web1_117770057-7f10e5084b46480397e40eec59cec081.jpg

Icebreaker sets mark for earliest Northwest Passage transit

web1_117769317-fe2c0a57dc7c4c4fa2fdcd714fae3b55.jpg

‘Time to move on’ from health care, Senate GOP leader says

<p>LONG POND &#8212; Asked about his most memorable moment at Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. hesitated a couple times Saturday.</p><p>&#8220;Umm, there&#8217;s a lot, yeah,&#8221; said Earnhardt, who will be making his 35th and final start at the track in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. &#8220;There&#8217;s been some fun things. Umm, there&#8217;s a lot.&#8221;</p><p>Then the 42-year-old remembered 2002 when, on the first lap of Pocono&#8217;s second race, teammate Steve Park began to slide between turns two and three. Earnhardt&#8217;s car broadsided Park&#8217;s and bulldozed it into the infield guardrails, sending it flying through the air.</p><p>&#8220;The craziest thing I ever witnessed here was (having) a front-row seat when me and Steve Park crashed off turn two,&#8221; Earnhardt said, &#8220;and when his car hit that fence inside turn two, it spit out between the my car and the fence like a bar of soap in the shower.</p><p>&#8220;I had a front-row seat for that. It was just the most amazing &#8230; I couldn&#8217;t believe what I was seeing.&#8221;</p><p>NASCAR fans will be seeing Earnhardt drive at Pocono for a final time in Sunday&#8217;s Overton&#8217;s 400. He announced in late April that he will be retiring at the end of his 18th year in the series. He hopes to make his final Pocono start a memorable one. His first race there back in 2000 was, but more for what happened to his dad.</p><p>Dale Earnhardt was leading coming into the final turn on the last lap when Jeremy Mayfield shoved him aside and won.</p><p>&#8220;We didn&#8217;t talk. Me and my dad never talked racing. We just didn&#8217;t,&#8221; Earnhardt said. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t go up and ask him about that unless I wanted to upset him. I hated it. It was something you were used to seeing Dad doing. I didn&#8217;t like seeing anyone do it to him. He was my hero, and I didn&#8217;t like seeing my hero getting moved out of the way like that.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not a race I like to think about.&#8221;</p><p>Earnhardt has never found much success at Pocono, mixing a handful of top-10s with numerous pedestrian finishes. Among the latter was a 25th place in the second race of 2004. Earnhardt suffered serious burns a month earlier in an American Le Mans Series race and was able to complete just 53 laps at Pocono before being helped from his car. John Andretti finished the race.</p><p>A Pocono breakthrough, though, came in 2014 when Earnhardt won both races to become only the seventh driver to accomplish the feat.</p><p>&#8220;Coming here and sweeping races was a surprise to me,&#8221; Earnhardt said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve never won one here before. We won one and we were like, &#8216;Wow, we&#8217;re lucky.&#8217; Then we swept them. We won the second and said, &#8216;Maybe we&#8217;re not lucky, we&#8217;re just pretty good.&#8217; That was an awesome experience.&#8221;</p><p>This year&#8217;s June race was just the opposite. Earnhardt had brake woes 19 laps into the 160-lap race. By Lap 58, his No. 88 Chevrolet developed fatal transmission problems. He finished 38th, his second worst performance at Pocono. He finished 43rd in the second race in 2006.</p><p>Earnhardt believes his team has addressed the issue, although he was 21st and 17th during Saturday&#8217;s practice sessions. Qualifying is 11:30 a.m. Sunday, with the green flag scheduled to wave at 3:18 p.m.</p><p>No matter the outcome, Earnhardt will be back at Pocono in 2018 but in a different role. He signed a deal with NBC to serve as a commentator on NASCAR broadcasts.</p><p>&#8220;I hope I&#8217;m being brought into the booth because of who I am, how I am, how I act and my honesty and candid conversation,&#8221; Earnhardt said. &#8220;I want to be that same person in the booth. I don&#8217;t want to change or be molded into something different or polished up.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_AP_04080107509-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">After suffering burns a month earlier in a Le Mans Series crash, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was unable to complete the second Pocono race in 2004. He was relieved by John Andretti after 53 laps. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_AP_04080107509-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>After suffering burns a month earlier in a Le Mans Series crash, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was unable to complete the second Pocono race in 2004. He was relieved by John Andretti after 53 laps. </caption0><photoCredit0>Chris Gardner | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_AP_02072805709-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rescue workers load Steve Park&#8217;s car on a truck after it was involved in a crash with Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the second Pocono race in 2002. Earnhardt said Saturday the crash was his most memorable moment at the track. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_AP_02072805709-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Rescue workers load Steve Park&#8217;s car on a truck after it was involved in a crash with Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the second Pocono race in 2002. Earnhardt said Saturday the crash was his most memorable moment at the track. </caption1><photoCredit1>Russ Hamilton | AP file photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_DaleJr-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dale Earnhardt Jr. prepares for a practice session Saturday at Pocono Raceway. Sunday&#8217;s race will be his final at the track as he is set to retire at the end of the season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_DaleJr-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dale Earnhardt Jr. prepares for a practice session Saturday at Pocono Raceway. Sunday&#8217;s race will be his final at the track as he is set to retire at the end of the season. </caption2><photoCredit2>Matt Slocum | AP photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>NASCAR star making final Pocono start</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>NASCAR OVERTON&#8217;S 400</strong></p><p>Pocono Raceway, Long Pond</p><p>Length: 160 laps/400 miles</p><p>Qualifying: 11:30 a.m. Sunday, NBCSN</p><p>Race: 3 p.m. Sunday, NBCSN (green flag at 3:18)</p><p>Weather Forecast: Sunny with a high of 74 degree and no chance of rain</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ready for his final ride at Pocono Raceway