Race # 1: Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale InstituteThe Place: Pocono RacewayThe Date: Saturday, June 27The Time: 3:30 p.m. ETTV: FOX, 3 p.m. ETRadio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 325 miles (130 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 77), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 130)2019 Race Winner: Kyle Busch Race # 2: Pocono 350The Place: Pocono RacewayThe Date: Sunday, June 28The Time: 4 p.m. ETTV: FS1, 3:30 p.m. ETRadio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 350 miles (140 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 85), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 140)2019 Race Winner: Denny Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series readies for a doubleheader at Pocono Raceway While the condensed schedule following the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in back-to back races at the same track over a course of several days, this weekend at Pocono Raceway will mark the first time in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Modern Era (1972-Present) the series will run a pair of races at one track in consecutive days. First up will be the Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale Institute this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, followed by Sunday’s Pocono 350 at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The last time the NASCAR Cup Series raced on back-to-back days was on August 27-28, 1971, but the events took place at two different tracks – the first of the two races was at Columbia Speedway in Columbia, South Carolina, on Aug. 27 and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. The second race was at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina, and won by Tiny Lund. On June 25, the starting lineups for the Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale Institute (Saturday’s race) will be randomly drawn and announced on FOX Sports 1’s Race Hub from 6-7 p.m. ET. The Pocono Organics 325 will be 130 laps (325 miles) and the first stage will be 25 laps, the second stage will be 52 laps and the final stage will be 53 laps. Kyle Busch won this race last season becoming the eighth different driver to post consecutive wins at the track (July 2018-June 2019); joining Bobby Allison (1982 sweep and June 1983), Bill Elliott (1985 sweep), Tim Richmond (1986 sweep and June 1987), Bobby Labonte (1999 sweep), Jimmie Johnson (2004 sweep), Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep and 2009-2010) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014 sweep). Then following post-race inspection of the first Cup race at Pocono, the starting lineups for the Pocono 350 (Sunday’s race) will be released. The lineup will be set by inverting the top 20 finishers in the first race and the drivers that finished 21st-40th will start in the position they finished the first event. The Pocono 350 will be 140 laps (350 miles), the first stage will end on lap 30, the second will end on lap 85 and the final stage will end on lap 140. Denny Hamlin won the second (July) Pocono race last season, his fifth series career Pocono victory. NASCAR & the Tricky Triangle Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was on August 4, 1974, and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Dodge, 115.593 mph). In total, Pocono Raceway has hosted 84 NASCAR Cup Series races producing 46 different pole winners and 36 different race winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader are tied for the series-most poles at Pocono with five each. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in wins at the 2.5-mile raceway with six victories. Of the 36 previous series Pocono winners, 11 are entered this weekend, led by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin with five victories; including winning the series’ most recent visit to Pocono last July. If Hamlin wins this weekend he can tie or surpass NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for the series-most wins at Pocono Raceway with six trophies. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Pocono Raceway with 17 victories – Jeff Gordon (six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Kasey Kahne (one), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one). Joe Gibbs Racing has the second-most series Pocono wins with 14 – Denny Hamlin (five), Kyle Busch (three), Bobby Labonte (three), Matt Kenseth (one), Joey Logano (one) and Tony Stewart (one). Team Penske are winners top to bottom And just like that, Team Penske wins their fifth race of the season to retake the series lead in victories for 2020 following Ryan Blaney’s valiant effort to hold off several hard charging competitors to win in another photo finish at Talladega Superspeedway. It was Blaney’s fourth career victory and second consecutive at Talladega. He is now the eighth different driver to win consecutive races at Talladega in the NASCAR Cup Series joining Pete Hamilton (1970 sweep), Buddy Baker (1975 sweep, 1976), Darrell Waltrip (1982 sweep), Dale Earnhardt (1990, 1993-94, 1999 sweep), Sterling Marlin (1995-96), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2001-2003) and Jeff Gordon (2007 sweep). “The whole year really, but the past month and a half has been really good for us,” said Blaney following his win in Talladega. “We’ve had some really good runs. We’ve had really fast cars, had a chance to win I feel like every race the last month and a half.” With all three of Team Penske’s drivers having wins this season, they now have guaranteed spots in the Playoffs – Joey Logano (two wins: Las Vegas, Phoenix), Brad Keselowski (two wins: Bristol, Charlotte) and Ryan Blaney (Talladega) – making this doubleheader weekend at Pocono a great opportunity to pad their stats as all three have previously won at the 2.5-mile raceway. Heading into this weekend, Joey Logano is second in the driver standings, 23 points behind Kevin Harvick in the standings lead. Logano has made 22 series starts at Pocono posting one win (2012), four top fives and eight top 10s. In the two Pocono races last season he finished seventh in June and 13th in July. With his win last week Ryan Blaney hopped two spots in the driver standings to third; just two points behind his teammate Logano in second and 25 back from the series standings lead. Blaney has made eight series starts at Pocono putting up four top 10s and grabbing his first series career win back in 2017. In the two Pocono races last season he finished 12th in June and 10th in July. Brad Keselowski is fifth in the driver standings following Talladega, 49 points behind Kevin Harvick in the standings lead. Keselowski has made 20 starts at Pocono posting one win (2011), 10 top fives and 12 top 10s. In the two Pocono races last season he finished runner-up in June and eighth in July. Hot Streak: Joe Gibbs Racing has won the last three consecutive Pocono Cup races In five of the last nine NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway one team has been unstoppable – Joe Gibbs Racing. Starting with Matt Kenseth’s win on Aug. 2, 2015, Joe Gibbs Racing has won five of the last nine NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway including the last three consecutive – Kyle Busch’s