Helton just doesn’t want anyone doing so in a way that could hurt the sport’s image.

A report by The Associated Press earlier this week said that NASCAR has fined at least two of its top drivers this season for making critical comments about the circuit.

People familiar with the penalties told the AP the comments were considered disparaging to the sport. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because NASCAR was not publicly identifying the topflight drivers it fined. They said one driver was penalized as much as $50,000.

“The emotion of the sport, we encourage. The passion and the emotion of a driver wanting to win and, within reason, his driving style to do that, we encourage,” Helton said. “What we discourage throughout the industry, though, is sending the message that the sport isn’t worthy of following.”

Helton said Thursday that the sanctioning body hasn’t identified the penalized drivers because NASCAR views it the same way as conversations officials might have with drivers after an on-track incident. Those talks usually remains private as well.

NASCAR hasn’t divulged details about the fines, either, but a NASCAR spokesman said on Monday night that any moves made by the sanctioning body is focused on actions or comments that “materially damage” the sport, and not on drivers expressing opinions.

Fines for critical comments are commonplace for many pro sports leagues, and Helton acknowledged that the sanctioning body is focused on making sure a positive message about NASCAR is driven home to the public.

The fines also fit with NASCAR’s efforts to re-energize the sport with stronger racing and improved off-track promotion from its drivers. But Helton acknowledged that there’s a delicate balance when drivers are encouraged to be passionate about what they do, but could also be fined for what they say.

“There is a need to explain to the drivers the difference between what we would have an issue with and what we actually encourage them to do, and it could be is a fine line,” Helton said.

Helton visited Iowa on Thursday for an auction and celebrity roast of team owner Richard Childress at Iowa Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Nationwide race.

Childress said he doesn’t believe that anyone in NASCAR should “bite the hand that feeds them.” Rusty Wallace, the longtime NASCAR star and designer of the oval in Iowa, said he’s all for the sport’s sanctioning body using penalties to keep folks from disparaging the sport.

“I would challenge all the drivers. When they get really frustrated, and they want to say something negative, they need to stop and think. How does that help me, and how does that help the sport?” Wallace said. “That would be like owning a restaurant, and running out front and saying ‘Hey, the food sucks. Come on in.’ You wouldn’t want to do that.”

NEWTON, Iowa(AP)—NASCAR president Mike Helton insists he wants drivers to feel free to express themselves.

Helton just doesn’t want anyone doing so in a way that could hurt the sport’s image.

A report by The Associated Press earlier this week said that NASCAR has fined at least two of its top drivers this season for making critical comments about the circuit.

People familiar with the penalties told the AP the comments were considered disparaging to the sport. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because NASCAR was not publicly identifying the topflight drivers it fined. They said one driver was penalized as much as $50,000.

“The emotion of the sport, we encourage. The passion and the emotion of a driver wanting to win and, within reason, his driving style to do that, we encourage,” Helton said. “What we discourage throughout the industry, though, is sending the message that the sport isn’t worthy of following.”

Helton said Thursday that the sanctioning body hasn’t identified the penalized drivers because NASCAR views it the same way as conversations officials might have with drivers after an on-track incident. Those talks usually remains private as well.

NASCAR hasn’t divulged details about the fines, either, but a NASCAR spokesman said on Monday night that any moves made by the sanctioning body is focused on actions or comments that “materially damage” the sport, and not on drivers expressing opinions.

Fines for critical comments are commonplace for many pro sports leagues, and Helton acknowledged that the sanctioning body is focused on making sure a positive message about NASCAR is driven home to the public.

The fines also fit with NASCAR’s efforts to re-energize the sport with stronger racing and improved off-track promotion from its drivers. But Helton acknowledged that there’s a delicate balance when drivers are encouraged to be passionate about what they do, but could also be fined for what they say.

“There is a need to explain to the drivers the difference between what we would have an issue with and what we actually encourage them to do, and it could be is a fine line,” Helton said.

Helton visited Iowa on Thursday for an auction and celebrity roast of team owner Richard Childress at Iowa Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Nationwide race.

Childress said he doesn’t believe that anyone in NASCAR should “bite the hand that feeds them.” Rusty Wallace, the longtime NASCAR star and designer of the oval in Iowa, said he’s all for the sport’s sanctioning body using penalties to keep folks from disparaging the sport.

“I would challenge all the drivers. When they get really frustrated, and they want to say something negative, they need to stop and think. How does that help me, and how does that help the sport?” Wallace said. “That would be like owning a restaurant, and running out front and saying ‘Hey, the food sucks. Come on in.’ You wouldn’t want to do that.”

Joe Menzer: Duh. Obviously. Even team owner Chip Ganassi admitted as much when he was asked in the post-race media roundup what he would tell the obviously disappointed pair. He said, “I would tell them they should have taken two.”

1. Did Juan Montoya and crew chief Brian Pattie make the wrong call by taking four tires on the final pit stop at Indianapolis?Duane Cross: Of course, in hindsight—but I couldn’t argue the call at the time. Who knew you could hold off the pack on two tires at that distance? I’m sure Brian slept well, knowing he made the four-tire call with the info he had at hand.David Caraviello: It’s easy to say yes, given the outcome, and that teammate Jamie McMurray won by taking two. But in that situation, how can you not take four tires? You’re leading the race, you’ve got the best car, and it’s not exactly a sprint to the finish. Like a baseball manager, the No. 42 team went with the book. They became the proverbial sitting duck as a result. But that doesn’t mean the thinking behind the call was incorrect.

Joe Menzer: I really thought they were going to be OK. There were, what, 19 laps still to go? And he came out in seventh, with the six cars in front of him on two tires. I thought he would have plenty of time to make up the ground, but he almost immediately started struggling and going backward instead of marching to the front like I thought he would.

David Caraviello: Brian was crushed. He’s usually among the most accessible crew chiefs in the garage area, and for him to issue just a three-sentence statement spoke volumes about how badly he was beating himself up. But there were plenty of laps left. I can’t believe they didn’t think they could get back up front. Of course, they probably also didn’t expect so many teams just to take two.

Duane Cross: If Juan had won, the talk would be, ‘What a call the 42 team made!’ Amazing how the media works at times. And, with the way Juan likes to drive the wheels off a car, no one would have made the two-tire call with him in the driver’s seat.

David Caraviello: I can’t disagree there, Duane. You look at what’s happened to this team the past two years, though—the car is untouchable up front, struggles in traffic. I have no idea how you try to improve that, or if you even can, given that I don’t think you can replicate Indy traffic conditions on a seven-post or in a wind tunnel. One of those things where you don’t know how your car is going to react until it’s there.

Joe Menzer: Well, we can sit here and say we don’t blame them for making the wrong call all we want. But the fact is, in this situation, it obviously turned out to be the wrong call. I think it’s another example of how track position is everything, especially at a place like Indy where it’s hard to pass. It should be duly noted that Greg Biffle also took four tires, and he was able to at least work his way back up to third.

David Caraviello: Of course, Greg didn’t hit the wall trying too hard. And really, third for Montoya would probably have been about as unfulfilling as where they ended up. That was a win-or-bust effort there Sunday afternoon.

Joe Menzer: Then I would argue that he should have taken two and made certain he stayed out front.

Duane Cross: No doubt JPM, Brian and everyone on the team was cussing that ol’ track on Sunday night. That’s two years in a row he’s seemingly had the field covered only to lose it on pit road. This year, four tires was the call—but, like Joe said, it didn’t help in passing back to the front.

David Caraviello: I know crew chiefs scan radios in that situation trying to guess what everybody else is going to do, but really, the leader is in a no-win situation at that point. Not even two tires would have necessarily guaranteed them anything. You’re playing a hunch at that point, and Pattie had to look at how good his car was on four tires and go with that call. It’s really hard to disagree with him there.

Duane Cross: And that’s the bottom line, David—Brian knew how good the car was on four tires and he figured there were enough laps to make up the difference on the drivers who took two tires.

Joe Menzer: Well, of course there are no guarantees. There never are in racing—and you’re absolutely right that the leader is in virtually a no-win situation there. If they had taken two and someone behind them had taken four and they had lost, we’d be having a debate about that, too. But in retrospect, they simply made the wrong call this time.

David Caraviello: And how about Chip Ganassi, splitting his strategies there, playing his two cars against one another to try and guarantee himself a win? Sly. Though you wonder how the 42 team feels about that.

Joe Menzer: McMurray took two and took off, and then held everyone else off. End of story. He made the right call, the 42 team made the wrong one. No matter how it may have seemed at the time.

David Caraviello: That Menzer is a heck of a crew chief—when it comes to the Windstar.

Joe Menzer: With a cracked windshield, no less.

David Caraviello: Ouch. That can’t help the aerodynamics. Get that thing in the wind tunnel and have a look at it.

Duane Cross: Joe Menzer, crew chief of the 20/20 Hindsight Chevrolet!

2. NASCAR is unveiling a multi-vehicle qualifying process Saturday morning when the Trucks visit Pocono. Will it work?

David Caraviello: Who knows. But it might be fun to watch. This is how most racing series handle qualifying, with multiple cars on the track at the same time, so you don’t really know who’s on the pole until the end of the session. Surely it will spice up a Saturday morning in Pocono.

Duane Cross: At Pocono, it can’t hurt. Nationwide Series uses it on road courses, so why not at Pocono for the Truck Series? Certainly will cut down on waiting for the trucks to get around that beast.

Joe Menzer: I’m still trying to figure it all out—but I do like the idea of running a 125-mile race, which translates into a 50-lap shootout. As for inverting the qualifying order from practice times and sending them off in 25-second increments, not sure what all that really is going to mean.

David Caraviello: Ah, somebody’s doing their research. We’re already hearing questions about whether teams will sandbag in practice, which will be used to set the qualifying order. At essence, though, this reminds me of what the Truck series used to be—kind of a laboratory for rules tweaks that might affect other series. Wasn’t it the Trucks that first brought us green-white-checkered? On second thought, maybe that’s not a good thing …

Duane Cross: G-W-C is a good thing; the Cup Series is a good thing on too much sugar.

Joe Menzer: I like the G-W-C, too. Just not sure I like having three of ‘em.

Duane Cross: Truck Series has been the best racing in the national series for a while—this wrinkle just adds to it. I hope it goes over well and we see more of it down the line. And if someone sandbags, so be it—the race will be rock ‘em, sock ‘em, like always. I say drop the green and let’s go!

Joe Menzer: I do have what I think is a legitimate question: what if someone wrecks during qualifying and the next guy already has started his run. I guess with the 25-second interval, there is plenty of time to react. But it could become a mess. Then again, if it eliminates the 24 hours of qualifying at Pocono it will be a plus.

David Caraviello: I wonder how race fans are going to react to this. As we know, they often don’t like change, and this promises to be a stark departure from the kind of single-vehicle qualifying runs they’ve been used to on big ovals. I wonder if people will be confused, seeing multiple trucks on track at once, and wonder what’s going on. But I also hope they give it a chance, because it could be more interesting than the format we have now.

Duane Cross: I think the fans will keep up just fine—and will embrace it. Change, for lack of a better word, is good—in some cases. This is one of them, especially so at Pocono. Maybe NASCAR learns something from the Truck race and we see some changes to the Cup races in 2011.

Joe Menzer: Here’s the key to this whole deal, and it doesn’t have much to do with qualifying: the fact that they will race 125 miles, or 50 laps. That’s gonna be cool. No time to waste getting up on the wheel and getting after it. That’s a lesson that the Cup could learn from as well.

Duane Cross: Yes, Joe—the Cup side would benefit from racing changes, no “elimination” in the Chase (or the Chase itself). If the racing is better, the fans are excited, TV ratings benefit and the tracks benefit, Lost in this whole “racing recession” is that there are too many races with too many laps and not enough of the time-is-now mentality for these guys to wheel it like they stole it.

David Caraviello: Can’t disagree. And we have seen innovations from the Trucks matriculate into other series over the years. They’re probably doing this here to see the reaction, and get an idea how warmly it might be received on other circuits. If it bombs, hey, it’s Saturday morning Truck qualifying at Pocono. You move on. Speaking of moving on …

3. Saturday’s race at Iowa marks the third consecutive standalone Nationwide event. With fewer Cup racers in the field, which Nationwide regulars have stood out the most over that stretch?

Duane Cross: Justin Allgaier—the list starts and ends there.

Joe Menzer: Can’t disagree too much with that one, although I might add Trevor Bayne. The kid is the real deal and will make a fine Cupper in the near future.

David Caraviello: First off, let me say that I really enjoy these Nationwide standalone events. I like seeing the different tracks, I enjoy seeing different drivers run up front. I know sponsors want the Cup guys in the cars and all, but I really wish we had more of these, so NASCAR could spread the wealth to more facilities and give more drivers a chance to run up front.

Joe Menzer: Well, thank you for the politically correct response, Caraviello. Obviously there will be no fine from NASCAR for you today. But please now answer the question that was asked.

David Caraviello: That said, you’re both wrong. Although Allgaier has been the breakout star of the Nationwide Series this year, no Nationwide regular has looked better over the past two weeks than Trevor Bayne. Fourth at O’Reilly Raceway Park and third at Gateway? The kid can wheel it. Michael Waltrip might have trouble keeping that guy in the fold.

Duane Cross: You know, T. Bayne may be the next star in the Nationwide Series. He’s well-spoken and is a talent behind the wheel. He can take the mantle for a couple of years while Justin is making waves in the Cup Series.

Joe Menzer: I think you also have to mention that Brendan Gaughan has run well of late. And as reluctant as I might be to admit it, because I have not been big fans of theirs in the past: Steve Wallace and Reed Sorenson have run well lately, too. And, um, didn’t I mention Trevor Bayne first—long before you DC twins started barking about him?

David Caraviello: Steve Wallace has done more than run well lately. Tenth at ORP, and fifth at Gateway. Those are good numbers for somebody who hears a lot of snickers about wrecked race cars. If the guy can keep it in one piece, he can drive a little bit. And don’t forget about Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who’s run ninth and 11th in the last two events. Then there’s Aric Almirola, who is fast in almost anything he drives, and was third at ORP in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car. Isn’t it about time to give that guy a quality Cup ride? What else does he have to prove?

Joe Menzer: Trevor Bayne is more than a talented up-and-coming driver. He’s also a potential sponsor’s dream. Great kid, and funny. I did a 1-on-1 feature with him earlier this year and the whole time he was eating these brownies or cupcakes—and by the end, he had chocolate all over his face but didn’t know it until a nearby crew member handed him a towel to wipe off. “Have to do this stuff all the time for him,” the guy deadpanned. And all Bayne did was laugh and join in the poking fun at himself. Gotta like that.

Duane Cross: Yeah, he’s funny now—but wait until the Cup handlers get their hooks in him. He’ll be as flavorful as vanilla ice cream. Y’all can have your Team Trevor club, I’m sticking with Justin. He’s going to make the jump to Cup and the transition will be pretty smooth. He’s got an owner who has his house in order and the rest will be up to Allgaier. The kid’s gonna be alright.

Joe Menzer: Having said all that, Bayne hasn’t yet won a Nationwide race. Allgaier, whom I should add also is very personable, has a win under his belt and has contended a number of other times. He’s the more polished driving talent out there right now.

Duane Cross: Sorry, dude—no room on the bandwagon!

David Caraviello: Nobody doubts Allgaier, but where is Roger Penske going to put him? That team is a sponsor short as it is, and RP loves Sam Hornish, who last week said he thought he’d be back. We’re already hearing about a lot of Cup driver moves for next year, and rather than continue to shuffle the same guys around, isn’t it time to bring in some new blood? Why people aren’t banging on Almirola’s door baffles me.

Duane Cross: Aric has snuggled up to Hendrick Motorsports, dude—and we know how well that’s working out for Kasey Kahne, or Mark Martin depending on who you’re pulling for in that tug o’ war.

David Caraviello: Man, there is a loooong waiting list to get in there, boss. Like the velvet rope line at Butter.

Joe Menzer: Well, Almirola supposedly is “in the mix” for the full-time Nationwide ride at JR Motorsports. That would be a good place for him to land, and maybe it would be good for him to do that before jumping all the way back to Cup again in a ride that would be suspect. As for Allgaier, one more year in Nationwide, where he could win some more races and perhaps a championship, might not be a bad idea before jumping to Cup, either.

Duane Cross: OK, so looking ahead—JR/Hendrick Motorsports puts AA in the Nationwide car. Another couple years, the JR/HM team makes the jump to Cup and he’s the driver. Problem solved—right?

