Crew members work on push Kurt Busch's race car in the garage area at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Saturday, June 11, 2011. Standing water from overnight rains has to dry before qualifying is Saturday for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-hour ENERGY 500 auto race.
Kurt Busch's reward for slapping the wall at practice was a backup No. 22 Dodge that was better than his regular ride.
For that, Busch had plenty of people to thank, starting with his team at Penske Racing.
"Just an honest thank you to my guys," Busch said.
It's been quite a reversal for Busch a month after he launched into a foul-mouthed tirade against his race team at Richmond. He made it it two straight poles on Saturday, turning a fast lap of 171.579 mph at Pocono Raceway.
Busch damaged his No. 22 Dodge in Friday's practice and was forced to a backup car. He also spun at practice last week - a sort of bad luck-good luck habit. He wound up first last week at Kansas Speedway, then topped Jeff Gordon in one of the final qualifying runs at Pocono.
The two-time winner at the 2 1/2-mile track, Busch became the first pole winner under the new Sprint Cup qualifying rules.
Qualifying was determined based on practice speeds - from slowest to fastest - with those times now coming from the first practice session. The qualifying order also will no longer be separated between teams that are locked into the race and teams that must qualify on speed.
Busch was impressed that Penske could produce a pole-winning backup car.
"That's something you really wouldn't hear about back in the day," he said. "It would be, 'All right, you'll have to struggle during the weekend.'"
Busch, who is sixth in points, finished ninth last week at Kansas for his second straight top-10 finish. After some early struggles caused concern and ill feelings at Penske, the drivers are getting their programs turned around. Busch's teammate, Brad Keselowski, won the pole two races ago at Charlotte and took the checkered flag last week at Kansas.
Richmond was certainly the boiling point for Busch - and looks like the turning point.
He blamed Penske Racing's shortcomings on technical director Tom German over a radio frequency available to the public. German has since left the team.
"I took the apple tree and shook it as hard as I could at Richmond," Busch said. "We saw which apples fell and which ones were still there. It was honestly, 'Hey, do we want to make the Chase? We've got to make some changes. Heading into the direction we were, we were just scraping those top 10s. That's not going to get it done when you want to win the championship.'"
Busch often doesn't react well when his team fails to make the needed adjustments to get his car caught up with the leaders. He totally lost it at Richmond when he ran into Ryan Newman's spinning race car.
The 2004 champion was in a great mood on Saturday - one of the perks that come with starting first. Paul Menard joined him on the front row. Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Regan Smith rounded out the top five.
The new qualifying rules meant most of NASCAR's heavy hitters hit the track at the end. Hamlin held the pole, then Gordon, before Busch came along and snagged it for good. Points leader Carl Edwards went last and qualified sixth.
"That is a pole-winning car right there," Edwards said. "It's nice to be disappointed about a sixth-place qualifying position. It should be a really good run for us."
Sam Hornish Jr., a former Penske driver, starts 26th in his first Cup race of the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. starts 21st a week after a second-place finish at Kansas.
Mike Skinner was the lone driver who failed to qualify.
