NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Jimmie Johnson: In search of his third straight win, Johnson finished sixth at Pocono despite an accident on pit road with Marcos Ambrose that left the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet with right-side damage. Johnson now sits fourth in the points standings, 23 behind Jeff Gordon.
“We failed at pulling off the ‘triple,’” Johnson said, “as did a certain horse. For this native of El Cajon, ‘California Chrome’ is what I call my trophy room. I’m a six-time Sprint Cup champion, so, in a sense, I’ve got two ‘triple crowns.’ That’s what is known as the ‘Jimmie Hat.’”
2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt passed Brad Keselowski with five laps to go and won the Pocono 400. It was Earnhardt’s second win this season and first at Pocono’s 2.5 mile tri-oval. He is now third in the points standings, 22 behind Jeff Gordon.
“What was that on Keselowski’s grill?” Earnhardt said. “I’ll tell you. The same thing that’s littering the infield of any NASCAR track—white trash.
“Now, that’s a tough fate to befall a former Sprint Cup title winner. I guess that’s what you call a ‘paper’ champion.”
3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished eighth at Pocono and regained the Sprint Cup points lead as Matt Kenseth struggled to a 25th-place result. Gordon now leads Kenseth by 16 points.
“That’s three straight wins for Hendrick Motorsports,” Gordon said, “and five total on the season. Some say Rick Hendrick’s deep pockets are the reason we’re so dominant. There may be some truth to that. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won because of a white piece of paper. But in most cases, a Hendrick win can be attributed to paper that is green.’”
4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished a disappointing 25th in the Pocono 400 and remained winless on the year. He dropped out of the top spot in the points standings and is now in second, 16 behind Jeff Gordon.
“Pocono is just not one of my favorite tracks,” Kenseth said. “This ‘square’ doesn’t like triangles, and has a hard time finding ‘circles,’ namely ‘Victory.’”
5. Joey Logano: Logano suffered his worst finish of the year, a 40th at Pocono, the result of engine failure with ten laps to go.
“A hot dog wrapper? A grill?” Logano said. “Sounded like a perfect occasion for some Miller Lite. But it was not to be.
“I’ll say it again. NASCAR is safer than the NFL. Why, you ask? Because men of color are just trying to break barriers, not other players.”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led with five laps to go at Pocono, but lost the lead to Dale Earnhardt as Keselowski tried to clear a piece of debris from his grill. It was Keselowski’s second runner-up finish in a row, and left him fifth in the points standings, 50 out of first.
“Done in by a piece of paper that surrounds a hot dog,” Keselowski said. “In the business, that’s called getting ‘Vanilla Iced,’ because we got served by a ‘white wrapper.’
“I was trying to use Danica Patrick as a pick. Just call me ‘GoDaddy.com,’ because I was trying to exploit her.”
7. Carl Edwards: Edwards was collected in a late crash initiated when Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch made contact. Edward’s day was done on lap 143, and he finished 41st. He is seventh in the points standings, 57 out of first.
“Greg Biffle is set to sign an extension with Roush Fenway,” Edwards said. “Biffle’s never won a championship in his long tenure here. So, it’s no surprise he’s not ‘going places.’
“Of course, my future here is a lot like a good back flip—up in the air. And speaking of ‘hang time,’ I don’t have any, because none of my teammates want to ‘hang’ with me.
8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 14th at Pocono, as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won, joining Harvick, Joey Logano, and Jimmie Johnson in the two-win club.
“I can certainly empathize with Brad Keselowski,” Harvick said. “I too know what a worthless white piece of paper is. In my case, it was several—when I ripped up my Richard Childress Racing contract.”
9. Kyle Busch: Busch came home 12th at Pocono, posting a solid finish despite making contact with Kasey Kahne on lap 142 and losing considerable track position. Busch is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 55 out of first.
“Tough break there for Brad Keselowski,” Busch said. “If you’ve got trash all up in your grill, try some dental floss.”
