T
TonyB
Guest
From ERaceFans.com
Jeff Green
“Pocono kicks things off this month and it’s a long 500-mile race. A lot of things happened during the first race here this season. A lot of confusion and drama played out in that race. It goes to show that anything can happen. There aren’t any guarantees that the top teams are going to win. Anyone of us can play the spoiler."
Ken Schrader
"We had a good qualifying run here in June and hopefully we can carry that over to another good starting position this weekend. The key here, as in most anywhere we go, is how early we’ll be able to pick up the throttle coming off the turns. Especially the third turn. You have to be able to get on the gas early off of three or you’ll be left behind in a hurry."
Ricky Craven
"A few years ago at Pocono, I missed a shift and blew the engine. I felt really, really bad. I drove to the shop in Hickory the next day and apologized to the team because it was a driver error. At the race earlier this year at Pocono, it was just an engine failure. The day of being conservative is gone. If you are conservative, you are going to get beat and get beat bad. We're going to have to go there, muscle up and run it hard, but I have confidence in the guys and believe they can do it."
Kyle Petty
“Pocono is a little bit of everything. It has some superspeedway in it, some short track in it and some road course in it. If you are a particular fan of one type of stock car racing, then you can come to Pocono and you are going to see it. The shape of the track is obviously unique. You think about the triangle shape – a little disjoined because the second backstretch is longer than the first – and you wonder how anybody can get around the place quickly. You probably have seen more major innovations at Pocono than any other track on the circuit. It takes major innovations to try something new there. You can’t make a little change at Pocono and have it mean a great deal, it seems."
Scott Riggs
“Our last trip to Pocono was valuable. We found ourselves two laps down, but were able to get the car dialed in and back on the lead lap. We came away from that weekend with a lot of knowledge that can help us out this Sunday.”
Ricky Rudd
"It definitely helps to have horsepower because of the long straightaways, but you have to have aero for the corners there, so it is a combination. There's probably no other race track that we run where you really have to have both to win. You can have the best horsepower in the world, but when you get to the corner and you lose a second in the corner, you're not going anywhere. More downforce helps to get you through the corners, but then when you get to the straightaway you need a strong motor to overcome it. Horsepower will show up there quite a bit, but handling good and then complimenting it with horsepower will give you a shot at winning."
Ward Burton
"Pocono is a tough place to race if you're struggling. It's a track where you have to decide which corner you want to concentrate on making the handling the best it can be and then doing the best you can through the rest. You're never going to be perfect in Pocono."
Greg Biffle
“We qualified 9th the last time we were up there and ran well in the race. We got all the way up to second and the car became too tight and we lost track position. I think we ended up 11th at the end. We're taking a different car this time because we felt we needed a little more ground clearance. We're taking the car we ran at Chicago and we feel pretty good about its performance.”
Joe Nemechek
“Don’t get me wrong, based on what we did in Pocono in early June does give us a boost of confidence. Though conditions will most likely be different, we do have a solid baseline to work from. This is not an easy track to get around. All three turns are different and you need a durable motor and a great handling car. The whole package has to work right at this place.”
Jeff Burton
“We had a pretty good run going there earlier this year then a part failure ended our day early. We've been working real hard to bring faster race cars to the track and I think we've found some things that have definitely helped us over the last several races. I'm really looking forward to going back to Pocono and not only running up front but finishing up front as well."
Robby Gordon
“I had my best run at Pocono the last time we were there and we’re taking the same car back there. The main thing I remember about racing there in June is we were consistently strong all weekend long. We practiced toward the top of the speed charts the majority of the time. I did, unfortunately, brush the wall during Saturday morning practice the last time we were up there, but the guys worked really hard and had the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevy shipshape by the time we got down to racing Sunday. We ran inside the top-15 the majority of the day, so hopefully we will build from that baseline and be even better this weekend."
