Speeding citations issued at Pocono Raceway

LONG POND, Pa. - Pocono Raceway's repaved racing surface produced record-breaking runs throughout an unprecedented four days of testing, practice, and qualifying leading up to Sunday's race.

So no one was surprised at how fast the cars navigated the 2.5-mile speedway during the Pocono 400.

What the competitors didn't count on was the speed they carried onto pit road.

While there were widespread complaints about the timing system that NASCAR uses to determine pit-road speeds, that didn't stop race officials from meting out a mind-boggling 40 penalties for infractions that had nothing to do with the on-track action. And 22 of those were for exceeding the 55 m.p.h. pit-road speed limit - a NASCAR record.

Many of the sports' top names wound up on the violations list, including Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., and Jeff Burton.

Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, and A.J. Allmendinger all were caught twice exiting the pits too fast.

"I got nailed twice, and I know a lot of other guys got nailed," Johnson said in disbelief. "There is a segment down there where something is just not like it normally is. There is something wrong with the timing loop" at the end of pit road.

There are 11 timing loops embedded in the track that allow NASCAR to determine how fast a car is going through a certain segment. Due to the total resurfacing project, Pocono's timing loops are not where they were last season, when there were 10.

Keselowski also proclaimed his innocence, saying that the indicators in his No. 2 Dodge showed that he was under the speed limit.

"There was one section where the majority was getting caught, and it was obvious that section had some kind of issue," Keselowski said. "I was consistent down pit road, so if I was speeding in that sector, I would have been speeding in the others, but it didn't show it. I'm sure NASCAR will come back and look at it."

A salute to the founder. Hosting its first Sprint Cup Series race since Joseph Mattioli, the track founder, died in January, Pocono Raceway rolled out the big guns - literally - for the prerace ceremonies.

Manned by the 109th Field Artillery out of Kingston, Pa., three M-109 cannons aligned side-by-side at the start/finish line fired a thunderous 21-gun salute, shaking the press box and suites above the grandstand, and sending smoke billowing over the tens of thousands of fans standing along the front stretch.

Visitors entering the track through the tunnel under Turn 2 were greeted by a sign reading, "Welcome to Doc's Place." A 90-second video tribute to the former dentist, accompanied by Frank Sinatra's rendition of "My Way," was shown on the facility's oversize Sprint Vision screens as well as monitors in the private boxes. A bugler performed "Taps," there was a salute from the lead pilot in the jet flyover, and a moment of silence was observed.

Peering up into the cloudless blue sky over the enormous facility, one track employee said, "We've got somebody up there watching over us now."