2014 Pocono - Pocono 400 - Pre Race Thread

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Location
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EVENT SCHEDULE
(Sprint Cup Series)​

Times are local to the Track
Thursday, June 5
6:00 PM NSCS HAULERS ENTER
Friday, June 6
7:00 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS & INSPECTION BEGINS
11:00 AM NSCS ROOKIE & SPOTTER MEETINGS & RANDOM DRAWING
12:00 - 1:20 PM NSCS PRACTICE
4:40 PM NSCS QUALIFYING
6:00 PM NSCS GARAGE CLOSES
Saturday, June 7
7:30 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS
9:00 - 10:00 AM NSCS PRACTICE
11:30 AM - 12:20 PM NSCS FINAL PRACTICE
3:00 PM NSCS GARAGE CLOSES
Sunday, June 8
7:00 AM NSCS GARAGE OPENS
11:00 AM NSCS DRIVER/CREW CHIEF MEETING
12:30 PM NSCS DRIVERS INTRODUCTION
1:00 PM NSCS RACE
NSCS = Sprint Cup Series
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
All times above are listed in LOCAL Time​
 
So, which is it for you..... Pocono or Poc O' No?

This is a track that most fans love to hate. Not me. This is one of my favorites. Nothing beats the camera angle from turn #1 looking back at the front stretch watching the five and six wide racing coming into the turn.

Some changes to turn #2 this time back. They removed the inside curb. Not sure if they can get that grove run in down there but if they do it could impact what we see this weekend. Also, they added additional SAFER barrier to the inside of that turn. About time. Now, finish the rest of it.
 
Is Jimmie ready to win another one this week? He runs well here but not quite as well as Tony Stewart. Over the past 10 trips here anyway. Stewart had a pretty good week, for him, last week. Maybe he's ready to join the Chase ranks? Some others that look good here are Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon. All four of these guys have an average finish under 10 over the past 10. Not bad at all. Maybe Newman is ready to take one for RCR? No? Yeah, I doubt it too.

I'm taking Dale Jr to get his second win of the season this weekend. Two top 5's last season here and he's been running well.
 
Its hit or miss here for me. These cars just get too spread out here for the most part. It can get very boring on long green runs. It was fun to watch back in the day when drivers had to downshift in the turns and the best way to pass was outbreaking. Now its just drag racing down the long pond and pray nothing goes wrong into 1. If these cars can stay in passing distance of one another without getting stuck in that bubble of air, it could be fun to watch. Most positions are gained & lost on pit road here too
 
I hope Jimmie Johnson gets 3 in a row here. I want him to go on a tear that has a 4 in a row wins. :D
 
This race usually leaves me feeling like it was twice as long as it really is. I'm sure hoping old Smolder got stoked up and burning coming off his last showing.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Its hit or miss here for me. These cars just get too spread out here for the most part. It can get very boring on long green runs. It was fun to watch back in the day when drivers had to downshift in the turns and the best way to pass was outbreaking. Now its just drag racing down the long pond and pray nothing goes wrong into 1. If these cars can stay in passing distance of one another without getting stuck in that bubble of air, it could be fun to watch. Most positions are gained & lost on pit road here too
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They still shift @ Pocono but not as much as they used to. Slugger Labbe was just talking about this on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
They still shift @ Pocono but not as much as they used to. Slugger Labbe was just talking about this on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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I kind of thought they did, but gone are the days where the "Roval" is hell on transmissions. It used to be part of the race and how smooth the driver could shift to keep the tranny alive.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I kind of thought they did, but gone are the days where the "Roval" is hell on transmissions. It used to be part of the race and how smooth the driver could shift to keep the tranny alive.
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I like races without mechanical failure.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Is Jimmie ready to win another one this week? He runs well here but not quite as well as Tony Stewart. Over the past 10 trips here anyway. Stewart had a pretty good week, for him, last week. Maybe he's ready to join the Chase ranks? Some others that look good here are Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon. All four of these guys have an average finish under 10 over the past 10. Not bad at all. Maybe Newman is ready to take one for RCR? No? Yeah, I doubt it too.

I'm taking Dale Jr to get his second win of the season this weekend. Two top 5's last season here and he's been running well.
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It wouldn't surprise me if Denny Hamlin or Kasey Kahne wins this race either. Denny used to own this place, though not so much in recent years. Kasey usually runs well at Pocono and has a couple of wins there, including last August's race.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Slugger was saying in turn #1 & #3 these days but not always in turn #1. Depends on the entry into the turn.
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Doesn't seem like the kind of track you have to shift at. The turns doesn't seem that tight or sharp. Kinda funny. You don't have to shift at Martinsville, but you do at Pocono.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Doesn't seem like the kind of track you have to shift at. The turns doesn't seem that tight or sharp. Kinda funny. You don't have to shift at Martinsville, but you do at Pocono.
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It's got three turns. Two of which are particularly sharp and at varying degrees of banking. It's a triangle. But you already know that, right? ;)
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Is Jimmie ready to win another one this week? He runs well here but not quite as well as Tony Stewart. Over the past 10 trips here anyway. Stewart had a pretty good week, for him, last week. Maybe he's ready to join the Chase ranks? Some others that look good here are Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon. All four of these guys have an average finish under 10 over the past 10. Not bad at all. Maybe Newman is ready to take one for RCR? No? Yeah, I doubt it too.