Last Updated: Saturday, Jun 11, 2011 1:45 pm, EDT
5-hour ENERGY 500
Pocono Raceway
Order Driver (No.) Car Qualifying Speed
1 Kurt Busch (22) Dodge 171.579
2 Paul Menard (27) Chevrolet 171.422
3 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet 171.350
4 Denny Hamlin (11) Toyota 171.174
5 Regan Smith (78) Chevrolet 171.164
6 Carl Edwards (99) Ford 171.057
7 Marcos Ambrose (9) Ford 170.836
8 Ryan Newman (39) Chevrolet 170.532
9 David Reutimann (00) Toyota 170.348
10 Mark Martin (5) Chevrolet 170.200
11 David Ragan (6) Ford 170.177
12 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet 170.126
13 Jamie McMurray (1) Chevrolet 169.907
14 Jimmie Johnson (48) Chevrolet 169.872
15 Tony Stewart (14) Chevrolet 169.856
16 Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Chevrolet 169.702
17 Kasey Kahne (4) Toyota 169.670
18 Bobby Labonte (47) Toyota 169.607
19 Joey Logano (20) Toyota 169.520 20 Brad Keselowski (2) Dodge 169.501
21 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) Chevrolet 169.447
22 J.J. Yeley (46) Chevrolet 169.444
23 Brian Vickers (83) Toyota 169.440
24 Andy Lally (71) Ford 169.370
25 Landon Cassill (51) Chevrolet 169.307
26 Sam Hornish Jr. (38) Ford 169.278
27 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford 169.224
28 A J Allmendinger (43) Ford 169.176
29 Joe Nemechek (87) Toyota 169.170
30 David Gilliland (34) Ford 169.119
31 Martin Truex Jr. (56) Toyota 169.113
32 Kevin Harvick (29) Chevrolet 169.084
33 Jeff Burton (31) Chevrolet 168.932
34 Kyle Busch (18) Toyota 168.890
35 Casey Mears (13) Toyota 168.666
36 Michael McDowell (66) Toyota 168.218
37 Greg Biffle (16) Ford 167.773
38 Tony Raines (37) Ford 167.395
39 Scott Riggs (181) Chevrolet 167.264
40 Dave Blaney (36) Chevrolet 167.056
41 Mike Bliss (32) Ford 166.868 42 Scott Wimmer (7) Dodge 162.414
43 T.J. Bell (150) Toyota 166.633
44 Mike Skinner (60) DNQ 164.902
__________________
Rick
Nitro Year: 2007 (1 of 113,000 sold)
Nitro Model: R/T 4X4 Stone White
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Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - NSCS Final Qualifying - Pocono
June 11, 2011 , LONG POND, Pa. - Saturday, June 11, 2011
Pocono Raceway
Dodge Motorsports PR
5-Hour Energy 500
Post-Qualifying Quotes
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified First
“There are plenty of emotions how things work. Yesterday, with the wreck in practice, we had to go to the backup. If it was raining right now, we would have to start the race last. So, it’s nice that we got the opportunity to go out today, the weather held off for us and our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge was money. I’m not going to give up on my guys; they didn’t give up on me. It was a great lap. If I had slipped up and brushed up against the fence, there would be a big body-work nightmare tonight for the crew.”
IN THE MEDIA CENTER:
“Quite a bit of emotions today, especially after having to burst out the backup car after yesterday’s mishap. To go out there today, if it was raining, we would be starting last. And now, luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole. An amazing swing of events. An honest thank you to my guys, especially the ones back at the shop preparing the cars. To pull a backup out that’s a pole-winning car, that’s something you really wouldn’t hear about back in the day. It would be all-right, we’re going to have to struggle through the weekend; it’s not the best piece (car). It’s great that we have that quality control in our system. We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond. It’s just been some procedures, some processes and maybe just looking at the data a little bit differently. It’s great to come back out and be on the pole again. As a race car driver, I was really, really, really worried with the number 13, I thought I was going to get stuck on the 13th pole for a long while, but number 14 already, we’re moving on.”
IS THERE A NEW METHODOLOGY FOR QUALIFYING WITH YOUR TEAM? "It's a matter of knowing where the edge is, but not stepping over it. Yesterday, honestly, I missed my shift point and it got me into trouble. I was trying different things, changing the rear gear, changing the transmission, and just being in a different zone of elements of changes. Normally, the last three years, we haven't messed with gears at all. It was cool to do that and mess with it and it bit me. Today, we went right back after it and I was aggressive and I used the same procedure as I did yesterday at practice where I wrecked to get the pole today."
OUTSIDE OF CREW MEMBER CHANGES, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN YOUR CARS? "Again, I think that it gets back to looking at our data differently and doing it in a sense of I took the apple tree and just shook it as hard as I could at Richmond. We saw which apples fell and which ones were still there. There's some processes, procedures, a couple of different personnel changes. Quite honestly, it was, 'Hey, do we want to make this Chase? We got to make some changes'. We'll look at how we can re-evaluate what we're doing because heading into the direction that we were, we were just scrapping those top 10s or maybe running 15th and that's not going to get it done when you want to win a championship."
STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)
“This 22 crew, the 2 car guys, everybody back at the shop, the fab guys here, what an effort. When we unloaded the backup car, we had made so many changes during practice with the primary car we didn’t get a lot of track time with the backup. I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. The work they did to get this car ready was awesome. To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive. And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified 20th
“There was something wrong with the throttle linkage. It was definitely stuck. I don’t know if there was a rock in it or what, I don’t know. It was pretty hairy entering Turn One here. Then you add down shifting, it’s even hairier. And then you add the throttle sticking and it’s really, really hairy. We’re just lucky to not bring one back on the hook. It’s a shame. I think this car was fast enough to put down a really good lap, certainly a top-five or top-10 lap. All in all, it was a good effort. I don’t think anyone did anything wrong. I think it just got a piece of rubber, a rock in it that caused it to stick.”
__________________
Rick
Nitro Year: 2007 (1 of 113,000 sold)
Nitro Model: R/T 4X4 Stone White
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CUP: Suddenly, Keselowski A Contender
Written by: Tom Jensen
Date: 06/11/2011
Location: Long Pond, PA
It’s amazing how things can change in the space of one short week. Just ask Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge.
A week ago at this time, Keselowski was sitting 25th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup points, enduring what was one of the most disappointing seasons of any driver on a frontline team.
And then, just like that, things turned around in a big way for the Michigan native.
Last weekend at Kansas Speedway, Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe played the fuel mileage game to perfection, winning the STP 400. All of a sudden, Keselowski was up to 21st in points and his race victory made him a contender for one of the two wild card spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
For Keselowski to actually make the Chase, a lot still has to happen: He must finish NASCAR’s 26-race regular season no worse than 20th in points. And he has to hope to either win one more race in the next 13, or hope no other potential wild card drivers win more than one race and/or finish ahead of him in points.
The good news for Keselowski? After a slow start to the season, his “Blue Deuce” finally has some speed to it and the team is gathering some momentum.
Friday at Pocono Raceway, Keselowski was seventh in the first practice for Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 500. He followed that up by being fourth-fastest in Happy Hour.
Now, both driver and team need to turn raw speed into solid finishes, week after week.
“As far as the wild card is concerned, it’s a great opportunity for a team like ours, guys like myself that are obviously not where we want to be in points, but have some performance capabilities,” said Keselowski. “We haven’t been able to consistently execute, but we’ve been able to run well. That’s something I feel good about for our team.”
And not without good reason.
In the last month, Keselowski finished third at Darlington, 13th at Dover, 19th in the Coca-Cola 600 and first at Kansas. That’s an average finish of 9.00, which is certainly solid.
“If you look at the way that our team is performing, we’re more than capable of being in the top 20 on our own merits with the way that we’ve been running,” said Keselowski. “We just need to continue to execute. We’re a team that is growing stronger every week. If we can continue to grow as we’ve grown so far and at the same rate, I think that not only will we be a Chase-capable team, (we will) perhaps make some noise in it.”
As of now, the Sprint Cup regular season is halfway complete. And as the number of races winds down, the pressure and risk-taking will ratchet up exponentially, something the driver is keenly aware of. For now, though, the idea is be steady and consistent, instead of trying to be a hero.
“I don’t want to do anything to interrupt that process by doing something stupid and trying to get a win that may hurt that process,” said Keselowski. “There’s a balancing act there, certainly. As those last few races come before the Chase, obviously you’ll have a little better idea where you stand. You hate to box yourself in and say, ‘We’re going to do this, or we’re going to do that.’ We have a little bit more time.”
Still, it’s about to get interesting, something Keselowski is keenly aware of.
“Those last three to five races before the Chase starts are going to be really, really exciting,” he said.
CUP: Kurt Busch Continues Penske Rebound
Written by: Tom Jensen
Date: 06/12/2011 - 05:32 PM
Location: Long Pond, PA
A month ago, Penske Racing’s NASCAR operation seemingly was in utter disarray, with Kurt Busch ripping the team, its management, his teammate and his race cars.
And yet, suddenly all is right with the world.
Last week, Busch won the pole for the STP 400 at Kansas, a race ultimately won by his teammate, Brad Keselowski. At Pocono Raceway this weekend, Busch captured his second consecutive pole and parlayed that into a runner-up finish behind Jeff Gordon in Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 500.
The elder of the two racing Busch brothers remains sixth in points, one spot behind his little brother, and is in great shape to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
So even though he didn’t win at Pocono, Kurt was happy to finish second ahead of little brother Kyle.
“Just a nice, steady run,” Busch said of his day. “We were able to have smooth pit stops, not the greatest, but smooth. We had a great-handling car at certain points of the race, a little tight here, a little loose there. Just a great genuine day for our team to run in the top five all day.”
And it wasn’t like Busch left anything on the table, as he made a significant challenge for the victory.
On Lap 117 of the 200-lap race, Busch blew by Juan Pablo Montoya on a restart and looked as if he was going to run away with it from there. But 40 laps later, he lost the lead on pit road to Montoya, and that was basically the race, as Gordon quickly took the lead under green and led 37 of the final 41 laps.
Busch got up on the wheel of the No. 22 Penske Dodge and although he closed on Gordon several times, he couldn’t seal the deal.
“It was a great, hard-fought battle with Jeff Gordon at the end,” said Busch. “It started about 130 laps in, about 70 to go, where we were able to take the lead, stretch it out. Then there was a caution. The 24 (Gordon) beat us out of the pits. It was a great battle.”
According to Busch, each of the drivers had advantages at specific points of the fuel runs.
“I thought we could gain on him after 15 laps into the run,” Busch said of Gordon. “We were able to do that most of the day. We were able to do that again at the end, but we just couldn’t close the gap far enough. The old ‘Golden Boy’ had it in him today. He ran strong. It was a very genuine battle that we had.
“Neither one of us slipped those final few laps,” Busch said. “It was just one of those, ‘I’m giving it all I got and I can’t close the gap.’”
Still, Busch is pleased with the direction the team is heading in.
“They’re a great two weeks,” he said. “I feel like we’ve got what we need to continue moving forward. It’s not all there. We still need to have A pluses in all areas of our team, whether it’s the motor department, aerodynamics, pit crew, crew chief, driver, communication. To run for the win the last two weeks in a row and have two poles, it’s pretty solid.”
Pocono Raceway
Dodge Motorsports PR
5-Hour Energy 500
Post-Race Quotes
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished Second
“It was a great run. The old boy Jeff Gordon had it in him today. We ran him strong, we ran him hard. I’m real proud of our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge today, our team, our teamwork. We were in a back-up car, so we didn’t know what to expect, but we ran it as hard as we could. I shifted every lap. I overworked it, but it made it through the 500 miles. This Dodge was great for us today.
"It's great to run this good with the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. Congratulations to Jeff Gordon. He ran strong. He ran well. We gave it everything we could with our Dodge. It's all about teamwork when you have to work from a back-up car. I thought we were better after about lap 15 on a run, but we just couldn’t close it there at the end.
“We’re excited with this finish. We put up a good fight with our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. We gave it all we had. I’m proud to finish second. My guys worked hard to get that.
To bring this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge home in second is a good feeling. Even though it’s a backup, it was a strong car today. We were working it hard today. I’m thankful to have good equipment and thank Roger Penske and the Dodge team. We were good enough to win today.”
TALK ABOUT THE RACE AND THOSE LAST FEW LAPS. “It was a great, hard-fought battle for us in the 22 car today. Just a nice, steady run. We were able to have smooth pit stops, not the greatest, but smooth. We had a great-handling car at certain points of the race, a little tight here, a little loose there. Just a great genuine day for our team to run in the top five all day.
“It’s pleasing to see that result. I’m exhausted. It was a great, hard-fought battle with Jeff Gordon at the end. It started about 130 laps in, about 70 to go, where we were able to take the lead, stretch it out. Then there was a caution. The 24 beat us out of the pits. It was a great battle.
