Friday, June 6, 2014

Pocono Driver Chassis Selections: 2014 Pocono 400

Gordon using winning Kansas chassis; Harvick using Darlington winner

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis for Pocono is PRS-916, which is a new chassis. The Backup Chassis is PRS-840 which was last used as a backup at Charlotte.

#3-Austin Dillon: will pilot Chassis No. 457 in the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. This is the same Dow Chevrolet SS Dillon drove to a 19th-place finish at Kansas Speedway in May and an 11th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in March. Although this weekend marks Dillon's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series attempt at Pocono Raceway, he has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the triangle-shaped track, finishing seventh in 2010 and fifth in 2011.

#4-Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 843 in Sunday's race at Pocono. Harvick last raced this car at Darlington Raceway in April where he led a race-high 238 laps en route to his first victory at "The Lady in Black." Harvick has 26 prior NSCS starts at Pocono Raceway. He has five top fives and nine top-10 finishes, and has an average start of 19.0 and an average finish of 14.0 at Pocono.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-870 for Sunday's race at Pocono. Kahne last drove this chassis to a third-place finish at Kansas in May 2014. In 20 Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono, Kahne has recorded two wins, five top-five finishes, seven top-10s and has earned two career pole positions at the track. The driver of the #5 Great Clips Chevy has completed 98.8 percent of laps attempted and has led 217 laps at the 2.5-mile track.

#10-Danica Patrick will pilot Chassis No. 10-838 which was a backup car in March at Auto Club Speedway and then was used for the first time in April at Texas, where Patrick started 24th and finished 27th. The backup chassis No. 10-794 was tested in the wind tunnel May 1, 2013, before being used by Patrick in the Coca-Cola 600 later that month at Charlotte. Patrick started 24th and finished 29th after being involved in a multicar accident on lap 320 of 400. After repairs, she managed to finish the race but completed only 385 laps. The next time Patrick drove this car was in June at Kentucky, where she started 29th and finished 23rd. The last time she drove it was in 2013 at Atlanta where she started 21st and finished 21st. It was used as a backup car in fall 2013 at Kansas, Charlotte and Texas. It was then used in 2014 at Bristol, but she wrecked the car early in the first practice and went to a backup. Since then, it has been a backup at Texas, Darlington and Dover.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-707 made its first start in May 2012 in the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte. It was an unassuming debut, as Chassis No. 14-707 started ninth and finished a quiet 17th. The car sat idle until late August where it was used for the Labor Day weekend event at Atlanta. It started strong by qualifying on the pole and took the lead from Greg Biffle on lap two and continued to pace the 43-car field for eight laps. But as the race wore on, Chassis No. 14-707 struggled with its handling, leaving it one lap down in 22nd when the race ended. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-707 was tested March 7 at Las Vegas and April 11 at Texas. The Brickyard 400 marked the car's first start of 2013, and it was a solid one, with Chassis No. 14-707 qualifying fifth and finishing fourth. Its next start came at Chicago, where in its third points-paying start and its fourth overall, interim driver Mark Martin qualified 29th and finished 17th. Martin raced the car again in October at Charlotte, qualifying 22nd and finishing 42nd after a blown engine put it out of the race on lap 80. Under the direction of crew chief Chad Johnston, Chassis No. 14-707 was overhauled this offseason and spent numerous time in the wind tunnel. The car will make its first start of 2014 and sixth overall Sunday at Pocono

#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 809 serves as the primary chassis. Bowyer drove this to a 23rd -place finish at Kansas. Chassis No. 795 serves as the backup. This chassis has never seen action on a race weekend but has served as a back-up, most recently at Richmond and participated in last week's test at Pocono.

#16-Greg Biffle: and the Matt Puccia led #16 3M team will run chassis RK-896 which was a brand new chassis earlier this season at Texas, earning a sixth-place finish. The backup chassis is RK-879 which last ran Phoenix and finished 17th. Biffle has 22 Sprint Cup career starts at Pocono. In 2010 he earned his only victory at the "tricky triangle," while his other stats include three top-five and six top-10 finishes. 