10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Pocono and brought home a fourth-place finish, leading the Joe Gibbs Racing charge. He is eighth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 78 out of first.
“Is Carl Edwards headed to Joe Gibbs Racing?” Hamlin said. “On the surface, it seems ‘Cousin Carl’ would be a great addition to the team. But, let’s face it, I’m not the only with who feels no amount of ‘kinship’ with Edwards.”
Staff Sergeant Randy Gray Speechless After RPM Race Experience
This past race weekend, thanks to Richard Petty Motorsports, driver Aric Almirola and team, sponsor Eckrich, Weis Markets, and Operation Homefront, wounded warrior Staff Sergeant Randy Gray was given a VIP NASCAR experience that literally left him speechless.
The weekend started out with the Gray family’s shopping trip to their local Weis Markets in Tannersville, PA. There, the family was greeted by members of the No. 43 team who surprised them with free groceries for one year at any Weis Markets location.
The team then invited Staff Sergeant Gray and his family outside where the No. 43 Eckrich Ford race car drove up to the store front. A member of the RPM team invited the Gray family to not only join them at the track, but also informed them they would be guests of “The King” Richard Petty.
“That was an amazing night,” Gray said. “I wasn’t expecting it. It was like come on in and boom, I met all the crew. They came out of an aisle. We didn’t see anybody until we rounded the corner and there was like a hundred people around us.”
“I was speechless,” Gray continued. “I was blown away. It was an amazing thrill that they took the time to just do that.”
Staff Sergeant Gray, who lives about an hour from the track in Hunlock Creek, PA, recently returned from a nine month deployment in Kuwait. He was enlisted as active duty in the Air Force from 1991 to 1993 before joining the National Guard and deploying to Kuwait.
But it was an act of kindness from this wounded warrior caring for another service brother in need at a most critical time that got him nominated for the NASCAR VIP honor.
“Well, we just got back from the deployment from Kuwait,” Gray said. “My wife seen a Facebook message from a soldier that was concerning and I intervened. They kind of said I saved his life. There’s a lot to it because of the privacy rules. The military is very hip on no suicide for soldiers. And I just reacted in a way that impressed my upper echelons.”
“It was a very late night but he’s doing great now.”
“I’m still in active duty, waiting on shoulder surgery. I’m actually injured and on June 12th I go for surgery,” Gray continued. “What caught their attention was that I put my stuff aside to help somebody else.”
For that act of heroism, Gray headed to the track for Pocono race weekend. And while Gray enjoys watching races now and again, he admitted he is not a hard core fan. But his son, who follows Jeff Gordon, certainly considers himself a true NASCAR aficionado and was thrilled to tag along.
“I’m a NASCAR fan but I don’t follow it, follow it,” Gray said “When they told me that I was coming to the track, I was like ‘whoa’ but my son is on cloud nine.”
“It’s beyond anything I have ever felt before,” Randy Gray Jr. said. “Usually when I get the opportunity to do things like this, something stupid happens like I get hurt and I can’t do it. But I’m here. And I’ve been pinching myself and slapping myself all weekend.”
“I wasn’t at the visit at the grocery store in Tannersville but when my parents came home and told me, I mentally passed out and don’t remember a lot of the conversation,” Gray Jr. continued. “I heard ‘Richard Petty, car, hot dog’ and that’s about it. It has been beyond belief.”
“Jeff Gordon is my driver so I felt kind of bad,” Gray Jr. said. “I rooted for Aric but I mentally had to root for Jeff too.”
“I can now die happy,” Gray Jr. continued. “I can go into a coma, I can get hit by a truck, whatever. I can die happy after this.”
Staff Sergeant Gray and his family were impressed not only with opportunity to be at the race track, but also with being able to spend time with the team, from pushing the race car through inspection with them to sitting atop the pit box and watching them work during the race.
“The fact that the team had to fit every piece of the car through the different inspection bays and they knew the tolerances, it’s just amazing,” Gray said. “We watched qualifying, hung out with the pit crew and took it all in.”
