Associated Press
The NASCAR notebook …
LONG POND, Pa. ó Brad Keselowskiís broken left ankle ballooned to the size of a softball, and he needs a left shoe a size larger than his right one.
Stay home? No way.
Not only will Keselowski drive Sunday at Pocono Raceway, he says no amount of pain from his broken left ankle will force him out of the No. 2 Dodge.
ěItís been easier at times,î he said, sitting outside his transporter.
His week got worse during Fridayís second practice session. He blew a tire, spun and had to slam the brakes, putting pressure on his injured ankle. The Dodge was towed to the garage, and Keselowski was left wondering what else could go wrong.
ěItís just been one of those weeks,î he said.
The good news for Keselowski was that he had brakes and got the car under control. He wasnít so lucky on Wednesday when he lost his brakes during a test session and crashed head-on into a wall at Road Atlanta.
He slammed a section of wall that did not have an energy-absorbing barrier and data showed he slowed from 155 mph to about 100 mph at time of impact.
Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson was at Road Atlanta and posted a picture on Twitter of the crumpled car.
ěI could tell he was a bit dazed when he got out of the car,î Johnson said. ěI spoke to him the night after the wreck and he didnít remember me being down at the race car with him, so I think he definitely was dazed.î
RETIRING
LONG POND, Pa. ó Joseph Mattioli sealed the deal to bring NASCAR to the Poconos over a plate of Southern fried chicken in 1972.
He then turned the popular honeymoon region into the heart of racing on the Northeast, bringing two Cup races a season to the Pocono Raceway track nestled in the mountaintops.
After nearly 40 years of calling the shots, Mattioli decided to retire.
In an impromptu press conference Friday that caught his family and associates unaware, Mattioli decided the time was right to turn the day-to-day operations over to his three grandchildren.