A J Allmendinger: ‘We’ve Just Got To Be Better’
A J Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, sits in 17th in the point standings without a win. Yet what really bothers him is his inconsistency and the need to ‘just bet better.”
“I think we’re not as good as we want to be for sure,” Allmendinger said. “The biggest thing is that we are just a little bit too inconsistent.”
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[/media-credit]“There are certain races when we’re on and we’re fast and then it seems like something happens, like a late race yellow catching us out,” Allmendinger continued. “But when we’re bad, we’ve been really bad.”
“It seems like last year when we were bad, we were 18th or 19th and now this year, we’re 29th,” Allmendinger continued. “Those are the things we’ve got to get better.”
“We’re just too inconsistent and that’s something we need to work on and build from,” Allmendinger continued. “I think we haven’t done a lot of things to shoot ourselves in the foot and taken ourselves out of races, but we just need to be better overall as a race team.”
Allmendinger is most certainly putting a great deal of faith in his new crew chief, Greg Erwin, who joined RPM shortly after being released by Roush Fenway Racing as Greg Biffle’s crew chief. In fact, Allmendinger was most pleased with their performance at the Brickyard, even though the team finished in the 22nd spot.
“Hopefully with the addition of Greg, we will improve,” Allmendinger said. “I thought Indy last week was actually a fantastic weekend.”
“The finish wasn’t what we wanted,” Allmendinger continued. “It came down to fuel and then that wreck that happened and we got some grass in the grille.”
“Assessing the weekend, I thought it was a really good weekend, especially the first weekend working together,” Allmendinger said. “Hopefully, that’s something to build off of and these last whatever races.”
“It’s a new start,” Allmendinger continued. “Greg’s got a lot of experience and it’s stuff that I can pull from and learn from.”
“There’s a lot of these race tracks that are our weaker tracks that Greg’s been really good at so I say, that’s stuff that I can learn from,” Allmendinger said. “Hopefully we can go to these races and have better luck and be better as a race team.”
With his new crew chief, Allmendinger certainly hopes that the stretch of first time winners may just extend to him. But he also jokes that the only way that will happen is by attrition.
“People point to me because there’s not a whole lot of first time winners left,” Allmendinger said. “So, it’s about attrition.”
“Honestly in the end, winning is the ultimate goal when you show up,” Allmendinger continued. “But we’ve got a long way to go to worry about that.”
“Maybe this weekend, we are good enough to win,” Allmendinger said. “Who knows? But that’s the way I look at it.”
Allmendinger also has his own unique way of looking at Pocono Raceway. And he definitely thinks the track lives up to its ‘Tricky Triangle’ reputation.
“It is definitely tricky,” Allmendinger said. “The shifting definitely added a different element back into it. And Turn One was way rougher than it had been in the previous years.”
“You’ve got to be able to get through those bumps and be solid through that corner,” Allmendinger continued. “But you can’t focus on it so much that it hurts Turns Two and Three.”
“I think that’s what happened last race,” Allmendinger said. “We were so bad in One and we kept trying to fix it that we made Two and Three even worse.”
“I think that watching some videos and talking to Greg about some things, we’re going to go in with a different game plan and keep working on it,” Allmendinger continued. “We weren’t terrible last race but we weren’t great. Greg’s brought some stuff over that he learned when he was with Biffle, so we’ll see.”
In addition to worrying about Pocono weekend, Allmendinger also has contention for the Chase on his mind.
“The door is definitely not closed,” Allmendinger said of his Chase chances. “We have six races left and we’re not that far from being that highest guy in points that if you do get the win, you move into the Chase spot.”
“But ultimately if you win a race on luck and you’re not good enough to be in the Chase, then there’s no point to being in the Chase anyways.”
Whether or not he is in the Chase or outside looking in, Allmendinger just wants to be better in the latter half of the season than when they took the green flag at Daytona.
