FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: POCONO ADVANCE
Pocono Raceway will be hosting all three major NASCAR Series this weekend, which is highlighted by back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series events on Saturday and Sunday. This will mark the second straight year for the Pocono doubleheader, which saw Ford drivers Kevin Harvick (Cup) and Chase Briscoe (NXS) come away with wins in 2020.
This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, June 26 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 12 Noon ET (FS1)
Saturday, June 26 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. (NBCSN)
Sunday, June 27 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 12 Noon ET (NBCSN)
Sunday, June 27 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT POCONO
- Ford has 24 all-time series wins at Pocono.
- Chris Buescher (2016), Ryan Blaney (2017) and Kevin Harvick (2020) have Ford wins at Pocono.
- Bill Elliott got Ford’s first series win at Pocono in 1985 (season sweep).
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT POCONO
- Ford is the first manufacturer with multiple Pocono wins in the series.
- Ford has 3 victories in 5 all-time series starts.
- Brad Keselowski (2017), Cole Custer (2019) and Chase Briscoe (2020) have track wins.
FORD IN THE GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT POCONO
- Ford has one series win at Pocono (Ryan Blaney, 2013).
- This will mark the 12th series race at the track.
- Todd Gilliand has finished in the top 10 in all three of his Pocono starts.
HARVICK LOOKING TO DEFEND POCONO WIN
Kevin Harvick is the defending champion of this weekend’s first Cup race at Pocono after he won for the first time at the track last year. The Stewart-Haas driver led the final 17 laps to register his third win of the season as six Ford drivers finished in the top 10. With Pocono now scratched off his winless list, the only active tracks on the circuit where Harvick hasn’t won are the new road courses, including the Charlotte Roval, Daytona Road Course, COTA, Bristol Dirt, and Nashville Superspeedway.
BLANEY GETS FIRST CUP VICTORY
Ryan Blaney earned his first NASCAR Cup Series four years ago at Pocono Raceway, giving the Wood Brothers their 99th all-time series win. Blaney held off Kevin Harvick over the final seven laps to win the Pocono 400 after overcoming a loose wheel only 19 laps into the event. He found himself in position to win after the 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 him in, but could never pull alongside to challenge.
BUESCHER JOINS FIRST-TIME WINNERS CLUB AT POCONO
Chris Buescher is another Ford driver who posted his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Pocono when he won the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 in 2016. Buescher led the final 12 laps and qualified for the playoffs as the scheduled 160-lap race was called after 138 circuits. It represented the second series win and first playoff qualification for Front Row Motorsports, which Buescher drove for in 2016 after the organization entered into an alliance with Roush Fenway Racing.
ELLIOTT SWEEPS IN 1985
Ford reached victory lane at Pocono Raceway in the 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, who was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019, 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 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.
FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES 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)
2020 – Kevin Harvick (1)
FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
2017 – Brad Keselowski
2019 – Cole Custer
2020 – Chase Briscoe
FORD GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT POCONO
2013 – Ryan Blaney
