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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Michael McDowell Magically Maneuvers to Top at Pocono

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Regan Smith (fourth), Dario Franchitti (14th), Patrick Carpentier (24th), Michael McDowell (39th), Sam Hornish Jr. (41st)

Unofficial Finishing Positions: McDowell (27th), Smith (28th), Carpentier (32nd), Franchitti (41st), Hornish (42nd)

Rookie of the Race: McDowell. The young rookie driving for Michael Waltrip Racing was barely heard from all day until it really counted – at the end. McDowell started the day in 39th and spent most of the race on the tail end of the pack, trying to figure out how these Cup cars drive on the track he won at in ARCA just last year. “These cars are really easy to over-adjust,” remarked an overheated McDowell after the race. “You think you’re too tight, too tight and make a little adjustment, small adjustment, and you’re too loose. You go back the other way and you’re too tight…”

See also
Happy Hour: Where's the Love for Pocono Raceway?

But while the 23-year-old was struggling to find a setup that was just right, his rookie counterparts were busy destroying each other, opening a window of opportunity for him to make up ground in the Rookie of the Year Standings. McDowell was, in fact, opportunistic has he passed by a fading Smith to take home his second Rookie of the Race honors in a month.

Tony’s Take: Were you just as surprised as I was to see McDowell listed as the Rookie of the Race? With just under 20 laps to go Smith, who was restarting in fifth, appeared a virtual shoe in to finish his sixth race as the highest finishing rookie. However, we race all the laps for a reason and just 10 laps later, Smith had fallen outside the top 20 on old tires while McDowell was slowly picking off positions.

While a 27th-place finish may not look good on paper, don’t be fooled; McDowell remained focused on making his car better and staying out of trouble, something not every driver (especially every rookie) could say on Sunday. The Arizona native also had his ARCA experience to fall back on and, evidently, it paid off. For that reason, McDowell could really start gaining momentum next week at Michigan, where he has previous experience from other stock car racing series already under his belt.

I would also like to give a shout out to Smith. On Friday, Smith told me that Pocono couldn’t really be compared to any other place he’s seen in his racing career. But it certainly didn’t take him long to get used to it; shortly thereafter, he turned in his best qualifying performance of his Cup career and almost backed it up with a top-10 finishing position, looking like a seasoned veteran at the Tricky Triangle. However, in this business, you need to seal the deal, which Smith could not do in the late stages of the Pocono 500 – and that is the difference between Rookie of the Race and Honorable Mention.

Rocky Rookie Performance: It was difficult to chose a one driver for this category, since there were plenty of bad days to go around among freshmen on Sunday… and they were all caused by the same type of reason. What was that, you ask? Just read on.

Rookie Wreck of the Weekend: Carpentier, Franchitti, Hornish. On lap 58, Carpentier and Hornish made contact in turn 1, sending both machines into the spin cycle; however, both rookies were able to continue without much of a problem. But 11 laps later, fans were wondering why TNT was still replaying the same wreck between the two rookies, as they showed both cars coming together and spinning around all over again.

Of course, the second time was just as real; it was actually an identical but separate incident involving the No. 10 and No. 77 in the exact same corner. Both vehicles continued after sustaining further damage; the fun was only beginning, though.

Not wanting to be left out, Franchitti, who was making his return to the series after sustaining an injury at Talladega, was sent into the turn 3 wall after contact with David Gilliland. At that point seemed like multiple wrecks for the freshmen were the order of the day; but the biggest one of all was still yet to come. On lap 131, Hornish could not get his Mobil 1 Dodge slowed up enough in turn 1 and nailed the back of Franchitti, essentially ending both of their days on the racetrack.

Wow! A review of the stats shows four different wrecks at Pocono that involved three out of five rookies – all of whom were involved in multiple incidents. You can rest assured today that these particular participants are calling Pocono by much worse names besides the “Tricky” Triangle.

Who Wasn’t Here?: Nobody. With Franchitti back in the mix, all rookies were present at Pocono – and all five made the field.

Rookie Quotes of the Week: Hornish and Franchitti react to the incident between the two in the second half of the race.

Hornish Jr.:
“We got involved in a couple of altercations early, and that right there was my fault. Just got in the corner and couldn’t keep the backend underneath me and got up into the No. 40 car. Not a very good weekend for us, for sure.”

