Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Matt Kenseth looking for first top-5 Pocono finish since 2006

Matt Kenseth is 10/1 to grab his first career Pocono win
Matt Kenseth / No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Preview
Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway
No. 20 Dollar General Toyota News and Notes:

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS AT POCONO:
In 28 Sprint Cup Series career starts at Pocono, Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 14.9, has completed 5,216 of 5,267 (99.0 percent) career laps, and has led for a total of 55 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 92 Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono and has earned nine wins, 23 top-five, and 41 top-ten finishes. The organization has led for a total of 1,069 laps, has an average start of 12.8, an average finish of 16.1, and has completed 16,385 of 17,426 (94.0 percent) laps.

LEADING THE WAY: Kenseth enters the weekend at Pocono, and the 14th race of the Sprint Cup Series season, atop the driver point standings with a two-point advantage over Jeff Gordon.
THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA: Dollar General vendor partners Old Spice, Stacker2, Gatorade, Clorox, Windex, Snuggle, Colgate and Hanes will be featured on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry this weekend at Pocono Raceway.

RACE INFO: The Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 8th. The race will be broadcast live on TNT, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:
StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedEarningsAvg. StartAvg. Finish
1305101321$2,604,99015.89.2
Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:
StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedEarningsAvg. StartAvg. Finish
52131143258129,247$102,147,25418.514.1

From the Cockpit:
Matt Kenseth:
“Pocono made a few changes to Turn two I’ve heard where they removed the curb that used to be there and added asphalt so I’m curious to see how race-able that is or how that may change how we’ve been running in that corner. I wasn’t a huge fan of Pocono before they repaved the track the other year 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 got caught up in two wrecks last year, but I know JGR cars have run well there in the past, so I’m hoping to have a good weekend.”

From the Pit Box:
Jason Ratcliff:
“We have not done any testing at Pocono this year, and that was a tough place for us last year. The first race, I thought that we were pretty good, but then we went back for the second race and we just struggled pretty bad. With all the new rules packages in place this year I know it’ll be a little different for everybody. It’s an unusual track to start with since there isn’t really any other place like it, so trying to prepare for Pocono is a little difficult. Turn 1 and Turn 3 are so different that you try to find compromises and then figure out which one you feel the car will be best in for the day. I think that the new paved area in Turn 2 may add a new element to it and possibly make it like the dogleg we have at Phoenix.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing

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