Stewart wins pole at Pocono

Sports

Discussion

July 30, 2010

By Genaro C. Armas Associated Press Fri Jul 30, 2010, 10:52 PM EDT

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

Tribe triumphs
The Anderson Lady Tribe brought their best defense in Friday night’s semifinal battle against New Castle and rolled to a 56-31 victory to advance to the final of Class 4A Sectional 9 against Pendleton Heights.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Wertz rallies Arabians to final
Pendleton Heights junior guard Tiffany Wertz sparked a fourth-quarter rally in girls sectional basketball play Friday and lifted the Arabians into tonight’s title game. PH scored 29 points in the fourth quarter and erased a six-point deficit with five minutes to play in a 63-51 win over Richmond.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Broncos advance to finals
Daleville’s girls basketball team pounded Wes-Del for a third time this season, defeating the Warriors 39-11 to earn a berth in the sectional championship tonight against Southern Wells.

February 10, 2012
Elwood better but can't best Tipton
While the final score of 80-46 may not indicate it, there were some improvements for the Elwood girls basketball team in its rematch against the Tipton Blue Devils on Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 2A Sectional 39 at Madison-Grant.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Argylls' season runs out of gas in semis
It would not be too hard to pinpoint exactly when things went wrong for the Madison-Grant girls basketball team Friday night in its sectional semifinal game against Eastern. However, identifying the cause of the team’s struggles would be more difficult. The Argylls’ hung tough for three quarters of the game, but fell apart in the fourth with a perfect storm of problems, resulting to a 56-38 loss to end their season.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Winchester's final run fells Frankton
Girls basketball season came to an end Friday for the Frankton Eagles, but it didn’t end quietly. Frankton fell to the Winchester Golden Falcons 60-51 in the Class 2A Sectional 40 semifinals at Shenandoah High School.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Indians advance to finals Photos from the sectional semifinal at Greenfield-Central on Friday.
February 10, 2012
Arabians come from behind to beat Red Devils Photos from the sectional semifinal at Greenfield-Central on Friday.
February 10, 2012
Bearcats upend AHS
Often basketball is a simple game, and it was certainly true for the Anderson boys basketball team here Thursday night. “We had too many turnovers — that’s the game,” said AHS coach Joe Nadaline after the Indians lost to Muncie Central 54-46 for their eighth straight defeat.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Bulldogs topple Raiders, win 9th in a row
The Bulldogs keep on rolling. Lapel (16-3) led from start to finish as it beat visiting Shenandoah 69-47 Thursday night to push its winning streak to nine games.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
More Sports Headlines

Who is to blame in the Jim Irsay-Peyton Manning rift?

Sports

Search Results

Discussion

Stewart wins pole at Pocono

Who is to blame in the Jim Irsay-Peyton Manning rift?

Site Map

Contact Us