NASCAR Cup PR

In 163 starts at Pocono Raceway, RCR team owner Richard Childress has two wins, both with Dale Earnhardt, who won on July 19, 1987 and July 18, 1993. Additionally, RCR has earned one pole award, 16 top-five and 55 top-10 finishes with 613 laps led at the uniquely-shaped three-turn track. Childress, a former driver in NASCAR's top division, contributed two of those top-10 finishes under the RCR banner.

Coming off a great weekend… For the second time in the last five races, all five full-time Toyota teams finished inside the top 10 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch led 231 of 300 laps. Hamlin finished second and Busch ended up eighth. They were joined inside the top 10 by Erik Jones (third), Matt DiBenedetto (fifth) and Martin Truex Jr. (sixth).

Jimmie Johnson on Pocono: “Pocono is a great family-run track that really puts their heart and soul into the racetrack – they try to make it the best experience for fans and competitors. There are a lot of reasons I really like going up to the Pocono, for a few reasons people may not think about. We’ve enjoyed three wins there, I like the outdoors and the area. The racing there is very challenging, I think with the traction compound this weekend its going to make it even more interesting, and I think if the stars align, we can put on a heck of a show.”

“I always like going to Pocono. It's unique and fun because every corner is completely different. You have to be strategic about the changes you make to handle each corner. It's a challenging track, but we've been able to get some decent speed out of our No. 34 Ford there in the past. We're ready to capitalize on our Top-20 finish in June and come back with an even stronger result this weekend.”

NASCAR fans have likely become accustomed to Kyle Busch’s domination at short tracks such as Bristol Motor Speedway, where he has a combined 22 victories in NASCAR’s three national series. But his recent work at the 2.5-mile Pocono (Pa.) Raceway – site of Sunday’s Gander RV 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been mighty impressive too.

Roush Fenway Racing heads to the state of Pennsylvania for the second time in as many months as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) makes its return trip to the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway. RFR has 72 top-10 results and four wins all-time at the track with no turn four.

DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Pocono, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 29.9, an average finish of 31.0, and he’s completed 1,103 of 1,422 (77.6 percent) career laps at the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped track in Long Pond, PA.

Stenhouse has 13 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Pocono Raceway with an average starting position of 21.2 and average finishing position of 23.4.

Newman will make his 36th MENCS start at Pocono on Sunday. In 35 prior starts, Newman has one win, nine top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. His overall average finish if 13.1 with 185 laps led at the 2.5-mile track.

All three of NASCAR’s top series will be in action this weekend with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Gander Outdoors Truck Series competitors running at Pocono Raceway and the NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers at Iowa Speedway.