NOTEBOOk \ NASCAR

Second time around for rookies: The second time around is a good thing. Just ask the NASCAR Sprint Cup rookies. Regan Smith, Sam Hornish Jr. and Michael McDowell all ran the June race at Pocono Raceway and each of them is happy to be back for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. “Last night, I was getting ready to go to sleep and thinking about today and different things about the racing and what I’m going to be looking for out of my race car,” Smith said Friday. “Last time, when we came here, I had no idea what to expect.” Smith qualified fourth in June, but wound up 28th, while Hornish qualified 41st and crashed out in 42nd and McDowell started 39th and finished 27th. Pocono is the first in a series of tracks where all three rookies will get a second chance to race before the end of the year. “We had an opportunity to go to Dover last year and try to qualify for the race,” Hornish said. “I think we practiced like 38th fast and then went out to qualify and, I think, ended up 47th out of 49 car that were there that day. We were pretty disappointed about that. But then we go back there [in June] and we qualified 16th and we got a top-20 run [18th] at the end of the day. I think that just shows how much easier it is the second time you go to a track and just know what to expect out of these cars and what you’re looking for out of the car.”

Breathing easier: A.J. Allmendinger has had his struggles this season, failing to qualify for several races before his Red Bull team replaced him briefly with veteran Mike Skinner. But the former Champ Car star has made each of the past 12 races and is coming off a career-best 10th-place finish at Indianapolis after a solid 13th-place showing two weeks earlier at Chicago. The recent success has settled Allmendinger’s nerves, particularly in qualifying, where he still has to make the races on speed because he isn’t in the top 35 in car owner points. “Last year, I couldn’t even breathe getting in the car [for qualifying] because it was so nerve-racking for me. Now I have the confidence in the team that we have a fast enough car to just go out there and put a lap down and not just make the race, but qualifying in the top 10 and run up front.”

Just right: While some drivers complain that the 2.5-mile Pocono trioval is too rough, Carl Edwards is just fine with it. “This is auto racing,” he said. “The track is fine, it’s perfect. It’s the same track for everyone.” Edwards, who has one win and three top-10 finishes in seven races here, added, “The more bumps and the more patches and cracks and character it has, I think, the better. That’s my take on racetracks is that they’re not supposed to be perfect.”

Associated Press