Franchitti:
“The Hornish deal, I don’t know. I went in there pretty deep compared to everybody else I was racing with, and braking about the same point all day – and I got to the apex and he drilled us. He must have been doing 50 mph more. Maybe his brakes failed or his brain failed, I don’t know.”

UNOFFICIAL Raybestos Rookie Standings

Smith 137
Hornish Jr. 134
Carpentier 99
McDowell 84
Franchitti 80

UNOFFICIAL Driver Points Standings

Smith: 31st (+1)
Hornish Jr.: 34th (-1)
Carpentier: 38th (0)
McDowell: 39th (+1)
Franchitti: 42nd (0)
Aric Almirola: 48th (0)

Qualifying Next Week: Hornish Jr. was able to maintain his locked-in status despite his recent Pennsylvania debacle. However, Carpentier and Franchitti will have to qualify in on time again this week.

Next Up: It’s time for manufacturers to fight for bragging rights when the series heads to the Irish Hills of Michigan. This could be the perfect place for tensions to ease among certain rookies; after all, with one of the widest racing surfaces on the circuit, there is enough track to go around for everyone… isn’t there?

Tony’s Top-Finishing Rookie Pick: I never expected Hornish to be as far off as he was on Sunday. Of course, the problems could have stemmed from his Saturday wreck in practice that sent him to the back of the field for a race where track position proved to be critical. But regardless of the reason, the Tony jinx continues for yet another week.

You Make the Pick: You also thought that the former open wheeler would ride his momentum and achieve success at the track that once hosted the IndyCar series. Unfortunately, 66% of you were just as disappointed as I was; but despite another miss, you still maintain your slim 1-0 lead heading into mid-June.

Tony’s Pick for Next Week’s Top-Finishing Rookie: I mentioned earlier that McDowell should turn in a solid run at Michigan based on his experience in ARCA at that venue. But while I think he will do well, I don’t think he will top the performance of Smith – who will bring it home as the top finishing rookie on Father’s Day.

Correction: Last week, I incorrectly stated that Hornish would be running the ARCA series event at Pocono this past weekend, based on preliminary indications from the team. However, Hornish was never on the entry list and did not attempt to qualify for the ARCA 200 this past Saturday. We apologize for this error.

2008 Rookie Prediction Table

| Event | Track | Tony’s Pick | Finish | Reader’s Pick | Finish | Top-Finishing Rookie | Finish |
| Daytona 500 | Daytona | Smith | 37th | Franchitti | 33rd | Hornish | 15th |
| Auto Club 500 | California | Hornish | 43rd | Hornish | 43rd | Smith | 31st |
| UAW-Dodge 400 | Las Vegas | Carpentier | 40th | Hornish | 41st | Franchitti | 33rd |
| Kobalt Tools 500 | Atlanta | Franchitti | 33rd | Hornish | 25th | Hornish | 25th |
| Food City 500 | Bristol | Smith | 26th | Hornish | 29th | Almirola | 8th |
| Goody’s Cool Orange 500 | Martinsville | Hornish | 28th | Almirola | 42nd | Smith | 14th |
| Samsung 500 | Texas | Smith | 35th | McDowell/Smith | 33rd/35th | Carpentier | 28th |
| Subway Fresh Fit 500K | Phoenix | McDowell | 34th | McDowell | 34th | Hornish | 20th |
| Aaron’s 499 | Talladega | Almirola | 33rd | Hornish | 35th | Smith | 22nd |
| Dodge Challenger 500 | Darlington | Smith | 29th | Smith | 29th | McDowell | 28th |
| Coca-Cola 600 | Lowe’s | McDowell | 32nd | McDowell | 32nd | Hornish | 13th |
| Best Buy 400 | Dover | Smith | 21st | McDowell | 30th | Hornish | 18th |
| Pocono 500 | Pocono | Hornish | 42nd | Hornish | 42nd | McDowell | 27th |

2008 Score: Readers 1, Tony 0

About the author

Frontstretch.com

Tony Lumbis has headed the Marketing Department for Frontstretch since 2008. Responsible for managing our advertising portfolio, he deals with our clients directly, closing deals while helping promote the site’s continued growth both inside and outside the racing community through social media and traditional outlets. Tony is based outside Philadelphia.

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