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: and the #17 Zest Ford Fusion team will be using primary chassis RK-902 at Pocno, which is the same chassis that the #17 team ran at Darlington Raceway where they finished 20th after being awarded the lucky dog beneficiary twice during the race. The backup Chassis RK- 888, which is the same chassis that the #17 raced at Bristol earning their highest finish of the season. Stenhouse has two Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway with an average starting position of 16.5 and average finishing position of 30.0.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis is PRS-915 for Pocono, which is a new chassis. The Backup Chassis is PRS-844 which was last used as a backup at Charlotte.

#24-Jeff Gordon: crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-869 for this Sunday's race at Pocono. The chassis was previously raced at Kansas where it went to Victory Lane. Gordon holds the record for most wins at "The Tricky Triangle" with six victories. The 42-year-old driver also has two pole positions, 19 top-five finishes (one shy of Mark Martin's record of 20) and 29 top-10s in 42 starts at Pocono. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 972 laps at Pocono Raceway during his 22-year career. That ranks Gordon first on the all-time list at the 2.5-mile track, 162 laps led more than the runner-up.

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 463 in the 400-mile event at Pocono Raceway. This #27 Moen/Menards Chevrolet SS was previously raced this year at Darlington Raceway where Menard finished in the 41st position after a late-race incident. Menard has 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 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 2,392 of 2,488 laps attempted (96.1 percent) at the "Tricky Triangle."

#31-Ryan Newman will race chassis No. 456 on Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Chassis No. 456 has been utilized in two Sprint Cup Series events so far in 2014 (Las Vegas Motor Speedway - seventh and Texas Motor Speedway - 16th). In 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Pocono, Newman drove to victory lane in the second summer event of 2003. The "Rocket Man" also owns two pole awards. In total, he's recorded nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He has led 184 laps in competition. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 10th and average finish of 12th. In the last six races at Pocono, the RCR driver ranks third in most points earned. Plus, Newman's first ever ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards start came at Pocono Raceway in 2000 where he started on the outside pole to win the race.

#41-Kurt Busch No. 883 in Sunday's Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Built new for 2014, No. 883 will see its first laps of racing competition this weekend. The #41 Haas Automation Chevrolet will carry a decal on the lower-rear quarter panel for Haas Factory Outlet, a division of Allendale Machinery that serves Haas Automation customers in New Jersey and Eastern New York with a fully staffed service department and factory-trained personnel. The division stocks an extensive inventory of Haas service and maintenance parts for quick-response service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: Crew chief Chad Knaus has selected Chassis No. 48-824 for this weekend's 400-mile race at Pocono. Johnson last cruised this chassis to a third-place finish at Darlington. The backup car is Chassis No. 48-728, which Johnson most recently raced in March at Bristol. During Johnson's 13-year Sprint Cup career, he has recorded three consecutive wins on two occasions - once in 2004 and once in 2007 during a span of four consecutive victories. He is the most recent driver to win three consecutive races. In 24 starts at Pocono, Johnson has three wins, ten top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and has led 733 laps around the 2.5-mile track. He has completed all but nine of all possible laps run at the Tricky Triangle for a career completion rate of 99.8 percent (4,458 out of 4,467).

#55-Brian Vickers: Primary Chassis 799 finished 25th at Richmond and 12th at Phoenix. The backup chassis is 779, which has not raced.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: crew chief Steve Letarte and the #88 National Guard team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-810. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a 12th-place finish at Fontana, California. In 28 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt has recorded one pole position, seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. He has completed 97.1 percent of all the laps he's attempted (5,116 laps of 5,267 total) and has led a total of 153 laps at the 2.5-mile track. In 2013, the 39-year-old driver had a fourth-place average finish at "The Tricky Triangle". 

#99-Carl Edwards the #99 Ford Kellogg's team will unload primary chassis RK-921 which is a new chassis. The backup chassis RK-874 was last run this season at Phoenix, finishing eighth. Edwards has two Sprint Cup wins at the Tricky Triangle, the first came during his debut at the track in June of 2005 and the second in August of 2008. Edwards has 18 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono with an average start of 17.2 and an average finish of 13.3. Edwards has finished in the top-five five times and in the top-ten eight times.

- compiled by Jayski.com

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