Johnson leads 128 of 160 laps at Pocono, rolls to dominating win

Johnson won for third time at Pocono Raceway on Sunday

Jimmie Johnson lost last week’s race at Dover when he was penalized for jumping the final restart.

He made no such mistakes Sunday.

Johnson held the lead on four late restarts to finish off a dominating performance at Pocono Raceway for his third points win of the season.

Of course, it's easy to be near-perfect when you have a car as fast as Johnson's.

"That's the best car I've had in a long, long, long time," Johnson said. "What a racecar."

Johnson held off Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final restarts to maintain the lead. Earnhardt made a bid for the lead on a restart with nine laps to go, but Johnson held on.

Johnson then pulled away from Earnhardt on the final restart with four laps remaining while Greg Biffle blasted by Earnhardt for second.

Read more here.......Sporting News


Pocono Results

Updated LVH Super Book Pocono Odds: Johnson Large 9-to-4 Favorite

Johnson moved to a massive favorite due to Toyota being slow

PARTY IN THE POCONOS 400
POCONO RACEWAY
SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013

JIMMIE JOHNSON 9-4
KYLE BUSCH 12
MATT KENSETH 12
KASEY KAHNE 10
DENNY HAMLIN 9
BRAD KESELOWSKI 15
CARL EDWARDS 8
GREG BIFFLE 40
JEFF GORDON 15
DALE EARNHARDT JR 15
CLINT BOWYER 35
KEVIN HARVICK 10
MARTIN TRUEX JR 35
TONY STEWART 8
JOEY LOGANO 40
MARK MARTIN 75
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100
KURT BUSCH 10
RYAN NEWMAN 35
JUAN MONTOYA 100
JAMIE McMURRAY 100
PAUL MENARD 100
MARCOS AMBROSE 300
ARIC ALMIROLA 200
JEFF BURTON 300
A.J. ALLMENDINGER 500
DANICA PATRICK 500
FIELD 500

Pocono Post-Practice Notes: Toyota Horsepower Reduction Shuffles Favorites

Toyota reduction of power could be to Carl Edwards' advantage 

The biggest story coming into this weeks NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend at Pocono Raceway was Toyota Racing Development announcing that the monstrous horsepower they have produced through the first 13 races would be reduced. There have been some engine malfunctions this season -- three in the last two weeks -- from the Joe Gibbs and Michael Waltrip stables. And while that horsepower has produced success on the year for Toyota, the added dimension of shifting at Pocono was likely deemed to have created more stress on the engines that will already be running at maximum RPM’s down the long front straightaway.

The announcement alone was enough to have second thoughts on drivers like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, who were all considered favorites to win Sunday’s Party in the Poconos 400. Rain washed away Friday’s first scheduled practice session and qualifying, so Saturday was the first chance to actually see how much slower Toyota would be.

At the completion of both Saturday practices, it was apparent that the reduction of power is probably a little more extreme than the Gibbs and Waltrip organizations had bargained for. For the Gibbs trio, they were collectively slower than they had been on any other type of track this season that requires lost of horsepower, tracks that they had won five times on already.

Kenseth has never fared well at Pocono -- his last top-5 finish came in 2006, but he had experienced a pleasant change of scenery this season with Gibbs at places he didn’t typically run well at. This biggest change from his career record this season was winning for the first time at Darlington in early May. Before the TRD announcement, there was intrigue with Kenseth's possibilities -- he opened as a 5-to-1 co-favorite at LVH. But now after practice and knowledge of why he’s so slow, Kenseth isn’t so tempting this week.

The same goes for Denny Hamlin, who has the best overall Pocono record among the Gibbs’ drivers. He’s averaged a 10.7 finish and has won four times on the 2.5-mile tricky triangle, but could only muster the 13th fastest lap during happy hour after being 26th quickest in the early session. He was considered the favorite among the favorites coming in, but the speed charts don’t lie, especially with Hamlin who has never been accused of sandbagging in practice.

Kyle Busch was fastest among the Toyota in happy hour with the 10th fastest lap. He’s almost been a winner at Pocono several times, but two runner-up finishes still remain his best.

With those elite cars appearing to be down, that elevates several others to the top. Jimmie Johnson was already one of the co-favorites to win, but now he gets moved up even more because of not having as stiff of competition against him. He was fastest in the first practice and second during happy hour, where he also had the fastest 10-consecutive lap average among the four drivers that ran at least 10 straight. Johnson hasn’t won at Pocono since sweeping the 2004 season, but he still leads all active drivers with a 9th-place average finish.

The driver that was the most eye-popping on the speed charts was Carl Edwards, who second and third fastest, respectively, during Saturday’s practices. It was easily the fastest Edwards has looked during any practice session this season and a sign that we might be seeing a back-flip on Sunday. We’ve seen him do it twice before at Pocono, once as a rookie in 2005, and the other in 2008.

It’s apparent that Tony Stewart’s Dover in not only woke himself up, but also his entire organization. It’s like they flipped the switch on and all of sudden, they’re fast. Stewart doesn’t typically run fast in any practices, but was showing off some great speed Saturday, as was teammate Ryan Newman. Both drivers have been excellent at Pocono over their careers and each present great value this week.

In all likelihood, this 400 mile event should be just as exciting as the two were last season, and it could also provide an unlikely winner. Nine of the past 11 Pocono races have provided different winners. The combination of shifting, the new Gen-6 car and fairly new surface has all kinds of variables intertwined to make it one of the better races seen at Pocono, a place that has typically been labeled as boring over the years.

If Toyota is as slow as they look, we could see someone like Kurt Busch, who was fast once again during practice, take the checkers for the first time this season. The way he looks in practice, he might even be able to beat the Gibbs' drivers even if their power wasn't reduced.

Read More Here..............Final Top-10 Driver Ratings     


Driver Quotes from Saturday at Pocono

TONY STEWART

HOW WAS THE FIRST PRACTICE? “If we could just get the weepers out of there, we would be just fine. You hit them and it’s worse than I remember them being as far as how it makes the car jump around. I about lost the car twice running through water today.”

HOW IS THE CAR OVERALL? “It feels good. We’re still tuning on it, but it’s got a good start so far.”

ARE THE WEEPERS JUST IN TURN 3? “Somebody said they were in (Turn) 2. I didn’t have any problems in (Turn) 2, but I felt it in (Turn) 3 for sure.”

WHAT DO THE WEEPERS FEEL LIKE? “It’s like ice. It jumps the car around. You don’t see it. The hard part is you hit it and it makes the car jump out from underneath you. So, it’s a pretty hairy moment.”

ASIDE FROM THE WEEPERS, HOW IS THE TRACK NOW? HAS IT AGED? “It’s getting better. The good this is that it’s lost just enough grip to where it’s making it easier to lay rubber in the race track now and a lot easier to see it. The track is in good shape. You always fight water pumping-up through the track here, so other than that it’s perfect.”

Rain washes away Friday's Pocono schedule; 40 percent chance of rain Saturday

Hopefully we'll see some practices on Saturday

LONG POND, Pa. — Points leader Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole for the Sprint Cup race Sunday at Pocono Raceway as rain washed out qualifying Friday.

Because drivers never got on the track to practice, the field was set primarily by owner points.

That put Johnson and Carl Edwards on the front row for the race Sunday. Only 43 teams entered, so all 43 cars made the field for the Party in the Poconos 400.

Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick will round out the top five, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Brad Keselowski starting sixth through 10th.

Read More Here.............Sporting News

Starting Lineup

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

LVH Super Book opens Kenseth, Johnson and Hamlin 5-to-1 co-favorites at Pocono Party 400

Jeff Gordon's 2012 win was his 6th at Pocono; he's 12/1 to win Sunday

LAS VEGAS -- The LVH SuperBook opened Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth as 5-to-1 co-favorites to win Sunday's Party at the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway. The 2.5-mile track, known as the "Tricky Triangle," has three turns that get progressively flatter. It's a tough track for the drivers to master, but some have been a lot more consistent than others over the years.

One of those drivers has been Hamlin, who jumped right into the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 car as a rookie in 2006 and swept the season at Pocono. He's won two more times on the track and has a 10.7 average finish over his career at the triangle.

The thing to like the most about Hamlin this week, other than his obvious affection for the tricky layout of this track, is that he's hungry for a win. He currently sits 26th in points and needs to get within the top 20 over the next 13 races before the Chase begins in order to be eligible for one of the two wildcard spots. Beyond simply finishing well and earning points, he needs to a win to jump start his season the way Tony Stewart did last week at Dover.

Stewart is one of the few drivers who has Pocono figured out. He's a two-time winner and has finished fifth or better in six of his last nine starts here. His 20-to-1 odds are the highest ever posted on him at Pocono, as he hasn't fared well this season on the tracks requiring lots of horsepower and drivers need all the horses they can find to blast down Pocono Raceway's 0.7-mile front stretch, the longest straightaway on the NASCAR schedule.

Stewart's Dover win was his first top five of the season, and it may be hard to believe that his No. 14 SS Chevrolet has all of a sudden found the formula for success after 13 races. However, this is the time of year that he has typically stepped up with a major push. Over his career, Stewart has usually been at his best after the All-Star race, and right on cue, he went out and won the first race following the two-week festivities at Charlotte.

When we talk horsepower and who might have the most among the teams, we have to begin with the JGR drivers. Hamlin looks like he'll be the driver to beat, but even though Kenseth and Kyle Busch (8-to-1) have never won at Pocono, they should find themselves contending for the checkered flag. The engine problems JGR has experienced this season don't look to be as big of an issue this weekend because there are 100 fewer miles to race than past Pocono events. The RPM's will be maxed out, but drivers won't have to do it as frequently around the track. Busch has finished second twice over his career at this track, but was 30th or worse in both races last season.

The driver many would love to see finally win at Pocono is Mark Martin, who is listed at 30-to-1. The No. 55 car hasn't shown the type of speed required to win this season, but he was very strong during test sessions and practices before finishing second in this race last season. It was his seventh runner-up finish at Pocono without a win, which is a NASCAR record for most second-place finishes on a track without winning. He'll make his 53rd career start at Pocono on Sunday.

Jeff Gordon (12/1) won the last time the series visited Pocono, the sixth win of his career on the track -- most among active drivers. He is also second best with 18 top-five finishes behind Martin's 20.

Gordon and Hamlin have piled up a lot of wins at Pocono over their careers, but lately, it's been a wild mix of drivers winning. Nine drivers have combined to win the past 11 events, none of whom are named Johnson, Kenseth, Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick. Johnson is a two-time winner at Pocono, but doesn't have any victories since sweeping the 2004 season.

Read More Here..........LVH Pocono Odds

2013 Party at the Poconos 400 Preview

How about Hamlin at Pocono again?

We’re at the halfway point of the season before NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship starts and a few drivers are going to have to make some things happen quickly if they want to be part of NASCAR’s playoffs. The top-10 drivers in the standings are all guaranteed a spot in the Chase, and two wild card spots will offered to drivers sitting 11 through 20 that have the most wins.

Tony Stewart enhanced his chances of making the Chase by winning last week at Dover. He is the only driver currently sitting in the 11-20 position in points to have a win, and as each of the next 13 races passes, he can start to lower his magic number.

Stewart, who has been awful all season, captured his first top-5 of the season with his Dover win, but this is supposed to be the time of year when he takes his game to another level, and this week’s race at Pocono should help him continue his upward progression. He’s won twice on the tricky 2.5-mile triangle layout at Pocono and has finished fifth or better in six of his past nine starts there.

One of the drivers outside the top-20 in points who needs great finishes, and wins, every week is Denny Hamlin. Last week at Dover, Hamlin led three times for 43 laps, and looked to be in position to possibly get his first win of the season, but then got involved in an accident relegating him to a 34th-place finish and dropping him to 26th in points.

Read More....Top 5 Finish Prediction

NASCAR News and Notes Heading Into Pocono

Tony Stewart jumped back into Chase picture with win at Dover

Halfway Home, Wild Card Watch Begins 
With half of the regular season in the record book, the road to the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ figures to take a variety of twists and turns through the next 13 races, beginning with Sunday’s Party in the Poconos 400. Pocono Speedway’s first of two events kicks off TNT’s NASCAR Summer Series of six events at 1 p.m. EDT (TNT, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Radio).

The Chase lineup will be set Sept. 7 at Richmond International Raceway. The top 10 in points automatically qualify for the Chase. Two Wild Cards – drivers ranked 11th through 20th with the most wins – fill out the field of 12.

By points margins, the current top 10 is unsettled. From eighth – Kyle Busch – to 13th – Greg Biffle – the spread is just 21 points. A year ago, nine of the 10 drivers qualifying for the Chase by points occupied a top-10 position entering the regular season’s final 13 races.

So it’s not too early to consider the Wild Card scenarios.

Tony Stewart, until recently outside the top 20, is the current Wild Card leader (16th) following Sunday’s victory at Dover International Speedway.

Jeff Gordon, 11th in the standings, holds the second Wild Card based upon his points position.

David Ragan won at Talladega but ranks 27th and is 113 points outside top-20 eligibility.

Stewart’s Dover victory was his first top-five finish of the 2013 campaign – the slowest start in 15 seasons for the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion. To say Stewart-Haas Racing has struggled would be an understatement, but Stewart said last month at Charlotte his team had turned the corner.

Only 33 points outside the top 10, Stewart may not be a Wild Card hopeful for long. He finished third in Pocono’s first race a year ago, fifth in the second. Stewart counts two victories at the track and a fifth-best Driver Rating of 98.6.

Of Stewart’s 48 career victories, 42 have come after June 1.

Gordon, likewise, is trending upward. A trio of accident-caused DNFs has offset three third-place finishes, the most recent coming last Sunday. He’s gained 10 positions in the points since Bristol, where Gordon suffered one of three finishes of 34th or worse.

The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion won last August’s weather-shortened Pocono event, his second victory in the last four races and sixth overall at the 2.5-mile track. Gordon enjoys a third-best Pocono Driver Rating (100.9) and series-best top-five (18) and top-10 (28) finishes.

Hamlin Reboots Chase Quest After Dover Stumble
Two steps forward, one giant step back for Denny Hamlin and his bid to qualify for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™.

Last Sunday’s 36th-place Dover finished virtually wiped out the success he enjoyed – and points gained – at Darlington and Charlotte, Hamlin’s first two full races since his back injury in late March.

Hamlin’s only Chase opportunity will come through the Wild Card process. But to gain eligibility, he must reach a top-20 ranking. Seventy-six points out of 20th entering May’s Darlington race, Hamlin had cut the deficit to 53. He now trails 20th-place Ryan Newman by 74 markers.

Pocono would appear to offer Hamlin a great opportunity to regain momentum. It’s long been one of the Virginian’s best tracks – beginning with a sweep in 2006, Hamlin’s rookie of the year campaign. Hamlin dominates Pocono statistics: four victories, top Driver Rating of 115.1, series-best Average Running Position (9.1) and fastest Average Green Flag Speed (160.936 mph).

All well and good, but Hamlin, addressing media members last week, tossed out a caveat. Today’s Pocono, following repaving after the 2011 season, isn’t the same. Any advantage a driver enjoyed, he said, has vanished.

“We had a leg up; we had two legs up on everyone when we went there with the old pavement,” Hamlin said. “I think now we’re better than average but we’re not the best anymore at that track.”

A year ago, after repaving, Hamlin finished fifth in June’s race. He qualified second in August and led three laps but was eliminated in a late-race accident.

Qualifying remains Hamlin’s ace – especially on a new surface where track position is paramount. He’s qualified among the top 10 in eight consecutive Pocono events and won his second straight Coors Light Pole last weekend at Dover.

“Track position is total key,” he said. “And you have to be the fastest car.”

NASCAR’s Best Hunting For First Win At Pocono
What do Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have in common?

Answer: All are winless at Pocono Raceway.

Martin, who’ll make his 53rd Pocono start on Sunday, posted his seventh second-place finish in last year’s spring race. That set an unfortunate record – most runner-up finishes at a single track without a win. Martin’s first Pocono visit came in 1982.

Kenseth was unable to conquer Pocono as a Roush Fenway Racing driver. An 0-for-26 drought could end this weekend as Kenseth – already a three-time winner in 2013 – drives the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR cars have visited Pocono’s Victory Lane nine times.

The JGR connection hasn’t helped Busch master the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania layout. Busch has four DNFs – three by accident – in 12 trips to Pocono, where his average finish is 19.2. Busch has been second twice but failed to finish either race a year ago. His 63 laps led are second fewest (to Indianapolis) on a series track.

Harvick’s Pocono drought is a head scratcher. He’s working a streak of 16 consecutive lead-lap finishes and 21 overall, the latter number the Bakersfield, Calif., veteran’s best on a series track. His team, Richard Childress Racing, last won at Pocono with Dale Earnhardt in 1993.

Earnhardt Jr. won a pole and finished second in his final start with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2007. His modest string of three top-10 finishes – Junior’s best with Hendrick Motorsports – ended with last summer’s 32nd-place finish in a weather-shortened event won by teammate Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt, however, led both Pocono races a year ago, the first time he’d led back-to-back events at the track since 2003.

At Midpoint, Stats Tell First-Half Story 
It’s been quite the first half, with an abundance of competition statistics that illustrate the Gen-6 race car’s debut.

Speed thrills, and it’s a standout characteristic of the Gen-6 car in its debut season – seven track qualifying records have been set thus far.

Tight finishes have been the norm. Over the first 13 races, there has been an average margin of victory of .893 seconds, which is only the fourth time since the inception of electronic timing and scoring in 1993 that the average MOV has been under a second through 13 events.

Two statistics in particular highlight the Gen-6 race car’s ability to level the playing field – lead lap finishes and cars running at the finish. This season, 46.3% of the cars have finished on the lead lap, compared to 38.6% through 13 races in 2012. Through the first half, 81.2% of the cars have been running at the finish, the highest total through 13 races since 2009.

Passing figures have increased at a number of venues during the first half, most notably at intermediate tracks. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, there were 31 green flag passes for the lead, a new track best since the inception of Loop Data in 2005. At Auto Club Speedway, there were 41 green flag passes for the lead, which tied a track record. The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway saw 35 passes for the lead, which tied a race best.

And last Sunday’s race at Dover featured 25 passes for the lead, which set a track Loop Data record.

First Time’s A Charm: Tricky Triangle Kind To Rookies
Pocono Raceway defies logic. Its three-turn dilemma screams growing pains. Yet, that’s not the case for some. Often, first-timers fare just fine.

Take Denny Hamlin, the prime example in rookie success at Pocono. In 2006, Hamlin’s rookie season, he swept the Pocono races – winning each from the Coors Light Pole. In the first, he led 83 laps. In the second: 151.

Or sample Carl Edwards’ Pocono debut. In 2005, Edwards had already collected his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He entered Pocono with that one win, and marched his way through the field to win in his first Pocono start after starting 29th.

So, that might give some hope to Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick, neither of whom have raced at Pocono.

Patrick turned laps at Pocono last week during a test session and looks to become the first female to score a top-10 finish there in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Janet Guthrie is the only female to race in the Sprint Cup series, with a top finish of 11th in three starts.

Stenhouse, who has finished in the top 20 in each of the last six races but has yet to score his first career top-10 finish, leads the rookie standings by four points over Patrick.

- NASCAR Media Services

Hamlin expected to go all out for fifth Pocono win Sunday

Denny Hamlin is a four-time winner at Pocono Raceway

Event: Party in the Poconos 400
Date/Time: June 9/1 p.m. ET
2012 winner: Joey Logano
2012 polesitter: Joey Logano
Distance: 160 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Banking: 14/8/6 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

FedEx 400 Recap: Denny Hamlin started from the pole, led three times for 41 laps and was running among the top-five with less than 25 laps remaining in Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks NASCAR race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway when a flat right-front tire on the #11 FedEx Freight/Autism Speaks Toyota sent Hamlin hard into the outside wall in Turn 1 and delivered the FedEx Racing team a disappointing 34th-place finish. Tony Stewart was victorious in the race, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Hamlin was in contention for his first Cup Series win at the ‘Monster Mile’ throughout the 400-lap event on the one-mile concrete oval. Battling a tight condition for the first half of the race, the #11 machine came to life just past the halfway mark, and was the fastest car on the track. Hamlin was leading with less than 100 laps remaining and stayed out front until the second-to-last caution on Lap 318. He pitted for right-side tires and fuel, setting into fifth after the restart before the impact with the wall on Lap 378. The finish dropped Hamlin two spots to 26th in the NASCAR standings following Dover, 73 points behind 20th position after 13 of 26 regular season races.

Pocono Preview: The Series shifts to Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s 400-mile event on the 2.5-mile triangular track. Hamlin has four wins and eight top-five finishes in 14 career starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ and is one of his best tracks on the circuit. Adapting quickly to the three unique turns, Hamlin swept both Pocono races from the pole in his 2006 rookie season, and won back-to-back races at the track in the summer of 2009 and spring 2010. The 32-year-old Virginia native has started inside the top-seven in 12 of his 14 Pocono starts, including the last eight in a row, boasting a 5.6 average starting position. He has led at least one lap in all but three Pocono starts, leading 663 of 2,568 total laps at the track (25.8 percent). In the race one year ago, Hamlin qualified third and finished fifth in the #11 FedEx Toyota.

FedEx Office – Closest to Pocono Raceway: 940 Schecter Drive, Ste 1, Wilkes Barre, PA 18702, (570) 819-0813

Great Plains Team Along for the Ride in Pocono: The FedEx Ground Great Plains district will be recognized for outstanding service quality with its district code “GPLS” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend at Pocono Raceway. The Great Plains district, based out of the St. Paul hub, includes all of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and northern areas of Wisconsin and Iowa.

FEDEX RACING CONVERSATION — DENNY HAMLIN:

What is the key to success at Pocono?
“Since the track was repaved, it has changed a little bit, but you really have to get your car working in all three corners to make speed at Pocono. The front straightaway is long, so your car really has to be setup well for Turn 3. It’s going to be really fast in these new cars, and I’m looking forward to going out there Sunday to put on a good show for the fans. We were certainly disappointed with the way Dover ended for us, and now it’s up to our FedEx team to dig down and capitalize on some of our better tracks coming up.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing

Rising Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing a team to take notice of at Pocono

Montoya and Mcmurray are getting faster every week

Race: Party in the Poconos 400
Drivers: @jamiemcmurray, @jpmontoya
Cars: No. 1 Banana Boat Chevrolet SS, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS
Track: Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile tri-oval), Long Pond, Pa.
TV: TNT (1 p.m. ET)
Social: @EGRTeams, #TeamGanassi

I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT

Going the Distance: 2012 marked the first season that NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012 all NASCAR Sprint Cup races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway

Goodyear “Gives Back”: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, exclusive tire supplier of NASCAR’s three major national series, is honoring the U.S. Armed Forces with the launch of the “Goodyear Gives Back” program, a charitable fund-raising effort to benefit Support Our Troops®. This organization helps to boost the morale of active duty troops and their families through care packages sent to the front lines and programs for families at home. Throughout the program (May 23 – July 8) fans can join in by visiting www.Goodyear.com/GivesBack, where they can bid on authentic autographed race-used Goodyear NASCAR Support Our Troops tires, rides in the Goodyear blimp, VIP at-track experiences and other racing memorabilia. In addition, fans can make direct donations, and purchase limited-edition Goodyear Gives Backmerchandise – all to benefit the Support Our Troops organization.

#TEAMGANASSI

Follow EGR on Twitter: Continue to follow Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (EGR) on their official team Twitter page. Find in-race updates and weekly news on the No.1 and No.42 teams throughout the 2013 season by following “@EGRTeams”.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

@jpmontoya-“This week we are at pocono!!! pretty pump about it. got to keep the ball rolling. #momentum”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR POCONO RACEWAY

Jamie McMurray and No. 1 Banana Boat Team

Dover Recap: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates debuted new colors on the No. 1 Chevrolet SS at Dover International Speedway, partnering with Parade Magazine to help launch the rebranding of their print and digital assets. McMurray and the No. 1 team consistently showed speed throughout the weekend and kept the Parade Chevrolet SS in the top-10 during practice, qualifying and the majority of the race until they were sent to the garage with less than 100 laps to go to replace the radiator, which resulted in a 33rd-place finish.

Got You Covered: Banana Boat will once again join McMurray and team as primary sponsor on the No. 1 Chevrolet SS. Banana Boat car will sport a special orange, blue and white paint scheme at Pocono Raceway. Banana Boat has you covered for all of your sun care needs. Stop by the Banana Boat Shade Station in the display area for fun games and activities and also learn about Banana Boat sun care products.

McMurray at Pocono: Making his 20th start at Pocono Raceway this weekend, McMurray has completed 3,664 laps of a possible 3,772 laps at the “Tricky Triangle”, having led 20 laps. McMurray has earned four top-10s, has an average start of 16.8 and an average finish of 21.4. McMurray started from the pole at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in 2005 and his best finish was ninth in 2004 and 2008. McMurray has 14 lead lap finishes in 20 races at Pocono, including eight of the last ten.

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team

Dover Recap: Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 team carried the Energizer colors and bunny to a second-place finish over the weekend at Dover International Speedway. The Energizer Chevy SS started in the 14th position and by lap 80 had broken into the top-10 and never looked back. The team crossed the finish line in the second position giving them their best finish of the 2013 season.

Montoya at Pocono: In 12 starts at Pocono Raceway, Montoya has completed 2,069 laps out of 2,168 laps possible or 95.4%. In his last start at the 2.5-mile track, Montoya started on the pole and finished 20th after rain showers moved through the area and shortened the race. He has tallied one top-five, four top-10s and has an average starting and finishing position of 14.3 and 18.7, respectively.

Making Gains: Montoya has climbed from 30th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings to 22nd over the course of seven races (30thfollowing the Martinsville race) and has accumulated three top-10 finishes in his last five races.

99 Wins and Counting …: The Target Racing program, which began with Target and Chip Ganassi Racing in 1990, is just one win shy of the 100-win plateau. The first win for the program came in 1994 with Michael Andretti’s Indy car victory at Surfers Paradise, Australia when the team was just a two-car open wheel program. The partnership between Target and Chip Ganassi Racing is one of the longest consecutive team partnerships in motor racing history.

Hit the Bullseye: Need something in a hurry? Be sure to stop by the nearest Target at the Pocono Commons in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania on your way to the track this weekend. Call ahead at 570-426-1050 to ensure they have what you need. Get directions

ONE TEAM, SIX CARS, THREE SERIES

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include three cars in the IZOD IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Overall his teams have 15 championships and over 150 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and five Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.

For more information log onto: www.earnhardtganassi.com

- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates

No. 20 crew chief Ratcliff looking for Pocono repeat and first win for Kenseth

Joey Logano/Jason Ratcliff won at Pocono in No. 20 last season

Matt Kenseth/No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota Preview
Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway
No. 20 Husky Toyota News and Notes:

JOE GIBBS RACING AT POCONO: Joe Gibbs Racing has 86 Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway and has earned nine wins, 23 top-five, and 38 top-ten finishes. The organization has led for a total of 1,068 laps, has an average finish of 15.9, and completed 15,571 of 16,466 (94.6 percent) laps.

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS: In 26 Sprint Cup Series career starts at Pocono Raceway, Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 14.3, has completed 4,896 of 4,947 (99.0 percent) career laps, and has led for a total of 54 laps (15 of those laps came in 2012 after the track was repaved.) Kenseth has earned three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes at the 2.5-mile track.

No. 20 TEAM LOOKS TO DEFEND THEIR WIN: Even though Kenseth is new to the No. 20 this season, his team found success at Pocono in 2012 after earning the pole and claiming victory in the Pocono 400 last June. The win was crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s first Sprint Cup Series visit to Victory Lane and was JGR’s ninth series victory at Pocono’s “Tricky Triangle.”

RACE INFO: Coverage of the Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 9th. The race will be broadcast live on TNT, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

From the Cockpit:

Matt Kenseth: “I’m looking forward to going to Pocono this weekend. This will be the second year on the new surface, so I’m sure the pavement has aged a little bit since we last raced there. JGR has had success there and the No. 20 team won this race last year, so I’m looking forward to getting back on to the track, especially after last weekend at Dover. I wasn’t a huge fan of Pocono before the repave because it was a really rough surface, and it seemed tough for us to get a handle on our car, but I ran much better there after it was paved. We ran really well last year and were even able to lead some laps before getting wrecked, but I really have run better at Pocono lately, and hopefully we’ll have another good run.”

From the Pit Box:

Jason Ratcliff: “We were fortunate enough to have won this race last year at Pocono with our No. 20 team, but then didn’t finish as well as we had hoped in the August race. In going back to Pocono this time, I think the biggest unknown is that the track seemed to age quite a bit from the first race to the second race last year after the repave, and I think we’ll see an even bigger change this year. The things that I feel we had figured out about Pocono last year, I’m not sure how much they’ll apply going into this weekend. It’s a track where we’ve run well at in the past, so I’m hopeful we’ll have good results on Sunday. I’m looking forward to the race this weekend and I really like the track. Pocono is the first place that I was fortunate enough to go to Victory Lane on the Cup side, so it’s a special place for me.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Harvick hoping Pocono testing pays off this week

Harvick doesn't have a Pocono win, but can't be counted out Sunday   

Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

This Week’s Rheem Chevrolet SS at Pocono Raceway … 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 Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he settled for a 14th-place finish.

Taking on “The Tricky Triangle” … 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 percent (4,386 of 4,547) of the laps contested and is credited with five laps led.

Rheem on the Hood … The red Rheem logo will adorn the hood of the No. 29 RCR machine this weekend at Pocono Raceway for their fourth of seven appearances during the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Rheem will also be featured on Harvick’s Chevrolet at Sonoma Raceway in June, Michigan International Speedway in August and Talladega Superspeedway in October.

Gotta Have a Rheem … Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta and U.S. operations in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas. In its 88th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Rheem, Raypak, Ruud and Richmond have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing, and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Doing a Little Testing … Harvick and the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team will take a detour through the Bluegrass State on their way to Pennsylvania for a team test at Kentucky Speedway. Harvick and RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Paul Menard are all scheduled to participate in a two-day test on Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5 at the 1.5-mile track. The No. 29 team will utilize chassis No. 404, which they previously tested at Pocono Raceway last week.

Race Rewind … Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem team overcame a pit road penalty and a tight-handlingcondition during this event last season at Pocono Raceway to finish 14th.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

The team just tested at Pocono Raceway. How to do you feel it went, and what did you learn that you can use in this weekend’s race?
“It was good. With the new pavement and a lot of speed, I think it will hopefully apply not only to the Pocono (Raceway) races, but to the Michigan (International Speedway) races and Indianapolis (Motor Speedway). That is what we are banking on, so hopefully it was a productive test. I know we ran a lot of miles and the track still has a lot of speed. Even with the new cars, it doesn’t have quite as much speed as years past. The asphalt has turned several shades of gray. It should be a fun race. The track took rubber and we didn’t have any tire issues or anything like that, so it should be a good weekend.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Clint Bowyer Party at the Poconos 400 Preview

Clint Bowyer's best Pocono finish was third-place in 2009 for RCR

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 15 RK Motors Toyota driver Clint Bowyer and Crew Chief Brian Pattie are in their second season together at Michael Waltrip Racing. Their first season culminated in a runner-up finish for the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The pair heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend in third-place in the standings ahead of their 2012 pace in top-fives, top-10s, laps led and seven spots higher in the point standings.

BRIAN PATTIE ON POCONO: “The three distinct corners make Pocono a challenge. They pose a problem setting cars up, so we just try to pick the corners that we can pass going into and get good speed going down the straightaways. The speeds are way up since the repave. The track is way smoother so that changes the setup a lot from previous years. Hopefully the winter up there has done the track some good and given it some character so we can get a little more grip. That’d help with the racing.”

PATTIE ON BOWYER: “Clint adapts to the racetrack. He’s willing to move around and not get fixated on one line around the racetrack. Obviously when track conditions change he is one of the first ones to move around and find speed. When things are good we’re happy. When things are bad we get pissed off. We want everything to be perfect and most of the time it is, but when it’s not we both get angry at the same time and the same situations. I think our tolerance level is the same. In certain situations or events we act the same way.”

BOWYER ON PATTIE: “I don’t know that there is just one thing that he’s best at – he is good at so many different things. He is a good leader. His workers and crew respect him. They enjoy working with him. I enjoy working with him. He is just a great leader and calls a very good race. He builds fast racecars. He is just the total package as far as I’m concerned.

“I think in a lot of ways we are alike. In terms of personality and temperament – all those things. We are racers that want to win and determined to get there. We are not satisfied with second best and we drive to get better each and every week. And I think we are both realists – we don’t think we are something that we’re not or believe in something that’s not true. We both go out there and understand what we got for a racecar, understand what we got for a situation and have a game plan going into the race of what we need out of that race, that changes. Obviously we want to win each and every week, but with this level of competition that’s just not possible. You have to be able to make good decisions to get the best results possible and keep yourself in the running for this thing. The way that the points work out is all about the Chase. And that’s the last races of the year – not the first races.”

NOTES:

BOWYER AT POCONO: In 14 races Bowyer owns one top-five (August 2009) and seven top-10s. On average he starts 20th and finishes 15th.

2013 vs. 2012: Bowyer is ranked seven spots higher (2013 – third; 2012 – 10th), has 18 more points (2013 – 423 points; 2012 – 405 points), two more top-five finishes (2013 – four; 2012 – two), one more top-10 (2013 – seven; 2012 – six), he has led 109 more laps (2013 – 114 laps; 2012 – five laps).

RK MOTORS: RK Motors Charlotte is the country’s leading retailer of investment-grade classic and collector cars. Founded in 2010 by Robert Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, and Joseph M. Carroll, founder of Best of Show Automotive, RK Motors Charlotte’s 80,000 sq./ft. facility features a 200-vehicle, state-of-the-art showroom complete with digital media studio, full restoration / customization shop and a full service area. Additional information is available at www.RKMotorsCharlotte.com.

- Michael Waltrip Racing

2013 Party at the Poconos 400 Track Facts

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2013 Top 12 at Pocono Raceway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Jimmie Johnson	22	2	2	9	15	0	9.0	107.6
2	Carl Edwards	16	0	2	5	8	0	13.2	97.4
3	Clint Bowyer	14	0	0	1	7	0	15.1	79.9
4	Matt Kenseth	26	0	0	3	10	0	14.3	90.7
5	Kevin Harvick	24	0	0	5	8	2	14.1	89.6
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	26	1	0	5	9	1	17.3	86.1
7	Kasey Kahne	18	2	1	4	6	2	16.8	91.4
8	Brad Keselowski	6	0	1	2	2	0	14.5	79.0
9	Kyle Busch	16	1	0	4	5	4	19.2	84.6
10	Paul Menard	12	0	0	0	2	1	20.8	64.9
11	Jeff Gordon	40	2	6	18	28	5	10.2	100.9
12	Aric Almirola	2	0	0	0	0	0	23.0	63.7

* – Based on last 16 races at Pocono Raceway.

 

Jeff Gordon won for the 6th time at Pocono last fall 

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 70 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.

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

·         311 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway; 218 in more than one.

·         Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Pocono with 55. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 54 starts; followed by Mark Martin with 52.

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

·         39 drivers have Coors Light poles at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader with five each; followed byMark Martin with three.

·         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.

·         Four active drivers have posted consecutive Coors Light poles at Dover: Mark Martin (fall 1990 and spring 1991),Ken Schrader (1993 sweep), Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep) and Joey 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).

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

·         Six 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).

·         Youngest Pocono winner: Joey Logano (6/10/2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).

·         Oldest Pocono winner: Harry Gant (6/17/1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).

·         Hendrick Motorsportshas the most wins at Pocono in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 13: Jeff Gordon (six),Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (two), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one).

·         Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Pocono; led by Chevrolet with 26 victories; followed byFord with 21.

·         14 of the 70 (20.0%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Joey Logano in 2012.

·         The Coors Light pole position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (14) than any other starting position at Pocono Raceway.   

·         23 of the 70 (32.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from the front row: 14 from the pole and nine from second-place.

·         49 of the 70 (70.0%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Five of the 70 (7.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup 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 was 29th, by Carl Edwards in the spring of 2005.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Pocono with seven; followed by Jeff Gordon, Kurt Buschand Richard Petty with five each.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-five finishes at Pocono with 20; followed by Jeff Gordon with 18.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Pocono with 34; followed by Jeff Gordon with 28.

·         Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Pocono with a 5.571.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Pocono with a 9.0.

·         11 of the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Pocono Raceway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards won at Pocono in their first appearances.

·         Terry Labonte competed at Pocono Raceway 17 times before winning in the fall of 2010; the longest span of any the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

·         Among the 13 active NSCS Pocono winners Terry Labonte (17), Greg Biffle (15) and Bobby Labonte (12) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win.

·         Mark Martin leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono without visiting Victory Lane at 52; followed by Jeff Burton with 38.

·         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 has been three NASCAR Sprint Cup races resulting in green-white-checkered finishes 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 70 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the event on 6/6/2010.

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway four times; most recently the fall of 2009 race.

·         Casey Mears (8/1/2004) posted his 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 965 laps led in 40 starts.

·         One female driver has competed at Pocono in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie.

 

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Janet Guthrie	10	11	7/31/1977
Janet Guthrie	22	31	7/30/1978
Janet Guthrie	21	28	7/27/1980

NASCAR in Pennsylvania

·         There have been 104 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Pocono Raceway	Long Pond	70
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
Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth	0

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

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

 

Pocono Raceway Data

Season Race #: 14 of 36 (06-09-13)

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 12 Driver Rating at Pocono

Denny Hamlin............................ 115.1

Jimmie Johnson......................... 107.6

Kurt Busch................................ 103.7

Jeff Gordon................................ 100.9

Tony Stewart............................... 98.6

Carl Edwards.............................. 97.4

Ryan Newman............................. 95.4

Mark Martin................................. 94.4

Kasey Kahne.............................. 91.4

Matt Kenseth.............................. 90.7

Kevin Harvick.............................. 89.6

Jeff Burton.................................. 87.1

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (16 total) among active drivers at Pocono Raceway.

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner:

Joey Logano, Toyota, 179.598 mph, 50.112 secs. 6-8-12

 

2012 race winner:

Joey Logano, Toyota, 131.004 mph, (03:03:12), 6-10-12

 

Track qualifying record:

Joey Logano, Toyota, 179.598 mph, 50.112 secs. 6-8-12

 

Track race record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 145.384 mph, (03:26:21), 6-12-11