NASCAR Thread

[BroncosFanInPA]

WOW! For once we finally had a little bit of excitement & a wild finish to a race. I knew it was gonna get crazy on that last restart & i said there was gonna be a wreck.

Now with 5 to go the final wildcard spot is getting crazy & i think it very well may come down to the last lap at Richmond. There are 4 drivers with 1 win & so if any of them win another then they would have the advantage but at the moment Gordon & Newman are tied in points but Gordon has the tie-break at the moment.

And about that, i have an issue with how nascar had the finishing order of the race...both Stewart & Newman were clearly past Keselowski before the caution came out but they give brad the 4th spot & that is so huge for Newman because he should have finished 5th not 6th & thus would be 1 point in front of Gordon & he would have the final spot so i hope it doesn't come down to a tie & he loses out because of that 1 point.

Oh well, i guess alot can still happen in 5 races but it should be an exciting thing to keep an eye on, who will get in & who is left out?

[BroncosFanInPA]

Some very unfortunate & sad news from todays race at Pocono as a fan was killed as a result of the lightning strikes. Thoughts & prayers to the familes of those affected.

LONG POND, Pa. -- A spectator at Pocono Raceway was killed by a lightning strike Sunday that also sent nine other fans to area hospitals.

Pocono track president Brandon Igdalsky said Sunday evening that a fan injured by a lightning strike that occurred shortly after the weather-shortened conclusion of the Pennsylvania 400 had been pronounced dead by Dr. Peter Favini, the emergency room director at Pocono Medical Center in nearby Stroudsburg, Pa.

"Unfortunately, a member of our raceway family here, a fan, has passed away," Igdalsky said.

A violent thunderstorm struck the area Sunday afternoon, leading NASCAR officials to call the Sprint Cup event after 98 of a scheduled 160 laps had been completed. Jeff Gordon was the winner. There were lightning strikes in the area shortly after the race concluded. Track spokesman Bob Pleban said there were at least two strikes on the raceway property, one in the parking lot behind the grandstand and another near a gate area. He added that the track broadcasted warnings for spectators to take cover.

In addition to the fatality, nine other spectators were transported to area hospitals, including one with critical injuries who was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa. One fan with what Pleban termed as a moderate injury and another with a minor injury were taken to Geisigner Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Another spectator with a moderate injury also was transported to Pocono Medical Center.

In addition, five spectators who originally were treated at the race track were sent to hospitals for further evaluation. Three went to Pocono Medical Center and two to Lehigh Valley Hospital.

The lightning strikes were so prominent that even Gordon noticed them when walking from his race car. Although the fatality was not announced until after the driver had left the track, news of the injuries clearly put a damper on his celebration.

"We were walking down pit road, the umbrellas weren't doing any good, [and] there was a huge, huge crack from lightning," he said. "You could tell it was very close. I mean, that's the thing that's going to take away from the victory, is the fact that somebody was affected by that. I mean, the fans here are so loyal and avid. When we were going back to the garage area, there was a group of fans chanting up there that were not leaving. That's just so unfortunate, because they're so loyal and avid here, so you hate to hear something like that. Certainly our thoughts are with them. I hope everything is OK there."

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Pocono staff said no further information on the deceased spectator was immediately available because the family still was being notified.

"Our heartfelt thoughts and best wishes to those that were injured," Pleban said, "and our condolences to the loved ones of the person that is deceased."

http://www.nascar.com/news/120805/po...ing/index.html

[roushmartin6]

New rule: Bobby Labonte oils up the track towards the end, then we restart the race. That finish was crazy!

[Peanut]

Some very unfortunate & sad news from todays race at Pocono as a fan was killed as a result of the lightning strikes. Thoughts & prayers to the familes of those affected.

LONG POND, Pa. -- A spectator at Pocono Raceway was killed by a lightning strike Sunday that also sent nine other fans to area hospitals.

Pocono track president Brandon Igdalsky said Sunday evening that a fan injured by a lightning strike that occurred shortly after the weather-shortened conclusion of the Pennsylvania 400 had been pronounced dead by Dr. Peter Favini, the emergency room director at Pocono Medical Center in nearby Stroudsburg, Pa.

"Unfortunately, a member of our raceway family here, a fan, has passed away," Igdalsky said.

A violent thunderstorm struck the area Sunday afternoon, leading NASCAR officials to call the Sprint Cup event after 98 of a scheduled 160 laps had been completed. Jeff Gordon was the winner. There were lightning strikes in the area shortly after the race concluded. Track spokesman Bob Pleban said there were at least two strikes on the raceway property, one in the parking lot behind the grandstand and another near a gate area. He added that the track broadcasted warnings for spectators to take cover.

In addition to the fatality, nine other spectators were transported to area hospitals, including one with critical injuries who was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa. One fan with what Pleban termed as a moderate injury and another with a minor injury were taken to Geisigner Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Another spectator with a moderate injury also was transported to Pocono Medical Center.

In addition, five spectators who originally were treated at the race track were sent to hospitals for further evaluation. Three went to Pocono Medical Center and two to Lehigh Valley Hospital.

The lightning strikes were so prominent that even Gordon noticed them when walking from his race car. Although the fatality was not announced until after the driver had left the track, news of the injuries clearly put a damper on his celebration.

"We were walking down pit road, the umbrellas weren't doing any good, [and] there was a huge, huge crack from lightning," he said. "You could tell it was very close. I mean, that's the thing that's going to take away from the victory, is the fact that somebody was affected by that. I mean, the fans here are so loyal and avid. When we were going back to the garage area, there was a group of fans chanting up there that were not leaving. That's just so unfortunate, because they're so loyal and avid here, so you hate to hear something like that. Certainly our thoughts are with them. I hope everything is OK there."

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Pocono staff said no further information on the deceased spectator was immediately available because the family still was being notified.

"Our heartfelt thoughts and best wishes to those that were injured," Pleban said, "and our condolences to the loved ones of the person that is deceased."

http://www.nascar.com/news/120805/po...ing/index.html

Take cover? There's not many places to take cover at a track.

We were on vacation, had the race taping on DVR. I don't think it got all of the race.

Prayers for the family.

New rule: Bobby Labonte oils up the track towards the end, then we restart the race. That finish was crazy!

Bobby's just trying to help make it more exciting.

Brad K. has had 2 interviews that has me reluctantly liking him (sort of). His comments about Allmedinger (??? It's late) / banned substances and his comments after this race.

[Freyaka]

New rule: Bobby Labonte oils up the track towards the end, then we restart the race. That finish was crazy!

He's gotta do something right? I mean it's not like he can finish decent anymore...Someone has to make the sport more exciting because as it is I haven't watched the last 3 races due to sheer bordum with nascar.

[Peanut]

NW.

Patrick.

I'm starting to feel sorry for her.

A shoe?

Seriously?

[roushmartin6]

Mark just can't catch a break this year, story of his career. If its not an engine blowing, its a moron like Montoya wrecking him.

[Peanut]

Mark just can't catch a break this year, story of his career. If its not an engine blowing, its a moron like Montoya wrecking him.

I'm just glad he didn't get t-boned in the door with the wall. He would not have walked away.

I like Montoya, but he is not making any friends on the track.

[roushmartin6]

I'm just glad he didn't get t-boned in the door with the wall. He would not have walked away.

I like Montoya, but he is not making any friends on the track.

Oh believe me I know. That was scary stuff. I look for Nascar to put some sort of protection like tires or water barrels at these gaps now.

[Peanut]

Oh believe me I know. That was scary stuff. I look for Nascar to put some sort of protection like tires or water barrels at these gaps now.

They need to do something. It might not ever happen again, but they can't take that chance.

I vote water barrels. That way Kenseth can run into them.

Sorry. He was my driver and I'm watching him come into the pits at Dover. I'm like "He didn't just do that!".

Our seats were right across from pit entrance. I watched Skinner hit his jackman 3 (?) times in one race (I hope the guy got a bonus for that).

Tricky entrance. They had to go and ruin it by adding the 43rd pit stall.

[Peanut]

Michigan will talk to NASCAR about Martin's pit road wreck: UPDATE: #55-Mark Martin walked away from his crash at Michigan International Speedway, but the side of his car was essentially impaled by the end of the wall, raising questions about whether that spot - a gap in the barrier on pit road that leaves the edge of the wall exposed - creates a safety risk. MIS later released a statement. "The safety of the drivers is paramount," a spokeswoman said. "So we will seek NASCAR's opinion and work with them on any recommendations they may have on how we can improve any part of the competition area - that includes pit road, pit wall, the track, anything competition-related."(Associated Press)(8-20-2012)
UPDATE: NASCAR is ready to take a look at Mark Martin's scary crash from over the weekend. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, says Martin's team will be consulted, and aerial photos will be studied. Pemberton says Sunday's incident is a reminder that the work on safety doesn't stop.(Associated Press/ESPN)(8-21-2012)

[Southstander]

I praise God that Martin walked away from that. I shudder to think of what "could" have happened in the old cars. Especially if it hit where the drive sat.

[Freyaka]

I praise God that Martin walked away from that. I shudder to think of what "could" have happened in the old cars. Especially if it hit where the drive sat.

Worse yet could you imagine what would have happend if the car happened to go at just the right angle to miss the inside wall and fly into where the crew was? Yikes! Everyone involved was blessed to come out of that one ok, glad mark wasn't hurt because that could have been far worse than it was. Shame it ended what would have been a fantastic day for mark.

[FLBroncFan]

Quite the entertaining race this evening.

[BroncosFanInPA]

Quite the entertaining race this evening.

Whether you love him or hate him, you got to admit nobody has more fire & passion than smoke! You will always know where you stand with him & he will never leave a doubt in your mind & that is one of the reason's i love him because he never holds back.

Go get 'em in Atlanta Smoke!