I'm taking Dale Jr to get his second win of the season this weekend. Two top 5's last season here and he's been running well.
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I would love to see Tony give 6 time a run for his money here, or if Kevin can change his luck a little, then just maybe he can pull off another win. Don't you usually go to this race DPK?
 
Nitro Dude said:
I would love to see Tony give 6 time a run for his money here, or if Kevin can change his luck a little, then just maybe he can pull off another win. Don't you usually go to this race DPK?
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We do go occasionally. It's only a four hour drive across I80. This year though we are heading to the beach for an extended vacation. I will be listening to the next two races in front of the breaking waves of Assateague Island. Beer in hand and my beautiful wife of 22 years by my side. :cool:
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I kind of thought they did, but gone are the days where the "Roval" is hell on transmissions. It used to be part of the race and how smooth the driver could shift to keep the tranny alive.
Click to expand...

I wish there were more races where they shifted, other than restarts and roadcourses and going in and out of pitroad...something about the magic of going through a gearbox.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Doesn't seem like the kind of track you have to shift at. The turns doesn't seem that tight or sharp. Kinda funny. You don't have to shift at Martinsville, but you do at Pocono.
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Martinsville doesnt have the longest straightaway on the schedule diving into a sharp turn.
 
Im hoping for a Chevy/Ford/Toyota drag race off of turn 3 down the straight on the final lap.

A fan can dream :oops:
 
Pocono is usually a snoozer for me, it's ok to watch a race there once a year I guess. I expect Kahne to run decent this weekend.
 
ODDS TO WIN 2014 POCONO 400 (6/8/14)
DriverOdds
Jimmie Johnson5/1
Kevin Harvick6/1
Jeff Gordon7/1
Brad Keselowski8/1
Kyle Busch8/1
Denny Hamlin10/1
Matt Kenseth10/1
Joey Logano12/1
Kasey Kahne12/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr.12/1
Tony Stewart15/1
Carl Edwards20/1
Clint Bowyer25/1
Kurt Busch30/1
Brian Vickers30/1
Ryan Newman30/1
Greg Biffle40/1
Kyle Larson40/1
Martin Truex Jr.50/1
Jamie McMurray50/1
Paul Menard75/1
Austin Dillon100/1
Casey Mears100/1
Field (Any Other Driver)100/1
AJ Allmendinger100/1
Marcos Ambrose100/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.100/1
Danica Patrick100/1
Justin Allgaier100/1
Aric Almirola100/1
 
Like Auto Club, Pocono became interesting once they shortened it to 400 miles. With this gen-6 car I got a feeling its gonna be an awesome race! If the in-person viewing wasn't as horrendous as I've heard, I would make the 2 1/2 hour treck to the Poconos.
 
Johali said:
ODDS TO WIN 2014 POCONO 400 (6/8/14) DriverOdds Jimmie Johnson5/1 Kevin Harvick6/1 Jeff Gordon7/1 Brad Keselowski8/1 Kyle Busch8/1 Denny Hamlin10/1 Matt Kenseth10/1 Joey Logano12/1 Kasey Kahne12/1 Dale Earnhardt Jr.12/1 Tony Stewart15/1 Carl Edwards20/1 Clint Bowyer25/1 Kurt Busch30/1 Brian Vickers30/1 Ryan Newman30/1 Greg Biffle40/1 Kyle Larson40/1 Martin Truex Jr.50/1 Jamie McMurray50/1 Paul Menard75/1 Austin Dillon100/1 Casey Mears100/1 Field (Any Other Driver)100/1 AJ Allmendinger100/1 Marcos Ambrose100/1 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.100/1 Danica Patrick100/1 Justin Allgaier100/1 Aric Almirola100/1
Click to expand...

Top 5 not in this order will be:

Kasey Kahne
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jimmie Johnson
Brian Vickers
Jeff Gordon


Hendrick will be the ****
 
Stewart Fan said:
Getting excited about Pocono is about like being excited for a trip to the dentist.
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Yay i'm going to get cavity fillings!! Not much can be more exciting!!! Oh wait, Pocono's on the way!!
 
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