Brian Vickers
"Turn 3 is where you have to be dialed in to be successful at Pocono. In Turns 1 and 2, you can deal with not being perfect, but not in Turn 3, because it sets you up for everywhere else. If we can be just a little better in that spot this time, we should be in good shape."
Terry Labonte
"We're going back with one of my favorite cars and the last couple years have shown that this chassis is perfectly suited to the unique, three-cornered layout up there. You're supposed to run better in the second race at these tracks. We did at Daytona and we should at Pocono, too."
Rusty Wallace
"We've definitely had our share of success at Pocono and we're looking for more. You have to have a ton of horsepower and strategy usually is key in winning there."
Jeff Gordon
"Track position and pit strategy always seem to be part of the equation here. I'm sure it will be no different this weekend... Teams that didn't do well here earlier may try something different or radical in their setup and hit on something. We'll probably review our notes and start with something similar, but we can't rely on them and assume we'll be good."
Tony Stewart
Teams that didn't do well here earlier may try something different or radical in their setup and hit on something. We'll probably review our notes and start with something similar, but we can't rely on them and assume we'll be good. We have to be ready to adapt if we see we're getting beat.
Matt Kenseth
“I’m glad to get back to Pocono with the chassis we’re bringing. It’s just a great car and it’s my favorite. We usually do pretty well at this place and I just enjoy going through the practice sessions and working to get the car as good as possible for race day. There’s a lot of ground to cover just trying to make your car behave in the three different turns that we deal with there."
Kurt Busch
"Pocono is definitely one of the most unique tracks we’ll be visiting this year with the configuration of the track. It’s basically a road course in the shape of an oval. We’ve run well at this facility the last four events, with two runner-up finishes and this race last year where we were running well but were ushered into the wall after running into some debris, and we finished fifth here in June. With the horsepower we’ve been getting from the Roush-Yates engine department, I feel good about the IRWIN Ford this weekend.”
Bobby Labonte
"We had a good finish at Pocono a few weeks back, even with the oil-line problem. The guys never gave up and that resulted in us finishing third. I think we should be strong at Pocono and, hopefully, we can put the Interstate Batteries Monte Carlo in Victory Lane."
Elliott Sadler
"Pocono has been a good track for Robert Yates Racing. Dale Jarrett has been the man there many, many times. We had a situation last race where the M&M'S car became so aerodynamically sensitive in traffic it was close to impossible for me to pass anyone. We have really stepped up our game for this second Pocono race and have a different car the guys at the shop built specifically for Pocono and Indianapolis."
Kevin Harvick
"Pocono's hard to figure out. You have three totally different corners. One and two, you're downshifting going into the corners. Three and four, you have to get through the middle of the corner and make sure that you get as much power down as you can because the straightaway is three-quarters of a mile long. You can gain a lot of speed just by getting off the corner well. You have to be careful downshifting going into turn one that you don't hurt the motor. Shock package is important with all the bumps."
Ryan Newman
“Horsepower is the key to winning at Pocono. With the straightaways being so long, and the corners so tight, engine power becomes very important, if not the most important factor of the weekend. We’ll definitely be bringing our best engine with us this weekend, and John Payne, our engine tuner, will have his work cut out for him.”
Jeremy Mayfield
"It’s a place I like, and other than the last race there I had two or three bad races before that. I thought maybe I didn’t have the edge I had in the past, but we’ve found that again. We finished second the last time there, and I’m excited about getting back this time. It’s a place I love going to. I love the racetrack. I have a lot of confidence going in there, and I think my team has a lot of confidence going in there also. That’s what it’s all about these days, having confidence in each other and feeling good about what you’re doing.”
Dale Jarrett
"It's been a good track for me, this team and Robert Yates Racing. I'm excited because we're taking the same car back to Pocono and it ran great there all day until the very end. So we'll be looking for more of the same. This is one of the races that I look at as an opportunity for this team to really make up some ground in getting into the top 10. We have a lot of tracks coming up like Pocono, Indianapolis and Michigan that we hope we can use to our advantage."