“Chase or not, my ultimate goal is to say we’re a lot better than we were in the last races of the season than we were in the first part,” Allmendinger said. “Then, that’s a good year to me. The ultimate goal is to be better at the end of the season than when you started.”
“We’ve just got to be better,” Allmendinger continued. “That’s all that matters. And whether that puts us in the Chase or not, then whatever.”
“But in the end, we’ve just got to be better.”
Dave Blaney’s Son Ryan Plans on Being NASCAR’s Next Generation Ambassador
Ryan Blaney is not just NASCAR Cup driver Dave Blaney’s son. The seventeen year old up and coming driver hopes to be NASCAR’s ambassador to the next generation of stock car racing fans.
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[/media-credit]The young Blaney has gotten his career off to a pretty good start, scoring a second place finish in just his second ARCA start at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis this past weekend.
Blaney, behind the wheel of the No. 15 Seal Wrap Chevrolet for Venturini Motorsports, was good as soon as he arrived at the track. He was also able to hold his own with some of the ARCA Series regulars, including Richard Childress talent and grandson Ty Dillon, who he battled for the win.
“We were decent off the trailer,” Blaney said. “We qualified second into the race and in the early part of the race, I thought we had the best car.”
“We would have had some rubbing going on for me to get by Ty,” Blaney said of his battle with eventual race winner, Ty Dillon. “So, I was happy to finish second and see that I can really run with those guys in the series.”
“Overall it was a pretty good weekend for us.”
Although still quite young, in fact so young that he cannot yet run many of the tracks on the ARCA Series schedule, Blaney has progressed steadily up the racing ranks. He started racing quarter midgets at the age of eight and then moved up to Bandeleros, Legends and Late Models.
But this year, with his father’s advice and counsel, young Ryan decided to do something different and move to a heavier car in preparation for the next step in his career.
“Me and my dad were talking and saying that we think it’s time to move up and try to get into heavier cars,” Blaney said. “He really wanted to prepare me.”
“The worst thing that can happen is to jump in a car when you’re not ready and look bad,” Blaney continued. “We made sure that I had enough experience to really go out there and look good. I think we timed it just right.”
“Next year I’m hoping to run a Truck and being full-time in a Truck would be awesome,” Blaney said. “If not, we will try some Truck and ARCA races to get as much experience as I can.
“This is really what I want to do and what I have a passion for,” Blaney continued. “My dad has put so much time and money into me that I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t make it worth it.”
“And I’m trying my very hardest to make it and pay him off some day.”
Does the young driver feel pressure, especially in light of his father’s Cup career? Not on your life according to Ryan Blaney.
“I don’t really feel pressure at all,” Blaney said. “If anything, it motivates me even more to be like him and actually try to be better than him.”
“He’s never pushed me and he’s always making sure that I’m sure about it,” Blaney said. “I accept the challenge of trying to be like him and get where’s he’s at and what he’s accomplished.”
Not only does Ryan Blaney strive to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he readily admits that his dad is indeed his racing hero.
“He is my main racing hero,” Blaney said of his dad. “He grew up on dirt and that’s what he lived for over 30 years and made a career out of that.”
“Then he jumped into NASCAR and had a career in that,” Blaney continued. “That’s what’s really special to me and impressive to me.”
As proud as Ryan is of his dad, the feeling is more than reciprocated by his proud papa. But dad Dave said, with a chuckle, that his son probably said those things “because he’s scared of me.”
“He’s been doing really well,” Dave Blaney said of son. “This year we’ve gotten him in a couple of K&N Series races and he ran well. And he’s run real well in his two ARCA starts.”
“Ryan’s coming along real well,” Blaney continued. “He’s only seventeen years old so he’s got lots of time.”
“He might actually be better than me now.”
As much as he wants to follow in his dad’s tire tracks, Ryan Blaney has another real ambition of his own. He wants to also attract the next generation to the sport of NASCAR that he loves so much.
