Angry Stewart earns Pocono pole

Jul 31, 2010 — The News and Observer

Jim Utter

Jul. 31, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- LONG POND, Pa. -- Tony Stewart went four seasons without a pole.

Now, he's becoming a frequent visitor again.

Stewart's lap at 171.393 mph was enough to hold off Juan Pablo Montoya and earn the pole for Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. It's his second pole of the season. He also won the pole at the April race at Texas.

Prior to that, it was Stewart's most recent Sprint Cup championship season, 2005, when he last won a pole.

"We were in Fargo, N.D., last night racing a winged Sprint Car, and I was racing with some of the best wing guys in the country and crashed myself out of a second-place run last night," Stewart said. "I was mad when I got here.

"I told [crew chief] Darian Grubb and these guys that it might be a long practice day and I was going to take it out on somebody, and I took it out on the stopwatch there during qualifying."

Denny Hamlin, who won this race a year ago, qualified third; Jeff Gordon was fourth; and Ryan Newman fifth.

Letarte gets extension: Hendrick Motorsports is the only company from which Steve Letarte has ever received a paycheck.

And he will do so at least three more seasons.

HMS announced Friday at Pocono Raceway that it had agreed to a three-year contract extension with Letarte, currently the crew chief of Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet.

Letarte's extension comes after Hendrick announced contract extensions earlier this season for crew chiefs Alan Gustafson and Chad Knaus.

"I've worked here since I was a teenager, and they have provided wonderful opportunities for me," Letarte said. "When you have a sport like this one -- it reminds me a lot of college football -- there is a lot of money involved, there is a lot of sponsors involved, it is a very high-pressure situation.

"Rick [Hendrick] is the kind of guy where a handshake would be good enough for most of us, but that's what the sport has become."

Since Letarte was named Gordon's crew chief in September 2005, Gordon leads the Cup series in top-five finishes with 77. His teammate Jimmie Johnson is second with 76.

Another Brickyard race? The Indianapolis Star reported Friday that Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials are looking at the possibility of hosting a Nationwide Series race on the same weekend at the Brickyard 400 next season.

Attendance at last weekend's Sprint Cup series race at the track was significantly down from the year before. Currently, the Cup race is the only event at the track on that weekend, with practice Friday, qualifying and practice on Saturday, and the race on Sunday.

Currently, O'Reilly Raceway Park in nearby Clermont, Ind., hosts NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck races on the same weekend as the Brickyard.

Turn on the lights: Pocono Raceway switched on its state-of-the-art alternative energy source Friday as its new 25-acre solar energy farm came to life.

The farm, which features nearly 40,000 solar cells, draws energy from the sun and is now the primary energy (OOTC:PENGF) source for the 2.5-mile race track. It will also add electricity to the local power grid.

Trucks ready to debut: The NASCAR Truck series made its first appearance at Pocono on Friday with a practice session in preparation for today's qualifying and inaugural Pocono Mountains 125 race (1 p.m., Speed).

Elliott Sadler, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc., was fastest in Friday's first practice session, followed by Austin Dillon and veteran Todd Bodine.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0170-47491018