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| Alex Bowman won his first Cup race at Chicagoland on June 30. |
"I think Pocono is one of my favorite places to go. We typically are really fast there. We had a top-five run going earlier this year before we lost fourth gear there toward the end. It is an interesting racetrack. There is a big compromise in all three corners there. Trying to keep the car from being loose into Turn 3, but still turning off of Turn 3 is super key with how long that straightaway is. It is a very technical place."
Bowman on his expectations this weekend:
"This is a really tough place to pass. Hopefully we can qualify pretty good and we won’t have to worry about passing too many cars. Pocono is really a one-groove track and it doesn’t widen out as much as we may want it to sometimes."
ON BOWMAN’S SIDE: The primary blue-and-white colors of Nationwide will adorn the hood of Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet for this Sunday’s event at Pocono Raceway. As the No. 88 team’s majority partner, Nationwide will be featured in 20 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2019. After this weekend’s race, the sponsor will be back on board the No. 88 machine at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.
'TRICKY TRIANGLE' STATS: Bowman is set to make his eighth career Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway this weekend. The Tucson, Arizona, native earned his best start (10th) and best finish (third) at the track last July. The driver also has one start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Pennsylvania track, starting and finishing 10th in 2016. He made two “Trick Triangle” starts in the ARCA Series back in 2012, when he finished third in both events.
2019 AT A GLANCE: Bowman and the No. 88 Nationwide team sit 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings after 20 events in 2019. This season, the 26-year-old driver has one win (Chicagoland Speedway), four top-five finishes and six top-10s. Since the April event at Talladega Superspeedway, he has led more than 180 laps.
POCONO CREDENTIALS: No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots for the 10th time at Pocono Raceway this weekend. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s resumé includes three top-five finishes. Ives’ best result at the track came back in 2016 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished runner-up in the 160-lap event. Last year at the Pennsylvania track, he led Bowman to the driver’s best finish of the 2018 season, taking the checkered flag in third at the July race. Before moving to the No. 88 team, the crew chief was a race engineer for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team between 2006 and 2012. During that time, the team captured 11 top-10 finishes and one pole award at the track.
EYES ON THE POINTS: Since the 600-mile event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Bowman and the No. 88 Nationwide team have captured 225 points, which is the fifth-most earned in that span in the Cup Series. He is currently ninth on the list of drivers who have earned the most stage points since that May 26 race, collecting 47 extra points.
WHERE’S ALEX: Bowman will attend the Pocono Raceway Fan Fest on Friday evening, July 26, at 6 p.m. local time at the Pocono Infield’s Block Party Stage. He and driver Corey LaJoie will compete against each other in three fun activities with race fans. For more info click here.
HOMETOWN TRACK: Jason Seitzinger, shock engineer for the No. 88 team, grew up in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, which is located about 70 miles from Pocono Raceway. His first job was at Penske Racing Shocks in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he worked inside the parts room. Seitzinger has been with Hendrick Motorsports for 17 years.
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