“The team was so busy, doing their thing,” Gray continued. “I tried to stay out of their way. I’m a mechanic in the Army so I can appreciate the need to stay out of the way and let them do their job.”
When the race was finished, Staff Sergeant Gray and his family were still pinching themselves, still speechless as they reflected on their VIP weekend.
“I was really taken back by everything,” Gray said. “It’s awesome to have Eckrich, Weiss and Richard Petty Motorsports do something like this for us. It’s humbling to see people recognize what we go through and it meant a lot to me.”
“It was an overwhelming and amazing experience.”
“We are proud to honor our military families,” Charles Gitkin, vice president, marketing, innovation and R&D for the John Morrell Food Group, said. “Our partnerships with Richard Petty Motorsports, Operation Homefront and Weis Markets allowed us to give back in a very special and unique way this weekend.”
“It’s something that we’re very proud to do for the Gray family after all of their sacrifices for us.”
Junie Donlavey – Car Owner for the Common Man
While the rest of the NASCAR world is celebrating the sport’s most popular driver’s fourth win in 10 years, another stock car icon has passed away. It’s true that today’s youth doesn’t understand the history of the sport, but that’s not unusual. Many don’t understand the history and geography of our nation either.
Junie Donlavey fielded cars for a lot of years, last in 2002. The list of those who drove his cars reads like a Who’s Who of motorsports. The list starts with legend Sonny Hutchins and continues on through Daytona 500 champ Lee Roy Yarbrough, Bill Dennis, former Sprint Cup champ Bobby Isaac, Harry Gant, Indy 500 champ Johnny Rutherford, NASCAR Hall of Fame member Buck Baker, Kenny Schrader, Buddy Baker, and even Hermie Sadler of TV fame. That’s quite a resume.
Donlavey competed in NASCAR’s premier series for 45 years and was always underfunded. He worked with an all volunteer crew until 1986 when he was 62 years old. He finally realized that he was unable to continue at age 78, in 2002. He tried again to make the Daytona 500 field two years later but was unsuccessful. His comment was honest, and stated like only Donlavey could do. Never having a big ego, Junie was just glad to be a part of the show.
“You have to have $8 million to compete here and we are far from that. We go home knowing we held our head high,” he said.”
Donlavey only had a car to win one race in what is now known as the Sprint Cup Series. It was a race at Dover International Speedway in 1981. Jody Ridley was the driver and the celebration after the win was legendary for Ridley in the No. 90 Ford. Not to be forgotten are the many victories in what would become the Nationwide Series. Bill Dennis was part of that, but lack of money always kept Donlavey in the series in the “also ran” category. His cars had many top-five and top-10 finishes, but only once did he reach victory lane in NASCAR’s top series. Yes, he had limited sponsorship from Richmond’s Truxmore Industries trash truck business and later on, when Schrader was driving, with Schwan’s Red Baron Pizza. After that he had a car with the sponsorship of a West Virginia candidate for governor and other minor sponsorships.
Never was there a greater gentleman. Back in 2001 while walking through the pits at North Carolina Speedway, I stopped with my colleague Ed Turner and snapped a picture of Donlavey while he was talking with a group of fans. He stopped and thanked me. I was shocked. Later on, I had the chance to talk with him and found that this gentle soul was a true hero of the sport. I will miss him.
Only the Wood Brothers and Jack Roush can hold up to Donlavey’s record of being loyal to a manufacturer. Junie fielded Fords his entire career. That’s exemplary considering the lack of loyalty we see these days. For Junie, it was always being there and fighting for the win rather than gaining an advantage and dominating the field.
He gave many drivers the ride which would propel rookies to recognition and former reigning stars to regain their status, and he did it with the aplomb of a Virginia gentleman. I’ll always miss seeing that No. 90 on the track. If there was ever a hero for the common man, it was Junie Donlavey.
