Stewart relieved to win Pocono pole

Stewart relieved to win Pocono pole

LONG POND, Pa. — Tony Stewart undid the top button on his racing suit and let out a sigh. Earning the pole always makes a trip to Pocono Raceway more fun.

Stewart zipped his No. 14 Chevy for a qualifying lap Friday of 171.393 mph around the 2.5-mile triangle to start at the top for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

"Man, it felt good," Stewart said. "If you want a place where you want good track position, it's here at Pocono."

Juan Montoya starts second for an impressive followup to last week's pole at the Brickyard 400. Denny Hamlin, who has won the past two races at Pocono, starts third.

Silence golden, or at least saves green

NASCAR expects a code of silence from drivers when it comes to publicly lashing out against the sport. Otherwise they'll be fined. Ask Hamlin, or Ryan Newman.

Both Sprint Cup drivers acknowledged at Pocono that they were the ones fined by the series for making critical comments.

"It's not a good thing by any means for our sport," Newman said Friday. "The less we talk about it, the more we can talk about the racing."

Asked the amount of his fine, Newman kept quiet. He also would not disclose what he said but implied that it was for comments he made after he crashed at Talladega. At the time he said wreck-heavy races there "affect our championship because it's not racing."

Hamlin said he was punished for his comments on Twitter. He also didn't reveal the amount of the fine. The Associated Press reported that one driver was penalized as much as $50,000.

Veteran Florida writer dies

Longtime Gainesville Sun writer Norm Froscher died Thursday at 79. He died of complications after a heart valve replacement procedure, his son, Teague, told the Sun. The media center at Gainesville Raceway, home of the NHRA's Gatornationals, is named after Mr. Froscher, a 1953 University of Florida graduate. He served stints as president of the Florida Sports Writers Association and the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association.

Elsewhere

Steve Letarte, crew chief for Jeff Gordon, has signed a three-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports. … Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel posted the best times during both 90-minute practice sessions for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. Vettel outpaced Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 0.49 seconds.

Times wires