NASCAR at Pocono (Lotta Pix!)

[moose135]

Visited the big triangle track in NE PA over the weekend for the Pocono 500 NASCAR festivities. Rain all day Friday washed out all track activity, but Saturday and Sunday were just about perfect for a weekend at the track.

Saturday morning started out with practice for both the NASCAR and ARCA teams. I took up my favorite spot, right near the entrance to pit road, which gives you a good view of turn 3, the front stretch, and the entrance to the pits.

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Tony Stewart spun into the grass during practice, tearing up the nose of his car. He ended up going to his backup car.

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Gluing lug nuts to the wheels before the ARCA race.

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Paul Teutul, Sr., of "Orange County Choppers" served as Grand Marshall of the ARCA race.

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Fire crew stands by in the pits.

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The quiet before the storm...

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Carl Edwards returning to his garage stall.

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Sunday morning, Juan Pablo Montoya's car goes through tech inspection.

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Green flag!!!

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Montoya races out of the pits while Kurt Busch receives service from his crew.

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Tony "Smoke" Stewart lives up to his nickname, with a smoky burnout after winning the race.

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[lijk604]

Great stuff Moose, I'd expect nothing less. One question though...how the heck did you get that close to the track during practice??? Is that what buying a pit pas will get you, or do you have "Fred-like" connections there?

[moose135]

Thanks, John! The "close up" shots were all using a pit pass I purchased. During practice, they let you have the run of pit road, anywhere behind the wall where the teams set up during the race. On Sunday morning, when the crews are setting up, you can walk on pit road itself, in the area where the cars make their stops.

Here's a shot Sunday from the grandstand of Jimmie Johnson pitting - he took the very first pit stall as you entered pit lane. On Saturday, I was standing right about where the guy in the red fire suit is:

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[AirtrafficController]

Great coverage of the Pocono 500 Moose. Sharp pictures of the race cars!

[MarkLawrence]

Awesome John! The little one went nuts when I showed him the others!!!

[Greg_NY]

Great shots John.

For many years I used to go to Pocono raceway for Friday qualifying and stood in that same spot! :D Haven't been recently though.

[PhilDernerJr]

HAHA! Just what I was looking forward to coming home to. Great coverage, John!