Jamie McMurray
“I’m excited about heading back to Pocono. We’re taking the same car we ran seventh with last weekend in Loudon. We had a good run going at Pocono last time, finishing ninth. I don’t have a lot of experience at that track, so I look forward to each time we get to race there so I can gain more experience. It’s a fun track to race on because each turn and even the straight-aways are each different.”
Kasey Kahne
"I'm excited about going back to Pocono this weekend. We were pretty good there before and we qualified good, but I think we'll be a lot better this weekend. There's so much to learn about that track – the difference in all the corners, the shifting – that I think I'll be able to handle it better this time.
Mark Martin
"I really like racing at Pocono. It seems like we've always ran well there. We were really good there in June and had a nice run going when we lost the engine at the half-way point in the race. It's a different kind of track. It has long straight-aways and you have to really be able to drive the car into the corners, but that makes for my kind of racing. We really were disappointed with our finish there in June, because we had such a good car. With that said, we are really looking forward to going back there and hopefully we can finish what we started with a top-five run and maybe even get our first win there."
Michael Waltrip
"We had a very competitive race car at Pocono last month as last year as well when we finished fourth.I am very optimistic about our chances of getting a victory. We were close in New Hampshire, which is a good feeling. The NAPA team shows up every week with a great car and a great attitude about the goals set in front of us. We think that our set up and the car we'll take to Pocono are going to put us up front again this weekend."
Casey Mears
“Pocono has been one of my most successful tracks. We had a disappointing weekend at Loudon, so going back to a track that we know we can run well on couldn’t come at a better time. Pocono is a fun track for me because it’s challenging. There are not very many tracks where you run that quickly and get to shift also. We’re bringing back a different chassis with us, but I was extremely pleased with the way it ran in Chicago. It was unfortunate that we had the debris issue, but knowing you have a car that is capable of running in the top five helps build confidence heading into a weekend like this.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr
"The plan is to rest and take it easy this week so I'll be ready to do 500 miles Sunday. The burns heal a little more every day, but I'm still in a lot of pain. I felt pretty good inside the car, but I'm going to need all my strength. Pocono can wear you out even when you're 100 percent healthy. I couldn't have finished 300 laps (at New Hampshire) but I'm going to do all I can to get through this and be ready to go this week. I owe it to my team. They've worked so hard for so many years to put us in a place where we're in position to grab a championship, and I owe it to my sponsors and especially my fans. Everyone has been really supportive of me and that means a lot. Anybody can be cool and get along great when you're winning races and kicking butt, but when things don't go right, it's important to have that support behind me."
Brendan Gaughan
“After missing a shift during the last race at Pocono, all I can say is I hope I am around for the checkered flag this time. Being there at the end is important right now, following up on New Hampshire where several breaks came the Kodak Racing team’s way. Twenty-second might not seem like a great finish to some, but this team will take it and hit Pocono hard. Before the first race at Pocono, I said ‘shifting was something I was comfortable with.’ I really showed them, didn’t I?”
Scott Wimmer
“Surprisingly, I really liked racing at Pocono. We qualified decent there in June and then ran pretty good for most of the race. We were running in the top 10 for a long time when we just got caught up in someone else’s oil on the track and spun out in the infield. We were going to be okay until Sterling (Marlin) got into us and our day was over. So based on how well we ran in the last race, I am looking forward to going back there. Our goal is to improve on our qualifying and then run as well as we did and finish the race.”
Dave Blaney
“Pocono was my first race in the No. 30 AOL Chevrolet. We were running good until the sway bar chain broke. That was just a freak thing, but it cost us a good race. We ended up using the remainder of the race kind of like a test session, so we’re really looking forward to getting back to Pocono. We’re taking car number 114 which we tested at Indy last week and I really liked, so we have all the tools for a good finish, now we just need to put it all together.”
