Pocono Raceway:

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 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 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 by Ford 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 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 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.