“A lot of kids at school follow me and it’s cool how they’ve turned into race fans,” Blaney, who is going into his senior year in high school, said. “Last year, they didn’t know anything about racing and now they’re asking me how I did at the track.”
“They even know more about my stats than I do,” Blaney continued. “It’s cool how I have friends that can relate to me and not talk just about football.”
“I’m a seventeen year old that is trying to come up through the ranks,” Blaney said. “And I hope I am an ambassador for the next generation of NASCAR fans.”
Max Gresham and Ty Dillon Make Up Front Row For Pennsylvania ARCA 125
Max Gresham captured the pole on Friday for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Pennsylvania ARCA 125 at Pocono Raceway with a lap of 53.535 seconds.
This marks the second Meanards Pole Award presented by Ansell for the 18-year old Georgia driver of the No. 25 World Crown 300 at Gresham Motorsports Park Toyota in 10 career starts. It also marks the third pole for Venturini Motorsports at Pocono in the past two years as Mikey Kile won the pole last June while Brennan Poole won the pole this June. Venturini Motorsports has won the Menards Pole Award now four times this year with four different drivers: Josh Richards, Poole, Ryan Blaney and now Gresham.
“It was a dandy of a lap,” Gresham said. “Everything just lined up perfectly, and (Venturini Motorsports general manager) Billy (Venturini) had the car just right and we had the clouds perfect. The Toyota Camry was on a rail and I drove it for everything it had. Billy’s really happy with it right now. Hopefully, the car’s as good tomorrow as it is right now. I’m looking forward to having a good run tomorrow.”
The car that Gresham is driving is the same car that he drove to a second-place finish earlier this year at Michigan International Speedway in June, when he got passed on the last lap by rookie Ty Dillon.
“Michigan was 100 laps, and that’s 75 more miles – a two-pit stop race,” he said. “This one’s only one, so you only have one chance to get the car right if you need adjustments so it makes it a little more difficult. I’ve got to make sure I relay all of the info I need to Billy, and make sure I tell him everything I need for the race and throughout the race, so when we make our one pit stop, we’ll be ready.”
Dillon would qualify second after holding the provisional pole most of the session, 0.011 seconds off of his third consecutive pole in the series.
“I guess when it’s that close, it’s not too bad of a heartbreaker,” the driver of the No. 41 RCR/CIPT Chevrolet said. “Our car’s really fast, so this doesn’t discourage me much. (Venturini) has really fast equipment too, and they were one of the fastest cars here last time. We brought a brand new car, which I believe is twice as fast as the car we had here last time.
“We were able to lead laps and run up front the whole time last time, so we ought to be able to lead all the laps. I’m so confident in this race car. I can’t thank (crew chief Scott) “Flash” (Naset) and all the guys enough and I’m just so happy for the team.”
With the qualifying points in the books, Dillon extends his points lead over nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel to 370 points. Kimmel qualified the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford in 11th.
Casey Roderick, making his first start with Randy Hill Racing, qualified third (53.967 seconds), followed by Chris Buescher and Ryan Wilson. Gresham’s teammate Kyle Fowler would qualify sixth, followed by Tim George Jr., Grant Enfinger, Chad McCumbee, and Tom Hessert comprise the remainder of the top 10.
The Pennsylvania ARCA 125 begins at 3 p.m. tomorrow, with live television coverage airing on SPEED. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of the 50-lap, 125-mile race, which will be the 53rd for the ARCA Racing Series on Pocono’s 2.5-mile triangle.