Jeff Green
“Pocono kicks things off this month and it’s a long 500-mile race. A lot of things happened during the first race here this season. A lot of confusion and drama played out in that race. It goes to show that anything can happen. There aren’t any guarantees that the top teams are going to win. Anyone of us can play the spoiler."
Ken Schrader
"We had a good qualifying run here in June and hopefully we can carry that over to another good starting position this weekend. The key here, as in most anywhere we go, is how early we’ll be able to pick up the throttle coming off the turns. Especially the third turn. You have to be able to get on the gas early off of three or you’ll be left behind in a hurry."
Ricky Craven
"A few years ago at Pocono, I missed a shift and blew the engine. I felt really, really bad. I drove to the shop in Hickory the next day and apologized to the team because it was a driver error. At the race earlier this year at Pocono, it was just an engine failure. The day of being conservative is gone. If you are conservative, you are going to get beat and get beat bad. We're going to have to go there, muscle up and run it hard, but I have confidence in the guys and believe they can do it."
Kyle Petty
“Pocono is a little bit of everything. It has some superspeedway in it, some short track in it and some road course in it. If you are a particular fan of one type of stock car racing, then you can come to Pocono and you are going to see it. The shape of the track is obviously unique. You think about the triangle shape – a little disjoined because the second backstretch is longer than the first – and you wonder how anybody can get around the place quickly. You probably have seen more major innovations at Pocono than any other track on the circuit. It takes major innovations to try something new there. You can’t make a little change at Pocono and have it mean a great deal, it seems."
Scott Riggs
“Our last trip to Pocono was valuable. We found ourselves two laps down, but were able to get the car dialed in and back on the lead lap. We came away from that weekend with a lot of knowledge that can help us out this Sunday.”
Ricky Rudd
"It definitely helps to have horsepower because of the long straightaways, but you have to have aero for the corners there, so it is a combination. There's probably no other race track that we run where you really have to have both to win. You can have the best horsepower in the world, but when you get to the corner and you lose a second in the corner, you're not going anywhere. More downforce helps to get you through the corners, but then when you get to the straightaway you need a strong motor to overcome it. Horsepower will show up there quite a bit, but handling good and then complimenting it with horsepower will give you a shot at winning."
Ward Burton
"Pocono is a tough place to race if you're struggling. It's a track where you have to decide which corner you want to concentrate on making the handling the best it can be and then doing the best you can through the rest. You're never going to be perfect in Pocono."
Greg Biffle
“We qualified 9th the last time we were up there and ran well in the race. We got all the way up to second and the car became too tight and we lost track position. I think we ended up 11th at the end. We're taking a different car this time because we felt we needed a little more ground clearance. We're taking the car we ran at Chicago and we feel pretty good about its performance.”
Joe Nemechek
“Don’t get me wrong, based on what we did in Pocono in early June does give us a boost of confidence. Though conditions will most likely be different, we do have a solid baseline to work from. This is not an easy track to get around. All three turns are different and you need a durable motor and a great handling car. The whole package has to work right at this place.”
Jeff Burton
“We had a pretty good run going there earlier this year then a part failure ended our day early. We've been working real hard to bring faster race cars to the track and I think we've found some things that have definitely helped us over the last several races. I'm really looking forward to going back to Pocono and not only running up front but finishing up front as well."
Robby Gordon
“I had my best run at Pocono the last time we were there and we’re taking the same car back there. The main thing I remember about racing there in June is we were consistently strong all weekend long. We practiced toward the top of the speed charts the majority of the time. I did, unfortunately, brush the wall during Saturday morning practice the last time we were up there, but the guys worked really hard and had the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevy shipshape by the time we got down to racing Sunday. We ran inside the top-15 the majority of the day, so hopefully we will build from that baseline and be even better this weekend."
