FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: POCONO 2 ADVANCE
Ryan Blaney will be trying to become the first Ford driver to sweep both Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono since NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott did it in 1985 when the green flag falls for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400. Blaney became the 14th different Ford winner at the “Tricky Triangle” and is one of four current Ford drivers with at least one series win on the three-turn track (Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch).
BLANEY GOING FOR POCONO SWEEP
Ryan Blaney earned his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory a few weeks ago at Pocono Raceway and will be looking to become the first driver since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014 to pull off a season sweep. Blaney, who gave the Wood Brothers their 99th all-time series win, held off Kevin Harvick over the final seven laps to win the Pocono 400. Blaney, who overcame a loose wheel on Lap 19, found himself in position after caution came out with 19 laps to go. Kyle Busch opted to stay out while all of the other contenders behind him pitted, including Blaney who got four fresh tires and restarted fourth. A major battle between Busch and Blaney resulted, but the newer tires proved to be too much as Blaney eventually got by with nine laps to go. He couldn’t breathe easily, however, as Harvick started to reel in Blaney, but could never pull alongside to challenge.
ELLIOTT SWEEPS IN 1985
Ford reached victory lane at Pocono Raceway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the first time on June 9, 1985 when Bill Elliott beat Harry Gant to win the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500. Elliott was able to pass Gant with 11 laps remaining, shortly after a restart, to claim Ford’s first win at the facility. Elliott, who also started on the pole, was helped by four cautions over the final 25 laps and won for the sixth time as he led 32 of the 200 circuits. It marked the front end of what would eventually be a season sweep for Elliott at Pocono as he won a few weeks later on July 21.
KULWICKI’S FINAL WIN
Nobody knew it at the time, but when Alan Kulwicki won the Champion Spark Plug 500 on June 14, 1992 it marked the final victory of his career. Kulwicki passed Bill Elliott with 11 laps remaining to cap a day that saw 15 cars drop out before the checkered flag flew, including 11 engine failures. In a precursor to what happened a few months later at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kulwicki and Elliott battled down the stretch as they exchanged the lead multiple times over the final 25 laps. Kulwicki passed Elliott for the top spot on lap 181, but traffic slowed him down to the point that five laps later the two swapped positions. Mark Martin made it a three-way battle, but Kulwicki ultimately prevailed as he got by both drivers on lap 190 and never looked back. Kulwicki, who won five series races overall, went on to win the championship later that year over fellow Ford drivers Elliott and Davey Allison.
WALLACE HOT STREAK
Rusty Wallace was in his first season with Ford after car owner Roger Penske decided to switch from Pontiac for the 1994 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. That decision paid immediate dividends as Wallace went on to win eight times that year, including the UAW-GM Teamwork 500 at Pocono on June 12. The victory, his second straight in a streak that eventually grew to three with another triumph at Michigan a few days later, was a dramatic one as he passed Dale Earnhardt on the final lap. The two waged a major battle as Earnhardt grabbed the lead with five laps to go, only to see Wallace fight back after the white flag flew to win by 0.28 seconds.
BIFFLE SNAPS DROUGHT
When Greg Biffle won the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2010 it snapped a 65-race winless drought and gave Ford its first win of the season. Biffle found himself next to Sam Hornish Jr. on the front row of a restart with 20 laps to go and after he was able to gain the lead through the tunnel turn, he never looked back and ended up beating Tony Stewart to the finish line by more than three seconds. The win was the first of two for Biffle that season as he also took the checkered flag at Kansas two months later.
FORD PERFORMANCE CUP WINNERS AT POCONO
1985 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1988 – Bill Elliott (2)
1989 – Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott
1990 – Geoffrey Bodine (2)
1992 – Alan Kulwicki (1)
1994 – Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
1995 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1996 – Rusty Wallace (2)
1997 – Dale Jarrett (2)
1998 – Jeremy Mayfield (1)
2000 – Jeremy Mayfield and Rusty Wallace
2001 – Ricky Rudd (1)
2002 – Dale Jarrett (1)
2005 – Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2010 – Greg Biffle (2)
2016 – Chris Buescher (2)
2017 – Ryan Blaney (1)
