In a race to criticize
Drivers: Pocono not good enough
LONG POND, Pa. - Jeff Gordon says it's outdated. Jimmie Johnson believes it produces bad racing. And Kyle Busch fears today's event is going to be downright boring.
Pocono Raceway is officially under attack, and the assault comes as its owners ardently defend its future on the NASCAR schedule.
Bruton Smith, the billionaire owner of
Even if Smith were to prevail, he has no plans to preserve the facility that serves the New York and Philadelphia markets. Instead, he'd pluck one or perhaps even both of its Sprint Cup Series dates and move them to SMI-owned facilities.
The battle for ownership of the Pocono track comes amid a wave of criticism against the 2.5-mile triangle.
Gordon, the four-time series champion, was the first to fire when he openly wondered how the "outdated" track has held on to its two Cup dates, despite needing a "ton of upgrades."
"I'm shocked that they've had two races for as long as they've had," Gordon said during testing here two weeks ago. "I'd be surprised if it stayed that way in the future."
Back for today's race, Gordon hasn't retreated from those comments.
"It's obvious that this is a track that needs some upgrades, and I still believe that," he said. "At this day and time with this series at the level it's at . . . it's only being constructive criticism as to what upgrades I think they need to have, especially if they want to continue to stay on the circuit going forward."
The Mattiolis have listened to criticism before - improving the garages and creating lounges for the drivers in 1995. And when he noticed a chunk of asphalt coming loose after the race here last August, 83-year-old Joseph Mattioli walked the path on the track and found baseline cracks in a 15-foot-wide section between Turns 2 and 3. He had the section filled with a new asphalt that's created a patch drivers are raving about.
But the patch is the only positive they've found.
At 500 miles, drivers have long complained the race is much too long. If NASCAR surveyed the garage, series officials would be hard pressed to find a single person who doesn't want the race shortened by 100 miles.
"I think if we ran 400-mile races, that would be better," Busch said. "There would be more racing throughout the event than just riding around for however many miles because you have so long to go."
Asked what he expected out of today's 500-miler, the series points leader said, "a boring race" with little passing.
"That's a big concern," Busch said. "I don't know what we'll see. You just get within a few car lengths of the guy in front of you and you get stuck and you just can't go anywhere."
Johnson, the two-time defending champion, says Pocono doesn't produce good racing because of the long straightaways, tight turns, and lack of banking. He was also critical of the grass along the short chute of the speedway and the lack of protective barriers.
"It's tough to really put on a good race here. It really is," he said. "We sound awfully harsh in saying these things, but we're just trying to be honest. We all appreciate and respect the Mattiolis and all that they've done. It's not a personal dig on them. But there is no denying that this is an old, old facility. And as racing has gone on and we're trying to put on a better show, it's just been tough to do that here."
Further aggravating the drivers is that they'll be back here again in eight weeks. Although Pocono is one of 14 tracks with two Cup races, the proximity of its two summer dates has long been questioned.
Like it or not, with crowds estimated at 130,000, affordable tickets, and a facility that is owned outright with no debt, the Mattiolis appear determined to hunker down and hold on to the speedway for the foreseeable future.
Busch wrecked his car during practice yesterday and has to go to a backup for today's race.
Busch lost control of his
Busch is trying to become the first driver in NASCAR history to race in all three national series at three different racetracks on the same weekend.
He practiced and qualified at Pocono Friday, then flew to Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished second in the Truck Series race. Last night in Gladeville, Tenn., he finished 20th, three laps down, in a Nationwide series event won by Brad Keselowski.
