{"id":27525,"date":"2019-07-27T17:40:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T22:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=27525"},"modified":"2019-07-29T22:12:23","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T03:12:23","slug":"nascar-saturday-pocono-notebook-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/27\/nascar-saturday-pocono-notebook-3\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Saturday Pocono Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

Pocono Raceway announces NASCAR schedule for 2020 doubleheader weekend<\/b><\/p>\n

Next year\u2019s Pocono Raceway schedule will feature a longer weekend, shorter Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races but considerably more racing action at the 2.5-mile triangular track.<\/p>\n

For the first time, NASCAR will run two points-paying Cup races on the same weekend, culminating in a 350-miler on Sunday, June 28. The day before, Cup drivers will run their first race of the weekend, with a length still to be determined.<\/p>\n

Practice and single-car qualifying for the first Cup race will take place on Friday, June 26, and cars will be impounded thereafter. Drivers will use the same cars for both races, with the starting order for the second race determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of Race No. 1, reporters learned Saturday during the announcement at Pocono.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a little flux here,\u201d Pocono Raceway CEO Nick Igdalsky said of the first Cup race. \u201cThe race length is tentative at this point\u2026 We\u2019re shooting for a 350-miler on that one, but that one may flex a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the Cup cars may have to run as many as 700-miles under race conditions in the same weekend. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter (Race 1), we will give the competitors back their cars, and they can do all their maintenance,\u201d said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. \u201cThey can\u2019t really run the 700 miles without having their cars back for general service and all that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ll give them their cars back. They will likely change valve springs and work on any slight damage from the race and all the maintenance to prepare for 350-mile Race 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teams will keep the pit stalls they earn during Friday\u2019s qualifying for both races.<\/p>\n

Both Cup races will be part of doubleheaders, with the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series running a 200-mile event before Saturday\u2019s Race 1 and the NASCAR Xfinity Series competing over 225 miles before Sunday\u2019s Race 2.<\/p>\n

The ARCA Menards Series will feature a 200-mile race on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

KEVIN HARVICK-KYLE BUSCH RIVALRY HAS MATURED INTO MUTUAL RESPECT<\/b><\/p>\n

To hear Kevin Harvick tell it, the undisguised animosity he once felt for Kyle Busch has mellowed over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, man, I wanted to rip Kyle Busch\u2019s head off for a long time, and now I enjoy being around Kyle and racing with Kyle,\u201d Harvick said on Saturday morning at Pocono Raceway. \u201cAnd the reason I think that is, for me, there\u2019s a respect that comes with what he does on the race track, so I enjoy beating Kyle. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 27: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Gen X Ford, qualifies for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 27, 2019 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI know Kyle enjoys beating me, and I enjoy racing Kyle, but I also understand that when it\u2019s all said and done, he\u2019s going to be one of the greatest that goes through the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Busch believes the turnaround started in 2014 when Harvick moved to Stewart-Haas Racing and when Harvick\u2019s son Keelan was born. Busch also thinks the surge in social media has had an effect on quelling rivalries in the sport, rather than enhancing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you have people on their computers, on their cell phones, on whatever all day long talking about it or whatever with not just one, two, three people at their job site, but hundreds and thousands on their social media platform and the voice just gets louder and becomes more annoying,\u201d Busch said. <\/p>\n

\u201cGot to mind your \u2018p\u2019s and \u2018q\u2019s a little bit more and kind of let it die quietly at the race track. When it picks up, because you run into someone else, and then it picks up again, it starts all over. You try to squash it, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Harvick\u2019s current view, it\u2019s perhaps best not to make enemies in the first place. His prime example? Jimmie Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Jimmie Johnson have a beef with anybody?\u201d Harvick asked rhetorically. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. That\u2019s probably why he won seven championships. He had this grudge thing figured out long before I did, so it\u2019s a different world.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/PR2_MENCS_Harvick_072719.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NO REVERSAL OF ILL FORTUNES FOR CHASE ELLIOTT, KYLE LARSON<\/b><\/p>\n

Chase Elliott was unduly hard on himself after Saturday\u2019s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Pocono Raceway.<\/p>\n

After wrecking his car in opening practice, Elliott drove a backup during time trials. Though he posted the 23rd<\/sup> fastest lap, he\u2019ll have to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race because of the switch to the backup.<\/p>\n

For Elliott, the qualifying effort was just another link in an unfavorable chain of events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sucked today,\u201d was Elliott\u2019s summation. \u201cWe crashed a car, and it put us in a bad position for tomorrow (Sunday\u2019s Gander RV 400 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\u201cThat pretty much set us up for failure by crashing that first car. That\u2019s just kind of the way it goes. When you make stupid mistakes and qualify really bad, it results in bad pit selection and bad track position. We\u2019ll try to make the most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle Larson, who crashed 10 minutes into opening practice and also went to a backup, was much more sanguine about his prospects on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seemed slower, like the balance is crazy different than the other car,\u201d said Larson, who was 29th<\/sup> fastest in time trials.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t be trying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always different strategies and things,\u201d Larson said. \u201cAs (team owner) Chip (Ganassi) says, there\u2019s a right strategy to win every race for every car. Maybe we\u2019ll figure out that strategy and be able to have a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Pocono Raceway announces NASCAR schedule for 2020 doubleheader weekend Next year\u2019s Pocono Raceway schedule will feature a longer weekend, shorter Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races but considerably more racing action at the 2.5-mile triangular track. For the first time, NASCAR will run two points-paying Cup races on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":27528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,252],"class_list":["post-27525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-pocono-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/MENCS_PR2_Harvick_Qualifying_072719.jpg?fit=3342%2C2228&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-79X","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27529,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27525\/revisions\/27529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}