The Herald Bulletin

Afternoon Update

Sports

Discussion

July 30, 2010

Stewart wins pole at Pocono

By Genaro C. Armas Associated Press

LONG POND, Pa. — Tony Stewart unbuttoned the top button on his racing suit and let out a sigh.

Qualifying for the pole always makes a trip to Pocono Raceway more fun. Stewart zipped his No. 14 Chevy for a qualifying lap Friday of 171.393 mph around the 2.5-mile triangle track to start from the top for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500.

“Man, it felt good,” Stewart said. “If you want a place where you want good track position, it’s here at Pocono.”

Juan Pablo Montoya will start second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race for an impressive follow-up to last week’s pole start but disappointing 32nd-place finish at the Brickyard 400.

Denny Hamlin will start third as he tries to sweep both Pocono races. Hamlin won the Pocono 500 in June.

They’ll both have to get past Stewart first, who’s got a little experience with starting up front at the Tricky Triangle.

Stewart started the June race in sixth place, and finished third. He was awarded the pole at the two Pocono stops in 2009 after rainouts washed out qualifying.

This time, Stewart sped his way to the top. He said he felt good going around the first two turns before thinking he hit a rough spot around Turn 3.

“I felt like I might have lost a little bit of time there, but we got through there pretty good, too apparently. Better than I thought, I guess,” Stewart said.

Good enough for his second pole of the season, the first coming at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Ninth in the points race, Stewart hopes to get a boost as the schedule draws closer to the Chase playoffs.

And to think, Stewart considers qualifying a “weak suit.”

“The qualifying run for sure, I’m hoping is a glimmer of hope to what the rest of the weekend will hold for us,” Stewart said. He’s had first-place finishes at Pocono in 2009 and 2003.

Few others have had as much success at Pocono than Hamlin, who has turned the triangle into his personal playground. Besides the June victory, he also won the Pennsylvania 500 last year and both Pocono races in 2006.

He’s slumped the last five weeks, finishing no higher than eighth in that stretch. Pocono could give his No. 11 Toyota team a spark for the season’s stretch run as they try to climb from their third-place standing in driver points.

Earlier Friday, Hamlin acknowledged he had been fined by NASCAR for making critical comments about the racing series, but not even that touchy subject could dampen his day.

“No, not really,” Hamlin said when asked if there was extra motivation because of the revelation about the fine. “Really, there’s no relation either way.”

Montoya, 22nd in points and out of contention, plans to use Pocono as a venue where his team “can try a lot of things.”

After a disappointing outing last week, Montoya was asked if there were similarities between the Brickyard and Pocono, both 2.5-mile tracks.

“I haven’t figured it out yet. Honestly, if there’s anything similar between these two places I haven’t seen them,” said Montoya in typical entertaining fashion. “Honestly, this place is bumpy hell ... It’s hard, it’s unpredictable.”

Text Only
Sports
  • 0530 sports phhs vs roncalli 048.jpg Pendleton Heights falls to Roncalli in regional

    In the Class 4A Regional Tuesday, Roncalli scored the game-winning run in a 3-0 victory over Pendleton Heights on a wild pitch during an intentional walk to North Carolina-bound star Kendra Lynch in the sixth inning at Legends Field in Pendleton.

    May 29, 2012 2 Photos

  • 0530 spts slyder.jpg AU men's basketball coach resigns

    Anderson University head men’s basketball coach Tom Slyder recently resigned to accept a position as the men’s basketball coach at North Park University in Chicago, Ill.
    North Park is an NCAA Division III school that competes in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).

    May 29, 2012 1 Photo

  • DSC_1432.JPG Triumphant Tribe

    Seventeen years of frustration and disappointment for the Anderson Indians baseball team ended in a jubilant dog pile atop junior pitcher Curtis Wilson on Monday night at Pendleton Heights’ Field of Dreams.

    May 28, 2012 1 Photo

  • Argylls squeeze into crown

    Madison-Grant coach Ben Rodriguez liked his squeeze play so much that he called it again in the pivotal inning of the Class 2A, Sectional 39 championship game at Eastern High School on Monday night in Greentown.

    May 28, 2012

  • 0529 spts Lapel vs Wapahani_baseball 59a.jpg Bulldogs’ comeback falls just short

    Not even a heroic seventh-inning rally could save the Lapel baseball team in the Class 2A sectional title game at Frankton on Monday afternoon. The Bulldogs scored four runs in the seventh inning but still came up a run short as the Wapahani Raiders won the championship 9-8.

    May 28, 2012 1 Photo

  • 0413 sports Muller semifinal 038.jpg Tribe rallies past Pendleton Heights into final

    This is the stuff of legend.
    The kind of game that defines a rivalry.
    The kind of victory that breathes new life into a program.
    And the kind of defeat that won’t ever be forgotten.

    May 28, 2012 1 Photo

  • George Bremer-2.JPG George Bremer: In with Orton, out of Luck?

    There really is no offseason anymore in the National Football League.
    The Indianapolis Colts haven’t played a game since Jan. 1, but look at all the headlines they’ve generated since that date.

    May 28, 2012 1 Photo

  • de la Bastide-color.jpg Ken de la Bastide: Indy 500 lives up to hype - again

    For the second consecutive year the Indianapolis 500 demonstrated why it remains as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.
    Last year there was the dramatic finish when rookie J.R. Hildebrand crashed in the fourth corner on the final lap allowing the late Dan Wheldon to record his second victory.

    May 29, 2012 1 Photo

  • 0528 NASCAR Charlotte Auto_Harl.jpg Kahne keeps Hendrick success rolling at Charlotte

    Kasey Kahne powered to victory in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, taking NASCAR's longest race for the third time for his first win with Hendrick Motorsports.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • 0528 Manu.jpg Spurs strike first in West finals, win 19th in row

    Manu Ginobili scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs won their 19th in a row to tie the NBA record for longest winning streak kept alive in the playoffs, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-98 to open the Western Conference finals on Sunday night.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo