Pocono win moves Kurt Busch into No. 25 all-time with 28th career win

Kurt Busch wins his third race at Pocono Raceway. His win paid out at 12/1 odds at Las Vegas sports books. 

Axalta 400 Final Results


Pocono Raceway - Axalta 400 Fast Facts:
* Kurt Busch won the 35th Annual Axalta We Paint Winners 400, his 28th victory in 554 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
* With the win, Busch moves into a tie for 25th on the all-time series wins list with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rex White.
* This is his first victory and 12th top-10 finish in 2016. Busch's last win came at Michigan on June 14, 2015, 34 races ago.
* This is his third victory and 17th top-10 finish in 30 races at Pocono Raceway.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr (second) posted his 15th top-10 finish in 33 races at Pocono Raceway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2016.
* Brad Keselowski (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in 13 races at Pocono Raceway.
* Chase Elliott (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie.
* Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 25 points over Kurt Busch.

Pocono Axalta 400 Betting Notes

Kyle Busch was fastest during Saturday's lone practice session.

A Joe Gibbs Racing-powered Toyota has won seven of the past eight Sprint Cup races, and after Saturday’s final practices at Pocono Raceway’s tricky triangle, they appear to be in good shape to win Sunday’s Axalta 400. The group of five drivers come heavily armed with horsepower led by Kyle Busch, who has three of those wins.

Busch posted the fastest lap (176.901 mph) during the session and also had the best 10-consecutive lap average, a sign he’ll be faster than most on long green flag runs. But a win on the 2.5-mile layout has eluded him, one of only two tracks in the series at which he’s winless. Even when he’s had the best car, the Las Vegan can’t seem to catch a lucky break. In August, he ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading. Teammate Matt Kenseth won the race.

In that race, Joey Logano led a race-high 97 laps and gave up the lead to Busch with three left because he also ran out of fuel. Logano, who won at Pocono in 2012, starts from the second position alongside Penske teammate Brad Keselowski on the front row. Because of where they start, they should give the Gibbs’ drivers their toughest competition.

Start position a big deal
Pocono Raceway dropped both its races from 500 to 400 miles in 2012, which has placed an extra premium on start position. There isn’t much passing, and there’s fewer laps, so getting out front and staying there becomes more important than all tracks except maybe those on the road courses. The all-time numbers support the notion, with 54 of 76 winners coming from a top-10 start position, including the past four. Drivers starting on the front row have won 24 times, with the pole sitter leading the way with 15 wins. It’s a good trend for the Penske duo and enough to argue they’re the drivers to beat.

First-time winner?
Carl Edwards (2005) and Denny Hamlin (2006) are the only drivers to win in their first attempt on the difficult track with three progressively flatter turns. Hamlin became the only driver to win his first career race at Pocono, and he won his second race there six weeks later — the only wins of his rookie season. Rookie Chase Elliott (20-1) fits the profile of a driver who could join that class. He has the Hendrick Motorsports horsepower to go real fast along the longest straightaway in NASCAR. This is his first Cup race at Pocono, but in his first attempt there in any series, he won an ARCA race in 2013. Also, his car is familiar with success at the track. Jeff Gordon led a track-record 1,040 laps in his career driving the No. 24. Another possible rookie is Kyle Larson (30-1).

Read More Here....LVRJ.com

Final Pocono Driver Ratings

Final Pocono Axalta 400 Driver Ratings following Final Practice

Look for Joey Logano to have a strong Sunday...or maybe Monday (rain). 

LAS VEGAS -- Kyle Busch had the fastest lap (176.901 mph) in Saturday's final practice session at Pocono Raceway in preparation for Sunday's Axalta 400 and also had the best 10-consecutive lap average. It's a nice indication that Joe Gibbs Racing powered Toyotas can win its eighth race in the past nine events. However, the top rated drivers this week drive Fords.

Team Penske with Joey Logano and pole sitter Brad Keselowski start on the front row where the most winners in Pocono history (24 wins in 76 races, 31.5%) have started from. Logano had the best car last fall leading 97 laps before running out of fuel and Keselowski was runner-up. Yes, the new low downforce package discounts what happened last fall, but the duo should find themselves out front for most of the race where passing is extremely difficult.

TheLinemakers on Sporting News


Micah Roberts' Top-10 Rated NASCAR Drivers
Axalta 400
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, June 5, 2016 - 1:20 pm (ET)    
 
Rating     Driver       Odds     Practice 1  Qualified   Practice 2  *Pocono '15
 1. Joey Logano 8/1                    8th             2nd             7th             20th
2012 winner; led most laps (97) last fall but ran out of fuel in finals laps while leading.
 2. Brad Keselowski 10/1         12th             1st              6th              2nd 
2011 winner, runner-up in two of past four starts. Pole sitter has won 15 times at Pocono.
 3. Kevin Harvick 6/1                 2nd              4th             5th            42nd 
No wins in 30 starts, Pocono's longest active streak, but was runner-up in two of past three.
 4. Kurt Busch 12/1                     3rd              9th             2nd            37th
Two-time winner, five time runner-up; third-best 10-consecutive lap average in practice 2.
 5. Kyle Busch 8/1                       5th             12th              1st            21st
One of two Cup tracks with no wins, but had best 10-consecutive lap average in practice 2.
 6. Jimmie Johnson 7/1              6th              7th             3rd               6th
Three-time winner with 9.5 average finish in 28 starts; series leader with 728 laps led.
 7. Carl Edwards 10/1                 1st              5th            12th            10th 
Two-time winner, the last coming in 2008, with 15.2 average finish. No top-fives since 2010.
 8. Matt Kenseth 10/1            31st               3rd               8th              1st 
First career win in 32 starts last fall fell into his hands when three contenders ran out fuel late.
 9. Martin Truex Jr. 9/2           22nd             17th             4th            19th 
Won this race in 2015, comes in hot off Coca-Cola win. Led 611 laps in past three on schedule.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 18/1     14th              8th            17th             4th
Swept 2014 season after no wins in first 28 starts; top-five finishes in five of past six starts.

* Results from the August 2, 2015 race at Pocono, the last time the Cup series visited.

Note: There were only two scheduled practice sessions and the first one was limited due to fog and rain. There is a 100 percent chance of rain on Sunday.

Odds courtesy of the Westgate SuperBook.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting NASCAR odds since 1994. Follow him on twitter @MicahRoberts7

Truex less likely to win at Pocono due to poor start position

Martin Truex Jr. qualified 17th at Pocono Raceway on Friday.

Here are some Pocono numbers on just how important starting up front is at Pocono Raceway. Martin Truex Jr's driver rating took a hit because of starting 17th. He should no longer be considered the favorite to win despite winning this race last season and having momentum from last weeks win.

* 15 of the 76 (19.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from the first starting position; the most recent was Jimmie Johnson (June, 2013).
* The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (15) than any other starting position at Pocono Raceway.

* 24 of the 76 (31.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from the front row: 15 from the first starting position and nine from second-place.

* 54 of the 76 (71.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from a top-10 starting position.

* Five of the 76 (6.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

* The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Pocono is 29th, by Carl Edwards in the spring of 2005.

Edwards fastest during first Pocono practice session

Carl Edwards looking for first Pocono Top-5 since 2010.

Carl Edwards ran just one lap during Friday's lone practice session at Pocono Raceway and it was all he needed to post the fastest speed (179.802 mph) in preparation for Sunday's Axalta 400. Edwards, a two-time winner on the 2.5-mile tricky triangle, will be looking to parlay that fast lap into a nice run during Friday's qualifying (4:15 pm ET).