David Caraviello: Wow, that seems so tidy. Maybe you should help Rick with his little Kahne/Martin issue while we’re at it?

Duane Cross: Oh, that’s right—where do Dale Jr. and Danica fit into that mix? What a web we weave …

Joe Menzer: Could be. Could be. Although in talking recently to Kelley Earnhardt, they will be very careful before ever making that jump to Cup.

Duane Cross: Well, unless Junior starts winning some races, that may be his only Cup ride option. The sponsor dollars tend to dry up without victories—even for someone as personable as Dale. Look at Mark Martin. He hasn’t sniffed Victory Lane and Kasey Kahne is beating down the door to the No. 5 shop!

David Caraviello: And where might Martin end up? Hey, he is the king of the Busch/Nationwide Series … might make those standalones more interesting next year!

Joe Menzer: Listen, I know how these owners feel. My eldest daughter just got her driver’s license and now I’m one ride short for all the licensed drivers in the house. I like it, though. For once, I’m truly in the driver’s seat here.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.

Here’s a look at the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Series standings and five drivers to watch in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway (1 p.m. ET on ESPN). All statistical references are for Cup races at Pocono unless otherwise indicated. Driver Rating is based on the past 11 races at the track.

1. Kevin Harvick, 90.1 Driver Rating—Harvick led five laps in the June race, the only laps he has led at Pocono in 19 starts. He finished fourth for his third top-five finish. In his past 11 starts, he has finished inside the top 15 nine times. The way Harvick is running and the Earnhardt-Childress engines are performing, expect Harvick to be in the mix Sunday.

2. Jeff Gordon, 96.1—Gordon’s top-five run ended last week at the Brickyard. He has a phenomenal record at Pocono with four victories and 24 top-10s in 35 starts. In fact, since July 1995, he has finished in the top 15 in every race except for the four he didn’t finish (three for crashes, including in June). All of his victories and top-fives (16) are in that stretch.

3. Denny Hamlin, 119.1—Mr. Pocono is going for his second sweep at the track. Hamlin pulled it off as a rookie in 2006. He also has won the past two races at Pocono. A win Sunday would re-establish Hamlin as a Chase favorite. He hasn’t done much since winning at Pocono and Michigan in consecutive weeks in June.

4. Jimmie Johnson, 103.7—Johnson, like Hamlin, has gone dry. Johnson hasn’t had a top-10 finish since back-to-back wins at Sonoma and Loudon at the end of June. Johnson hasn’t won at Pocono since sweeping both races in 2004. Overall, he has 11 top-10s in 17 starts.

5. Kurt Busch, 103.7—Busch has two victories and 10 top-10s in 19 starts. He finished sixth in June. Busch needs victories, not top-10s, before the Chase begins. Like the others in the top five, he’s a candidate to gamble if the situation calls for it.

Five to watch

11. Greg Biffle, 85.3—Biffle has a 78-point lead over 13th place Mark Martin. Biffle was super-fast at Indy and should be the same Sunday. He finished third, his first top-five since Bristol in March. The downside for Biffle is his record at Pocono is horrible: two top-10s in 15 starts. The only two times Biffle finished better than he started in the past four years is when he started 41st (30th) and 33rd (15th).

12. Clint Bowyer, 78.1—Bowyer finished fourth last week for the second consecutive race and is on the move. He led 59 laps in June—second to Hamlin’s 88—and finished ninth for his fifth top-10 in nine starts. He is 62 points ahead of Martin, but more important, he is surging while Martin is struggling.

13. Mark Martin, 95.8—Martin finished 11th last week, his seventh consecutive race without a top-10. That’s his longest streak since the last three races of 2008 and his first four with Hendrick Motorsports in 2009. Martin is winless at Pocono but has 32 top-10s in 47 starts. He is desperate for a big day.

14. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 80.1—Earnhardt is 93 points outside the Chase after getting hit by Juan Montoya last week and can’t afford to fall further back. He finished 19th in June and hasn’t had a top-10 since finishing fourth in June 2008. He is winless with six top-10s in 21 starts. Not very promising statistics.

16. Jamie McMurray, 69.6—Last week’s winner declared he’d rather win races than make the Chase. That’s good because he’s 151 points behind Bowyer. With three top-10s in 15 starts and a 21.7 average finish, McMurray would be a surprise winner Sunday. Then again, he has been a surprise all season.

Who’s Hot / Who’s NotHot• Kevin Harvick leads all drivers with 14 top-10 finishes; Kurt Busch is second with 12.• Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards have posted three consecutive top-10 finishes, the longest current streaks; Burton’s four consecutive top-15s also is the longest current streak.• Carl Edwards has posted top-15 finishes in 15 races, second only to Kevin Harvick’s 17 top-15s.• Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson each have led at least one lap in 13 races, most among all drivers; Johnson leads all drivers with 90 lap-leader bonus points.• Tony Stewart has four consecutive top-10s at Pocono, the longest current streak; he has finished in the top-10 in six of the past seven races this season.Not• Sam Hornish Jr. has not had a top-10 in his past 30 races; his best finish this season is 11th in the first race at Pocono. He posted top-10s in both Pocono races last year.• Elliott Sadler has not posted a top-10 in his past 23 races; his best finish this season is 17th at Infineon. He only has two top-10s in 23 races at Pocono.• Kyle Busch has one top-10 in his past six races at Pocono.• Martin Truex Jr. has finished 15th or worse in his past six races at Pocono.• Reed Sorenson has finished 20th or worse in his eight races at Pocono.

