POCONO RACEWAY (2.5-MILE TRIANGLE)
LOCATION: LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 21 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 1:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JULY 31 (NBCSN/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 36 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
16th in standings
20 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Career
452 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
88 top-five finishes
162 top-10 finishes
4,607 laps led
Track Career
25 starts
2 wins
2 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
219 laps led
KAHNE AT POCONO: Kasey Kahne returns to Pocono Raceway for the second time this season. In this year’s June race, Kahne started the 160-lap event from the 11th position and overcame a pit road speeding penalty to end the day with a sixth-place finish. Kahne has two top-10 finishes in his last four starts at the 2.5-mile track. In the 36-year-old driver’s 25 starts at the Long Pond, Pennsylvania, track, he’s led a total of 219 laps throughout eight races, which ranks him seventh out of active drivers.
WINNING AT POCONO: Kahne has two wins at Pocono, in 2008 and 2013. In Kahne’s 2008 win, he started from the pole position before leading 69 laps and taking the checkered flag with a 3.702-second margin of victory. To capture his August 2013 win, Kahne started in the 18th position and led 66 laps en route to his 1.392-second victory over Jeff Gordon.
LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data, the driver of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS ranks third in the fastest laps run category with 308. Kahne is fourth in average speed late in the run at 162.611 mph and fourth in quality passes with 887. The Enumclaw, Washington, native is ninth in green-flag passes at Pocono with 1,779.
RETURNING HOME: No. 5 team race engineer Josh Noll is from Southhampton, Pennsylvania, which is located just over four hours southwest of Long Pond. Noll joined Hendrick Motorsports this season and is a graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology.
GREAT CLIPS #MOREMINUTES: Save #MoreMinutes during the busy back-to-school season by using the Great Clips check-in app or checking in online for a haircut at your local salon. #MoreMinutes will adorn the TV panel of Kahne’s No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Great Clips wants you to share a selfie of your new haircut via Twitter or Instagram and tell what you would do with #MoreMinutes.
No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS / Chase Elliott
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 20 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
11th in standings
20 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
118 laps led
Career
25 starts
0 wins
2 pole positions
6 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
118 laps led
Track Career
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
51 laps led
SEASON STANDINGS: Chase Elliott currently sits 11th in the standings with 525 points. The rookie trails leader Kevin Harvick by 146 markers. The 20-year-old is younger than any other driver currently inside the top 16 – the amount of drivers NASCAR takes into its playoffs – while also being the highest ranked rookie.
SUCCESS AT THE TRIANGLE: Earlier this year, Elliott was in contention for the win at the “Tricky Triangle,” logging a race-high 51 laps led. After a battle for the lead in the closing laps, the rookie ultimately finished in fourth in his first career Pocono start. It marked the fifth race in a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes for the young driver.
MAKING HISTORY: Elliott competed in five ARCA Racing Series races in 2013 in order to gain experience at larger circuits, running two of those races at the “Tricky Triangle.” On June 8, 2013, after capturing his first victory at Pocono Raceway, Elliott became the youngest winner in ARCA superspeedway history at the time.
TOP-RANKED ROOKIE: Elliott leads the 2016 Rookie of the Year contender standings heading into Pocono by 49 points over second-place Ryan Blaney and 89 points over third-place Brian Scott. Elliott has accumulated a total of 244 rookie points this year through the first 20 points-paying races.
GOING HOME: The “Tricky Triangle” is a trip home for several NAPA AUTO PARTS team members. Car chief and longtime Hendrick Motorsports employee Josh Kirk hails from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 165 miles southwest of the raceway. In addition, No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS hauler driver Heath Edler grew up less than 100 miles away from Pocono Raceway in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Matt Barndt, race engineer on the No. 24 Chevrolet, hails from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, located a mere 40 miles from the three-turn track. “It’s always nice going back to Pennsylvania to race close to home and getting to spend time with family and friends,” said Barndt, who started racing quarter midgets when he was just 5 years old. “Those who were involved with my racing career growing up get to see where their time and effort advanced me in my career in the sport outside of the seat.”