| 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #13 | ||||
| Pocono Raceway, Long Pond Pennsylvania, 8-6-11 | ||||
| Pennsylvania ARCA 125 | ||||
| August 5, 2011 / 6:48 PM | ||||
| POS | NO | DRIVER/HOMETOWN | TIME | SPEED |
| 1 | 25 | Max Gresham/Griffin GA | 53.535 | 168.114 |
| 2 | 41 | Ty Dillon/Lewisville NC | 53.546 | 168.080 |
| 3 | 08 | Casey Roderick/Lawrenceville GA | 53.967 | 166.769 |
| 4 | 17 | Chris Buescher/Prosper TX | 54.242 | 165.923 |
| 5 | 32 | Ryan Wilson/Randleman NC | 54.290 | 165.776 |
| 6 | 55 | Kyle Fowler/Smyrna GA | 54.331 | 165.651 |
| 7 | 31 | Tim George Jr./New York NY | 54.411 | 165.408 |
| 8 | 36 | Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL | 54.509 | 165.110 |
| 9 | 1 | Chad McCumbee/Holden Beach NC | 54.629 | 164.748 |
| 10 | 52 | Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ | 54.692 | 164.558 |
| 11 | 44 | Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN | 54.749 | 164.387 |
| 12 | 58 | Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH | 54.761 | 164.351 |
| 13 | 82 | Sean Corr/Goshen NY | 55.184 | 163.091 |
| 14 | 6 | Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI | 55.517 | 162.113 |
| 15 | 15 | John Blankenship/Knoxville TN | 55.613 | 161.833 |
| 16 | 35 | Tom Berte/New Berlin WI | 55.754 | 161.423 |
| 17 | 68 | Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN | 55.803 | 161.282 |
| 18 | 59 | Buster Graham/Lafayette LA | 56.027 | 160.637 |
| 19 | 57 | George Cushman/Waterville NY | 56.249 | 160.003 |
| 20 | 43 | Kyle Martel/Lebanon PA | 56.431 | 159.487 |
| 21 | 5 | Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA | 56.502 | 159.286 |
| 22 | 7 | Brandon Kidd/Manlius NY | 57.015 | 157.853 |
| 23 | 03 | Kory Rabenold/Slatington PA | 57.058 | 157.734 |
| 24 | 3 | Brent Brevak/Ashland WI | 57.113 | 157.582 |
| 25 | 63 | Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela | 57.451 | 156.655 |
| 26 | 23 | Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA | 57.539 | 156.416 |
| 27 | 12 | Maryeve Dufault/Sorel Quebec | 57.780 | 155.763 |
| 28 | 50 | Steve Fox/Hazleton PA | 58.192 | 154.660 |
| 29 | 07 | Brian Kaltreider/Reading PA | 58.413 | 154.075 |
| 30 | 28 | Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN | 58.799 | 153.064 |
| 31 | 34 | Darrell Basham/Henryville IN | 59.091 | 152.307 |
| 32 | 75 | Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL | 59.326 | 151.704 |
| 33 | 11 | Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY | Provisional | |
| 34 | 48 | James Hylton/Inman SC | Provisional | |
| 35 | 10 | Rick Clifton/Circleville OH | Provisional | |
| 36 | 06 | Don Thompson/Carlisle PA | Provisional | |
| 37 | 26 | Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI | Provisional | |
| 38 | 94 | Con Nicolopoulos/Columbus MI | Provisional | |
| 39 | 69 | Brent Cross/Cortland NY | Provisional | |
| 40 | 29 | Rob Jones/Bowie MD | Provisional | |
| 41 | 95 | Michael Leavine/Bullard TX | Provisional | |
For Nick Igdalsky, Mattioli Grandson and New Track COO, Pocono is Personal
Nick Igdalsky wears many hats at Pocono Raceway, from Mattioli grandson to ARCA driver to philanthropist and finally to his appointment as the newly named COO and Executive Vice President of the race track. Regardless of the title or the hat, however, for Igdalsky, Pocono is indeed personal.
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[/media-credit]“It’s always exciting,” Igdalsky said of his various roles. “You live in the moment and get as much as you can out of it.”
“Where it gets tough is jumping from appointment to appointment and wearing different hats,” Igdalsky continued. “After the race, I have meetings with both sponsors for my car and sponsors for the track, as well as meeting dignitaries and VIPs.”
“You can never stay in one place too long.”
Igdalsky manages all of his personal and professional Pocono responsibilities through technology, literally setting alarms on his Iphone.
“An alarm went off and told me that I to do go to the driver’s meeting and then an alarm went off that told me I had to come to the media center,” Igdalsky said. “You try to remember as much as you can but if you get caught up in the moment, things pass you by.”
“My little electronic friend helps me out.”
One of Igdalsky’s greatest personal joys is being behind the wheel of a race car, whether an ARCA ride or his Grand Am race car.
“I’ll do five to six ARCA races,” Igdalsky said. “We’ll probably do Toledo at the end of the year.”
“It’s been tough,” Igdalsky continued. “We haven’t really done as good as we thought we would. I’m with a team that’s sort of under-funded.”
“Everybody wants to run well, but we just don’t have the resources to do that yet,” Igdalsky said. “We’re just trying to keep the car clean and keep it up in owner’s points and we may have a shot at it next year if we get a full season.”
Racing is so personal in fact to Igdalsky that he hopes the day never comes when he has to make any kind of a choice between racing and managing his track responsibilities.
“I’m going to live in both worlds until somebody tells me I absolutely cannot,” Igdalsky said with a smile. “I’ll wait until I get the ultimatum from either the wife or the office.”
While not ultimatum has come yet, Nick Igdalsky had a most personal day at the track this weekend as his grandfather, affectionately known as ‘Doc’ Mattioli, retired and formally turned over the responsibilities of operations of the track to Nick, his brother Brandon, who was named President and CEO, and his sister Ashley, who is the new Secretary/Treasurer.
“We’re fortunate we have great grandchildren,” Doc Mattioli said. “Fifty years went by damn fast and now it’s about time to take it a little easy and get the hell out of here.”
“I’m quite sure that Brandon, Nick and Ashley are well trained to do what they have to do,” Mattioli continued. “They’re really good kids and smart kids.”
From Igdalsky’s perspective, he’s had the best teacher ever in his grandparents, Doc and Doc Rose Mattioli. Because of that, Igdalsky has already pronounced that his new slogan will be, “When in doubt, ask what Doc would do.”
Now that he has even more of a personal stake in Pocono, Igdalsky is continuing another very personal connection, connecting with a charity called Michael’s Way. And this personal connection hits very close to home.
“Pocono Raceway has been working with Michael’s Way for the past couple years now,” Igdalsky said. “My nephew was diagnosed two years ago at the age of fifteen months with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, a very rare type of cancer.”
“He’s doing good now and he just had some scans done, with all of them coming back clear,” Igdalsky continued. “Through our relationship with Michael’s Way, they support the families of children, like my nephew, with cancer.”
“They don’t pay for the treatments but they do pay for all the other costs,” Igdalsky said. “For instance, there are lots of families that one of the families might have to stop working because of all the treatments they have to get to, which is a problem.”
“So, Michael’s Way helps with bills and travel, especially for those children whose immune systems are compromised,” Igdalsky continued. “It’s pretty unique because 100% of all the proceeds go directly to the cause and the families.”
Michael’s Way is even more personal as Igdalsky’s nephew was selected last year as the ‘poster boy’, making many personal appearances on behalf of the charity. For this weekend’s ARCA race, Michael’s Way will also be featured prominently on Igdalsky’s race car.
“Since we don’t have a sponsor for this race, we’re keeping them on our car,” Igdalsky said. “You can donate on their site which is michaelsway.org and they’re also doing a raffle at the track where you have a chance to win either a 2011 Harley Davidson or $10,000 cash.”
“Nick’s involvement with Michael’s Way has been invaluable,” Trish Fulvio, development consultant with the charity, said. “He and Brandy, his wife, do everything straight from the heart.”
“Nick has allowed us to bring Michael’s Way to the attention of a whole new group of people,” Fulvio continued. “His partnership translates into more funds to give to the families of children with cancer.”
