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 71 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.

·       314 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 53.

·       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 by Mark 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 Pocono: 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 (8/7/2011 – 21 years, 2 months, 14 days).

·       Oldest Pocono pole winner: David Pearson (6/10/1984 – 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 Motorsports has the most wins at Pocono in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 14: Jeff Gordon (six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one).

·       Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Pocono; led by Chevrolet with 27 victories; followed by Ford with 21.

·       15 of the 71 (21.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Jimmie Johnson earlier this season.

·       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 71 (33.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from the front row: 15 from the pole and nine from second-place.

·       50 of the 71 (70.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·       Five of the 71 (7.0%) 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 Busch and 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 6.333.

·       Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Pocono with an 8.652.

·       11 of the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup 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 53; followed by Jeff Burton with 39.

·       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 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 71 NASCAR Sprint Cup 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 four times; most recently the fall of 2009.

·       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 41 starts.

·       Two female drivers have competed at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.

 

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
Danica Patrick	30	29	6/9/2013

Pocono Raceway Data

Season Race #: 21 of 36 (08-04-13)

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........................... 113.8

Jimmie Johnson........................ 110.0

Kurt Busch............................... 103.8

Jeff Gordon.............................. 100.0

Tony Stewart.............................. 98.8

Carl Edwards.............................. 97.8

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

Mark Martin................................ 93.1

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

Kevin Harvick............................. 90.2

Kasey Kahne.............................. 89.6

Dale Earnhardt Jr....................... 88.0

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (17 total) among active drivers at Pocono Raceway.

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner: Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 176.043 mph, 51.124 secs. 8-3-12

2012 race winner: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 139.249 mph, (01:45:34), 8-5-12

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

 

NASCAR in Pennsylvania

·       There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Pocono Raceway	Long Pond	71
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

·       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-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

 

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)

·       One win, three top fives, five top 10s

·       Average finish of 16.7

·       Average Running Position of 14.4, 10th-best

·       Driver Rating of 87.8, 13th-best

·       97 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·       1,347 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 160.563 mph, 11th-fastest

·       2,083 Laps in the Top 15 (66.5%), eighth-most

·       659 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), seventh-most

 

Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet)

·       Two wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole

·       Average finish of 15.8

·       Average Running Position of 10.9, fourth-best

·       Driver Rating of 103.8, third-best

·       304 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 161.085 mph, third-fastest

·       2,219 Laps in the Top 15 (74.7%), sixth-most

·       618 Quality Passes, 10th-most

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet)

·       Six top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole

·       Average finish of 16.7

·       Driver Rating of 88.0, 12th-best

·       60 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most

 

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Fastenal Ford)

·       Two wins, five top fives, eight top 10s

·       Average finish of 13.5

·       Average Running Position of 14.5, 11th-best

·       Driver Rating of 97.8, sixth-best

·       175 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 160.838 mph, fifth-fastest

·       2,002 Laps in the Top 15 (63.9%), ninth-most

·       620 Quality Passes, ninth-most

 

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)

·       Six wins, 18 top fives, 28 top 10s; two poles

·       Average finish of 10.2

·       Average Running Position of 10.5, third-best

·       Driver Rating of 100.0, fourth-best

·       111 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

·       1,319 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 160.928 mph, fourth-fastest

·       2,337 Laps in the Top 15 (74.6%), third-most

·       721 Quality Passes, fourth-most

 

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota)

·       Four wins, eight top fives, 10 top 10s; two poles

·       Average finish of 10.5

·       Series-best Average Running Position of 9.1

·       Series-best Driver Rating of 113.8

·       Series-high 434 Fastest Laps Run

·       Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 161.419 mph

·       2,244 Laps in the Top 15 (82.3%), fifth-most

 

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet)

·       Five top fives, nine top 10s

·       Average finish of 13.9

·       Average Running Position of 14.0, ninth-best

·       Driver Rating of 90.2, 10th-best

·       1,440 Green Flag Passes, second-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 160.562 mph, 12th-fastest

·       1,955 Laps in the Top 15 (62.4%), 10th-most

·       671 Quality Passes, sixth-most

 

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Planes Chevrolet)

·       Three wins, 10 top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles

·       Average finish of 8.7

·       Average Running Position of 9.3, second-best

·       Driver Rating of 110.0, second-best

·       259 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 161.266 mph, second-fastest

·       Series-high 2,536 Laps in the Top 15 (81.0%)

·       741 Quality Passes, second-most

 

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet)

·       One win, four top fives, six top 10s; two poles

·       Average finish of 17.8

·       Driver Rating of 89.6, 11th-best

·       243 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

·       Average Green Flag Speed of 160.816 mph, seventh-fastest

 

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota)

·       Three top fives, 10 top 10s

·       Average finish of 14.7

·       Average Running Position of 12.9, eighth-best

·       Driver Rating of 90.7, ninth-best

·       687 Quality Passes, fifth-most

 

Mark Martin (No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota)

·       20 top fives, 34 top 10s; three poles

·       Average finish of 11.2

·       Average Running Position of 12.6, seventh-best

·       Driver Rating of 93.1, eighth-best

·       2,126 Laps in the Top 15 (67.9%), seventh-most

 

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Quicken Loans/The Smurfs Chevrolet)

·       One win, eight top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles

·       Average finish of 12.0

·       Average Running Position of 11.2, fifth-best

·       Driver Rating of 95.4, seventh-best

·       2,379 Laps in the Top 15 (76.0%), second-most

·       Series-high 774 Quality Passes

 

Tony Stewart (No. 14 GoDaddy Chevrolet)

·       Two wins, 12 top fives, 21 top 10s; two poles

·       Average finish of 11.0

·       Average Running Position of 12.0, sixth-best

·       Driver Rating of 98.8, fifth-best

·       1,418 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most

·       2,291 Laps in the Top 15 (73.1%), fourth-most

·       737 Quality Passes, third-most

 

Chase Contenders

The Top 10

Following Race 20 of 36

                                                                                          Rank         Season

                                                                                          Last           Driver

Driver                                 Points   Wins       Poles         Week         Rating

1. Jimmie Johnson           740        4             1                1             115.7

2. Clint Bowyer                  665        0             0                2               93.2

3. Carl Edwards                 655        1             1                3               92.6

4. Kevin Harvick                648        2             0                 4               92.9

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.        616        0             1                 5               94.9

6. Matt Kenseth                 615        4             2                 6            111.9

7. Kyle Busch                    610        2             3                 7             102.5

8. Greg Biffle                      565        1             0                8               80.9

9. Kasey Kahne                564        1             0               10             100.5

10. Jeff Gordon                    559        0             0              12               87.4

______________________________________________________

 

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

11. Tony Stewart                     558          32. Dave Blaney                290

12. Martin Truex Jr.                554          33. JJ Yeley                      277

13. Brad Keselowski                553          34. David Stremme            271

14. Kurt Busch                        546          35. Travis Kvapil                253

15. Jamie McMurray                537          36. AJ Allmendinger          233

16. Ryan Newman                   534          37. Michael McDowell       105

17. Aric Almirola                      529          38. Michael Waltrip            102

18. Joey Logano                     524          39. Scott Speed                  91

19. Paul Menard                      520          40. Timmy Hill                     82

20. Jeff Burton                        499          41. Terry Labonte               77

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.          495          42. Ken Schrader                68

22. Marcos Ambrose               468          43. Boris Said                      26

23. Juan Pablo Montoya          460          44. Ron Fellows                  22

24. Casey Mears                     420          45. Justin Marks                  14

25. Denny Hamlin                    388          46. Scott Riggs                   10

26. Danica Patrick                   364          47. Victor Gonzalez Jr.          7

27. David Gilliland                   363          48. Tomy Drissi                     6

28. David Ragan                      352          49. Brian Keselowski             4

29. Mark Martin                       335          50. Alex Kennedy                  4

30. Bobby Labonte                  303          51. Jacques Villeneuve         3

31. David Reutimann               294          52. Jason Leffler                   1                                 

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. After race No. 26, the top 10 earn a berth in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.

 

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	23	2	3	10	16	0	8.7	110.0
2	Clint Bowyer	15	0	0	1	7	0	15.1	80.0
3	Carl Edwards	17	0	2	5	8	0	13.5	97.8
4	Kevin Harvick	25	0	0	5	9	2	13.9	90.2
5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	27	1	0	6	10	1	16.7	88.0
6	Matt Kenseth	27	0	0	3	10	0	14.7	90.7
7	Kyle Busch	17	1	0	4	6	4	18.4	85.9
8	Greg Biffle	21	0	1	3	5	2	16.7	87.8
9	Kasey Kahne	19	2	1	4	6	2	17.8	89.6
10	Jeff Gordon	41	2	6	18	28	5	10.2	100.0
11	Tony Stewart	29	2	2	12	21	2	11.0	98.8
12	Martin Truex Jr.	15	0	0	2	5	0	15.3	81.7

* – Based on last 17 races at Pocono Raceway.

 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2013 Wild Card Standings Following Indianapolis

Pos	Driver	Wins	Pts Pos	Points	Pts From 10th	Starts	Poles	T5s	T10s	DNFs
1	Tony Stewart	1	11	558	-1	20	0	5	7	0
2	Martin Truex Jr.	1	12	554	-5	20	0	4	8	2
3	Ryan Newman	1	16	534	-25	20	1	3	9	5
4	Brad Keselowski	0	13	553	-6	20	1	6	9	1
5	Kurt Busch	0	14	546	-13	20	1	4	8	2
6	Jamie McMurray	0	15	537	-22	20	1	1	5	0
7	Aric Almirola	0	17	529	-30	20	0	1	5	3
8	Joey Logano	0	18	524	-35	20	0	5	9	2
9	Paul Menard	0	19	520	-39	20	0	0	4	1
10	Jeff Burton	0	20	499	-60	20	0	2	4	1
11	David Ragan	1	28	352	-207	20	0	1	1	3

 

The top-10 drivers will make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  Positions 11 and 12 in the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup are Wild Cards, and will go to drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, as long as they are ranked in the top 20 in points. If multiple drivers outside the top 10 tie for wins, the tie-breaker will go to the race winner with the highest points position.