Thursday, June 6, 2013

2013 Party in the Poconos 400 driver chassis selections

Jimmie Johnson will use Texas chassis from April, which won twice in 2012
#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis for Pocono is PRS-856, which is a new chassis. PRS-847, which was a backup at several races but has not raced.

#5-Kasey Kahne: For this weekend at Pocono, crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-779, a car Kahne has driven twice before. In March, Kahne led 114 laps in this chassis and finished second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Most recently, he raced this car at Texas Motor Speedway in April and finished 11th. In 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Kahne has recorded one win, four top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has two career pole positions at the track and won from the top spot in June 2008 after leading 69 laps. He has completed 99.2 percent of laps attempted and has led 151 laps at the 2.5-mile track. Most recently at Pocono, Kahne finished second there in August 2012. Kahne ranks as Pocono's second-best qualifier among active drivers with an average start of 8.7. Most recently, he started from fourth in August 2012.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 DeWalt team has prepared chassis No. 842 for Pocono. The last time the team competed with this chassis was at Darlington Raceway this season.

#10-Danica Patrick will pilot chassis No. 10-723 was tested in the wind tunnel before seeing its first on-track activity in April at Texas, where Patrick started 42nd and finished 28th. The car was then tested by Patrick May 7-8 at Nashville Superspeedway and May 29-30 at Pocono Raceway.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-706 debuted in spectacular fashion in March 2012 at Auto Club Speedway, as Stewart took Chassis No. 14-706 from its ninth place starting spot to lead twice for 42 laps en route to the win in the rain-shortened race. Prior to Fontana, the car spent numerous hours in the wind tunnel. It is a clone to Chassis No. 14-640, which won round three of the 2012 season at Las Vegas. Chassis No. 14-706's second start, in April at Kansas, was a bit quieter than its debut race. It started 23rd and gained 10 spots to finish 13th. Its third start came in the Sprint Cup Series' longest race the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. There, Stewart qualified 21st and finished 25th as Chassis No. 14-706 proved to be a handful throughout the 400-lap contest. The car redeemed itself in its fourth start in June 2012 at Michigan, where Stewart qualified eighth, led 18 laps and finished second. Chassis No. 14-706 sat idle until returning to Michigan in August 2012 for its fifth career start, but a broken valve spring within the engine relegated it to a 32nd-place finish. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-706 returned to work April 30-May 1 during a Goodyear tire test at Indianapolis. It tested again May 29-30 at Pocono Raceway in preparation for its sixth career start Sunday in the Party in the Poconos 400.

#16-Greg Biffle: and the Matt Puccia led #16 Fastenal Ford team will bring primary chassis Chassis RK-844 which last hit the track in Richmond where a broken shock led to a 36th-place finish for Biffle. The backup chassis is RK-822 which last ran Martinsville and finished 9th. Biffle has 20 Sprint Cup career starts at Pocono. In 2010 he earned his only victory at the "tricky triangle," while his other stats include two top-five and four top-10 finishes. Starting this week, Facebook fans and Twitter followers can send their good luck messages to Greg Biffle and the PitBulls using the hashtag #StickWithBiff

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: and the #17 Valvoline Racing team will be using primary chassis RK-832 is the same chassis that the #17 team ran at Richmond finishing 16th. The backup Chassis RK-801was a chassis that the #99 ran numerous times in 2012.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis for Pocono is PRS-848 which last raced at Texas and finished 5th. PRS-844, which was a backup at several races but has not raced.

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 403 at Pocono Raceway. This #27 Quaker State/Menards Chevy was previously run this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. It was also tested last week at Pocono. Menard has 12 starts at Pocono Raceway. His best start of second came in 2011 and best finish of ninth came in 2012. The Wisconsin native has completed 2,105 of 2,168 laps attempted (97.1%) at the Pennsylvania track.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 391 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable for the Party in the Poconos 400. The California native last piloted this Rheem Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he settled for a 14th-place finish. Harvick has made 24 starts at the 2.5-mile tri-oval dating back to the 2001 season. During that time, the RCR veteran has collected five-top five and eight top-10 finishes. He holds a 19.8 average starting position coupled with a 14.1 average finishing position, has completed 96.1 % (4,386 of 4,547) of the laps contested and is credited with five laps led.

#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 416 this weekend at Pocono Raceway. This #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet has been utilized three times this season at Auto Club Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway. This weekend's 400-mile event marks Burton's 39th start at the 2.5-mile facility and 669th-career Sprint Cup Series race. Burton has garnered seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at the track, leading 104 laps.

#39-Ryan Newman Chassis No. 39-733 debuted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July 2012, when Newman recorded a seventh-place finish. The crew turned the car around in just a couple of days and took it to Pocono Raceway, where it finished sixth. Two weeks later, the chassis was back on track at Michigan, where it finished eighth. The chassis earned its first top-five finish at Chicago. The chassis next raced three weeks later at Dover. The chassis made its last start of the 2012 season at Kansas in October, when Newman was involved in an incident that forced him to retire from the event prematurely. Chassis No. 39-733 was outfitted with a new front clip and a Chevrolet SS body, and saw its first laps of the 2013 season at Kansas in April, where Newman finished 14th. Most recently, Newman raced this Chevrolet SS to a 10th-place finish at Darlington last month.

#43-Aric Almirola: The #43 Smithfield team has prepared chassis No. 837 at Pocono. The team last raced the chassis at Richmond International Raceway, where Almirola finished eighth in this third of four consecutive top-10 finishes earlier this season.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive chassis No. 728 at Pocono, this chassis last ran at Texas in April, finishing 6th and won two races in 2012, at Indy and Dover. Chassis No. 720 serves as the backup and won two races in 2012. Johnson has two wins (2004 sweep) and has nine top-five and 15 top-10s in 22 starts at Pocono. He also has finished every one of the 22 races he has run, and has the second-best driver rating.

#55-Mark Martin: is running Chassis 759 with raced at Darlington and Auto Club Speedway.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.:crew chief Steve Letarte and the #88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-798. This is a new chassis that has not been raced. In 26 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt has recorded one pole position, five top-five finishes and nine top-10s. He has completed 96.9 percent of all the laps he's attempted (4,796 laps of 4,947 total). The 38-year-old driver led laps in both Pocono races in 2012 and has led a total of 151 laps at the 2.5-mile track.

#99-Carl Edwards the #99 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes team will be bringing chassis will unload RK 808 which last ran at Kansas Speedway in April. The backup chassis is RK 826 last ran in Texas. In 16 starts at the 2.5-mile track, Edwards has two wins, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has an average start of 19.0 and an average finish of 13.2.

- compiled by Jayski.com

No comments: