Tuesday, July 31, 2012

LVH Super Book Odds to Win 2012 Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono

Brad Keselowski won last fall at Pocono; he's 15/1 this year (Getty)
PENNSYLVANIA 400
POCONO SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012


JIMMIE JOHNSON 6
TONY STEWART 10
MATT KENSETH 10
GREG BIFFLE 10
DENNY HAMLIN 7
KYLE BUSCH 8
KASEY KAHNE 10
JEFF GORDON 12
DALE EARNHARDT JR 10
CARL EDWARDS 15
BRAD KESELOWSKI 15
KEVIN HARVICK 15
MARK MARTIN 15
MARTIN TRUEX JR 25
CLINT BOWYER 30
RYAN NEWMAN 30
JOEY LOGANO 15
JEFF BURTON 100
JUAN MONTOYA 100
PAUL MENARD 100
JAMIE McMURRAY 100
KURT BUSCH 100
MARCOS AMBROSE 100
SAM HORNISH JR 100
ARIC ALMIROLA 300
DAVID GILLILAND 1000
REGAN SMITH 500
BOBBY LABONTE 500
DAVID RAGAN 1000
FIELD 500

Monday, July 30, 2012

2012 Pocono Pennsylvania 400 Odds & Ends

Joey Logano took the checkers from the pole in June at Pocono (Getty)
At 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.
·         The 2.5-mile track was repaved during the fall of 2011.
Notebook
·         There have been 69 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.
·         There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.
·         This season will mark the first time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono will be scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012 all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.
·         Buddy Baker won the first pole.
·         There have been 38 different pole winners, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race; 17 drivers have more than one pole there.
·         The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993) and Denny Hamlin (2006).
·         Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.
·         31 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon, each with five victories; 20 drivers have won more than once there.
·         There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, the last by Denny Hamlin in 2006.
·         Bobby Allison (1982, ’83) and Tim Richmond (1986, ’87) each won three consecutive races at Pocono.
·         48 of 69 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start.
·         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.
·         14 of 69 races have been won from the pole, Bill Elliott (1985, 2002) and Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep) are the only drivers to have done it twice. Joey Logano is the most recent driver to win from the pole earlier this season.
·         Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 12 Pocono victories.
·         Mark Martin leads all drivers in top fives (20) and top 10s (34), but has yet to win at Pocono. His best finish was second, seven times (most recently last June). In June, Martin set the record for most runner-up finishes at a track without winning.
·         Jimmie Johnson (8.7) and Denny Hamlin (9.3) are the only active drivers to average a top 10.
·         Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Raceway winner: Joey Logano (06/10/2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).
·         Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Raceway winner: Harry Gant (06/17/1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).
Pocono Raceway Data
Race #: 21 of 36 (08-05-12)
Track Size: 2.5-miles
Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles
·     Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees
·     Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees
·     Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees
·     Frontstretch: 3,740 feet
·     Backstretch: 3,055 feet
·     Shortstretch: 1,780 feet
 
 
Top 12 Driver Rating at Pocono
Denny Hamlin............................ 117.6
Jimmie Johnson........................ 106.7
Kurt Busch................................ 105.8
Jeff Gordon.............................. 100.3
Tony Stewart............................... 99.3
Carl Edwards.............................. 97.1
Ryan Newman............................. 94.9
Mark Martin................................. 94.8
Kevin Harvick.............................. 90.8
Matt Kenseth.............................. 89.3
Kasey Kahne.............................. 89.3
Jeff Burton................................. 88.6
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2012 races (15 total) at Pocono Raceway.
 
 
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner:
Joey Logano, Toyota (172.055 mph, 52.309 sec., 08-06-11)
 
2011 race winner:
Brad Keselowski, Dodge (137.878 mph, 3:37:35, 08-07-11)
 
Track qualifying record:
Joey Logano, Toyota (179.598 mph, 50.112 sec., 06-10-12)
 
Track race record (500 miles):
Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (145.384 mph, 3:26:21, 06-12-11)
 
NASCAR in Pennsylvania
·         There have been 103 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.
Track Name
City
NSCS
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond
69
Bloomsburg Fairgrounds
Bloomsburg
1
Heidelberg Raceway
Pittsburgh
4
Langhorne Speedway
Langhorne
17
Lincoln Speedway
New Oxford
7
New Bradford Speedway
Bradford
1
Pine Grove Speedway
Shippenville
1
Reading Fairgrounds
Reading
2
Williams Grove Speedway
Mechanicsburg
1
·         138 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.
·         There are three race winners from Pennsylvania in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver
NSCS
NNS
NCWTS
Dick Linder
3
0
0
Jimmy Spencer
2
12
1
Mark Donohue
1
0
0