of the corners is both angled and and banked differently. Drivers describe it as behaving more like a left-turn road course than an oval. Follow the jump to see how handily Pocono fails to fit inside my Nikon!

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Continue reading "Pocono Raceway: Way More Huge Than My Camera" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

A couple weeks ago at Dover, I ran across Jeff Hammond filming Fox’s Ford cutaway car. The next six Sprint Cup races will be aired on TNT, and that Network’s cutaway Toyota will be on hand to demonstrate the literal guts of racing. Though I don’t know that there’s anyone on the TNT crew who can hold a candle to Hammond’s explanatory powers, I’ve always appreciated TNT’s trick mutli-layered cutaway, with the car stripped entirely down to its bare drivetrain and plenty of holes through which to view the moving parts. Take a closer look!

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Continue reading "TNT’s Cutaway Toyota" »