Fast Forward ~ The Pure Michigan 400 At Michigan Fantasy Race Picks And Preview
8/1/2013
Jim
Fitzgerald And Staff
“The future is like a corridor into which we
can see only by the light coming from behind.”
–Edward Weyer, Jr.
Indy
is now in the books, and we go from one long flat track to…another long flat
track! We’re at Pocono this week for the
Go Bowling.com 400. Did you know this
place used to be a spinach farm?
The Track:
Location:
Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Length:
2.5 Mile Tri-oval
Banking:
14 degrees in turn 1;
8
degrees in turn 2;
6
degrees in turn 3
Pit
Road Speed:55 MPH
The Race: The
Go Bowling.com 400
160
Laps/ 400 Miles
Defending
Champion: Jeff Gordon, 139.249 MPH
Most
recent winner: Jimmie Johnson, 144.202 MPH
Track
Record: Rusty Wallace, 144.982 MPH, July 1996
Race
Record: Rusty Wallace, 144.982 MPH, July 1996
Qualifying
record: Joey Logano, 179.598, June 2012
2012
Purse: $5,018,078
TV:ESPN, 1:00PM EST 8/4/2013
Radio:
Motor Racing Network (MRN) Sirius XM 90; www.MRN.com
The History:
1968-
Opened as a ¾ mile track.
1971-First
race on the 2.5 mile track was held
8/4/1974-The
first Sprint Cup Series race was held at Pocono, won by Richard Petty
6/17/1990-Harry
Gant becomes the oldest winner at 50 years, 5 months, 7 days.
2011-Track
was repaved
6/10/2012-Loey
Logano becomes the youngest winner at 22 years, 7 days.
The
Contenders:
Who
do I think will have a shot to win at Pocono?
Jimmie
Johnson: Johnson OWNED this place in June for the first race,
leading all but 32 laps. There’s a good
chance they will be tough to beat this week as well.
Jeff Gordon: Gordon
finished a disappointing 12th here in June, but his history here
cannot be ignored. If you’re down to
only a few drivers left to pick and Gordon is one of them, you might consider
him.
Ryan Newman: Newman
showed he could win at the Brickyard last week, does well on flat tracks, and
finished 5th here in June while leading 19 laps.
Tony Stewart: Had a good
finish here in June, in 4th, also ran well last week at Indy, and
has two previous wins here. I hope it’s
not a fuel mileage race…
Greg Biffle: Finished 2nd
to Johnson in the last race here and has a win here. Probably would not be my
first choice, but he could be a viable option.
DARK HORSE
PICK-Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch has two wins, 13 top tens,
and finished 7th here in the first race.
There
are my contenders for Pocono. How did I
do with my picks from last week?
Jeff Gordon: Led
11 laps and finished 7th.
Jimmie
Johnson: Almost pulled it off, but a bad final pit
stop was the nail…2nd place on the day.
Matt Kenseth:
Struggled for a part of the day but came home in 5th.
Tony Stewart: Did
not lead, but finished 4th.
Juan Pablo
Montoya: Led one lap and finished 9th.
DARK HORSE
PICK-Mark Martin: 23rd?
Pocono
results: a 2nd, a 4th, a 5th, a 7th,
a 9th, and a great day soiled by Mark Martin and his 23rd. Not horrible though. I hope if you took my advice it worked out
for you.
Race Pro Picks!
Before
we get to the Pocono picks, let’s see how we all did at Indy…
Player |
Selection |
Race
Pts |
Previous
Pts |
Total
Pts |
Wins |
DNFs |
Mr.
