LONG POND — Berwick’s Jimmy Spencer, a former NASCAR driver who grew up near the track, was one of many drivers who have wished the length of the races at Pocono Raceway would not match the name of the village it calls home.
Veteran Jeff Burton is the latest to espouse the shorter race theory for the Pennsylvania raceway’s two annual Sprint Cup races.
Unlike some drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, who have recently bad-mouthed the speedway, Burton said he likes racing at Pocono.
He’s just rather race a shorter distance.
“I do support the track, but I think the quality of racing could be better at 400 miles,” said the driver of the No. 31 AT&T; Chevrolet on Friday before the start of practice for Sunday’s Pocono 500.
He suggested that NASCAR try shortening one of the two races to 400 miles. Then, if the fans don’t like it, they can always go back to 500, he said.
Burton, who enters the weekend second in Sprint Cup points behind Kyle Busch, has never won at Pocono’s unusual two and a half-mile trio-oval. In 28 races, he has six top-five finishes, 13 top-10s, and an average finish of 16.8.
He noted that shortening races at Rockingham and Dover have been beneficial, and is worth trying at Pocono.
“I think 500 miles was almost a status symbol in the day. A track needed to have a 500-mile race. They’ve even gone so far as to calling races a ‘500K.’ I don’t get the number. I think what matters is that the quality of the race is the best that it can possibly be,” Burton said. “And this is a track that has the potential to put on a better show at 400 miles.”
He added, “I think (shortening the race) is worth a shot. I don’t think the fans would be disappointed about that. It doesn’t really matter what the teams think, it matters what the fans think.
“What the heck, if the fans don’t like it you can always go back to 500. I don’t care if it’s 800, I just want the race to be something where the fans have the most fun and most excitement,” he said.
Burton added that when the track is as big as Pocono (the track has a 3,740-foot front stretch and a 3,055-foot backstretch), the field tends to get spread out a little more than other tracks.
“I think it would be worth trying something different,” he said.
Burton contended that the shorter the race, the more exciting it will usually be, because drivers wait until late in a race to take more chances. “The race gets the most intense in the end,” he said. “The sooner you can start that intensity level ratcheting up, the better the action, the more chances people take, the more things happen.
“Not that I advocate wrecks, but cautions do create exciting races, so the more we can do to compact those things on these bigger race tracks, the better the opportunity for a high-quality race,” Burton added. “We’ve seen some really good races here, and we’ve seen some that were not so good.”
“If this were my deal, I’d say we’re running a 350,” he said. “Once you make a decision, there’s nothing saying you can’t back up. But it would be neat to see what would happen.”
Sports
Burton would like to see shortened race
- Sports
-
-
College Lacrosse: Bucknell men prepare to improve upon great season
LEWISBURG -- It started a handful of years ago, when the Bucknell men's lacrosse team put a big 'X' on the national map in Central Pennsylvania with an upset of No. 1 Maryland. From that point on Bison coach Frank Fedorjaka has had a difficult time getting big-time opponents on the schedule, even with Bucknell opting to travel under the worst of circumstances.
-
High school football: Pratt says Kutztown the right fit
SUNBURY -- When Shikellamy's Tyler Pratt joins the Kutztown University football team as a free safety next fall, he will already have a good feeling for what his position coach will expect from him. Pratt, who signed a national letter of intent this week to accept a scholarship offer to play for the Golden Bears, will be under the tutelage of his father's high school football coach.
-
Todd Stanford On high school boys basketball: Increasing the refs' workload
If two heads are better than one, does that mean six eyes are better than four? Not necessarily, according to some Heartland Athletic Conference officials. There is a move afoot in the HAC to cut the number of basketball referees from three to two for part of the season beginning next year.
-
High School Roundup: Greenwood boys complete perfect TVL season
Greenwood capped off an unbeaten 2011-12 Tri-Valley League season by crushing Halifax 61-38 on Thursday Night.
-
Shikellamy Braves pull away from Shamokin
SUNBURY — Tyler Pratt kept Shikellamy in the game in the third quarter Wednesday, scoring all seven of the Braves’ points. He then got some help in the fourth.
-
High School Roundup: Selinsgrove tops Jersey Shore
JERSEY SHORE — With the game tied at 32 at the half, the Selinsgrove boys basketball term went on a big run in the third quarter to open up the game and take a 65-56 Heartland Athletic Conference Division I win over Jersey Shore on Wednesday.
-
Shikellamy Braves rally to stay alive
SELINSGROVE — With 11 losses, the Shikellamy girls basketball team is teetering on the brink of elimination from the District 4 Class AAA playoffs. And on Wednesday night, it looked like the Braves were going to go quietly into the offseason when Selinsgrove built a 14-point lead early in the third quarter.
-
They learn to be tough young
It's difficult to recall exactly how the sequence unfolded because it happened so darn fast. Shikellamy made a couple baskets, and the crowd began to stir. It was still anybody's game, and the Braves had some momentum late in the third quarter of a recent run with Danville.
-
Motorsports: Selinsgrove, Lincoln speedways to host 360 sprint series
MECHANICSBURG -- Mach 1 Chassis of Mechanicsburg will be the title sponsor of the Mid-Atlantic 360 Sprint Car Championship Series, a $120,000 six-race tour that will include five shows at Selinsgrove Speedway and one event at Lincoln Speedway in 2012.
-
Girls basketball: Records fall, Red Tornadoes stay unbeaten
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- An overflow crowd zealously cheered Tierney Pfirman's pursuit of the South Williamsport scoring record throughout Tuesday's game, until their breathless faces matched the Mounties' royal blue.
- More Sports Headlines
-
