Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Pocono
The NASCAR Cup Series makes history when it heads to Pocono this weekend for two events in back-to-back days. Overall Roush Fenway has four wins and 72 top-10s at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’ Both RFR drivers have a Cup win to their credit in Pocono, with Newman’s coming back in 2003, while Chris Buescher’s lone Cup win came in the 2016 event.
Pocono Raceway (2.5-Mile)
Pocono Organics 325
Saturday, June 27 | 3:30 p.m. ET
FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Progressive Insurance Ford
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford
Pocono Raceway (2.5-Mile)
Pocono 350
Sunday, June 28 | 4 p.m. ET
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
· Ryan Newman, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford
· Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford
NASCAR Returns to Action
· NASCAR’s return to racing heads to the Pocono Mountains this weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series tackles its first doubleheader in the modern era (1972-present). The stars of the NCS will first run 325 miles on Saturday afternoon, and follow that with a 350-mile event Sunday. Overall, the 2.5-mile, three-turn track will host 1,250 miles worth of racing across four series.
· To add to the drama of the series’ first-ever doubleheader, teams will use the same car for both days unless forced to a backup car from an incident in Saturday’s event.
· The starting lineup for the first race will be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points, meaning Newman will draw for a spot in the 13-24 group. The starting order for Sunday’s race will be determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of race one.
· This weekend also picks up from the original 2020 season schedule, with the previous nine weeks shuffled around to allow for a safe return to the track.
· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.
Talladega Recap, Pocono Preview
· Newman used his usual Superspeedway strategy Monday at Talladega, riding contently around the tail end of the pack until the last 15-20 laps. After getting inside the top-10 as the laps wound down, Newman unfortunately ran out of fuel coming to the final restart, relegating him to a 23rd-place finish.
· Buescher was in the runner-up position, pushing the No. 4 car to the finish with one to go at Talladega on Monday, before going on to finish sixth. Buescher earned two more stage points at the 2.66-mile track, and survived the chaos late for his third top-10 of 2020.
· Newman will carry the colors of Progressive Insurance in Saturday’s race. Progressive joined the RFR fold as the primary partner in Atlanta three weeks ago. Wyndham Rewards will ride with Newman for Sunday’s race, in their first as a partner with Newman – and second overall – in 2020.
· Fastenal returns to Buescher’s No. 17 Ford for both races this weekend at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’
Starting Lineup Procedures
The starting lineup for Saturday’s race will once again be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners points. Both Newman and Buescher will draw for a starting spot in the 13-24 group. Sunday’s starting lineup will be determined by an inversion of the cars remaining on the lead lap at the end of race one.
It’s Tricky, it’s Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky)
Roush Fenway Racing has run 210 Cup races at ‘The Tricky Triangle’ dating back to 1988. A Roush Fenway Ford has visited victory lane on four occasions in the Cup series, with the first coming in 2005 with Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch followed with a win in the July race of that same year, one of his three victories for Jack Roush in 2005. Three years later, Edwards found winners circle again in 2008, and Greg Biffle carded the organization’s most recent win at the 2.5-mile track back in 2010.
Runner-Up
Roush Fenway has finished in the second position 13 times at Pocono with six different drivers. All in all, Roush Fenway has finished first or second 17 times at the triangular track.
Tale of the Tape
Overall RFR has 72 top-10 and 45 top-five results at Pocono along with three poles and the four wins. Mark Martin earned back-to-back poles in 1990 and 1991, before capturing his third in 1996.
Roush Fenway Pocono Wins
2005-1 Edwards Cup
2005-2 Busch Cup
2008-2 Edwards Cup
2010-2 Biffle Cup
