I was out at Pocono Raceway last weekend for the NASCAR race. Other commitments kept me from the track on Friday, so I skipped the pit pass deal this time, so all my shots are from the grandstand.
Saturday morning featured qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Truck series. Joey Logano, in the Home Depot Toyota, took the Cup pole. He's a 21 year old Connecticut native.
From the tire marks, you can see Jeff Gordon wasn't the only one to rub the wall coming out of Turn 2.
The Pennsylvania National Guard had this brand new CH-47F on display. It had all of 25 flight hours on it since it was delivered.
They also had some heavy iron on hand.
"What did you do in the war on terror, Daddy?"
"I played the tuba!"
Following qualifying, the Truck race got underway. Unfortunately, the rain started after about 15 laps, and didn't end until Sunday morning. The Truck race was stopped, and the ARCA series race that was to follow was cancelled. Before the rain came, the field heads to the green flag.
Matt Crafton making a pit stop.
The FDNY Racing Team was started by a retired NY firefighter with two partners. They race to honor those lost on 9/11 and to help raise funds for the FDNY Widow's and Children's Fund.
Kevin Harvick celebrates the win.
After the Truck race, the ARCA cars hit the track. ARCA, while it is a separate series, runs cars that are very much like the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars, but with exponentially fewer dollars. The series has a wide range of drivers, from new guys looking for some stock car experience on big tracks, to guys who have made a career of the series, and some who just race from time to time as time and money permit.
This is Frank Kimmel - he's one of those who made a career in ARCA, winning the series championship nine times.
A couple of laps into the race, there was a scuffle going into Turn 1, with several cars spinning. The 59 car slid into the grass, hit the access road (where the ambulance is heading out on) which launched him over the 4-foot high infield guardrail. He skidded across the wet, muddy grass, ending up on stuck on the inside of the far guardrail. It was quite a ride, but he walked away unhurt.
It was a tough day for a few guys.
Ty Dillon celebrates his race win.
With the preliminaries out of the way, the main event began.
David Ragan spun in Turn 3, backing the car into the wall. There were plenty of photographers to capture the moment.
The Target crew at work for Juan Pablo Montoya.
Close racing on the Long Pond Straight.
Kasey Kahne's Red Bull Toyota shows the results of an encounter with Juan Pablo Montoya and the Long Pond Straight wall.
Montoya didn't fare any better.
Around Lap 122 of 200, we got more rain, bringing out the red flag. After a 1 1/2 hour delay, the track was dry and racing resumed. As the race drew to a close, Brad Keselowski grabbed the lead on a restart, and held off Kyle Busch for the last 15 laps to score his second win of the year, driving the Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing.
Four days before the race, Keselowski was testing a car at a road course near Atlanta, when the brakes failed and he ran head on into a wall. The car was destroyed, and Keselowski broke a bone in his left ankle. Despite his injuries, he held on for the win, something of a family tradition. Twenty years ago, his father Bob was winning regularly on the ARCA series, in a Chrysler, including several wins at Pocono.
More photos here:
Cup: http://www.moose135photography.com/S...8444448_bhNs34
Trucks: http://www.moose135photography.com/S...8444529_S26Bbr
ARCA: http://www.moose135photography.com/S...8444996_5t9psr
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F1 for me... regardless, would love a day behind the wheel of one of these.
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