While family has always been most personal to Igdalsky, from his family track to his philanthropic family, Igdalsky now has a whole new perspective on family as a proud papa of a five month old daughter.
“When you have a bad day and you come home and you see her little face smiling at you, it definitely makes the bad days better,” Igdalsky said. “And it gives you something to look forward to at the end of the day.”
“It’s overwhelming,” Igdalsky continued. “I’m living two dreams.”
“I’m helping out in the family business that I was involved in ever since I was a little boy,” Igdalsky said. “And with the racing, it’s been my dream since a young boy to race cars too.”
“I not only get to do both but I get to do it at my home track.”
Pocono Raceway Friday Update
Friday at Pocono Raceway saw the announcement from Doc Mattioli that he was resigning from all positions he holds at the Pocono Raceway effective immediately. His grandson Brandon Igdalsky and the rest of Mattioli’s family will take over in various positions of senior management.
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[/media-credit]Mattioli was very emotional when he was speaking saying, “They cant do a damn thing until Rose and I die and my 3 children die.” That was in reference to the family selling the track to the folks looking to take some races away from the track. There was a lot of reminiscing done by both Mattioli and the media. It was a special moment in the media center. It was also a bit sad.
Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in the media center and did a joint press conference as did Jack Roush and Carl Edwards. Edwards and Roush’s conference was self explanatory as they came to terms on a contract extension. There was plenty of good feelings from those two as they actually looked at each other and said, “thank you.” Edwards said, “there was a lot of respect during the process. I’m glad its behind us and I’m glad to be going for the championship.
It was a drawn out process. “I wish I would have never confirmed my term was up. We could have gotten it done a lot quieter. ” Edwards went on to say that it was never about money which led to more questions.
For Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson the press conference started discussing Johnson running in Watkins Glen one of JR Motorsports entries. Earnhardt said, “We really didn’t have anything; a driver and a sponsor for the car, and Tony (Eury) Jr. texted me and said that Chad (Knaus) or Jimmie had mentioned to him at one time if there was ever an opportunity or maybe if they were interested in racing at The Glen or driving at The Glen.”
Johnson, whose sense of humor was quite evident discussed the difficult interviewing process for the job. “I’m excited about the opportunity,” Johnson said. “The interview to drive for him was rather tough. He wanted to see my resume. I think Mike wanted to see my resume in great detail and make sure I was qualified with good references. Once we cleared that hurdle, it was on.”
Earnhardt discussed his “chase strategy” and how different choices are made for points. “Yeah, I think the main difference would be you see people making different choices and different strategies at Indy,” he said. “We feel like we weren’t in a position to really take a gamble of trying to make it on fuel. So we played a safer strategy. If we were more in Jimmie’s position, we might have taken the gamble and tried to do what some of those guys did to stretch it. That’s mainly the difference, really. Otherwise you’re all out there running as hard as you can run.”
Earnhardt was asked on Danica Patrick’s status he simply retorted, “I have nothing new to report on that. I guess I’m really not in the middle of it, but I guess they’re still moving forward. I don’t know nothing that I didn’t know last week.”
Of course the rumors are that Patrick will be dabbling in cup with Tony Stewart’s team. To that he said with an audible laugh, “I know, I’ve heard all kinds of stuff.” When asked is he could say anything he simply said, Nope, nope, Can’t say anything.”
David Regan feels pretty strongly that you need to be in the top 12 in points to make the chase, regardless of the wins that drivers have. Regan also said that he was glad that the Edwards ordeal was over they “could put it to rest and move on” and find sponsors for all the teams. Regan also said that Menard winning hurt them even though they’re good friends. He was looking for a top 5 in points to win at Indy. He also discussed his visit to see wounded veterans and that most of the service were familiar with NASCAR and most were Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans.
Regan also mentioned that his visit to Walter Reed hospital and how most members
Kurt Busch mentioned that his and Gordon’s birthdays being shared was funny because Gordon was 7 years older than he was and he was 7 years older than younger brother Kyle.
Matty’s Picks Vol. 12 – Pocono – August 7, 2011
Back to Long Pond, PA we go for the second time this year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
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[/media-credit]I’m going to learn from my mistakes this week, and pick two drivers that I have not picked in my column before. Back in just my 6th edition of Matty’s Picks, I chose two drivers, both with storied histories at the Tricky Triangle. Denny Hamlin, my winner pick had finished in the Top 10 in 8 out of his 10 races at Pocono (after the race in June it was 9 out of 11 races – 19th place finish).
My Dark Horse pick faired a bit better in the 5-Hour Energy 500 this season, netting me one of my 4 Top 10 finishes. Juan Montoya has been my Dark Horse pick twice this year, once coming last week at the Brickyard, and the other at Pocono in June. In the race in June, Montoya gambled on two-tire stops a total of three times throughout the afternoon, a strategy that would net him a 7th place finish and me a Top 10 Dark Horse pick.
Brickyard Recap
As stated earlier Juan Montoya was my Dark Horse last week for the Brickyard 400. He was never really in contention to win the race last week, but lingered around the Top 5 for a good portion of the 200 laps last Sunday. It was tough for anyone to predict how the fuel-mileage frenzy would unfold last Sunday, and when the checkered flag flew over the #27 of Paul Menard, Montoya was nowhere to be found.
Montoya said after the race “It was good. We had the fastest car but when we could see the front it seemed like I could get a little more out of the car and I was pushing really hard.” The #42 team would lose out on the almost road-course-like pit strategy and would come home 28th.
As for my winner pick last week, after starting 3rd on the grid Jimmie Johnson also hovered around the Top 5 for the majority of the laps around Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
About his qualifying lap last Friday at IMS, “It was a good lap for us and I certainly hope that it hopes up and keeps us in the top five. If we can have a good spot on pit road, it makes for such a different race. And there are some very generous areas to work on pit road here, so I’m hoping to get one of those spots.”
And it was one of those “generous” spots he would end up with for the race, but just like everyone else, Johnson was not able to stay out of trouble. The 48’s contact with Brian Vickers squashed all my hopes for a win out of the Lowe’s Chevrolet last weekend bringing home a 19th place finish.
Yes, last week at the Brickyard was the first time I did not have a driver finish in the Top 10 or better since Michigan back in Mid-June.
Pocono Picks
Winner Pick
I’ve decided to spread the wealth this week and pick a driver that has not been mentioned this year in Matty’s Picks. He is very deserving of a Winner Pick this week for his efforts at PIR in June. He started on the pole for the 5-Hour Energy 500, and currently sits second on the speed charts after the first practice session of the day.
Kurt Busch is no stranger to Victory Lane at the Tricky Triangle, earning his first win at the track in July 2005 and then winning again in August 2007. Kurt Busch also has and astounding 5 – second place finishes at Pocono as well, his most recent coming in June. Kurt Busch has been running well this season, with one win, 4 Top 5’s, and 11 Top 10’s. He will look to rebound after dropping 3 spots in the points following the Brickyard 400 with a strong finish on Sunday in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500.
Dark Horse Pick
My Dark Horse this week currently sits in 13 place in points. He is extremely hungry to make a statement with a win and solidify his spot in the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He also, is no stranger to Victory Lane at Pocono, a track where he has less than impressive finishing statistics.
Greg Biffle averages a finish of 16.4 at Pocono International Raceway, but will use the momentum he has from his 7th place finish last week at Indy to lay down a qualifying lap good enough to start towards the front and remain there throughout the race. He has managed to finish in the Top 5 at Pocono only 6 times in 17 starts, and will look to gain upon his 27th place finish in June.
Stay tuned next week as I preview my 19th trip to Watkins Glen International. I am extremely excited to head to my home track next week, tremendously eager to get camp set up with friends and family and enjoy another fantastic weekend of road racing at WGI!
Until Next Week…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