Brian Vickers
"Turn 3 is where you have to be dialed in to be successful at Pocono. In Turns 1 and 2, you can deal with not being perfect, but not in Turn 3, because it sets you up for everywhere else. If we can be just a little better in that spot this time, we should be in good shape."
Terry Labonte
"We're going back with one of my favorite cars and the last couple years have shown that this chassis is perfectly suited to the unique, three-cornered layout up there. You're supposed to run better in the second race at these tracks. We did at Daytona and we should at Pocono, too."
Rusty Wallace
"We've definitely had our share of success at Pocono and we're looking for more. You have to have a ton of horsepower and strategy usually is key in winning there."
Jeff Gordon
"Track position and pit strategy always seem to be part of the equation here. I'm sure it will be no different this weekend... Teams that didn't do well here earlier may try something different or radical in their setup and hit on something. We'll probably review our notes and start with something similar, but we can't rely on them and assume we'll be good."
Tony Stewart
Teams that didn't do well here earlier may try something different or radical in their setup and hit on something. We'll probably review our notes and start with something similar, but we can't rely on them and assume we'll be good. We have to be ready to adapt if we see we're getting beat.
Matt Kenseth
“I’m glad to get back to Pocono with the chassis we’re bringing. It’s just a great car and it’s my favorite. We usually do pretty well at this place and I just enjoy going through the practice sessions and working to get the car as good as possible for race day. There’s a lot of ground to cover just trying to make your car behave in the three different turns that we deal with there."
Kurt Busch
"Pocono is definitely one of the most unique tracks we’ll be visiting this year with the configuration of the track. It’s basically a road course in the shape of an oval. We’ve run well at this facility the last four events, with two runner-up finishes and this race last year where we were running well but were ushered into the wall after running into some debris, and we finished fifth here in June. With the horsepower we’ve been getting from the Roush-Yates engine department, I feel good about the IRWIN Ford this weekend.”
Bobby Labonte
"We had a good finish at Pocono a few weeks back, even with the oil-line problem. The guys never gave up and that resulted in us finishing third. I think we should be strong at Pocono and, hopefully, we can put the Interstate Batteries Monte Carlo in Victory Lane."
Elliott Sadler
"Pocono has been a good track for Robert Yates Racing. Dale Jarrett has been the man there many, many times. We had a situation last race where the M&M'S car became so aerodynamically sensitive in traffic it was close to impossible for me to pass anyone. We have really stepped up our game for this second Pocono race and have a different car the guys at the shop built specifically for Pocono and Indianapolis."
Kevin Harvick
"Pocono's hard to figure out. You have three totally different corners. One and two, you're downshifting going into the corners. Three and four, you have to get through the middle of the corner and make sure that you get as much power down as you can because the straightaway is three-quarters of a mile long. You can gain a lot of speed just by getting off the corner well. You have to be careful downshifting going into turn one that you don't hurt the motor. Shock package is important with all the bumps."
Ryan Newman
“Horsepower is the key to winning at Pocono. With the straightaways being so long, and the corners so tight, engine power becomes very important, if not the most important factor of the weekend. We’ll definitely be bringing our best engine with us this weekend, and John Payne, our engine tuner, will have his work cut out for him.”
Jeremy Mayfield
"It’s a place I like, and other than the last race there I had two or three bad races before that. I thought maybe I didn’t have the edge I had in the past, but we’ve found that again. We finished second the last time there, and I’m excited about getting back this time. It’s a place I love going to. I love the racetrack. I have a lot of confidence going in there, and I think my team has a lot of confidence going in there also. That’s what it’s all about these days, having confidence in each other and feeling good about what you’re doing.”
Dale Jarrett
"It's been a good track for me, this team and Robert Yates Racing. I'm excited because we're taking the same car back to Pocono and it ran great there all day until the very end. So we'll be looking for more of the same. This is one of the races that I look at as an opportunity for this team to really make up some ground in getting into the top 10. We have a lot of tracks coming up like Pocono, Indianapolis and Michigan that we hope we can use to our advantage."
