Pocono Notebook

Pocono Raceway History
• Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.

Pocono Raceway Notes
• There have been 62 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.
• There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.
• All NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been scheduled for 500 miles. By design, the inaugural race was run to a length of 480 miles due to the energy crisis.
• Buddy Baker won the first pole at Pocono.
• There have been 35 different pole winners at Pocono, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race. Only 15 drivers have more than one pole there.
• There have been 21 pole winners in the last 26 races. Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne (two each) are the only repeat pole winners there since 1995. Qualifying was canceled once.
• The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993), Denny Hamlin (2006). • Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.
• 28 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott with five victories; 19 drivers have won more than once there.
• There have been 14 different race winners in the 18 races since Bobby Labonte swept in 1999. Jimmie Johnson swept 2004 and Denny Hamlin 2006. Kurt Busch won the July race in 2005 and 2007. Carl Edwards won the June 2005 race and the August 2008 race.
• There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, including two of the past five seasons.• Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond each won three consecutive races at Pocono.
• 45 of 62 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start; 13 by the pole winner.
• The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.
• Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 11 Pocono victories.
• There have been two green-white-checkered finishes: June 2005 (201 laps) and July 2005 (203 laps).
• Denny Hamlin won his first two races at Pocono, claiming both victories from the pole. His 6.2 average finish there is the best of any driver with more than one start at the track