Another Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono has come and gone.
Ryan Blaney won the fourth edition of the Pocono Mountains 125, the Trucks' lone race at The Tricky Triangle, on Saturday. It was the 19-year-old's second career win in the third-to-last rung on the NASCAR ladder.
Blaney passed German Quiroga on the lone attempt at a green-white-checkered finish to take the win.
The race took 54 laps (though, it's scheduled to go 50), to finish. In terms of time: 63 minutes, 8 seconds.
(By the way, only once has the race actually gone 50 laps: last year, when Joey Coulter won in just 61 minutes, 43 seconds.)
I know. Truck races usually don't take that long, and they shouldn't; after all, it's #3 on NASCAR's National Touring Series. The races should be short. Of the 11 Truck races held so far this season, only two have gone two hours or more: Martinsville, clocking in at 2 hours, 6 minutes; and Kansas, which took 2 hours, 25 minutes, thanks to 11 cautions.
But the Truck Series isn't the centerpiece of this blog post. Instead, it's going to be Sprint Cup; in particular, the Sprint Cup Series's two races at Pocono.
Having the Trucks run a one-stop sprint race at a superspeedway is one of the most unique ideas NASCAR's had in a long time, especially at a track like Pocono, where I honestly couldn't care less about today's Cup race.
Until 2011, Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup races at Pocono were 500 miles. They took forever. NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director and MRN Radio pit reporter Winston Kelley won't go to Pocono, even after the races have been shortened to their now-400 miles, because they take so long.
400, even 500 miles at Pocono is perfect for IndyCars. But for their closed-wheel NASCAR brothers who carry double the weight, it's too much.
NASCAR should be more progressive with Pocono, and shorten the Cup races to 250 miles each. Two 100-lap sprint races where at least two stops would be needed.
I hear more and more people suggest shortening Cup races to boost sagging ratings and attendance in a time where young folks aren't that into cars; why not start with Pocono?
Shortening the Cup races to 250 miles each would bring the racing back to Pocono. Even at 400 miles, it's all about not revving the engine to the point of blowing up. Cutting 150 miles off would tell the drivers and teams, forget the engines, nail your pit stops.
Pocono would also be watchable on television. It's tedious, turning on a Pocono Cup race, then switching to something else, then switching back 10 minutes later to find they've only done five laps since you last checked in...and they're still under green!
Unfortunately, NASCAR seems to think that bigger is better for its top series. A bigger schedule (I'd cut it down to 30 races, to be honest), and longer races. But this is a new age, and eyeballs don't stay in one place for long anymore.
However, even if ADD wasn't so prevalent these days, Pocono's Cup races are too long. Period. Shorten 'em. For all our sakes.
-CRL
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