Dodge expected to leave NASCAR in 2013

A little more than five months after Penske Racing's game-changing decision to leave Dodge, the manufacturer has called a news conference for Tuesday afternoon and is expected to announce its exit from NASCAR.

The move comes after much speculation and drama about Dodge's future in NASCAR that started with the March 1 shocker that Penske would switch to Ford as its manufacturer for Sprint Cup cars in 2013.

This announcement came in 10 days before Dodge unveiled its 2013 Charger  project that took nearly two years at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Dodge SRT and Motorsports CEO Ralph Gilles said leaving NASCAR was not an option. "I may have to drive the car myself," Gilles said on March 11.

Penske is the only team running full-time Dodges this year with Brad Keselowski (three wins) in the No. 2 and Sam Hornish Jr. in the No. 22, and there has been speculation about whether the manufacturer could find a 2013 home.

Richard Petty Motorsports, which is in a contract year with the Fords it fields for Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola, had been thought to be a top candidate.


The wild-card question is all along was whether Fiat, Dodge's Italy-based parent company, wanted to commit to fielding stock cars at NASCAR's highest level long-term. It appears that Tuesday has shed some light on the answer.

With Dodge expanding its programs to youth-oriented motor sports in motocross, rallycross and sports cars, it seems NASCAR didn't fit Fiat's marketing plans.

Lighting take a life at Pocono

Yesterday at track there where two big storms, the second one was a lot worse then first!  There were 10 people that where injured from strike of lighting in parking a lot by (turn 2) as we think of the person who lost there life yesterday there are nine other people still in hospital cause of this.

The unidentified 41-year old man was one of nine people struck just after 5 pm ET. He was transported to Pocono Mountain Medical Center in Stroudsburg, and pronounced dead on arrival. Another fan is listed in critical condition at Lehigh Hospital in Allentown, with others were treated for less-serious injuries at various local hospitals.

As it rained more there were group of fans that ignored warnings and remained in the grandstands as the severe weather hit.

Pocono Raceway Vice President Bob Pleban said the injuries occurred as a result of two separate strikes. The most serious, behind the track’s main grandstand, caused the fatality and eight other injuries. A tenth victim was reportedly struck near Gate 3 at the speedway, between the first and second turns.

The Pocono Record reported that race fans performed CPR on the 41-year old victim until paramedics arrived. Decisions on how to handle potentially dangerous weather are made by NASCAR and track officials, working in cooperation with local emergency services.

Joey Coulter wins hes first race

LONG POND, pa the driver of the # 22 Chevy car restart in three position with seven laps go and takes win away from James Buescher for his first Camping World Truck Series win. Joey finishes race with a 1.224 sec lead over James Buescher.

Coulter charged from third to first at moment after restart on Lap 44 of 50 at the 2.5-mile triangular track, after a caution on Lap 39 which included series leader Timothy Peters, who finished 22nd, 10 laps off the pace. Peters was racing through the Tunnel Turn, got loose beneath another truck and spun into the wall, taking five other cars with him.

"As soon as hes spotter said 'green,' he put the foot to the floor and just let the ECR [Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines] Chevrolet horsepower do the rest," Coulter said. "We needed to make moves quick.

It was new pavement [since last year's Truck race], and it picked the speeds up, but it sure did make it hard to pass.


Third-place finisher and pole-sitter Nelson Piquet Jr. who led 33 laps and brought the field to green for the final time, said restarts are complicated at Pocono, which features the longest straightaway in NASCAR racing at 3,740 feet.

"The last restart was a bit of a problem," Piquet said. "It's so wide. I didn't know if I would defend on my left - Coulter - or if I would try to keep my line with James [Buescher] next to me, and it ended up being three-wide in the first corner.

Matt Crafton and Denny Hamlin finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ty Dillon, Parker Kligerman, John Wes Townley, Justin Lofton and Ross Chastain completed the top 10.

Line up for PA400 at Pocono Racway

1 42 Juan Montoya
2 11 Denny Hamlin
3 27 Paul Menard
4 5 Kasey Kahne
5 9 Marcos Ambrose
6 51 Kurt Busch
7 17 Matt Kenseth
8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet
10 48 Jimmie Johnson
11 78 Regan Smith
12 16 Greg Biffle
13 43 Aric Almirola
14 20 Joey Logano
15 56 Martin Truex Jr.
16 1 Jamie McMurray
17 99 Carl Edwards
18 55 Mark Martin
19 15 Clint Bowyer
20 18 Kyle Busch
21 29 Kevin Harvick
22 83 Landon Cassill
23 31 Jeff Burton
24 10 David Reutimann
25 22 Sam Hornish Jr.
26 38 David Gilliland
27 24 Jeff Gordon
28 14 Tony Stewart
29 13 Casey Mears
30 119 Mike Bliss
31 2 Brad Keselowski
32 34 David Ragan
33 23 Scott Riggs
34 26 Josh Wise*
35 37 J.J. Yeley
36 30 David Stremme
37 93 Travis Kvapil
38 87 Joe Nemechek
39 47 Bobby Labonte
40 191 Reed Sorenson
41 32 Jason White+
42 36 Tony Raines+
43 98 Mike Skinner
44 33 Stephen Leicht*

Schedule for Pocono and Iowa

Dates and Times are Tentative and Subject to Change
NSCS = NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NCWTS = NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
ARCA = ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards



Friday, August 3, 2012

• 9:00am NCWTS Final Practice
• 12:00pm NSCS Practice
• 1:40pm ARCA Final Practice
• 3:30pm NSCS Final Practice
• 5:15pm ARCA Qualifying, Impound

Saturday, August 4, 2012

• 9:35am NCWTS Qualifying (Multi-Truck format)
• 10:40am NSCS Qualifying (order set by sractice speeds)
• 12:30pm NCWTS Driver Introductions
• 1:00pm Pocono Mountains 125 NCWTS race
• 2:30pm ARCA Driver Introductions
• 3:00pm Pennsylvania 125 ARCA race

Nationwide Series:

• 9:30 a.m. EDT Nationwide practice
• 4:30 p.m. EDT Nationwide qualifying
• 7:30 p/m. EDT  IOWA U.S. Cellular 250 presented by the Enlist Weed Control System

Sunday, August 5, 2012

• 12:00pm Pre-Race Pit Pass Access Ends
• 12:00pm Pre-Race Festivities Begin
• 12:30pm Sprint Cup Series Driver Introductions
• 1:00pm Pennsylvania 400 NSCS race

Pocono Raceway History and Notes

At Pocono Raceway:
History


· Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.

· The 2.5-mile track was repaved during the fall of 2011.

Notebook
· There have been 69 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.

· There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

· This season will mark the first time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono will be scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012 all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.

· Buddy Baker won the first pole.

· There have been 38 different pole winners, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race; 17 drivers have more than one pole there.

· The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

· Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.

· 31 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon, each with five victories; 20 drivers have won more than once there.

· There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, the last by Denny Hamlin in 2006.

· Bobby Allison (1982, ’83) and Tim Richmond (1986, ’87) each won three consecutive races at Pocono.

· 48 of 69 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start.

· The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.

· 14 of 69 races have been won from the pole, Bill Elliott (1985, 2002) and Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep) are the only drivers to have done it twice. Joey Logano is the most recent driver to win from the pole earlier this season.

· Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 12 Pocono victories.

· Mark Martin leads all drivers in top fives (20) and top 10s (34), but has yet to win at Pocono. His best finish was second, seven times (most recently last June). In June, Martin set the record for most runner-up finishes at a track without winning.

· Jimmie Johnson (8.7) and Denny Hamlin (9.3) are the only active drivers to average a top 10.

· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Raceway winner: Joey Logano (06/10/2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).

· Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Raceway winner: Harry Gant (06/17/1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).

Pocono Raceway Data


Race #: 21 of 36 (08-05-12)
Track Size: 2.5-miles
Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles
· Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees
· Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees
· Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees
· Frontstretch: 3,740 feet
· Backstretch: 3,055 feet
· Shortstretch: 1,780 feet

Remorseful' A.J. Allmendinger fired by Penske Racing

Penske Racing released A.J. Allmendinger on Wednesday, nearly a month after the driver of the No. 22

Dodge was suspended for a positive drug test.

A.J. Allmendinger entered NASCAR's Road to Recovery program, but his hope of returning to Penske Racing is no longer is an option.
Penske President Tim Cindric said team owner Roger Penske delivered the news Tuesday night after flying the driver to Detroit.

"He was hoping for a different outcome," Cindric told USA TODAY Sports when asked about how Allmendinger took the news. "I think he took an understanding approach, a remorseful one. He was as disappointed as we were we wouldn't finish what we started."

Allmendinger's suspension became indefinite last week when a backup urine test confirmed the original result.
"We wanted to understand as much of the circumstances as we could," Cindric said. "Last week was the final step there. When it became obvious to us that there wasn't any more information about the situation that was going to influence our decision, it was time to make a decision. Roger felt we needed to do that face-to-face rather than over the phone."

Though many factors were weighed, Cindric said Penske ultimately made the decision.
"I can't say enough about of how (sponsor) Shell has supported us," Cindric said. "It's important to state that the decision with A.J. was Roger's decision and no one else's. You consider a lot of things when you make that. (Shell) fully supported the process, and we felt we needed to bring closure to the process."

Before Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske told reporters that his team had terminated employees for failing random drug tests.

Though Allmendinger technically wasn't an employee (drivers are independent contractors), Cinrdric said it was "difficult to differentiate. You have to be consistent with the message that NASCAR sends. We support that. We echo that. Doing anything different wouldn't really show that."

Allmendinger has entered NASCAR's Road to Recovery program that would make eligible to be considered for reinstatement. His business manager, Tara Ragan, said last week that he tested positive for an amphetamine, though the driver had denied knowingly taking an illegal substance.


"I wish to thank Mr. Penske, Penske Racing, their sponsors, and especially all the of the No. 22 team for the opportunity they provided me and for their support in this difficult time," Allmendinger said.

Sam Hornish Jr. has driven the past three races in place of Allmendinger and will remain in the car this weekend at Pocono Raceway while shuttling between practice and qualifying for Sunday's Sprint Cup race at the 2.5-mile track and Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway.

In a statement, Penske Racing said Hornish would drive the car "for the foreseeable future," and the team "will evaluate its options" for finding a driver for its No. 22 in 2013.
In speaking with reporters before Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske said he hoped Allmendinger would "rebound and have a successful career because he's a terrific kid, and it almost feels like it's one of your kids. That's what makes it so tough."