I'm back after my yearly boycott of one of the two Pocono races, and I come back amidst a shake up in both the number 1 seed for The Chase, and a hot streak out of the Stewart-Hass stable has mixed up the standings for the two Wild Card spots at the end of the season.
Some of the most important members on any race team are the pit crew members, especially those that go over the wall every Sunday. This week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes spotlights one of those vital players, Mike Houston, front tire changer and pit crew coach for the No. 78 Furniture Row race team.
With a picture-perfect race day after a qualifying rainout, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 32nd annual Party in the Poconos 400.
While most have the race at the Monster Mile in their rear view mirrors, with the focus moving to the Tricky Triangle of Pocono, competitors Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya are still jawing about that pesky restart at Dover last weekend.
After last weekend’s triple-header at Dover International Speedway, the three national series go their separate ways this weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headlining at Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Nationwide Series heading to the Midwest for a Saturday night showdown at Iowa Speedway, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicking off the weekend in the Lone Star State with their race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was black-flagged for jumping the final restart at Dover, a mistake that most likely cost him his third win this season. After serving a drive-through penalty, Johnson finished 17th, one lap down.
With the temperatures soaring and the ‘monster’ on the prowl, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.
The small snippet on the scanner conversation between Jimmie Johnson, who had just blown a sure win by jumping the start in Sunday’s Fed Ex 400, spotter Earl Barban, and crew chief Chad Knaus. I thought I heard the quote, but having it replayed today on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio channel proved I did hear that. My only question is who is “they” and why do they not want Johnson to win?
From what I saw, NASCAR made the right call at Dover black flagging Jimmie Johnson but if you step back and take a look at how restarts are policed; you would agree that NASCAR needs to overhaul the entire process.
