NASCAR Cup Series

Kasey Kahne, after being beaten and pounded with questions surrounding the lack of success that he’s had this season, vented some annoyance and anger during a media center appearance at Pocono Raceway this weekend.

“We were just all really close on speed and it was going to be curious to see who would get the top spot. I didn’t think Denny was that fast but I knew Kurt was and he put up a good lap and so did Denny. I feel like he put we put up a decent lap as well; we were just a tiny bit short.

“It’s a tough balance, but we really just made the car a lot better. Each session our balance got a little bit better and we were able to get a little bit more speed out of it. That’s kind of what you want to do, play it enough in the first few rounds to get to the final round where you go all out.

Denny Hamlin, four-time winner at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, scored the pole for the 33rd annual Pocono 400 with a fast lap of 181. 415 mph and a time of 49.610 seconds. Hamlin broke Jimmie Johnson’s previous track record of 180.654 mph and 49.819 seconds set in August 2013.

“It didn’t feel that close in the car. Turn 1 we ended up on the tight side on the exit of the corner. I said to myself a lot of these laps aren’t perfect anymore. Go get what you can in other spots of the track. That is what it’s all about is the team work side of it.

While LeBron James and the Miami Heat were experiencing the over 90 degree temperatures in Game One of the NBA playoffs at the AT&T Center, some of the stars of NASCAR, including six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards were also describing their own experiences with high temperatures, an issue that they often face as they race throughout the summer months.

Kasey Kahne, No. 5 GREAT CLIPS Chevrolet SS met with media and discussed the challenges of trying to obtain his first race of the season, his hopes to become the fourth Hendrick Motorsports team to make the Chase, the challenges of road course racing and the upcoming Sonoma event, and more.

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Kelloggs/Cheez-It Ford Fusion, takes to the track at Pocono Raceway Sunday looking for his second win of the season and the third of his career at the “Tricky Triangle’. Edwards met with media after the opening practice session Friday afternoon.

Brandon Igdalsky, President/CEO of Pocono Raceway, along with NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, Armed Forces Foundation President Patricia Driscoll, and Lorene King, Executive Director of the NASCAR Foundation, announced this morning that the Third Annual Pocono Celebrity Charity Poker Showdown will be held this year on Thursday, July 31st at Mohegan Sun prior to the track’s August race.

“Well Pocono has not been one of my best tracks historically, so I’m not really sure what to expect, but I’m looking forward to getting out there. Last year’s results weren’t real great here, so hopefully I’ll be able to do a better job this week and run decent. I’m looking forward to getting out there and seeing what turn two looks like and just getting at it.”