LONG POND, Pa. - Many fans were unhappy with the way the Pocono 500 ended Sunday, but one took it too far when he struck flag man Jimmy Howell with a cooler as the final laps ended under caution.
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Other fans, however, identified the man and turned him over to the police. Howell refused to press charges.
Twenty-one of the final 29 laps were under caution, allowing Jimmie Johnson to win the race at half-speed. Fans booed as the cars crossed the finish line - many upset with the pace of the finish, others upset when NASCAR mistakenly opened pit road for some of the lead-lap cars and not others.
"They should boo this," Jeff Gordon said. "I don't want people throwing stuff, but I understand why they do it. It was everything I could do to keep my helmet on inside the car. I'm embarrassed (for the sport). I want to apologize to (the fans) for that."
THE POINTS RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sixth-place finish allowed him to keep his lead in the Nextel Cup Series standings.
He now has 2,113 points and a 58-point lead over Johnson.
Matt Kenseth is third, 224 points behind, while Gordon (239 points behind), Tony Stewart (259) and Bobby Labonte (301) all are within reach.
MAKE IT A DOUBLE: Car owner Jack Roush and driver Jeff Burton continue to wait on NASCAR to decide whether it will allow the full-time sponsorship from Diageo.
That company owns most of the premium liquor brands in the world and, despite coveting the exposure from two beer companies - and the sponsorship from Busch for one of its racing series - the racing organization still has problems with hard liquor being a sponsor in the sport.
Roush said the sponsorship is ready to sign - NASCAR permitting.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: It's no secret NASCAR wants a racetrack within sight of the New York City skyline, so the proposed $100 million motorsports complex being considered for southern New Jersey may not get the kind of support it wants.
The 707-acre New Jersey Motorsports Park is being proposed for the Atlantic City area, near Millville.
PIT STOPS: A blown engine sent Mark Martin to the garage for the seventh time in 14 races, and it ended any hopes he had of qualifying to compete for the series championship.
"Something uncharacteristic happened last week (a victory at Dover) and I'm awful happy about that, but this does us in for the top 10 in points," he said.
Reach Don Coble at doncoble@bellsouth.net.