Jamie McMurray
“I’m excited about heading back to Pocono. We’re taking the same car we ran seventh with last weekend in Loudon. We had a good run going at Pocono last time, finishing ninth. I don’t have a lot of experience at that track, so I look forward to each time we get to race there so I can gain more experience. It’s a fun track to race on because each turn and even the straight-aways are each different.”
Kasey Kahne
"I'm excited about going back to Pocono this weekend. We were pretty good there before and we qualified good, but I think we'll be a lot better this weekend. There's so much to learn about that track – the difference in all the corners, the shifting – that I think I'll be able to handle it better this time.
Mark Martin
"I really like racing at Pocono. It seems like we've always ran well there. We were really good there in June and had a nice run going when we lost the engine at the half-way point in the race. It's a different kind of track. It has long straight-aways and you have to really be able to drive the car into the corners, but that makes for my kind of racing. We really were disappointed with our finish there in June, because we had such a good car. With that said, we are really looking forward to going back there and hopefully we can finish what we started with a top-five run and maybe even get our first win there."
Michael Waltrip
"We had a very competitive race car at Pocono last month as last year as well when we finished fourth.I am very optimistic about our chances of getting a victory. We were close in New Hampshire, which is a good feeling. The NAPA team shows up every week with a great car and a great attitude about the goals set in front of us. We think that our set up and the car we'll take to Pocono are going to put us up front again this weekend."
Casey Mears
“Pocono has been one of my most successful tracks. We had a disappointing weekend at Loudon, so going back to a track that we know we can run well on couldn’t come at a better time. Pocono is a fun track for me because it’s challenging. There are not very many tracks where you run that quickly and get to shift also. We’re bringing back a different chassis with us, but I was extremely pleased with the way it ran in Chicago. It was unfortunate that we had the debris issue, but knowing you have a car that is capable of running in the top five helps build confidence heading into a weekend like this.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr
"The plan is to rest and take it easy this week so I'll be ready to do 500 miles Sunday. The burns heal a little more every day, but I'm still in a lot of pain. I felt pretty good inside the car, but I'm going to need all my strength. Pocono can wear you out even when you're 100 percent healthy. I couldn't have finished 300 laps (at New Hampshire) but I'm going to do all I can to get through this and be ready to go this week. I owe it to my team. They've worked so hard for so many years to put us in a place where we're in position to grab a championship, and I owe it to my sponsors and especially my fans. Everyone has been really supportive of me and that means a lot. Anybody can be cool and get along great when you're winning races and kicking butt, but when things don't go right, it's important to have that support behind me."
Brendan Gaughan
“After missing a shift during the last race at Pocono, all I can say is I hope I am around for the checkered flag this time. Being there at the end is important right now, following up on New Hampshire where several breaks came the Kodak Racing team’s way. Twenty-second might not seem like a great finish to some, but this team will take it and hit Pocono hard. Before the first race at Pocono, I said ‘shifting was something I was comfortable with.’ I really showed them, didn’t I?”
Scott Wimmer
“Surprisingly, I really liked racing at Pocono. We qualified decent there in June and then ran pretty good for most of the race. We were running in the top 10 for a long time when we just got caught up in someone else’s oil on the track and spun out in the infield. We were going to be okay until Sterling (Marlin) got into us and our day was over. So based on how well we ran in the last race, I am looking forward to going back there. Our goal is to improve on our qualifying and then run as well as we did and finish the race.”
Dave Blaney
“Pocono was my first race in the No. 30 AOL Chevrolet. We were running good until the sway bar chain broke. That was just a freak thing, but it cost us a good race. We ended up using the remainder of the race kind of like a test session, so we’re really looking forward to getting back to Pocono. We’re taking car number 114 which we tested at Indy last week and I really liked, so we have all the tools for a good finish, now we just need to put it all together.”