“I thought we could gain on him after 15 laps into the run. We were able to do that most of the day. We were able to do that again at the end, but we just couldn’t close the gap far enough. The old ‘Golden Boy’ had it in him today. He ran strong. It was a very genuine battle that we had.
“Neither one of us slipped those final few laps. It was just one of those, I’ve giving it all I got and I can’t close the gap. Interesting day with shifting. Shifting quite a bit today, keeping track of the temperatures, the revs on the engine, fuel mileage as well, and a lot of balance inside the car.”
“TALK ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF WHAT JEFF GORDON DID TODAY, TIES HIM FOR ALL-TIME WINS WITH (DARRELL) WALTRIP AND (B0BBY) ALLISON. “It’s impressive to see what he’s done over his career, not just in this decade, not in the 2000s, back all the way to the 90s. He’s a true legend in our sport, a four-time champion.
“When I came in as a rookie, I set the bar to try to compete with him, to race against him the best I could. We’ve had our good and tough battles on the track. Today, I wanted more. I wanted to get up there and race with him hard, show him that he’s going to have to work harder to get these wins in the latter part of his career. But he’s Jeff Gordon, he’s that good. The team is solid.
“It’s amazing to see that accomplishment, that he’s done that here in the current age. It seems like all the guys that have got those 200, 105, and 84 wins, those all came in the mid portion of how our NASCAR series developed, not the early portions of the ‘50s and ‘60s, but ‘70s, ‘80s and 90s.”
AFTER LAST WEEK WHEN YOU HAD TO PIT LATE, YOU STILL SAID AFTER THE RACE IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE A CAR THAT RAN UP FRONT MOST OF THE DAY. WHEN YOU PUT THAT RACE AND THIS RACE TOGETHER, IS IT FAIR TO SAY YOU THINK YOU’VE TURNED THE CORNER? “They’re a great two weeks. I feel like we’ve got what we need to continue to move forward. It’s not all there. We still need to have A-pluses in all areas of our team, whether it’s the motor department, aerodynamics, pit crew, crew chief-driver communications. To run for the win the last two weeks in a row and have two poles, it’s pretty solid.”
CARL EDWARDS CAME IN WITH A 40-POINT LEAD. GIVEN HIS DNF TODAY, HOW IS IT GOING TO HELP THE REST OF THE TEAM FALL INTO PLACE? “How did he have problems? Engine issues? That’s one concern all of us had in the back of our minds today with the extra shifting. You could leave it in third gear longer. It was a concern all day long.
“When the points leader has problems, everybody’s just chomping at the bit, licking their lips, going, wow, look at this, I’m right back in this. When you’re having good runs like we are, my little brother, just plugging away, that helps you feel more solid when you get to the month of August after you get through the Brickyard, making that summer run to the Chase.
“Right now, it’s all about consistency. I’d like to break through and get a win just to help us feel more confident in our Chase position. When the point’s leader has trouble, everybody benefits from that.”
STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)
“I think we had a car that could have won the race today. I messed up on the call on that last pit stop. I didn’t want the 24 team to hear me tell our spotter that we wanted Kurt on pit road this lap, but the 4 car shot underneath and it jumbled everything up. We ended up making the stop the same lap as the 24. If we had stopped a lap earlier than the 24 and got out in front of him, we would have won the race. I want everybody to know how far this team came from Friday to today. We led laps and run up front all day long, no farther back than fourth. I’m proud of them.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 23rd
“I think we had a top-five car there at the end when it mattered. We had a broken shock, got it fixed and then it broke again. It’s just unfortunate. We were a really, really strong car and didn’t capitalize on it today. We did what we could, but there are some things you just can’t overcome.”
__________________
Rick
Nitro Year: 2007 (1 of 113,000 sold)
Nitro Model: R/T 4X4 Stone White
CAT-BACK Exhaust, CAI, Projector Head Lamps
Fully-Equipped w/all factory options
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