GET BACK AND GIVE BACK: NAPA AUTO PARTS has a long history of supporting the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families. In February, the company announced that it had raised more than $2.1 million for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund through its annual “Get Back and Give Back” campaign. This July, NAPA AUTO PARTS is donating $1 for each redeemed mail-in rebate for batteries, alternators and starters purchased, and $2 for qualifying installations. Customers also have the ability to donate all or a portion of their mail-in rebates directly to the IFHF. One hundred percent of the donation goes to the IFHF’s mission of building nine Intrepid Spirit centers around the country.
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 40 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2016 Season
8th in standings
20 starts
2 wins
1 pole position
7 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
229 laps led
Career
527 starts
77 wins
35 pole positions
214 top-five finishes
322 top-10 finishes
17,938 laps led
Track Career
29 starts
3 wins
3 pole positions
11 top-five finishes
19 top-10 finishes
738 laps led
MILESTONE FINISH AT INDY: When the No. 48 Lowe’s Red Vest Chevrolet SS crossed the finish line in third at the Brickyard last weekend, Jimmie Johnson gave Hendrick Motorsports its 1,000th top-five result since the team was founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984. It was Johnson’s 214th top-five finish and his seventh this season.
RALLY AT INDY: Johnson had an up-and-down day at the Brickyard. After starting 13th, he ran as high as second on the scoring pylon but a speeding penalty on pit road eventually put the No. 48 team a lap down and running as low as 23rd. According to NASCAR’s loop data, Johnson made 38 quality passes – more than any other driver – to get back to the front of the field. He passed four cars on the final lap to finish third.
CHASE BOUND: With Johnson’s third-place finish at Indianapolis, he became one of only five drivers to have locked themselves into the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins with the Chicagoland Speedway event on Sunday, Sept. 18. Due to Johnson’s two wins this season in Atlanta and Fontana, California, the driver of the No. 48 now has enough points to guarantee that he cannot fall outside of the top 30 in the standings. The only requirement remaining is that Johnson attempt to start the remaining races of the regular season.
THIRD-HIGHEST DRIVER RATING AT POCONO: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Johnson has the third-best driver rating at Pocono with a score of 106.3 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
HOMETOWN CONNECTIONS: Two members of the No. 48 team have personal connections to Pennsylvania. Engine tuner John Boydston hails from Oswego, New York, but attended Luzerne County Community College in nearby Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. Shock specialist Mike Ellershaw is from Levittown, Pennsylvania.
POCONO JIMMIE JOHNSON TICKET PACKAGE: There are still tickets left for the Jimmie Johnson kids ticket package at Pocono Raceway this weekend. The package includes exclusive access to a question-and-answer session with the six-time champion as well as a NASA Rockets to Racecars activity experience. Log on to PoconoRaceway.com using promo code JJNASA or call 1-800-722-3929 to purchase.
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 44 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2016 Season
1 start
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
Career
798 starts
93 wins
81 pole positions
325 top-five finishes
475 top-10 finishes
24,929 laps led
Track Career
46 starts
6 wins
2 pole positions
20 top-five finishes
32 top-10 finishes
1,040 laps led
Jeff Gordon, substitute driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, will be available to members of the media on Friday, July 29, at 1:30 p.m. ET in the Pocono Raceway media center.
EARNHARDT UPDATE: Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports, will sit out his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event as he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms. He will miss Sunday’s event at Pocono Raceway after not competing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Earnhardt gave an update on his condition this week on his “The Dale Jr. Download” podcast. He will not travel to Pocono or be available for interviews this week. A timetable has not yet been established for his return.
GORDON CONTINUES: Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for the second week in a row. Gordon, who filled in for Earnhardt last week at Indianapolis, finished 13th in his first race since last season’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Following the race, he shared a special moment with Tony Stewart as the two competitors and friends completed a final lap together at the Brickyard.
FIRST AT POCONO: Gordon, who will be driving the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS this weekend, holds the record for most wins at Pocono Raceway with six. The 44-year-old leads active drivers in top-five finishes (20) and top-10 results (32) at the track.
UP FRONT AT POCONO: The 93-time NASCAR Cup Series winner has led 1,040 laps at the “Tricky Triangle” during his 24-year career. That ranks Gordon first on the all-time list at the 2.5-mile track, 231 more than second.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: On Aug. 4, just four days after he competes at Pocono, Gordon will celebrate his 45th birthday.
