All the NASCAR on FOX gang was in Los Angeles this past weekend for our 2012 Planning Meeting. On Sunday, we were only able to watch about 25 laps or so of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race before the meeting started. I was able to check on Twitter just a few times for race updates during the meeting. About three hours into the meeting, we finally took a break.
Imagine my surprise to find out there were still 76 laps to go in the race. I was stunned. I was wondering if they were running the 24 Hours of Pocono. That’s when I found out about the rain delay. Trust me, even without the rain delay, 500 miles at Pocono Raceway is an incredibly long race. I still maintain, as I have said in the past, they should take a hard look at shortening both the races there to 400 miles.
I think the big benefactor of the rain was the eventual race winner Brad Keselowski. As you probably know, he was hurt Wednesday in a very nasty crash during testing at Road Atlanta. When I saw the pictures of the car that Jimmie Johnson had tweeted, I quickly realized that Brad was extremely fortunate to have survived that crash. That car was destroyed. The engine was up in the cockpit with him, so he definitely was very lucky. That is again a testament to how much better the safety is on these cars today.
So he goes to Pocono in a lot of pain. His feet are all beat up and swollen. Guys like that who man up like that are heroes in my book. Trust me, driving hurt is tough. I’ve driven hurt so I know how difficult it is to put that out of your mind. Brad was determined to run the race on Sunday.
The first smart thing he did was withdraw from the Nationwide Series race in Iowa. That was a smart move. He didn’t need to run the risk of possibly getting into another crash and making his already bad condition worse. The other benefit was it gave his body more time to heal and not be forced to go through the rigors of all the travel back and forth plus, naturally, 250 laps of racing.
So Brad had to focus on 500 grueling miles on Sunday where not only do you brake a lot, but you also are shifting up and down. It’s a lot like what you go through on a road course like this weekend in Watkins Glen. So about two-thirds through the race, here comes Mother Nature and there is a two-hour rain delay.
What a Godsend that was for Brad. He was able to get out of the confines of that cramped race car. He went over to the Infield Care Center. I think they drained some fluid off the ankle plus packed it in ice for a while to help with the swelling. That really was the best-case scenario for Brad. I am just not sure he could have won that race if it wasn’t for that long rain delay.
Brad’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, showed everyone up and down pit road not only how smart he is, but what a gambler he is. With his teammate, Kurt Busch, using the same strategy, both Penske cars pitted before the rain moved in. They gambled the race would be able to restart and gave up their top-10 spot to go back to something like 26th in the lineup.
What a huge gamble. What if the rain hadn’t stopped and the race was called? Brad’s been scratching and clawing to get into the top 20 in points to be considered for one of those two wild-card spots in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. So if the rain doesn’t stop, then Brad has sacrificed a much-needed top-10 finish on the roll of the dice by his crew chief. The Monday morning quarterbacks would have been calling his crew chief an idiot.
The Racing Gods were smiling on Penske Racing Sunday at Pocono, though. The rain did stop. They were able to get the track dried and the race restarted. While everyone else had to pit, Brad and Kurt stayed on the track and got the track position. Brad holds off a charging Kyle Busch to win the race while teammate Kurt, Kyle’s older brother, comes home third.
I maintain there was divine intervention. The young man survives a horrible crash on Wednesday. A two-hour rain delay gives him a chance to get out of the race car and get some relief. A really gutsy call by his crew chief pays off and Brad goes to Victory Lane. I just think it was a remarkable weekend when you connect the dots and add up all the circumstances.
That win and the way he handled himself after the race took Brad to another level in my book. While people were wanting to call him a hero, you saw Brad quickly say the real heroes were the 30 soldiers that died when their helicopter was hit by a rocket and crashed in Afghanistan.
Before the Cup race Sunday, something rather unique happened. Because of the weather issues all weekend at Pocono, they ended up running the ARCA race and the NASCAR Camping World Truck series races Sunday morning. Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on holding off Kyle Busch in a green-white-checkered finish. You also have to tip your hat to Kevin, Kyle and Mark Martin. All three guys ran the Truck race and then turned right around and ran 500 miles in their Cup cars.
Congratulations also to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on his wild win in the Nationwide Series at Iowa. Ricky blew up coming off Turn 4 on the last lap and teammate Carl Edwards had nowhere to go. Carl smashed into the rear of Ricky’s Ford and actually pushed Ricky to his second win of the year. Those kinds of finishes are stuff movies are made out of.
We had a really productive meeting in Los Angeles. All the NASCAR on FOX gang was there. We even had a BBQ Monday night on the FOX lot with the NFL on FOX bunch. That was a lot of fun and an incredible event.
This weekend, as I mentioned earlier, is the road-course race at Watkins Glen International. There are only five races left before the 2011 Chase field is set. Remember, on top of everything else that Brad accomplished Sunday, not only did he move into the top 20 in points, but with his second win, vaulted into one of those two wild-card spots for the Chase.
With one road-course win under his belt this year, I will be interested to see if Kurt Busch can win another one. Both Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya are great road racers and both desperate for a win. Juan Pablo’s currently 21st in points and he’s hoping for some road-course magic to help propel him up in the points and to be in position to battle for the Chase like Brad enjoyed last weekend.
There are lots of storylines to follow this weekend when you consider those guys just inside and just outside the top 10 plus the guys fighting for the two wild-card spots. Brad has one now, but who will get the other? Paul Menard and his team are really big Denny Hamlin fans. Denny already has a win, but if Denny can get into the top 10 in points and that automatic berth into the Chase, then that moves Paul up next in line with his win for the second wild-card spot.
So there is a lot to follow this weekend. It will be fun to watch the boys go in a different direction and by the end of the day Sunday, we could have a whole new Chase scenario to consider and talk about on Monday.
