Earnhardt Jr. after bumpy Pocono practice: 'Racetrack is ruined'
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway got off to a bumpy start -- literally -- Friday afternoon as the drivers prepared for Sunday's Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 at the three-turn Pennsylvania track.
Several top drivers complained of a huge bump in the middle of Turn 2, which is also known as the Tunnel Turn.
Brad Keselowski called the section of the track "undrivable," and said, "It's just so, so rough out there."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said of the Tunnel Turn, "The racetrack, I think, is completely, without question, ruined over there."
"The bumps are probably, no joke, it seems like 10 times worse this year," added Danica Patrick.
Despite the issues, the drivers still had to practice and at the end of the 85-minute session, it was defending series champion Kevin Harvick atop the leader board. Harvick, who has nine top-two finishes in the first 13 races of the season, had a best lap of 176.932 miles per hour in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Behind Harvick were the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas of Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. fourth in the first of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets. Austin Dillon completed the top five in a Richard Childress Racing Chevy.
Early in the session, Sam Hornish Jr. spun and nearly collected Tony Stewart with him, but Stewart was able to evade him.
Later, with 49 minutes left in practice, Stewart lost it in the Tunnel Turn and nosed his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet into the tire barriers. Stewart told the team to pull out his backup car. "Driver error," said Stewart after the incident.
Check out complete practice results here:
