Post by dalejrfan on Jun 11, 2005 5:06:38 GMT -5
Nextel Cup director John Darby visited Pocono's infield media center Friday afternoon to say NASCAR's gear decision for the Pocono 500 was not made to specifically eliminate shifting, but to continue attempting to limit engine RPMs to below 9,500.
Rusty Wallace says he's actually working less hard at Pocono now thanks to the gear rule.
As with any other change, there was a difference of opinion, and Gordon, a three-time Pocono winner, was adamantly in the 'con' side.
"I'm really against what they've got here," Gordon said. "I think it's really going to make the racing bad. With us not being able to shift and get up off the corners is not a good thing.
"I wish there were exceptions they had throughout the season and places where the gear rule didn't exist and this should be one of them, in my opinion."
Penske Racing teammates Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman said they missed the busy-ness that shifting created.
"Coming off the corner is the same -- the horsepower is the same," Wallace said. "I thought it would really bother me, but you're working less hard out there.
"It's easier not to shift, and I've won races here shifting and not shifting. You just don't do anything when you don't shift. You just drive it.
"I keep finding myself reaching up for the gear shifter and wanting to pull it down, but it's all the way down already. Right now I'm just working hard on the handling (but) every single time I come to Pocono it's always different -- it's never the same.
"It was kind of boring -- there wasn't a whole lot of action," Newman said. "The track is a lot rougher than it's ever been, so we'll see how it works out.
"The race will probably be the same as last year -- a track position race. Any time you have a change everybody is going to complain. We'll just have to wait and see how it works out, but it'll put less stress on the motors."
Rusty Wallace says he's actually working less hard at Pocono now thanks to the gear rule.
As with any other change, there was a difference of opinion, and Gordon, a three-time Pocono winner, was adamantly in the 'con' side.
"I'm really against what they've got here," Gordon said. "I think it's really going to make the racing bad. With us not being able to shift and get up off the corners is not a good thing.
"I wish there were exceptions they had throughout the season and places where the gear rule didn't exist and this should be one of them, in my opinion."
Penske Racing teammates Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman said they missed the busy-ness that shifting created.
"Coming off the corner is the same -- the horsepower is the same," Wallace said. "I thought it would really bother me, but you're working less hard out there.
"It's easier not to shift, and I've won races here shifting and not shifting. You just don't do anything when you don't shift. You just drive it.
"I keep finding myself reaching up for the gear shifter and wanting to pull it down, but it's all the way down already. Right now I'm just working hard on the handling (but) every single time I come to Pocono it's always different -- it's never the same.
"It was kind of boring -- there wasn't a whole lot of action," Newman said. "The track is a lot rougher than it's ever been, so we'll see how it works out.
"The race will probably be the same as last year -- a track position race. Any time you have a change everybody is going to complain. We'll just have to wait and see how it works out, but it'll put less stress on the motors."