NATIONWIDE SUPPORTS THE NASCAR FOUNDATION: Nationwide will once again be the presenting sponsor of The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. The award will be showcased on Sept. 27 at the Foundation’s inaugural Honors Gala at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The award honors volunteers – who are also NASCAR fans – who dedicate themselves to children’s causes in their communities throughout the United States. This year’s finalists include Jim Giaccone of Bayville, New York, representing Tuesday’s Children; Andy Hoffman of Atkinson, Nebraska, founder of the Team Jack Foundation; Logan Houptley of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a founding member of Mikayla’s Voice; and Parker White of Greensboro, North Carolina, founder of BackPack Beginnings. The award winner will be determined via an online vote now underway and running through Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. ET. The winner will receive a $100,000 donation to the charity they represent and the three other finalists will receive $25,000 for their respective charitable organizations. To vote and to learn more about The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide and each of the national finalists, please visit: www.NASCAR.com/Award.
HOMETOWN CONNECTION: The shock specialist for the No. 88 Nationwide team, Jason Seitzinger, hails from Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, which is just over an hour southwest of Pocono Raceway. Nicknamed “Penske” for his first job in racing – he worked in the parts room at Penske Racing Shocks in Reading, Pennsylvania – Seitzinger has been with Hendrick Motorsports for more than 15 years. He initially started at Hendrick Motorsports as a shock specialist on the No. 24 team, and was part of Gordon’s 2004 Brickyard 400 victory.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT POCONO: Hendrick Motorsports has accumulated 17 wins at Pocono Raceway, with the four most recent coming as season sweeps in 2013 (Johnson and Kahne) and 2014 (Earnhardt). In addition, the organization has 12 pole positions, 67 top-five finishes and 116 top-10 finishes at the 2.5-mile triangle.
POCONO PROWESS: Hendrick Motorsports’ 17 Sprint Cup victories at Pocono have come with seven different drivers: Gordon (6), Johnson (3), Tim Richmond (3), Earnhardt (2), Geoffrey Bodine, Terry Labonte and Kahne.
ACHIEVING 1,000: At Indianapolis, Johnson gave Hendrick Motorsports its 1,000th top-five finish since the team was founded by Rick Hendrick in 1984. The owner’s first Sprint Cup top-five also was his first win — with driver Geoff Bodine on April 29, 1984, at Martinsville Speedway. This season, the organization has recorded 20 top-fives among its four drivers. Hendrick Motorsports posted a team record 57 top-five finishes in 2007.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 242 victories, 209 pole positions, 1,000 top-five finishes and 1,668 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 65,417 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“The fans in Pennsylvania are serious race fans. To me, it’s a neat place to race a couple times a year. Pocono is an interesting track with three different corners and long straightaways. If you don’t get a good run off the corner you can get passed and there is a lot of blocking that goes on. It is wide and it can be crazy getting into Turn 1 on the starts. It is a good spot to go and race and I enjoy it.”
Kasey Kahne on racing at Pocono Raceway
“I thought we had a really good car at Pocono earlier this summer. It was certainly one of our best days of the year I think. I thought for us to be able to contend and lead laps all day and have a car that could fight for the lead the majority of the day was great. I’m hoping we can take what we had and learn from there to try to make it better. I definitely have some things that I learned. Hopefully we can clean it up and try to do the best we can to give ourselves a chance to contend.”
Chase Elliott on returning to Pocono Raceway
“I’m looking forward to the challenge this weekend at Pocono. We really rallied last weekend at Indy and are making gains. It’s been a tough summer for all of us and I am just so proud of this team and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for sticking together and digging deep. I’m really proud to have been able to give (Hendrick Motorsports owner) Mr. (Rick) Hendrick his 1,000th top-five finish last weekend at Indy. Pocono is a great track for us – I like going there, enjoy the surrounding area for cycling, and am ready to get back in the Lowe’s Chevy.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Pocono Raceway
“I really liked working with (No. 88 team crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the whole No. 88 team. I’m looking forward to going to Pocono.
“I want Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. back in the car as soon as possible … but to go to Indy and finish a decent 13th, I think I can do better this week for him and then we’ll just go from there. We are all going to work together to do our best to continue to keep that excitement and momentum in the team there for when he is ready to come back, so he comes back and doesn’t miss a beat and can win some races.”
Jeff Gordon on subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Pocono Raceway
