CONCORD, N.C. – This Sunday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Pocono Raceway.
“You’ve got to be real aggressive on the pit calls and I think that is what is going to put you in position to win,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “You call this race in reverse, like a road course, and put yourself up front — like we did last year.”
As the race progresses and the situations change, the choices a team makes are crucial.
Tune in this Sunday to see which team makes the right calls during the season’s second attempt at the “Tricky Triangle.”
BROADCAST INFORMATION: Sunday's race will air live on NBC Sports Network at 1:30 p.m. ET. Can’t make it to a television? Tune into MRN or SiriusXM to catch the Pocono radio coverage. This weekend’s qualifying session will take place Friday afternoon on NBC Sports Network. Tune in to this weekend’s practice sessions, also on NBC Sports Network, this Friday and Saturday. Here is the full broadcast schedule:
Friday, July 31:
11 a.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Practice, NBC Sports Network
4:45 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, NBC Sports Network
Saturday, August 1:
9 a.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Practice, NBC Sports Network
11:35 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Final Practice, NBC Sports Network
Sunday, August 2:
1:30 p.m. ET, Sprint Cup Series Race, NBC Sports Network / MRN/ SiriusXM (1:48 p.m. ET green flag)
THIS WEEK’S PAINT SCHEMES: Kasey Kahne will pilot the No. 5 Aquafina Chevrolet SS in this season’s second Pocono Raceway event. Jeff Gordon will drive the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, while teammate Jimmie Johnson races the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS. Earnhardt will pilot the No. 88 Microsoft Chevrolet SS this Sunday.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT POCONO: Hendrick Motorsports has fielded a winner in at least one Sprint Cup race at Pocono in each of the past four years, including season sweeps in 2013 (Johnson and Kahne) and 2014 (Earnhardt). In total, Hendrick Motorsports has 17 wins, 12 pole positions, 63 top-five finishes and 110 top-10 finishes at the 2.5-mile triangle.
KAHNE AT POCONO: According to NASCAR’s loop data, Kahne’s 161.628 average speed ranks him fifth-fastest in average speed late in a run. Kahne also ranks fifth in laps led at Pocono Raceway, leading 219 laps in his career, and fifth in quality passes, totaling 804 at the track.
GORDON AT POCONO: Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, holds the record for most wins at Pocono Raceway with six. The 43-year-old driver leads active drivers in top-five finishes and top 10 finishes. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 1,038 laps at the "Tricky Triangle" during his 23-year career. That ranks Gordon first on the all-time list at the 2.5-mile track, 228 more than second.
JOHNSON AT POCONO: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Johnson has the second-best driver rating at Pocono with a score of 106.9 during the past 10 years at the track. Johnson’s career average finish of 9.6 at Pocono is second among active drivers only to Kyle Larson, who has started just three races at the track. Johnson was the last driver to win from the pole position at the triangle on June 9, 2013, when he started first, led 128 laps and won the event.
EARNHARDT AT POCONO: In 31 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt has completed 97.4 percent of all the laps he's attempted (5,596 laps of 5,747 total) and has led a total of 178 laps at the 2.5-mile track. Earnhardt, the defending fall race-winner at Pocono, has had an average finish of 4.2 over the last five races.