Seven |
24 |
38 |
745 |
783 |
0 |
0 |
PattyKay |
24 |
38 |
712 |
750 |
0 |
1 |
Jim |
48 |
44 |
703 |
747 |
4 |
1 |
Brian |
14 |
40 |
662 |
702 |
1 |
2 |
Alabama |
29 |
26 |
669 |
695 |
0 |
0 |
Kevin |
42 |
36 |
558 |
594 |
0 |
5 |
My
pick of Jimmie Johnson was enough to get me the top finish of the day, and oh
so close to another win. Brian moved up a spot in points, leapfrogging Alabama
Fitz. Who will take the honors this
week? We are returning to the site of
PattyKay Lilley’s win earlier this season…
Here
are our picks for the Go Bowling.com 400 at Pocono, at 1:00 PM on ESPN:
PattyKay (@MamaPKL): Nothing in the world more invigorating than moving from a 2.5-mile flat
track to another
2.5-mile flat track... well, maybe excepting a 5-mile walk in a cold rain
without an umbrella. Still, of the two giant tracks, I far prefer Pocono,
probably because for many years I looked at it as my Home Track. Some genius on
the TV told me last week that the two tracks, Pocono and Indy, race a lot
alike. No! REALLY? I'd never have guessed... except
that I've known that for years. So, round up the usual suspects and ...
"Play it again, Sam." You do know that line was never in the movie,
don't you?
There's no use fighting it this
week. He almost won at Indy, but for a not so brilliant move by a tire changer
who is no doubt seeking employment as I type. He won handily here in June after
leading 128 of the 160 laps. He is, the one... the only... Jimmie Johnson.
Brian: (Brian is
on vacation, but did select Jimmie Johnson):)
Kevin
(@KEVDOGG329): This week is the
return to the Pocono Mountains. In June the race was dominated by Jimmie
Johnson. After finishing second in the Brickyard race due to a miscue on pit
road, I look for Johnson to try to repeat his domination at this track, however
I see another driver desperate to win to make the Chase getting the win this
week. This driver has a good track record at this track with last year’s win
giving him a spot in the Chase. My pick for this week is Jeff Gordon.
Mr. Seven:
Fast as fast may be, you’ll never catch me! I’m taking whoever finished in 7th
place!
(Editor’s Note: Mr. Seven will be given credit for the
points of the seventh place finishing driver each week.)
Alabama: Well, you all know that, recently, whoever
has had the bad luck to be chosen by yours truly doesn't fare so well. I seem
to be an Albatross, or the Kiss of Death. Therefore, I choose Mr. Seven...
maybe I can drag him down with me. OR, he gets who I pick from now on!!! What's
that? It doesn't work that way? Isn't this NASCAR? They change rules when they
want, why can't I? Alright, alright. O-h-h bother! OK. I see, again, Johnson, Gordon and Stewart! Do I
go for the win or do I go for the points. If I get the win, I get the points,
naturally. What? Me win? That's a laugh. Ok, that answered the question. I want
Stewart to get me some points, but after his 5 time rollover in Canada, he
might not get himself any points. Therefore, I will put my foot, just my foot
mind you, on the Johnson train for a ride this week. This could jinx him or
break my jinx. JJ to win. Be careful now. If anybody
else picks him, I just might be saying, "Y'all come down here now, you heah?" Ah-h-h ha ha ha ha! Good night Mrs. McGillicuddy, wherever you are.
Jim (@Forewasabi): I don’t even know what to say to that, except
that I agree with Fitz’s pick. It’s far
too soon after the first race, and Johnson was far too strong there, to pick
anyone else. I feel that someone may
make it closer, but I think that that kind of dominance cannot be overcome in
one race. Johnson to
win for me.
There
are our picks for the race at Pocono this week!
We hope you enjoy the race, and until then, here is a quote about
triangles!
“Arithmetic! Algebra!
Geometry! Grandiose trinity! Luminous triangle! Whoever has not known you is
without sense.” –Comte de Lautreamont
Jim Fitzgerald @Forewasabi
PattyKay Lilley @MamaPKL
Kevin Abraham @KevDogg329
Marshall Gabell @Gabell_Racing
Who is YOUR pick to win this week?