The practice session was delayed by 20 minutes due to fog and then was cut short due to rain rain. Dryers are on the track, but qualifying could be cancelled which would set the starting lineup by the practice times (note: they did get qualifying in). The nine fastest laps all came from drivers who attempted just one lap. Three drivers ran a session-high seven laps and 11 drivers failed to turn a lap.

Tomorrow, there's just one 55-minute practice for the day (11:30 am ET). Normally, the teams get two Saturday sessions to get the car tuned perfectly for race day. There's a 50% chance of rain Saturday so they might not even be able to get that practice in. Get up front and stay up front is the key at Pocono, so starting up front is pivotal.

One more thing. There's a 100% chance of rain Sunday.

Top-5 Fastest Laps - Practice 1
1) Carl Edwards 179.802
2) Kevin Harvick 178.827
3) Kurt Busch 178.649
4) Paul Menard 178.250
5) Kyle Busch 178.193

Pocono Practice 1 Speeds

Toyota Notes & Quotes heading to Pocono Raceway

Matt Kenseth won at Pocono for first time ever in a Toyota last fall.

MARTIN’S MOMENT: Camry driver Martin Truex, Jr. captured a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) win in dominant fashion at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday by leading 392 laps (of 400) – 588 miles of the Coca-Cola 600, the most miles led in a single race in NASCAR history – to claim Furniture Row Racing’s first victory as a Toyota team. Truex started from the pole and held the point for the near entirety of the race for his fourth-career Sprint Cup Series victory. The triumph was the first for Truex since a win at Pennsylvania’ Pocono Raceway in June 2015.

TOYOTA’S MAY TALLIES: Truex’s Charlotte victory marked the eighth-consecutive NASCAR national series points race win for Toyota dating back to Tundra driver William Byron’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) triumph at Kansas Speedway on May 6. During that span, Toyota drivers have won three-straight NSCS events, three-consecutive NCWTS races and a pair of NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) contests. Truex’s win also marked the seventh NSCS triumph for Toyota in the last eight Cup Series points races.

XFINITY COMES TO POCONO: The NXS will compete at Pocono Raceway for the first time this weekend and Toyota drivers enter the track with three-consecutive victories and seven wins in the first 11 NXS events of 2016. Camry driver Denny Hamlin piloted Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Camry to a victory at Charlotte on Saturday – the fifth for the No. 18 team in 2016 – andKyle Busch will pilot the No. 18 at Pocono. Camry driver Daniel Suarez ranks first in the NXS point standings with a 14-point lead over second place and is seeking his first win of the season as the XFINITY Series visits the 2.5-mile track. Busch (four wins), Erik Jones (two) and Hamlin (one) have combined to tally Toyota’s seven XFINITY wins in 2016.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Kyle Busch (fourth), Carl Edwards (fifth), Martin Truex Jr. (seventh) and Matt Kenseth (10th) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … Toyota drivers have won 19 of the last 36 NSCS points races (52.77 percent) … Camry drivers have four wins at Pocono, including victories by Hamlin (Aug. 2009 and June 2010), former Camry driver Joey Lugano (June 2010) and Kenseth in the most-recent NSCS event at the track in Aug. 2015 …Hamlin has four total NSCS wins at Pocono, the most among active NSCS drivers (June 2006, July 2006, Aug. 2009 and June 2010) … Busch leads all drivers with three NSCS wins and nine top-five results in 2016 … Pocono is one of only two NSCS tracks where Busch is yet to cross the finish line first … Truex has led the most laps in 2016 with 809.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s 75th Anniversary Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the repave change the racing at Pocono Raceway?
“Now it’s all grip, so it’s all back to the bottom again and you can’t really make much time up on the outside anymore. I know they had a pretty tough winter up there, so hopefully it weathered the surface even more and it widened the groove and we can put on some good racing there.”

MARTIN TRUEX, JR., No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing

Do you feel like this is the best you’ve raced in your career?
“I’d say this is definitely the best position I’ve ever been in in my Sprint Cup career by far by a longshot. The laps we led last year, making the final four of the Chase and having a shot at going home and say we win a championship, that’s almost as good as it gets – and now here we are doing the same thing and feel like we’re better in every department this year than we were last year in every area. I feel like our goal obviously was to get to victory lane. We did that. Now we can focus on hopefully getting a few more, getting a good seed in the Chase and ultimately go back to Homestead with a shot at a championship and do a better job than we did last year, so that’s our goals – that’s our focus.”

How does it feel to head to Pocono after a win?
“I look forward to it. I love racing there. It’s a really fun unique racetrack and we tested there a couple months ago and thought it went pretty good. The second race there last year, we had a pretty good run and felt like we had a shot at winning – kind of got messed up on a fuel mileage deal. Hopefully, we’ll go back there and repeat. It would be a great place to win again. I love the folks up there, got a lot of fans up there, enjoy the area and looking forward to going to Pocono.”

BARNEY VISSER, team owner, No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing

How important has your change to Toyota been?
“I know a lot of people were critical of the change, but it was just something we had to do. Yeah, I think this does validate it. I think we were validated as soon as we started leading laps this year and Martin (Truex) is very familiar with Toyota, and (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) – those guys have just been a dream for our guys to work with. Like I said before, none of this happens without Toyota’s support and Joe Gibbs’ support. We’re thrilled to be working with them.”

CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 ARRIS SURFboard Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What makes Pocono different?
“Pocono is obviously a unique racetrack. It’s unlike any other track we go to. It’s a real tough track to get right. I’ve had some success there with a couple wins. I enjoy racing there. It’s as close to a road course as an oval can get – it has three distinct corners, has a long straightaway and every part of the team comes into play. You got to have a great engine, you got to have a really good setup and you got to be able to adjust. You have to drive well and restarts are important. When you do well there it means something, because you have to do everything right. Hopefully, we can go there and get our third win of the season.”

Odds to win Pocono Axalta 400: Truex Jr. a heavy favorite

Chevy had won six straight at Pocono until last fall.

LAS VEGAS -- The 14th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season takes us to Pocono Raceway's 2.5-mile "Tricky Triangle," where each of the three turns get progressively flatter. The uniqueness of the track could be just what the rest of the series needs as a change-up after watching a Joe Gibbs Racing powered Toyota win seven of the past eight races on the schedule and eight of 13 overall.

However, JGR won the fall race last season with Matt Kenseth and last week's winner Martin Truex Jr. won the spring race while driving a Chevrolet powered by Richard Childress Racing. Prior to Kenseth's win, a Chevrolet had won six straight at Pocono.

Let's take a look at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook's odds to win Sunday's Axalta 400 and how each driver stacks up:

Odds to win Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway
Sunday, 1:20 p.m. ET

Martin TRUEX JR 9/2 - Between thoroughly dominating the Coca-Cola 600, leading 588 of the 600 miles, and crushing this race at Pocono last season, he comes in as the big favorite to repeat. It's hard to argue with the price because he's led a series-high 809 laps this season (611 in the last three).

Last June he led 65 of the final 66 laps and a race-high 97 of the 160. Get out front and stay out front is usually the theme at Pocono where there isn't much passing (only six laps leaders last June) and that's what Truex Jr. has been doing all season. The main thing we can look at as a reason why he won't win this week is that he's blown more races than won over his career. It's hard to believe Sunday's win was only the fourth of his career (382 starts).

