Saturday Pocono Notebook
Notebook Items:
·
Earnhardt updates health status on eve of Pocono race: “No change lately”
·
For Stockman, a stress-relieving move to Cup
·
Short strokes
July 30, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Earnhardt updates health status on eve of Pocono race: “No change lately”
LONG POND, Pa. – When you’re driving a race car, intent on winning, it’s difficult to be patient.
For Dale Earnhardt Jr., it may be tougher to be patient when he’s outside the car.
Earnhardt updated his health status on Twitter on Saturday morning, indicating there had been little change since last week.
“Update:
No change lately,” Earnhardt wrote. “Symptoms have plateaued over the
last week. Balance/Gaze/Stabilization are only issues. Docs preaching
patience.”
Earnhardt
has been sidelined for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races with
concussion-like symptoms, and his lack of progress in the past week
raises the possibility that he
may miss next Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen International.
Jeff
Gordon finished 13th in a fill-in role last Sunday at Indianapolis
Motor Speedway, and the four-time series champion is subbing for his
former teammate in this week’s Pennsylvania
400 at Pocono Raceway (on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET). Gordon is a four-time
winner at Watkins Glen.
The
Sprint Cup Series has an open week after Watkins Glen, which would give
Earnhardt additional time to recover. As of Friday, Gordon was still
waiting for a decision on Earnhardt’s
status beyond Pocono. Earnhardt must be cleared medically before he can
race again.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Gordon said during a question-and-answer-session with reporters on Friday.
FOR STOCKMAN, A STRESS-RELIEVING MOVE TO CUP
In
Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway, Danny Stockman will call
his first race as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief from the pit box
of driver Paul Menard.
If
you think the debut might be a source of great anxiety, think again.
Stockman felt much more stress as crew chief for the grandsons of his
employer, Richard Childress, when
he ran teams for Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon in the NASCAR Camping
World Truck and XFINITY Series.
“I’ve
worked with the boys, both Dillon boys, my whole career until midway
through last season and this season,” Stockman said. “I will be right
honest with everybody that is
a stressful deal working for the family. It’s not easy. They are good
race car drivers, but it’s not easy working for family. To be honest
with you when Paul gets in our XFINITY car or even (during Friday’s
practice at Pocono), it’s weird.
“It’s
all business. You’re there to do a job. You’re there to race. You’re
there to perform, and there is just not a lot of outside other stuff
that’s bothering you. All you’re
working on is trying to make the race car faster and give him the feel
that he’s after.”
Mission
accomplished, as far as performance is concerned. Seeking his first
top-five finish of the season, Menard led opening Sprint Cup practice on
Friday and qualified third
for Sunday’s race. In race trim, he was eighth fastest in final
practice on Saturday.
SHORT STROKES
Pole
winner Martin Truex Jr. paced the field in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Happy Hour on Saturday with a lap at 176.377 mph. Brad Keselowski was
second fastest at 176.136 mph.
Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were third
and fourth, respectively, on the speed chart. Busch is the defending
winner of the Pennsylvania 400…
Mack
Trucks is showcasing its custom-built “Mack Jack” this weekend at
Pocono. The giant truck is leading the parade laps before the NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series race on
Saturday and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday. Mack Jack
features an 800-cubic-inch turbo diesel engine that makes 800
horsepower, roughly equivalent to a Sprint Cup car.
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