A free agent at the end of this season, Allmendinger is in the process of deciding where he’ll race next. Yahoo! Sports talked to him about that, his place in the sport and what, if any, impact NASCAR fining drivers for making supposed disparaging comments will have on him.

1. Y! Sports: How will NASCAR fining drivers for making supposed disparaging comments about the sport impact you?

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Allmendinger: It doesn’t impact me any. There’s no secret that there’s things that probably need to be fixed in NASCAR. I think there’s thing that get blown out of proportion by certain media people. And drivers make more of a big deal on certain things than should be made of. So, in that way it just doesn’t affect me.

AJ Allmendinger has 10 top-15 finishes this season, but only three finishes inside the top 10.Getty

I know that NASCAR is doing things to try to make the sport better. You know, it’s kind of in a point where it’s kind of plateaued and we need to find the next thing to help make it better. The economy is part of that. It’s not all of it, but it’s part of it.

The racing, I actually think it’s been pretty good this year for the most part. I mean, yeah, there’s certain races that are going to be boring, but that’s racing. There’s certain races that that’s just the way it is.

But when drivers make comments, A, they’re a lot more experienced, the ones that are making it. They got more pull. But I don’t know, I don’t ever feel like saying things out in public is going to help anything.

I do feel like it’s an honor to be part of the Sprint Cup Series and to be in NASCAR in general. So, I don’t want to do anything to try to hurt that.

2. Y! Sports: You’re a free agent at the end of the season. What can you tell us about 2011?

Allmendinger: We’ve had talks with several teams, which makes me feel good about what I’m doing on and off the race tracks that a lot of big-name teams and big-name team owners have called me and asked about what I might want to do and where I might be going.

Obviously sponsorship is a big part of it, and that’s tough.

I’ve had a lot of great talks with teams, I’ve had a lot of great talks with RPM. I feel like we’re moving closer to deciding. I feel like we need to decide soon.

It’s one of those things where a lot of it’s talk, obviously since I’m at RPM, more of it has been with them in trying to figure out what’s the best opportunity and where to go. I really feel like in the next hopefully week or two we’ll be talking about it in public and having a decision. Because at this point, you just need to decide where you’re going to go and start building the future at that, because you can’t get behind in this sport at all.

3. Y! Sports: When I look at your NASCAR career, I see someone who started out just fighting to survive, and you did, then transitioned to a driver looking to crack that next level, which is scoring top 10s. You’re not there yet, but you’re getting closer. Is there some satisfaction in that, or is it still frustrating because, ultimately, your goal is to win?

Allmendinger: I’m definitely not satisfied. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made since the beginning of the year. We’ve really come a long way since the first few races when we were inconsistent from weekend to weekend not knowing what we were going to show up with to now where I feel like every weekend we’re showing up with something that I feel confident in and we can at least be competitive with.

But, at the same point, now we’ve kind of hit a plateau of where we need to get better. We’re kind of just sitting there. It’s funny, however the weekend works out right now, whether we have a great run going and we get kind of a little misfortune at the end and we get pushed back to 10th or 11th, or we’re having a terrible race like the last couple of weeks at Chicago and Indy and we still finish 14th or 15th or whatever. We’re kind of in that range.

In one way, I’m really happy about it because it’s tough to run in the top 15. It’s definitely not easy to do. We’re definitely making up points on the guys we’re racing around. But, we need those more solid runs inside the top 10, top 5. You look at the guys we’re racing around – the Reuitmanns, the McMurrays, Truex, Logano, those kind of guys that we’re racing in points – I feel like on a consistent basis, we’re making up points on them. But they’re able to have those really strong runs, where McMurray wins and Reutimann won.

We just need to get a little bit better. We’re not far off, but there’s little things we need to do to get better so we’re in that top 10 consistently.

4. Y! Sports: In this sport, how much of success depends on equipment, and how much is it about the driver?

Allmendinger: You definitely can’t go win with bad equipment. I mean, Jimmie Johnson is one of the best guys out there, but he’s also in the best equipment, too, you know.

It’s one of those things that you have to have not just the equipment, but the whole team around you. You have to have the experience around you – team and driver. You can’t do it on your own. But at same point, you have to have a good driver in the car to get the job done.

But I really do feel like that there’s so many great drivers. You just start picking the guys in the top 25, there’s not a lot of difference from top to bottom, I really feel, about talent level. And the car differences aren’t that big of a deal, either. It’s just very little things.

5. Y! Sports: Saturday night before a Sunday race: what do you do?

Allmendinger: Depends on the racetrack. There’s certain racetracks where there’s nothing to do, and you’re tired and you just chill on the bus. And there’s other racetracks where you go out and grab a nice dinner. It depends on if I have friends in town.

You try to keep it fairly low-key no matter what.

Y! Sports: When you’re chilling on the bus, what are you doing?

Allmendinger: Usually watching TV. I haven’t been playing games a lot lately, although this last weekend my friend was in town and we bought the MMA game. He’s gotten into fighting a little bit, so we bought that and we spent many hours beating the living daylights out of each other on PS3.

6. Y! Sports: As an open-wheel guy, if you had a choice, which race would you rather win: the Indianapolis 500 or Daytona 500?

Allmendinger: Daytona 500. I’m in NASCAR here to stay, hopefully. That kicks off the season; it’s the biggest race for us – it’s the Super Bowl. So that would be it.

7. Y! Sports: What’s the most frivolous thing you spend money on?

Allmendinger: Probably TVs. It’s just stuff at Best Buy. I’m not really into cars and things like that. Thank God that I get discounts now and get hook ups, but in general I still spend a lot of money there for a lot of stuff that really doesn’t matter.

Y! Sports: How many TVs do you have in your house?

Allmendinger: Uhhh, five or six. If I could start mounting them [on] other places just for the hell of it, I would. My ultimate goal is to put a TV over my toilet like at a Fox & The Hound bathroom.

8. Y! Sports: Say you have the No. 1 pick in your fantasy football league. Do you take your man crush Brett Favre?

Allmendinger: Nah, I can’t do that. I know Brett’s going to be around in the first few rounds, so it’s Chris Johnson.

9. Y! Sports: How did you do in your fantasy league last year?

Allmendinger: Which one? I had four. One was awful. Picks that I thought were good tanked. I won the championship in one of them. I finished third in another and went out in the first round of the playoffs in another.

9 ½ The one thing I want fans to know about me is …

Allmendinger: When it comes to not knowing me, like when I’m not in my element and I’m not around people that I know or anything like that, I’m very shy.

Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

A free agent at the end of this season, Allmendinger is in the process of deciding where he’ll race next. Yahoo! Sports talked to him about that, his place in the sport and what, if any, impact NASCAR fining drivers for making supposed disparaging comments will have on him.

1. Y! Sports: How will NASCAR fining drivers for making supposed disparaging comments about the sport impact you?

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Allmendinger: It doesn’t impact me any. There’s no secret that there’s things that probably need to be fixed in NASCAR. I think there’s thing that get blown out of proportion by certain media people. And drivers make more of a big deal on certain things than should be made of. So, in that way it just doesn’t affect me.

AJ Allmendinger has 10 top-15 finishes this season, but only three finishes inside the top 10.Getty

I know that NASCAR is doing things to try to make the sport better. You know, it’s kind of in a point where it’s kind of plateaued and we need to find the next thing to help make it better. The economy is part of that. It’s not all of it, but it’s part of it.

The racing, I actually think it’s been pretty good this year for the most part. I mean, yeah, there’s certain races that are going to be boring, but that’s racing. There’s certain races that that’s just the way it is.

But when drivers make comments, A, they’re a lot more experienced, the ones that are making it. They got more pull. But I don’t know, I don’t ever feel like saying things out in public is going to help anything.

I do feel like it’s an honor to be part of the Sprint Cup Series and to be in NASCAR in general. So, I don’t want to do anything to try to hurt that.

2. Y! Sports: You’re a free agent at the end of the season. What can you tell us about 2011?

Allmendinger: We’ve had talks with several teams, which makes me feel good about what I’m doing on and off the race tracks that a lot of big-name teams and big-name team owners have called me and asked about what I might want to do and where I might be going.

Obviously sponsorship is a big part of it, and that’s tough.

I’ve had a lot of great talks with teams, I’ve had a lot of great talks with RPM. I feel like we’re moving closer to deciding. I feel like we need to decide soon.

It’s one of those things where a lot of it’s talk, obviously since I’m at RPM, more of it has been with them in trying to figure out what’s the best opportunity and where to go. I really feel like in the next hopefully week or two we’ll be talking about it in public and having a decision. Because at this point, you just need to decide where you’re going to go and start building the future at that, because you can’t get behind in this sport at all.

3. Y! Sports: When I look at your NASCAR career, I see someone who started out just fighting to survive, and you did, then transitioned to a driver looking to crack that next level, which is scoring top 10s. You’re not there yet, but you’re getting closer. Is there some satisfaction in that, or is it still frustrating because, ultimately, your goal is to win?

Allmendinger: I’m definitely not satisfied. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made since the beginning of the year. We’ve really come a long way since the first few races when we were inconsistent from weekend to weekend not knowing what we were going to show up with to now where I feel like every weekend we’re showing up with something that I feel confident in and we can at least be competitive with.

But, at the same point, now we’ve kind of hit a plateau of where we need to get better. We’re kind of just sitting there. It’s funny, however the weekend works out right now, whether we have a great run going and we get kind of a little misfortune at the end and we get pushed back to 10th or 11th, or we’re having a terrible race like the last couple of weeks at Chicago and Indy and we still finish 14th or 15th or whatever. We’re kind of in that range.

In one way, I’m really happy about it because it’s tough to run in the top 15. It’s definitely not easy to do. We’re definitely making up points on the guys we’re racing around. But, we need those more solid runs inside the top 10, top 5. You look at the guys we’re racing around – the Reuitmanns, the McMurrays, Truex, Logano, those kind of guys that we’re racing in points – I feel like on a consistent basis, we’re making up points on them. But they’re able to have those really strong runs, where McMurray wins and Reutimann won.

We just need to get a little bit better. We’re not far off, but there’s little things we need to do to get better so we’re in that top 10 consistently.

4. Y! Sports: In this sport, how much of success depends on equipment, and how much is it about the driver?

Allmendinger: You definitely can’t go win with bad equipment. I mean, Jimmie Johnson is one of the best guys out there, but he’s also in the best equipment, too, you know.

It’s one of those things that you have to have not just the equipment, but the whole team around you. You have to have the experience around you – team and driver. You can’t do it on your own. But at same point, you have to have a good driver in the car to get the job done.

But I really do feel like that there’s so many great drivers. You just start picking the guys in the top 25, there’s not a lot of difference from top to bottom, I really feel, about talent level. And the car differences aren’t that big of a deal, either. It’s just very little things.

5. Y! Sports: Saturday night before a Sunday race: what do you do?

Allmendinger: Depends on the racetrack. There’s certain racetracks where there’s nothing to do, and you’re tired and you just chill on the bus. And there’s other racetracks where you go out and grab a nice dinner. It depends on if I have friends in town.

You try to keep it fairly low-key no matter what.

Y! Sports: When you’re chilling on the bus, what are you doing?

Allmendinger: Usually watching TV. I haven’t been playing games a lot lately, although this last weekend my friend was in town and we bought the MMA game. He’s gotten into fighting a little bit, so we bought that and we spent many hours beating the living daylights out of each other on PS3.

6. Y! Sports: As an open-wheel guy, if you had a choice, which race would you rather win: the Indianapolis 500 or Daytona 500?

Allmendinger: Daytona 500. I’m in NASCAR here to stay, hopefully. That kicks off the season; it’s the biggest race for us – it’s the Super Bowl. So that would be it.

7. Y! Sports: What’s the most frivolous thing you spend money on?

Allmendinger: Probably TVs. It’s just stuff at Best Buy. I’m not really into cars and things like that. Thank God that I get discounts now and get hook ups, but in general I still spend a lot of money there for a lot of stuff that really doesn’t matter.

Y! Sports: How many TVs do you have in your house?

Allmendinger: Uhhh, five or six. If I could start mounting them [on] other places just for the hell of it, I would. My ultimate goal is to put a TV over my toilet like at a Fox & The Hound bathroom.

8. Y! Sports: Say you have the No. 1 pick in your fantasy football league. Do you take your man crush Brett Favre?

Allmendinger: Nah, I can’t do that. I know Brett’s going to be around in the first few rounds, so it’s Chris Johnson.

9. Y! Sports: How did you do in your fantasy league last year?

Allmendinger: Which one? I had four. One was awful. Picks that I thought were good tanked. I won the championship in one of them. I finished third in another and went out in the first round of the playoffs in another.

9 ½ The one thing I want fans to know about me is …

Allmendinger: When it comes to not knowing me, like when I’m not in my element and I’m not around people that I know or anything like that, I’m very shy.

Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

It’s not exactly as simple as flipping a switch. There are inverters to be hooked up and connections to be checked, about a week’s worth of work to turn 25 acres of steel and glass into Pocono Raceway’s very own power station. But following a dedication ceremony Friday morning, a metaphorical switch will indeed be flipped, and Pocono—yes, little Pocono—will become an industry leader in one regard.

A solar farm constructed in one of the raceway’s former parking lots will generate enough electricity to power the NASCAR facility as well as about 1,000 homes in the surrounding area, according to track and series officials. The facility, made up of 40,000 photovoltaic panels, will generate about three megawatts of electricity and instantly make Doc Mattioli’s track in the Pennsylvania hills the largest solar-powered sports stadium in the world.

“I think in the back of your mind, it’s always a gamble when you’re doing a project like this. It’s proven, but not proven in Pennsylvania, not proven in the sports world,” said raceway president Brandon Igdalsky. “But [Mattioli] isn’t going to gamble on anything that in the long run isn’t going to be worthwhile to do. We spent two years deciding whether or not to do this project, we studied every model, every what-if. We kept going back to the same answer—the project will last for 40 years, and that’s a lot of time for that thing to be sitting there and making power. If we can do out little part not only for what we need, but also for the environment and society as a whole, it’s a win-win-win.”

The project will be more than twice as large as the second-biggest solar-powered sports facility, a stadium in Taiwan that generates about 1.2 megawatts. Igdalsky said the three megawatts produced by the Pocono facility will be converted into about 3.8 million kilowatt-hours, about 920 of which are needed to power a typical house for one month. The solar farm will also become a centerpiece of NASCAR’s green initiative, complementing recycling and carbon-offset projects the series already has in place.

“This is the kind of size solar farm that a local community that wants to make a meaningful dent in its grid requirement would have,” said Mike Lynch, managing director of NASCAR’s green innovation. “It’s utility-scale for a small town or a small city, and that’s exactly how the raceway has it set up. … This isn’t about powering a few lights at the track. Token efforts have nothing to do with this. This is about making a meaningful contribution to the local community’s power needs.”

Igdalsky said the idea for the project emerged a few years ago when Pennsylvania announced its plans to deregulate the power industry in the state, a move that threatened to raise the track’s electric bills 40 percent a year. Turning off extra lights here and there grew into a serious search for an alternative power source. Track executives explored the idea of a windmill farm, but discovered they were on the wrong side of a hill to generate enough wind. They talked to area ski resorts, hotels and resorts about putting together a conglomerate buying group. And they looked into solar power, at first thinking about just putting up some panels on top of the grandstands and the garage.

When they approached Mattioli with the idea, he proposed amping up the size, and using an old parking lot as the site. “As soon as he said that, it was taken to a whole new level,” said Igdalsky, who is Mattioli’s grandson. “We went from basically an oversized residential system to a utility-grade system. That’s what we did. This will power everything we need.”

And then some. The solar farm, which cost a reported $15 million to build but is expected to pay for itself in four to five years, will power the track, all ancillary buildings, a village opened last year across from the raceway, as well as a hotel and restaurant in nearby Blakeslee. Igdalsky said the facility will also produce about 40 percent more power that will be pumped into the electrical lines for community use, and will earn the raceway credits from the local power company.

Lynch said the executive team at Pocono handled the financing and the project management. Even so, the raceway’s solar farm will stand as the biggest symbol yet of NASCAR’s green initiative, which also includes battery, fluid and tire recycling, as well as tree planting to offset carbon emissions.

“It really hasn’t been part of our modus operandi to make large, splashy announcements about things unless they were really well-established programs,” said Lynch, who will attend Friday’s 11 a.m. ET dedication. “Other programs we’ve done have been quite visible, but this being a fixed site and as large as it is will certainly be a visible symbol for the sport. … This is a big announcement and a big project, and an amazing accomplishment by the raceway.”

Finding a company to construct the facility wasn’t easy, given that most sizeable renewable energy plants are found in Europe and the American West. Igdalsky checked with local companies and found they couldn’t do more than a residential unit. Through contacts he was directed to enXco, a San Diego affiliate of a French parent company, which has constructed solar farms in California and New Jersey and has a 13-megawatt plant under construction on Long Island. Mattioli insisted that all the materials be American-made, so the panels came from Ohio, the wood from Oregon, and the steel from California. And yes—it does generate power even on cloudy days.

Although it officially goes online Friday, Igdalsky said it will take about two weeks for the facility to become fully operational. A handful of other sports stadiums, from baseball parks in San Francisco and Boston to soccer arenas in Germany and Switzerland, draw some or all of their power from solar panels. Igdalsky hopes other race tracks in NASCAR—many of which have the outlying space to accommodate such a facility—take note of what Pocono is doing and consider following suit.

“If people see, yes, it works, we kind of hope everybody gets on board with this,” he said. “It’s going to depend a lot on government, not only federal but at a state level, to enact more comprehensive alternative energy programs, to drive this at a state level. California and New Jersey have excelled in that, and they’re first and second in the country when it comes to renewable and particularly solar generation. We’re so far behind the Europeans when it comes to this, it could be a great thing for this country if the states would step up and help push it along.”

0 — Pocono victories for Mark Martin. He has 19 top-five results and 32 top-10s, both the most all time at Pocono. He has finished second six times, a Cup record for most second-place finishes at a track without a victory, tied with Bobby Allison at Martinsville. He was 29th in June.

1 — Previous race held at Pocono on Aug. 1. On Aug. 1, 1976, Richard Petty won in his Dodge over Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons and David Pearson, the only cars on the lead lap.

3 — Drivers who finished in the top 10 in both 2009 Pocono races: Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr.

5 — Most poles won at Pocono, done by Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott.

6 — Drivers who have completed the season sweep at Pocono, four of them active. The list: Denny Hamlin (2006), Jimmie Johnson (2004), Bobby Labonte (1999), Tim Richmond (1986), Bill Elliott (1985) and Bobby Allison (1982).

7 — Races out of the past 10 at Pocono in which Kyle Busch has started in the top 10. Unfortunately for him, he has only two top-10 finishes in those 10 races; he was second in June after winning the pole.

8 — Times out of the past 12 races at Pocono in which the driver leading with 25 laps to go has failed to win.

11 — Races out of the past 16 Pocono races which have been won from a top-five start, eight from the front row.

12 — Consecutive races at Pocono in which the race winner has been under the age of 30. Prior to that, only seven of 51 races were won by drivers under 30.

13 — Consecutive Pennsylvania 500 races run with different pole winners.

13 — Races out of 65 started at Pocono that have been won by the pole starter.

16 — Worst starting position by a Pennsylvania 500 winner, by Dale Earnhardt in 1987. Carl Edwards had the worst starting position by any Pocono winner when he came from 29th to win in June 2005.

28 — Drivers who have won at Pocono, with Bill Elliott claiming five for the most. Denny Hamlin has won four of the past 10, however.

74 — Percent of races he’s started at Pocono in which Tony Stewart has finished in the top 10 (17 of 23). In the past four, he has three finishes of third or better.

175 — The most laps led in a Pocono race, done by Kurt Busch in July 2007.

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Solberg, the 2003 world champion, covered an uphill stretch of 4.19kilometers, on both asphalt and gravel, in two minutes, 33.2 seconds, one secondahead of Hirvonen and 1.6 faster than Loeb, who tied with Jati Latvala ofFinland.

They were followed by Norway’s Henning Solberg, Frenchman Sebastien Ogierand Spain’s Daniel Sordo.

Citroen driver Loeb leads the championship standings on 151 points, ahead ofsecond-place Ogier on 100.

The drivers will negotiate a total of 310 kilometers on the famously fastgravel roads in three days.

0 — Previous Truck Series races at Pocono Raceway.

2—Victories in his first two starts for Kasey Kahne. He’s the only driver in NASCAR to win his first two series starts, and he’ll be going for No. 3 on Saturday. His previous two victories, however, came in 2004.

3 — Cup regulars on the entry list for the Truck race. In addition to Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler will also strap into trucks at Pocono.

4 — Victories by Todd Bodine on ovals 2.5 miles or longer, the most of all drivers. He has finished in the top five nine times this season—every race except those run on short tracks.

10 — Number of victories in the series’ debut at a track by Ron Hornaday. He captured the victory in the first races run at Infineon, Evergreen, Flemington, Memphis, Bakersfield, Loudon, Pikes Peak, Tucson, Watkins Glen and Topeka.

12 — Top-10 starts by Johnny Sauter, the only driver in the series to have done so.

13 — Number of tracks in Pennsylvania which have hosted a NASCAR national touring series event.

22 — Winless streak snapped by Ron Hornaday last week at ORP, the third-longest drought of his career. He went 28 races from 2005-06 and 23 from 1999-2002.

28 — States in which the Truck Series has competed.

40 — The fewest number of laps in a Truck race was 40 at Infineon in 1995; the 50 scheduled at Pocono will be the second-fewest laps in a series race. The shortest mileage a Truck race has raced on a superspeedway is 80 miles, Phoenix in Feb. 1995.

255 — Points gained on second place by Ron Hornaday in a five-race stretch in 2009; he’s currently 212 behind Todd Bodine for the points lead.

313 — Points by which Ron Hornaday outscored Todd Bodine in the final 13 races of the 2009 season.

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