Kevin HARVICK 6/1 - He's never won at Pocono in 30 starts and has led only 52 laps, but did finish second in this race last year and he was also second in the fall of 2014. He should be considered a strong candidate to slow the JGR win parties.

Jimmie JOHNSON 7/1 - Another guy in a bow-tie out to slow JGR and he's looking for his fourth Pocono win. His last came in 2014 during Chevrolet's six race win streak. He has a series leading 738 laps led over his career and his 9.5 average finish is best among all active drivers with at least five starts.

Read More Here...complete list of odds on TheLinemakers.com

Earnhardt Jr. going to enjoy low downforce at Pocono

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 18/1 to win Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be available to members of the media on Friday, June 3, at 1:20 p.m. local time in the media center at Pocono Raceway.

FRONT-RUNNER AT POCONO: Dale Earnhardt Jr. swept both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 2014 to earn his two career victories at Pocono Raceway. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has also finished in the top five in almost a third (31.2 percent) of the races he’s competed in at the “Tricky Triangle,” including his most recent trip to the 2.5-mile facility last fall, when he finished fourth.

LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks eighth among active drivers in the last 10 years in fastest laps run at Pocono with 108 laps. The driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS has the seventh-best driver rating with a 93.2 average rating. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. He also ranks seventh in average speed early in a run (164.217 mph), green-flag speed (162.783 mph), and laps in the top 15 (2,493) in that span.

AXALTA “WE PAINT WINNERS” 400: Earnhardt’s primary sponsor at Pocono will also be the title sponsor of the 400-mile Cup event, the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400, for the second consecutive year. Use #Axalta400 to join in the conversation on race weekend.

WIN $88K: Axalta Racing and Pocono Raceway have partnered up for a huge promotion. If Earnhardt drives his No. 88 Axalta Chevy to Victory Lane on Sunday, one lucky fan will win $88,000. To be eligible, fans must sign up online before June 5. For more information or to sign up, click here and follow @AxaltaRacing on Twitter for updates on where Earnhardt is running during the race.

AXALTA’S 150TH: Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2016 at the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400. The “We Paint Winners” slogan reflects Axalta’s 150 years of commitment to quality, performance and technology – attributes that help create winners on the track and for Axalta’s customers worldwide. To recognize its 150th anniversary, Axalta invited its Philadelphia-area employees and a number of customers to attend this weekend’s race. For more information visit www.axaltacoatingsystems.com.

FAN Q&A: Earnhardt will be participating in a fan Q&A session on Sunday just after 10 a.m. local time in the Tricky Triangle Club at Pocono. For more details on how to see the driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet and the exclusive ticket package add-on, please visit the Tricky Triangle Club’s website.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Pocono
“I think the track probably still has a lot of grip because it’s so recently paved, but the low-downforce package has been fun everywhere we’ve gone so far, so I anticipate it being even more enjoyable. We just want the cars to be slicker, harder to drive and slower with more off-throttle time. When we get there for the Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400, it’ll be interesting to see how much the track has changed in the last year because of how harsh the winters are there.”

Earnhardt on shifting at Pocono
“We’ve always shifted down into third (gear) going into Turn 1. That’s just always been part of that track with the 'Tricky Triangle.' It’s sort of like an oval and a road course morphed together to make this racetrack, so the shifting there isn’t an odd thing and it isn’t something that crosses your mind as unrealistic or uncharacteristic to the racetrack. They’ve been doing it for so long there, that that’s just part of the process at Pocono. We had got to where we were shifting on short-chutes and so forth and downshifting in the Tunnel Turn or in Turn 3 during the race. You do whatever you need to do to get speed out of your car, so the option of shifting, in my mind, is not such a bad thing at Pocono.”

Pocono Raceway Betting Preview: 2016 Axalta 400

Time for another team other than Joe Gibbs Racing to win this week?

LAS VEGAS -- Wow, Martin Truex Jr., that was an impressive Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I've never seen such a dominating performance there probably because it's never happened. The guy led 392 of the 400 laps and 588 of the 600 miles, both track records.

That is definitely strong stuff and we should have all seen if coming following his outstanding final practices Saturday. He had also led the most laps in the two previous 1.5-mile tracks at Texas and Kansas. It was his first win since last June when he led a race-high 97 laps en route to his first Pocono victory.

And that's how the stage is set this week as the tour heads to Pocono Raceway for Sunday's Axalta 400, the 14th race of the season. Can Truex keep his roll going? He finally captured victory that had eluded him several times this season, but it's in those failures to close out wins that made several bettors skeptical of him, despite the great practices, prior the Coca-Cola 600.

Truex has the benefit of having great equipment from Joe Gibbs Racing as an affiliate. When including Truex into the mix, Gibbs has now won seven of the past eight races on the schedule and eight of 13 overall. It's not hard to understand why each of the five cars will be 8-to-1 or less to win Sunday.

But what about Pocono Raceway's trick 2.5-mile triangle? The last race run there in August was won by a Gibbs driver as well with Matt Kenseth, but in the six previous races, it was all Chevrolets, including Truex's win last June when he drove a Chevrolet using Richard Childress Racing equipment.

Despite all the JGR Toyotas currently dominating, I think there is enough of a difference with the uniqueness of the track that we'll have either a Ford or Chevrolet in the winners circle this week. Before we get to them, let's take a look at what the Gibbs gang has done at Pocono.

- Prior to Kenseth's Pocono win last fall, he had never won there in 32 starts. He only had three other top-fives and has averaged a 15th-place finish.

Read More Here....Top-5 Finish Prediction on VegasInsider.com

Final Pocono Practice Notes: Harvick has best car, but Edwards, Larson not far behind

Carl Edwards looks to have a great shot at keeping Harvick from win

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Harvick may not have a win at Pocono Raceway in 28 career starts, but that could change in Sunday’s Axalta 400. He put on a show during Saturday’s final practices, not only posting the fastest single lap in both sessions, but also the fastest 10-consecutive lap average during ’happy hour’.

Friday practices: Speeds slow at Pocono

Based on nine top-two finishes in the 13 races run so far this season, his edge in horsepower and Saturday’s awesome display, he is the driver to beat despite never winning on the ’Tricky Triangle’. Last season, remember, Dale Earnhardt Jr. came into this race having never won in 28 career starts and went on to sweep the season at Pocono. Both Harvick and Junior drive Chevys and both use Hendrick engines. Harvick had also never won at Las Vegas before crossing it off his list in March, where his engine and set-up trumped whatever happened in the past.

Harvick is going to be tough to beat. He’s going to lead a bunch of laps, just as he’s done almost everywhere, but the one shining hope for bettors going against his No. 4 this week in that he’s won only two races this season. Yes, he’s a monster, but he’s finished second to someone else seven times. That could be the case again this week, and a candidate to win at longer odds looks to be Kyle Larson, who had the fastest 10-consecutive lap average in Saturday’s early practice. He was second to Harvick in the category during the later session, as well as single lap speeds.

We’re not sure we can trust what we’ve seen out of Larson in practice this week because his times don’t always transfer to race day. However, this was his best practice of the season, and he finished fifth and 11th in the two Pocono races last season. If there wasn’t a trust issue with Larson, he would be rated No. 2 behind Harvick.

Carl Edwards had an outstanding practice as well and starts from the front row, which is important, because if he can get out front in clean air, he might be hard to catch. He‘s won at Pocono twice over his career and is fresh off a huge Coca-Cola 600 win in Charlotte, the last big horsepower track run at. There are only 160 laps in this race, so it’ll be over quickly, and start position plays a major role with passing expected to be difficult.

The driver starting from the pole is two-time Pocono winner Kurt Busch, who didn’t have as good a practice as teammate Harvick, but could utilize his start position as a huge advantage. Over 74 Pocono races, the pole winner has won 15 times (20.2 percent), the most of any start position. He likes this track a lot and has finished third in two of his past three starts there.

Read More Here....Final Driver Ratings

Pocono Practice 2 Speeds

Pocono Practice 3 Speeds

Pocono Practice Notes: Harvick fastest in first session, Gibbs cars impress again

Kevin Harvick has a 13.6 average finish at Pocono Raceway 

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Harvick laid down the fastest lap in Friday’s opening practice session at Pocono Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s Axalta 500. His fast speed at 176.932 mph came on the final of his 17 turns on the 2.5-mile ’tricky triangle’, which is almost 4 mph slower than last years top speed in the same practice (Brian Vickers 180.854), which shows just how big an impact this years horsepower reduction from 850 to 725 has on the longest front-stretch in NASCAR.

The effects of the slower cars also changes the drivers' approach and exit out of the three turns, which a few drivers had some difficulties with. Sam Hornish Jr. spun out, but didn’t have any damage. However, Tony Stewart wasn’t so lucky as he spun through the tunnel turn 2 and hit the wall. He’ll be using a back-up car to qualify Friday at 4:45 pm (ET).

Most of the drivers put in their fastest lap on their final runs while in qualifying trim. No one ran 10-consecutive laps while in race trim and Trevor Bayne led the way with 21 laps run during the 85-minute session while only being able to muster the 35th fastest lap (172.632).

Joe Gibbs Racing continued to show their upswing in horsepower by having three of the six fastest speeds led by Kyle Busch with the second fastest lap (176.772), Carl Edwards third (176.717) and Denny Hamlin sixth (176.547). Edwards is a two-time winner at Pocono while Hamlin has won on four occasions.

Dale Earnhardt Jr came in the fourth fast lap (176.554) and looks to be a great shape to try and win his third straight Pocono following a sweep last season. He hadn’t won at Pocono in 28 previous career starts.

Austin Dillon was probably the most pleasant surprise of the session with the fifth fastest lap (176.561). Don’t expect to get the 100-to-1 offered on him before the race, that will surely change. Even though Dillon has never won a race, if he gets a good starting position in this race where little passing is expected, he could hang on to a nice finish. There’s only 160 laps run in this 400-mile race.

In Pocono history, under old horsepower rules, 52 of the 70 races (70.2 percent) have been won from a top-10 start position.

As for Harvick, he’s never at Pocono in 28 starts, but he was runner-up in the second race last season. The short race advantage starting up front applies to him just as it does Dillon, except Harvick came in as the Westgate’s 4-to-1 favorite this week. The chassis he’s using this week won at Phoenix and was second at Richmond in its only two starts.

We’ll have a final analysis following Saturday's final practice that should help decide who the best drivers are for Sunday’s race. Right now, the JGR cars are impressing as expected and the only real disappointment was two-time Pocono winner Kurt Busch coming in with the 21st fastest lap (174.493).

Practice Speeds

Pocono Driver Chassis Selections: 2015 Axalta 400

Harvick is using winning Phoenix chassis; it was also second at Richmond

#3-Austin Dillon: will pilot Chassis No. 481 in Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Dillon recently finished sixth in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway in this Chevrolet. In March, Dillon raced this Chevrolet SS to a 16th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway and a 39th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced in 2014 to a 25th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a 13th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, a 16th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September, a 22nd-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August and a 10th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.

#4-Kevin Harvick: Chassis Information: Chassis No. 4-841: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS built on Chassis No. 4-841 in the Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Built in 2014, Chassis No. 4-841 served as an unused backup for 19 races last season and never saw racing action of any kind. Chassis No. 4-841 finally made its Sprint Cup debut this past March at Phoenix International Raceway, where it scored a dominant win from the pole and led 224 laps to score Harvick's second win of the 2015 season. In its most recent appearance, Chassis No. 4-841 started fifth, led two laps and finished second at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Keith Rodden has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-888 for Sunday's race at Pocono. Most notably in 2014, Kahne led 70 laps and finished sixth driving the chassis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and raced it at Pocono in August, where he started 12th and finished 10th. In 2015, Kahne drove the chassis at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, where he ran inside the top three for the majority of the race. However, he was involved in a late-race incident when a competitor sent him toward the wall on a restart. He ultimately finished 17th. Most recently, Kahne drove the chassis at Kansas Speedway, where he qualified second.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-754: This car debuted in March 2013 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where it qualified ninth and finished a solid 11th. Prior to Las Vegas, it had never turned a wheel on a racetrack, but it did spend considerable time in the wind tunnel. Its second start came in April 2013 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, where it qualified 13th and struggled with its handling before finishing 21st. Its last start of 2013 came in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, where it started 13th and finished 14th in the non-points event. Chassis No. 14-754 sat idle until 2014, where under the direction of crew chief Chad Johnston, it was completely rebuilt. It came out of the box strong in its fourth career start in April at Texas, winning the pole and leading three times for 74 laps before finishing 10th. Chassis No. 14-754 made a second All-Star Race appearance at Charlotte in 2014. It had a quiet night, starting 15th and finishing 12th. The car didn't turn a wheel until March 2015 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, where it put in a workman-like performance by qualifying 20th and finishing 14th. Sunday at Pocono will mark Chassis No. 14-754's seventh career start and second this season.

#24-Jeff Gordon: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-914 for Sunday's race. The chassis has been raced three times - twice in 2015 at Kansas and Atlanta and once in 2014 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. At Kansas, Gordon finished fourth while he finished 41st at Atlanta after being involved in an incident on Lap 264 while running in the top 10. In the 2014 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Gordon led 161 laps from the pole position en route to a 10th-place finish.

#27-Paul Menard: will utilize chassis No. 454. This Chevrolet SS was raced earlier this season at Bristol Motor Speedway where Menard started ninth and finished 11th, capturing the team's fifth top-15 finish of the year.

#31-Ryan Newman: will drive chassis No. 491 in the Pocono 400. This Chevrolet was utilized earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Start: 9/Finish: 5). Note: Jazzed-up tires possibility at Vegas

#32-Travis Kvapil: Crew Chief Clinton Cram will be bringing chassis GGR-784 to serve as the primary car. Mike Bliss last drove this car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May for the Sprint Showdown. Chassis GGR-289 will serve as the backup car for this weekend.

#33-Ty Dillon: will pilot chassis No. 512 for this weekend's Pocono 400. This brand-new Chevrolet SS was prepared by Richard Childress Racing and will see track action for the first time during Friday's practice session.

#41-Kurt Busch: Chassis No. 894: Kurt Busch will pilot Chassis No. 894 in Sunday's Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Formerly a No. 10 chassis for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Danica Patrick, Chassis No. 894 debuted at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in October 2014, when Patrick qualified 14th and appeared to be on her way to a top-10 finish before her solid run was derailed when she was involved in an on-track incident at lap 247. Chassis No. 894 was outfitted with a new body over the offseason and saw its first laps of the season in February at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Regan Smith started 38th and finished 17th. Busch raced Chassis 894 in April at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, where he started from the pole and led twice for 45 laps en route to scoring a 14th-place finish.

#47-A.J. Allmendinger: Chassis 429: "We are taking the car that we ran in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and we also ran it at Las Vegas Motor Speedway," crew chief Burns said.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: For this weekend's event, crew chief Chad Knaus has selected chassis No. 48-891, which last raced in March at Fontana for a ninth-place finish. The backup car is 48-824, which last raced at Pocono in June 2014.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Greg Ives and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-924. Earnhardt most recently raced the chassis to a sixth-place finish at California in March.

compiled by Jayski.com

Kevin Harvick favored at Westgate SuperBook despite no wins in 28 Pocono starts

Pocono's tricky triangle won't see too much passing this week.

LAS VEGAS -- The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has opened Kevin Harvick as a 4-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway despite the fact he's never won in 28 career Sprint Cup starts at the 2.5-mile 'tricky triangle'. He finished a career-best second place last season, only 0.228 seconds behind Dale Earnhardt Jr., but Harvick recognizes his own struggles.

“Pocono is one of those places where I haven’t had a ton of success," he said in a team press release. "I think right before they repaved it is when I started to figure the old Pocono out and we were starting to run better. Probably the best memory I have there is winning a Truck (Series) race, so that’s about the extent of it for me.”

He’s been given favorite status for this race because he's got plenty of what the track requires: horsepower. While NASCAR has reduced horsepower in Cup cars from 850 to 725, Harvick's No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team has consistently proved to have an edge over most drivers. Jimmie Johnson, who is 5-to-1 this week, has a series-leading four wins, but Harvick has nine top-two finishes in 13 starts, including two wins.

Harvick’s horsepower edge will allow him to run near the front and drag race faster than most down the longest front stretch in the series. He may not win, but the Westgate believes another top-two finish is likely. The bookmakers don't want too much risk on him on Sunday.

Harvick's teammate Kurt Busch is a two-time winner at Pocono and his car has been just as good as Harvick's on a few occasions. Busch knows what it takes to win on the difficult layout that in some ways resembles a road course.

“I think it’s a fun track as far as how unique it is with the three corners being different,” Busch said. “And the fact that your setup really can’t be dialed in for all three corners, you have to give and take. Some years it seems like turn one is tough. Some years turn three ends up being a tough corner, but I always focus on the tunnel turn. I always try to get through turn two as quickly as I can because it seems like the years I’ve won, that’s where I’ve had the best car.”

Busch last won at Pocono in 2007 and has finished third in two of his past three starts on the track. He comes in as the third choice to win at 7-to-1 odds and may present a little more value than both Harvick and Johnson.

Earnhardt Jr. comes in at 8-to-1 odds on the basis of sweeping the 2015 season, an amazing feat considering he had been winless in his first 28 Pocono starts.

“It seems like guys that run well at Pocono can sustain it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I've seen guys sweep there and we were able to do it last year. I like the track, and we have run well there since the repave. I anticipate us being competitive again and hopefully getting three in a row.”

Perhaps the best value on the board comes from Denny Hamlin at 10-to-1 odds, not only because he's won four times in 18 Pocono starts over his career, but also because we've seen Joe Gibbs Racing take major strides over the past three weeks in closing Harvick’s horsepower advantage. Hamlin took home the $1 million check at the All-Star Race in Charlotte, and his teammate Carl Edwards won the Coca-Cola 600 a week later, which was the first time neither Harvick nor Johnson won on a 1.5-mile track in eight races. Edwards is 20-to-1 this week and is a two-time winner at Pocono himself.

Here's a look at the Westgate's odds for Sunday's race (1:16 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1). Be sure to check back Saturday afternoon, as we'll break down what we saw during Saturday's final practice and how it applies to the race.

Read More Here.....complete list of Westgate odds

“Pocono has been a good track for the No. 16 team"

Greg Biffle is 100/1 to win at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Greg Biffle – Pocono Advance

Team: No. 16 Ortho Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia; @mpuccia16
Twitter: @16RFRCup, @gbiffle

ADVANCE NOTES

Biffle at Pocono
* In his 24 career Cup Series starts at Pocono, Biffle has one win, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
* In 2010 he earned his only victory at the “tricky triangle,” while his other stats include three top-five and six top-10 finishes.

One Year Ago at Pocono
Biffle had his sights on a solid top-10 finish at Pocono until the leader, of what would be the final restart of the race, had engine problems at the front of the field. The ailing car created quite the melee on the track and Biffle lost valuable track position. Despite so few laps left in the race, Biffle was able to make up a few spots to earn a 16th-place finish.

In the Points
Biffle is currently 19th in the point standings, 27 points out of 16th.

#WhatsBugginBiffle
Designed to educate consumers about Ortho products, “What’s Buggin’ Biffle” takes on everyday challenges and gives homeowners real-life answers. The web-series gives fans a peek under Biffle’s hood to see what’s buggin’ him both on-and-off the track. Check out www.drivebugsaway.com for the latest episodes!

Biffle on Pocono:
“Pocono is a unique track. It’s a challenge getting the balance between the corners. I like turns one and two but then you suffer in the tunnel turn. You have to sacrifice somewhere and shifting also plays a role in how the car handles. It’s a game of cat and mouse trying to get all the corners perfect. We’ve gotten a lot better with our cars over the last few weeks so I’m curious to see how we do. I think we are going to be good, but you just never know until you get there and get going.”

Puccia on Pocono:
“Pocono has been a good track for the No. 16 team. It’s difficult to find the right setup with three distinctly different corners, finding a balance between them is a challenge. Track position is a big factor and tires don’t wear out like the old Pocono. Good fuel mileage is also crucial.”

- Roush Fenway Racing

Matt Kenseth looks 'to lean on teammates' for Pocono

Matt Kenseth is 20/1 to in Axalta 400

Matt Kenseth / No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Preview
AXALTA “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway

No. 20 Dollar General Toyota News and Notes:

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS AT POCONO: In 30 Sprint Cup Series career starts at Pocono, Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 16.0, has completed 5,492 of 5,587 (98.3 percent) career laps, and has led for a total of 58 laps. Kenseth has earned three top-five and ten top-10 finishes at “The Tricky Triangle.”

JOE GIBBS RACING AT POCONO: Joe Gibbs Racing has 98 Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono and has earned nine wins, 24 top-five, and 43 top-ten finishes. The organization has led for a total of 1,076 laps, has an average start of 12.8, an average finish of 16.4, and has completed 17,164 of 18,386 (93.4 percent) laps.

THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA: Dollar General vendor partners Slim Jim, Hellmann’s, Velveeta, STP, Nestle Drumstick, Glad, OxiClean, Sundown Naturals, Cottonelle, Mucinex, Gildan and AmeriGas will be featured on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry this weekend at Pocono Raceway.

RACE INFO: The AXALTA “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 7th. The race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
13	1	4	7	2	139	$2,234,278	11.5	15.8

Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
557	32	155	277	15	9,594	$109,398,526	18.1	14.1

From the Cockpit:
Matt Kenseth: “Pocono has always been one of the most challenging race tracks on the circuit for me. I’m not sure that I’ve ever really gotten a great handle on that track yet, but I have some teammates that have run really well there in the past since I believe that both Denny (Hamlin) and Carl (Edwards) have won races. Those guys have run well there, so I try to lean on my teammates as much as possible as we prepare for this weekend in order to constantly improve at Pocono.”

From the Pit Box:
Jason Ratcliff: “I think one of the biggest differences we’re going to see heading into Pocono this weekend is with the gear rule change along with the tapered spacer. I really think those are going to change things up quite a bit since both are going to be really different than what we’ve run there in the past. What we’re going to need for set-ups and for brake packages could all be different and we really won’t know until we get there and see what our DG Camry needs. We’ll just need to be prepared for things to be a little different this weekend compared to what we’ve experienced already at other tracks because the drivers do shift there, but they won’t have that gear helping to slow them down like they used to in the past, so it could be harder on the brake systems as well.”

No. 20 Dollar General Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team:

Driver – Matt Kenseth Crew Chief – Jason Ratcliff Car Chief – Jeff Meendering

Engineer – Levi Porter Engineer – Mike Lorusso Shock Specialist – Scott Myers

Mechanic – Matt Sauer Mechanic – Jason Overstreet Mechanic – Alan Buzze

Engine Tuner – Greg Wilson Tire Specialist – Jerold Shires Spotter – Chris Osborne

Jackman – Tracy Duncan Gasman – John Eicher Front Tire Changer – John Royer

Front Tire Carrier – Joe Crossen Rear Tire Carrier – Richard Coleman Rear Tire Changer – Chris Taylor

Pit Support – Bill Byrne Pit Support – Jon Williams Pit Support – Alan Copley

Truck Drivers – Dennis Valverde & Tom McCrimmon

About Dollar General:
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for over 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With more than 12,000 stores in 43 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo. For more information on Dollar General, please visit www.dollargeneral.com.

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Kurt Busch focuses on 'tunnel turn' for Pocono success

Kurt Busch is 7/1 to win Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (June 2, 2015) – Anyone who paid attention in math class knows that a triangle has three sides. Most NASCAR fans know that most racetracks have four corners. So it’s a little unusual for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series track to mirror the aforementioned triangle as opposed to the aforementioned four-cornered track configuration.

But that’s exactly what happens this weekend when the teams and drivers converge upon Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, otherwise known as the “Tricky Triangle.” Designed in 1965 by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Rodger Ward, it features three different corners, each modeled after a different track, and one of the longest straightaways on the circuit.

Turn one, which is banked at 14 degrees, is modeled after the legendary Trenton (N.J.) Speedway. Turn two, banked at eight degrees, is a nod to the turns at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And turn three, banked at six degrees, is modeled after the corners at The Milwaukee Mile.

Kurt Busch is one driver who not only has plenty of experience at the 2.5-mile triangle, he’s experienced plenty of success along the way. The driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) heads into the race weekend a two-time Pocono winner, along with a pole, 11 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s, to augment his impressive stats in 27 career starts at the 2.5-mile triangle. Busch has led laps in 17 of those races, including a record-setting 175 circuits spent atop the leaderboard en route to his win in August 2007. He also finished third in this event a year ago.

Additionally, Busch’s solid performance statistics extend beyond tradition and into some pretty stout loop data numbers as he ranks in the top-five in a several categories, including laps led, fastest laps run, speed in traffic, green-flag speed and average running position. Add it all up and it equates to a third-place driver rating, placing Busch behind only six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who’s second, and perennial Pocono favorite Denny Hamlin, who’s first.

The Haas Automation team will look to improve upon last year’s third-place finish by getting Busch his third Pocono victory and their second of the 2015 season. While Busch and the No. 41 team are virtually guaranteed a spot in the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship playoffs thanks to their win earlier this season at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, additional victories would move Busch ahead of the six other single-race winners of the 2015 season. The 16 drivers who qualify for the Chase will have their points total reset to 2,000 and will be seeded based on bonus points – three per win – earned prior to the start of the Chase.

KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Talk a little bit about racing at Pocono.
“I think it’s a fun track as far as how unique it is with the three corners being different. And the fact that your setup really can’t be dialed in for all three corners, you have to give and take. Some years it seems like turn one is tough. Some years turn three ends up being a tough corner, but I always focus on the tunnel turn. I always try to get through turn two as quickly as I can because it seems like the years I’ve won, that’s where I’ve had the best car.”

You’ve won twice at Pocono. Which was the better experience?
“The win in 2007 with Penske Racing – that was the fastest car that I’ve ever driven. That car would turn, stick, drive down the straightaway – that car did everything. It didn’t have a single flaw. I knew how good that car was on the first lap of the race. I remember telling myself, ‘Don’t screw this up.’ I ran the rest of the race more nervous than I had in years prior. I’ve never dominated a race like that. We led 175 of 200 laps. That was by far the best car I have ever driven. It was a great race to show the balance of that team and the strength of where we were at that point. I think the 25 laps that we didn’t lead were from a bad pit stop at one point. My first win at Pocono in 2005 was pretty great, too. It’s fun to win at a racetrack that is so unique because of how different that track is compared to all the other oval tracks. Pocono is a little bit like Darlington in that all the corners are different, so you have to manage them the best that you can and not be perfect in one corner versus another.”

How do you think the 2015 rule package will play into this weekend’s race?
“I always think when there’s horsepower that’s been taken away that you have to now focus on the corner that leads onto the longest straightaway. But we’ll see how it plays out. I think the restarts are really going to be more chaotic this year because everybody has got the choked down power and the way we can fan out five-, six-wide going into turn one. It’s going to be pretty exciting on the restarts.”

Kurt Busch’s Pocono Raceway Performance Profile:

Year	Event	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2014	Pocono 400	2	3	Running, 160/160	5	$142,600
GoBowling.com 400	4	13	Running, 160/160	30	$84,415
2013	Party in the Poconos 400	20	7	Running, 160/160	0	$119,430
GoBowling.com 400	5	3	Running, 160/160	9	$153,930
2012	Pennsylvania 400	6	30	Accident, 84/98	3	$80,760
2011	5-Hour 500	1	2	Running, 200/200	37	$203,800
Good Sam RV Insurance 500	5	3	Running, 200/200	38	$162,000
2010	Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500	4	6	Running, 204/204	3	$146,196
Pennsylvania 500	13	33	Accident, 164/200	0	$110,198
2009	†Pocono 500	4	37	Running, 182/200	2	$83,275
†Pennsylvania 500	4	9	Running, 200/200	14	$96,300
2008	Pocono 500	11	8	Running, 200/200	0	$87,175
Pennsylvania 500	10	38	Running, 198/200	5	$63,300
2007	*Pocono 500	27	16	Running, 106/106	0	$103,908
Pennsylvania 500	2	1	Running, 200/200	175	$212,108
2006	Pocono 500	2	2	Running, 200/200	31	$193,258
Pennsylvania 500	7	2	Running, 200/200	4	$182,758
2005	×Pocono 500	2	22	Running, 200/201	2	$114,250
×Pennsylvania 500	2	1	Running, 203/203	131	$261,275
2004	Pocono 500	27	5	Running, 200/200	0	$95,600
Pennsylvania 500	3	26	Transmission, 192/200	0	$74,165
2003	Pocono 500	10	36	Accident, 193/200	0	$62,790
Pennsylvania 500	13	2	Running, 200/200	1	$152,695
2002	†Pocono 500	8	40	Accident, 67/200	0	$43,100
*Pennsylvania 500	23	2	Running, 175/175	3	$113,570
2001	Pocono 500	41	13	Running, 200/200	0	$48,940
Pennsylvania 500	35	37	Running, 187/200	0	$38,225

* Race cut short due to weather.
× Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.
† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing

Video: Roberts likes Kurt Busch's chances this week

2015 Pocono Axalta 400 Betting Preview: Plenty of Quality Candidates to Win

Denny Hamlin is a 4-time winner at Pocono, but it's been a while

LAS VEGAS -- It's time for NASCAR racing in the Pocono's where opinion is split among fans on how they feel about the bizarre 2.5-mile triangular layout. Some say there isn't enough passing and the races are boring, while others protest that in this era of cookie-cutter tracks, anything unique is a pleasant change. And Pocono is definitely unique with each of the three turns getting progressively flatter and more difficult.

I happen to be in the group of people that look forward to the two Pocono races a season. I love that it takes takes some road course and short track skills while also requiring lots of horsepower down the longest front stretch on the circuit.

What will be different this season from recent years is the reduction in horsepower, which in theory should be slowing the cars down, but what we’re seeing is drivers getting in and out of the corners much faster because of coming in slower which has negated NASCAR intention with the horsepower reduction. In many ways it’s more dangerous than ever because drivers are having a major learning curve in how to handle all that speed exiting the corners. At Pocono's tricky triangle, this could present a major problem, especially in turns 1 & 2.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won for the first time ever at Pocono last season after being winless in his first 28 starts. He had so much fun in this race last year that he would do it again in the second race. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a career drought at a track reap such great rewards with a sweep during a season before.

Horsepower reduction or not, this race is still about who can get the most of it and the past three weeks of races at Dover and Charlotte has seen not only Joe Gibbs Racing show some major power, but also Roush Fenway Racing. For most of the season Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson have been dominating with the most horsepower. Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. have also shown power similar, but now you have to seriously add in Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch into that group. And just maybe, hopefully, we can throw 2010 Pocono winner Greg Biffle onto that list as well.

For Hamlin, he’s probably licking his chops waiting to get to Pocono to show off some more like he did last week at Dover where he had the fastest lap in each of the final practice sessions before getting involved ina wreck during Sunday’s race and finishing 21st. We saw the power at Charlotte as he won $1 million in the All-Star Race and now he goes to a track where he’s got four wins over his career, but none since 2010. As a rookie in 2006, he swept the Pocono season and has a 11.9 average finish overall. Last year in this race, he finished fourth with a car that was substandard in horsepower, but his ability in and out of the turns -- particularly the tight flat turn three -- made the difference. Now he’s got some power on par with the elite and skills in the turns that elevates him into being considered a favorite to win.

Read More Here....Top-5 Finish Prediction

Jimmie Johnson with 9.88 average finish in 26 Pocono starts

Jimmie Johnson is 5/1 to win at Pocono on Sunday

No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson


Driver: Jimmie Johnson 

Hometown: El Cajon, California
Age: 39 

Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Jimmie Johnson will be available to members of the media at 10:30 a.m. local time in the media center at Pocono Raceway.

DOUBLE DIGIT AT DOVER: Jimmie Johnson led the final 23 laps of the 400-mile event at Dover to capture his 10th career Cup victory at the one-mile concrete oval. Johnson is now just two wins away from matching Earnhardt Sr.’s 76 career wins for seventh on the all-time wins list. The victory marked Johnson’s fourth win of the 2015 season and was manufacturer Chevrolet’s fifth consecutive win at the track.

IN GOOD COMPANY: Johnson became the fifth driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to have 10 or more Cup wins at a single track, joining NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Sr.

POCONO STATS: In the last 20 races at Pocono Raceway, according to NASCAR loop data, Johnson has the second-best driver rating of 106.9. He has an average starting position of 10.5 and has led 738 laps around the track, logging three wins along the way. In 2004, Johnson won both events for the season sweep. Johnson’s latest win came in 2013 when he won from the pole position.

JOHNSON LENDS VOICE TO ANIMATED SHOW: Recently, Johnson lent his voice to an upcoming episode of Nickelodeon’s preschool animated show "Bubble Guppies," premiering Thursday, June 4, at 11 a.m. ET. In the episode titled "The New Doghouse!” Johnson plays a red lobster named Jimmie, the host of "Extreme Doghouse: Neighborhood Edition." When an accident destroys Bubble Puppy’s doghouse, the Guppies team up with the entire neighborhood to build Bubble Puppy’s dream home, the most tricked-out doghouse Bubbletucky has ever seen. Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show.

SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME: For the 10th year, Lowe’s has generously donated its space on the No. 48 Chevrolet SS to promote the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. This year, the scheme features the programs and activities of the foundation, including the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope, the Champions Grant program, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Wellness Challenge and Team Up For Technology.

SPECIAL HELMET OF HOPE: In addition to the special paint scheme, Johnson will wear the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope this weekend. The helmet is a program that recognizes education-focused charities voted on by fans to receive a $25,000 grant. To date, the BBHOH program has donated more than $801,000 to 81 different charities. This year’s charities include: 9 Dots, (Los Angeles), BackPack Beginnings (Greensboro, North Carolina), Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland (Sioux City, Iowa), Carolina Raptor Center (Charlotte, North Carolina) and The Be Kind People Project (Phoenix).

POCONO CHASSIS: For this weekend’s event, crew chief Chad Knaus has selected chassis No. 48-891, which last raced in March at Fontana for a ninth-place finish. The backup car is 48-824, which last raced at Pocono in June 2014.

Jimmie Johnson on racing at Pocono
“For me, I love the speed factor at Pocono. It’s not an easy track, and trying to figure out how to pass someone or get by someone, there’s something in that, that gets me going. Again, I always race better than I qualify here so that is something we are focusing on. Outside of the track, there are some great riding areas and just nice scenery. It’s a great place to go.”

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2015 Season 3rd in standings 13 starts 4 wins 0 pole positions 8 top-five finishes 9 top-10 finishes 387 laps led     Career 484 starts 74 wins 33 pole positions 201 top-five finishes 301 top-10 finishes 17,538 laps led     Pocono Career  26 starts 3 wins 4 pole positions 10 top-five finishes 17 top-10 finishes 738 laps led

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- Hendrick Motorsports

Pocono Raceway Track Facts: 2015 Axalta 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Pocono Raceway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kevin Harvick	28	0	0	6	10	2	13.6	91.9
2	Martin Truex Jr.	18	0	0	2	6	0	15.9	80.4
3	Jimmie Johnson	26	3	3	10	17	1	9.9	106.9
4	Joey Logano	12	2	1	2	4	1	16.6	88.9
5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	30	1	2	9	13	1	15.3	92.6
6	Brad Keselowski	10	0	1	3	4	0	13.4	90.8
7	Jamie McMurray	24	1	0	0	6	3	19.8	73.1
8	Kasey Kahne	22	2	2	5	8	3	17.8	92.1
9	Jeff Gordon	44	2	6	19	31	5	9.9	103.5
10	Aric Almirola	6	0	0	0	0	1	24.0	67.6
11	Matt Kenseth	30	0	0	3	10	1	16.0	86.7
12	Paul Menard	16	0	0	0	2	1	23.1	64.6
13	Ryan Newman	26	2	1	9	14	2	11.4	95.4
14	Denny Hamlin	18	3	4	9	12	2	11.9	108.3
15	Kurt Busch	27	1	2	11	15	5	14.7	105.9
16	Carl Edwards	20	0	2	5	8	1	15.5	94.2

* – Based on last 20 races at Pocono Raceway.

Pocono Raceway Data Season Race #: 14 of 36 (06-07-15) Track Size: 2.5-miles Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees Frontstretch Length:  3,740 feet Backstretch Length:  3,055 feet Shortstretch Length:  1,780 feet Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles Top 10 Driver Ratings at Pocono Denny Hamlin............................ 108.3 Jimmie Johnson........................ 106.9 Kurt Busch................................ 105.9 Jeff Gordon.............................. 103.5 Tony Stewart............................... 97.6 Kyle Larson................................ 95.7 Ryan Newman............................. 95.4 Carl Edwards.............................. 94.2 Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 92.6 Kasey Kahne.............................. 92.1 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at Pocono Raceway. Qualifying/Race Data 2014 pole winner: Denny Hamlin, Toyota 181.415 mph, 49.610 secs., 06-06-14 2014 race winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 139.440 mph, (02:52:07), 06-08-14 Track qualifying record: Kyle Larson, Chevrolet 183.438 mph, 49.610 secs., 08-03-14 Track race record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet 145.384 mph, (03:26:21), 06-12-11

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 – won by Richard Petty, Dodge, 115.593 mph, 08/04/1974.

·         The 2.5-mile track was repaved during the fall of 2011.

Notebook

·         There have been 74 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

·         2012 marked the first season the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012 all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.

·         322 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway; 229 in more than one.

·         Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Pocono with 55. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts.

·         Buddy Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Pocono in 1974 with a speed of 144.122 mph.  

·         40 drivers have posted Coors Light poles at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader with five each;Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin lead all active drivers with three each.

·         Five drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Pocono. Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Pocono with three; fall 1984 and both races in 1985.

·         Two active drivers have posted consecutive Coors Light poles at Pocono: Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep) andJoey Logano (fall 2011 and spring 2012).

·         Youngest Pocono pole winner: Joey Logano (08/07/2011 – 21 years, 2 months, 14 days).

·         Oldest Pocono pole winner: David Pearson (06/10/1984 – 49 years, 5 months, 19 days).

·         32 different drivers have won at Pocono Raceway, led by Jeff Gordon with six wins.  

·         Seven drivers have posted consecutive wins at Pocono Raceway, including three consecutive by Bobby Allison (1982 sweep and spring 1983) and Tim Richmond (1986 sweep and spring 1987).

·         Three of the seven drivers to win consecutive races at Pocono are active: Jimmie Johnson (2004 sweep);Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep and 2009 fall and 2010 spring races); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014 sweep).

·         Youngest Pocono winner: Joey Logano (06/10/2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).

·         Oldest Pocono winner: Harry Gant (06/17/1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).

·         Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Pocono in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 17: Jeff Gordon(six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Kasey Kahne (one), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one) – including the last four consecutively.

·         Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Pocono; led by Chevrolet with 30 victories; followed byFord with 21 and Toyota has three.

·         15 of the 74 (20.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Jimmie Johnson (June, 2013).

·         The Coors Light pole position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (15) than any other starting position at Pocono Raceway.    

·         24 of the 74 (32.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from the front row: 15 from the pole and nine from second-place.

·         52 of the 74 (70.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Five of the 73 (6.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Pocono is 29th, by Carl Edwards in the spring of 2005.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Pocono with seven; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-five finishes at Pocono with 20; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 19.  

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Pocono with 34; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 31.

·         Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Pocono with a 6.556.

·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Pocono with a 9.864.

·         Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards are the only two active drivers to win at Pocono in their first appearances.     

·         Matt Kenseth leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono without visiting Victory Lane at 30; followed by Kevin Harvick with 28.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway was the July 23, 2000 race won by Rusty Wallace over Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.126 second.

·         There have been three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Pocono Raceway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): spring of 2005 (200/201); fall of 2005 (200/203); spring of 2010 (200/204).

·         Six of the 74 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the event on 8/5/2012.    

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway five times; most recently the spring of 2013.   

·         Kyle Larson (8/03/2014) and Casey Mears (8/1/2004) posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Pocono Raceway.      

·         One active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has posted his first career win at Pocono Raceway: Denny Hamlin (06/11/06).

·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Pocono with 1,037 laps led in 44 starts.  

·         Two female drivers have competed at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie andDanica Patrick. Patrick’s average finish in four starts at Pocono is 32.750.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Danica Patrick	10	30	8/3/2014
Danica Patrick	16	37	6/8/2014
Danica Patrick	34	35	8/4/2013
Danica Patrick	30	29	6/9/2013
Janet Guthrie	21	28	7/27/1980
Janet Guthrie	22	31	7/30/1978
Janet Guthrie	10	11	7/31/1977

NASCAR in Pennsylvania

·         There have been 108 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among nine tracks in Pennsylvania.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Pocono Raceway	Long Pond	74
Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne	17
Lincoln Speedway	New Oxford	7
Heidelberg Raceway	Pittsburgh	4
Reading Fairgrounds	Reading	2
Bloomsburg Fairgrounds	Bloomsburg	1
New Bradford Speedway	Bradford	1
Pine Grove Speedway	Shippenville	1
Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg	1

·         141 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.

·         Three of the 141 have won in NASCAR’s premiere series.

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Dick Linder	3	0	0
Jimmy Spencer	2	12	1
Mark Donohue	1	0	0

 

MILESTONES – Pocono Raceway

DRIVER	HAS	NEEDS	MILESTONE
Jeff Gordon	774	1	750th Consecutive NSCS Start - Gordon is first on the active consecutive NSCS starts list and second on the all-time NSCS list behind Ricky Rudd (788).
Jamie McMurray	449	1	550th Consecutive NSCS Start - McMurray is sixth on the active consecutive NSCS starts list and 17th on the all-time NSCS list.
Cole Whitt	49	1	50th Consecutive NSCS Start - Whitt, Annett and Dillon are tied for the 22nd position on the consecutive NSCS starts list.
Austin Dillon	49	1	50th Consecutive NSCS Start - Whitt, Annett and Dillon are tied for the 22nd position on the consecutive NSCS starts list.
Michael Annett	49	1	50th Consecutive NSCS Start - Whitt, Annett and Dillon are tied for the 22nd position on the consecutive NSCS starts list.
Jimmie Johnson	74	2	76th NSCS Win - Jimmie Johnson is eighth on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in seventh (76 wins).
Tony Stewart	48	2	50th NSCS Win - Stewart is 13th on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett in 12th (50 wins).
Matt Kenseth	32	1	33rd NSCS Win - Kenseth is tied with Dale Jarrett for 22nd on the all-time NSCS wins list, one win behind Fireball Roberts in 21st (33 wins).
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	24	1	25th NSCS Win - Earnhardt Jr. is tied with Carl Edwards for 30th on the all-time NSCS wins list, one win behind Joe Weatherly and Denny Hamlin in 29th (25 wins).
Carl Edwards	24	1	25th NSCS Win - Edwards is tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 30th on the all-time NSCS wins list, one win behind Joe Weatherly and Denny Hamlin in 29th (25 wins).
Joey Logano	49	1	50th NSCS Top-Five Finish - Logano is 70th on the all-time NSCS top fives list, two top-fives behind Neil Castles and Cotton Owens in 68th (51).
Jeff Gordon	24,825	175	25,000 NSCS Laps Led - Gordon can become the sixth driver in NSCS history to lead 25,000 laps.
Matt Kenseth	9,594	406	10,000 Laps Led - Kenseth can become the 16th driver in series history to lead 10,000 or more laps.
#43 car	199	1	200 NSCS Wins - The No. 43 car is second on the all-time NSCS wins list, five wins behind the No. 11 car in first (204).

 - NASCAR