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Sprint Cup
CUP: SPEED Rolls Into Pocono Raceway
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Pocono Raceway this weekend...
Pocono Raceway was repaved prior to the June race. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
After a dominating performance last week by Jimmie Johnson in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stops at Pocono Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s 400-mile event. The SPEED on-air crew is right there with them and offers its perspective on the week’s happenings in the Q&A below:
Q: How much of a true threat is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for the Sprint Cup Series championship this year and what has been behind the improvement in his performance?
“It’s Dale Jr.’s confidence level. You can see confidence building in him and that team. I don’t necessarily think it’s anything Steve Letarte and Dale Jr. have hit upon setup-wise. I think Junior now believes he can get the job done and I haven’t seen that from him in a couple of years. At Indy, it seemed he wasn’t satisfied with another top-five finish. That’s a good thing.”
--Bob Dillner, SPEED reporter
“I don't expect it but I would not be shocked to see Junior win the championship. It depends on the nature of this year's Chase. If someone has a ‘catch lightning in a bottle’ championship run like Stewart's last year, or if Jimmie Johnson re-discovers the level of Chase performance that carried him to five straight crowns, everybody else is in trouble. If it's a 10-race consistency contest, as it could very well be, I like Junior's chances. He just tied Jeff Gordon's all-time NASCAR record for consecutive finishes on the lead lap and that's no small feat.”
--Dave Despain, host of Wind Tunnel
“Dale Jr. is a fascinating mix because on one hand, he has finished on the lead lap every single race this season. On the other hand, he is only 10th overall in laps led. Junior’s 218 laps led are far short of teammate Jimmie Johnson’s 912, which tops the Cup Series. So, the question is: what’s going to win this championship -- sheer consistency or raw speed? We’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out. But overall, Dale Jr. is a legitimate threat.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
“The change in Junior is Steve Letarte because Steve believes in Junior and he believes in that team. He has made Junior believe also in it.”
--Kyle Petty, SPEED analyst
“I think Dale Jr. is more focused on trying to do well than ever before. He spends more time in the garage and more time with his crew members. They’ve been the most consistent team, and they’ll find the little thing they’re missing. Once they do, he’ll win more races and be a serious contender for the championship.”
--Jimmy Spencer, SPEED analyst
Q: Restarts were a major point of contention last weekend in the Nationwide Series’ inaugural race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. How would you like to see them policed?
“It was a tough call to make with Elliott Sadler at Indy, and NASCAR oftentimes gets blasted when it comes down to a judgment call. Their call wasn’t consistent from the beginning of the race with Kasey Kane to the end of the race at Indy, and that was a negative reflection on the sport. But if we have a rule, they need to adhere to it throughout the race because controversy brews when it boils down to a judgment call. The only way to police these restarts is to stick to a rule.”
--Bob Dillner, SPEED reporter
“The obvious answer is that if there’s a bad restart, simply throw the caution, line the field up and restart a second time. If the same person commits two violations in a row, send him or her to the tail-end of the longest line.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
Q: In Jimmie Johnson’s five consecutive championship seasons, he won the Brickyard 400 three times. He dominated last Sunday at Indianapolis. How does that performance bode for other Cup teams as we head for the Chase?
“When he was on NASCAR Race Hub in May, he said they had felt a momentum shift coming. They knew they had the speed, so multiple wins were around the corner. Indy is a huge challenge for teams and the No. 48 was up to it. If you’re the Gibbs or Roush team with a championship shot, you’re watching Johnson and sensing the dread in the garage over the No. 48’s performance and momentum.”
--Steve Byrnes, host of NASCAR Race Hub
“An important statistic -- eight times in 19 years has the Brickyard 400 winner gone on to win the championship. I predict that come November, that stat will read ‘nine times in 20 years.”
--Dave Despain, host of Wind Tunnel
“The No. 48 looks really good right now. However, it will be interesting to watch how well they do against the No. 88 when they’re both in the same shop. Realistically, when you look at the past six years and what Johnson has accomplished, he’s the man to beat. Until someone beats him, he stands the best chance of winning the 2012 championship.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
“They’re in pretty good shape. It’s not a given that they’ll win the title because they won Indy, but it means they’ll be a significant factor. Indy is one of the toughest tracks to get around, but it’s also one of the toughest mentally on a driver because instead of four turns, it really has eight because the driver has to crank the wheel eight times in those four corners. That equates to a minimum of eight opportunities to mess up per lap, but Johnson doesn’t do that.”
--Jimmy Spencer, SPEED analyst
Q: Where do things stand with “Silly Season’ and drivers whose futures are uncertain in 2013?
“There still are a lot of moves left to be made in ‘silly season’ this year. We don’t know where Joey Logano and Ryan Newman are going next year. We don’t know who will be in the No. 22 car next year. There still is a lot of excitement left to go this year.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
Q: How much of a true threat is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for the Sprint Cup Series championship this year and what has been behind the improvement in his performance?
“It’s Dale Jr.’s confidence level. You can see confidence building in him and that team. I don’t necessarily think it’s anything Steve Letarte and Dale Jr. have hit upon setup-wise. I think Junior now believes he can get the job done and I haven’t seen that from him in a couple of years. At Indy, it seemed he wasn’t satisfied with another top-five finish. That’s a good thing.”
--Bob Dillner, SPEED reporter
“I don't expect it but I would not be shocked to see Junior win the championship. It depends on the nature of this year's Chase. If someone has a ‘catch lightning in a bottle’ championship run like Stewart's last year, or if Jimmie Johnson re-discovers the level of Chase performance that carried him to five straight crowns, everybody else is in trouble. If it's a 10-race consistency contest, as it could very well be, I like Junior's chances. He just tied Jeff Gordon's all-time NASCAR record for consecutive finishes on the lead lap and that's no small feat.”
--Dave Despain, host of Wind Tunnel
“Dale Jr. is a fascinating mix because on one hand, he has finished on the lead lap every single race this season. On the other hand, he is only 10th overall in laps led. Junior’s 218 laps led are far short of teammate Jimmie Johnson’s 912, which tops the Cup Series. So, the question is: what’s going to win this championship -- sheer consistency or raw speed? We’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out. But overall, Dale Jr. is a legitimate threat.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
“The change in Junior is Steve Letarte because Steve believes in Junior and he believes in that team. He has made Junior believe also in it.”
--Kyle Petty, SPEED analyst
“I think Dale Jr. is more focused on trying to do well than ever before. He spends more time in the garage and more time with his crew members. They’ve been the most consistent team, and they’ll find the little thing they’re missing. Once they do, he’ll win more races and be a serious contender for the championship.”
--Jimmy Spencer, SPEED analyst
Q: Restarts were a major point of contention last weekend in the Nationwide Series’ inaugural race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. How would you like to see them policed?
“It was a tough call to make with Elliott Sadler at Indy, and NASCAR oftentimes gets blasted when it comes down to a judgment call. Their call wasn’t consistent from the beginning of the race with Kasey Kane to the end of the race at Indy, and that was a negative reflection on the sport. But if we have a rule, they need to adhere to it throughout the race because controversy brews when it boils down to a judgment call. The only way to police these restarts is to stick to a rule.”
--Bob Dillner, SPEED reporter
“The obvious answer is that if there’s a bad restart, simply throw the caution, line the field up and restart a second time. If the same person commits two violations in a row, send him or her to the tail-end of the longest line.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
Q: In Jimmie Johnson’s five consecutive championship seasons, he won the Brickyard 400 three times. He dominated last Sunday at Indianapolis. How does that performance bode for other Cup teams as we head for the Chase?
“When he was on NASCAR Race Hub in May, he said they had felt a momentum shift coming. They knew they had the speed, so multiple wins were around the corner. Indy is a huge challenge for teams and the No. 48 was up to it. If you’re the Gibbs or Roush team with a championship shot, you’re watching Johnson and sensing the dread in the garage over the No. 48’s performance and momentum.”
--Steve Byrnes, host of NASCAR Race Hub
“An important statistic -- eight times in 19 years has the Brickyard 400 winner gone on to win the championship. I predict that come November, that stat will read ‘nine times in 20 years.”
--Dave Despain, host of Wind Tunnel
“The No. 48 looks really good right now. However, it will be interesting to watch how well they do against the No. 88 when they’re both in the same shop. Realistically, when you look at the past six years and what Johnson has accomplished, he’s the man to beat. Until someone beats him, he stands the best chance of winning the 2012 championship.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
“They’re in pretty good shape. It’s not a given that they’ll win the title because they won Indy, but it means they’ll be a significant factor. Indy is one of the toughest tracks to get around, but it’s also one of the toughest mentally on a driver because instead of four turns, it really has eight because the driver has to crank the wheel eight times in those four corners. That equates to a minimum of eight opportunities to mess up per lap, but Johnson doesn’t do that.”
--Jimmy Spencer, SPEED analyst
Q: Where do things stand with “Silly Season’ and drivers whose futures are uncertain in 2013?
“There still are a lot of moves left to be made in ‘silly season’ this year. We don’t know where Joey Logano and Ryan Newman are going next year. We don’t know who will be in the No. 22 car next year. There still is a lot of excitement left to go this year.”
--Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
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