Pennsylvania 500

When is an analyst not an analyst?

	Dave Burns -- not a driver

TNT did a pretty informative piece during its pre-race show on what a driver goes through in order to leave a burning car. Of course, the idea is particularly timely since so many cars have turned into rolling fireballs recently.

Oddly, Dave Burns was the "driver" used in the demonstration.

Unless a news release hit my e-mail box that I missed, Wally Dallenbach is TNT's analyst -- the person paid by the network to let viewer's know what drivers go through during a race.

Burns is competent -- when he's in his element. Sitting in a Winston Cup cockpit is as far from his element as it gets. In fact, Burns cut his nose on the steering wheel during rehearsal trying to get out of the car.

	Wally Dallenbach -- a driver

What goes through the mind of a driver as he's sitting in a burning car? How scared is he? How confident is he in his safety equipment? Is it hard to remember all the things he has to do? Is he conditioned to high-stakes situations like this? Does he -- or for that matter the staff at the track -- practice these things?

All of the above are questions Dallenbach could have answered easily.

If Burns absolutely had to be the guy for this piece, what about having a roundtable discussion among the guys that have lived the experience this year? I'm sure Ryan Newman, Dale Jarrett, Ken Schrader or Bobby Labonte would have been happy to swap stories.

Come to think of it, Jarrett and Schrader could use any TV time they can get these days.

Instead of hearing from the drivers, we got a pit reporter's perspective on how tough it is to leave a Winston Cup car. What about the perspective of the guys that do it every day?

Isn't that what an analyst is for?

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Anyway, on to this week's batch of awards ...

Hands on the car, please: Another interesting "Benny and The Pits" segment last weekend featured North Carolina Deputy Sheriff Trent Davis, who doubles as front tire carrier for Sterling Marlin's pit crew on Sundays.

Talk about a guy under a lot of pressure.

Nice job, gentlemen: High marks for a great piece on the "gentlemen's agreement," featuring some great quotes from drivers on both sides of the fence, including an unapologetic Robby Gordon saying the trophy from Sonoma is still on his mantle.

Nice!

	Allen Bestwick -- afterschool special

Warm up the bus: Much to the chagrin of many, the "Pit Crewser" -- TNT's school bus/artistic canvas/eyesore -- made its return during Saturday's Busch Series race. Even after all this time, the point of the vehicle is still cloudy to many of us. We'd appreciate anyone who may have insight on this.

Welcome back, "Beswick": TNT play-by-play man Allen Bestwick, a native of East Greenwich, RI got a surprise when the production crew pulled out one of his old high school yearbooks, complete with his name misspelled.

Ha! Looking good Mr. Kot-ter.

So funny we forgot to laugh: "Wally's World" continues to be little more than a waste of time. On Sunday, Bill Weber and Dallenbach tried to do their best impression of that Budweiser ad where Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes the obnoxious news crew for a ride.

The upside was there was more info about the track this week. Sadly, Dallenbach and Weber nailed the obnoxious part.

Quote of the week: "He has a ten-foot ego in a four-foot body." -- Mike Bliss on Bobby Hamilton Jr. after the two collided in Saturday's Busch Series race.

Ouch! Mike, we didn't know you had it in you.

On to this weekend's schedule...

Winston Cup Series: Pennsylvania 500

Site: Long Pond, Pa.

Last year Elliott, Sterling Marlin and Kurt Busch battle Play video Junior has a new souvenir for his shop Play video Jeremy Mayfield makes hard contact with the wall Play video

Track: Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile oval, 14-degree banking in Turn 1, 8-degree banking in Turn 2, 6-degree banking in Turn 3. Length of frontstretch: 3,740 feet. Length of backstretch: 3,055 feet. Length of shortstretch: 1,780 feet.)

Race distance: 200 laps, 500 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: TNT, 3:05 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: SPEED, 11:10 a.m. ET Saturday. Race: TNT, 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday.

Last year's race: Bill Elliott finally converted qualifying prowess into a trip to Victory Lane on Sunday when he passed Sterling Marlin's dominant Dodge with 19 laps remaining and won the shortened Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Last race: Jimmie Johnson led 58 laps and scored his second win of the year, but the big winner was Matt Kenseth, who opened up a commanding 234-point lead in the standings.

Potential storyline: Ricky Rudd is scheduled to make his 700th consecutive Winston Cup start this weekend at Pocono. His streak began on January 11, 1981. The start would be Rudd's 49th at the track, more than any other Winston Cup driver. The highlight came in June 2001 when he got his lone win at the track.

Point to ponder: Mark Martin has 17 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes in 33 career races at Pocono, best among active drivers. Martin has 14 top 10s in his last 16 races at Pocono.

Next race: Brickyard 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, August 3

Busch Series: TrimSpa Dream Body 250

Site: Fountain, Colo.

Last year Jason Keller battles Greg Biffle for the lead Play video Parker Jr. gambles with fuel mileage in the closing laps Play video

Track: Pikes Peak International Raceway (1-mile oval, 10-degree banking in turns, 7-degree banking on frontstretch, 3-degree banking on backstretch. Length of Frontstretch: 1,510 feet. Length of backstretch: 1,350 feet.)

Race distance: 250 laps, 250 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 6:05 p.m. ET Friday. Race: NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year's race: Hank Parker Jr. stretched his fuel mileage where no one else dared. Parker Jr. led the final 23 laps to win the NetZero 250 at Pikes Peak.

Last week's race: David Green got around Kevin Harvick in the closing laps at Loudon -- leaving Harvick to wonder what went wrong after leading 152 laps.

Potential storyline: Pikes Peak International Raceway has been a favorite among the drivers since it was added to the NASCAR Busch Series schedule in 1998. The multiple grooves have allowed for a total of 62 lead changes in just five races.

Point to ponder: David Green has an average finish of 4.0 in two starts at Pikes Peak. He finished sixth in 2001 and runner-up in 2000 to brother Jeff.

Next race: Kroger 200, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug. 2

Craftsman Truck Series: Sears 200

Site: Brooklyn, Mich.

Track: Michigan International Speedway (2-mile oval, 18-degree banking in turns, 12-degree banking in frontstretch, 5-degree banking on backstretch. Length of frontstretch 3,600 feet. Length of backstretch: 2,242 feet.

Last year Pressley holds off a last-lap charge by Leffler to win Play video Musgrave blows his engine and the points lead Play video

Race distance: 100 laps, 200 miles

TV: Race: SPEED, 1 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year's race: Robert Pressley edged Jason Leffler by 0.102 seconds in the eighth-closest finish in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history to win the Michigan 200.

Last week's race: Brendan Gaughan held off a late-race charge from Leffler to get his third NCTS victory of the year Saturday at Gateway International Raceway.

Potential storyline: Three drivers -- Terry Cook, Dennis Setzer and Rick Crawford have finished among the top 10 in two of their three appearances at Michigan International Speedway.

Point to ponder: Last year's Sears 200 was the third-fastest race in series history at an average speed of 142.208 mph.

Next race: Power Stroke Diesel 200, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug. 1.

Mark Spoor is an associate producer for NASCAR.com. His Domino's Pizza Viewer's Guide appears each Thursday.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.