win in July of 2017 and his back-to-back victories in July 2018 and June 2019 and Denny Hamlin’s victory last July. Now as the series returns for a special doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway, two JGR drivers (Kyle Busch & Erik Jones) are still looking for their first wins of 2020. Busch, the defending winner of last season’s June Pocono race, is currently ninth in points, the highest ranked driver in the standings without a win this year. But Pocono has been particularly good to Busch as of late, in his last seven series starts at the track he has put up three wins and seven consecutive top 10s. Busch’s teammate Erik Jones hasn’t won at Pocono Raceway yet, but he has put up some impressive performances in his six career starts, collecting four top fives and the series leading average finish of 8.3. Jones will need to claw his way back into postseason contention, as he dropped to 17th in the standings following Talladega – the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff. He is just one point behind Tyler Reddick in 16th. Plus, let’s not forget five-time Pocono winner Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep, July 2009, June 2010 and July 2019) and two-time winner Martin Truex Jr. (June 2015, June 2018) will be in the mix this weekend as well. Hamlin leads the series in wins this season with three victories (Daytona, Darlington, Homestead) and will be looking to pad his series leading 18 Playoff points this weekend. His teammate Truex also has a victory this season (Martinsville) and will look to get his first Pocono checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing. The New Jersey native’s previous two series wins at Pocono were with Furniture Row Racing, and he actually is one of just 11 drivers to accomplish the feat in multiple manufacturers (Chevrolet, Toyota); joining Kurt Busch (Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet), Bill Elliott (Buick, Ford), Darrell Waltrip (Buick, Chevrolet), Denny Hamlin (Chevrolet, Toyota), Geoffrey Bodine (Chevrolet, Ford), Harry Gant (Chevrolet, Oldsmobile), Kasey Kahne (Dodge, Chevrolet), Rusty Wallace (Ford, Pontiac), Terry Labonte (Ford, Chevrolet) and Tim Richmond (Pontiac, Chevrolet). Next Race: Pocono Green 225 recycled by J.P. Mascaro & SonsThe Place: Pocono RacewayThe Date: Sunday, June 28The Time: 12:30 p.m. ETTV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ETRadio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 225 miles (90 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 90)2019 Winner: Cole Custer Xfinity heads to Pocono Raceway The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads north to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono Green 225 recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to kickoff a Sunday doubleheader with the Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series. Coming off an exciting race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, the series will hit the pavement for 225 miles of hard racing at the “Tricky Triangle.” Last weekend’s race was won by Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley in the No. 11 Chevrolet with his teammate Ross Chastain in the No. 10 Chevrolet winning the weekend’s Dash 4 Cash installment. The win marked the second of the season for the Kaulig Racing camp and automatically punches Haley’s ticket to the 2020 Playoffs. It was Haley’s seventh top-10 finish of the year and his first career victory in 47 Xfinity Series races. Haley led five times for 16 laps and started on the pole. The race saw 12 different leaders and had 22 different lead changes. Chastain finished second, Jeb Burton finished third for JR Motorsports, Austin Cindric finished fourth for Team Penske and Brett Moffitt finished fifth for Our Motorsports. Pocono has hosted only four NASCAR Xfinity Series races, the inaugural race was in 2016 and won by Kyle Larson for Chip Ganassi Racing. Erik Jones won the first pole award for the series at Pocono. The four races have produced four different race winners and three different pole winners. Cole Custer won two of the four pole awards and is the only driver to have won the race from the pole (2019). In 2019, there were six different leaders, the most of the four races run and it also had the most cautions (seven). The 2019 race has the closest margin of victory at 0.226 seconds. Ford has two Xfinity Series wins at the track and Chevrolet and Toyota each have one. Each race was won by a different car owner, too. Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile track with 14-degree banking in Turn 1, eight-degree banking in Turn 2 and six degrees of banking in Turn 3. The frontstretch is 3,740 feet, the backstretch is 3,055 feet and the shortstretch is 1,780 feet. Sunday’s race will be 225 miles (90 laps). The first stage will end on Lap 20, second stage on Lap 40 and the final stage will conclude on Lap 90. Dash 4 Cash finale at PoconoThe Dash 4 Cash program is back for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and this time the schedule is a little different compared to past years due to a revised 2020 schedule as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will wrap up this weekend at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, June 28 (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Dash 4 Cash kicked off at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Noah Gragson won the season’s first installment. The second race of the Homestead-Miami Speedway doubleheader was the second installment and AJ Allmendinger grabbed the $100,000 bonus. Last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Allmendinger’s teammate Ross Chastain took home the money. Pocono Raceway marks the finale for the 2020 Dash 4 Cash program and Justin Haley, Chastain, Alex Labbe and Austin Cindric are the four drivers competing for the $100,000. Although Jeb Burton finished Talladega in a position that would qualify him to contend for the bonus at Pocono, he is not racing in this weekend’s race. Therefore Labbe rose into contention as the next-highest finishing Xfinity Series points racer who was also entered in Pocono. Xfinity is making donation in each Dash 4 Cash race market to reaffirm their companywide commitment of connecting families, veterans and seniors to the digital tools necessary for navigating these challenging times. At Pocono, the donations will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Boys & Girls Clubs give young people in need the developmental tools to achieve great futures as productive, responsible citizens in the community. This donation will help ensure these academic and character-building programs continue through the crisis, so young people have the tools they need to live healthy lifestyles and contribute to the community. Closer, closer for Cindric Austin Cindric is still on the hunt for his first win in the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and Pocono Raceway suits him very well. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has six top fives and eight top 10s so far this season. He has an average start of 7.6 and an average finish of 10.3 and he has led 238 laps. He’s sitting in third in the points standings for the series – the highest-ranked driver without a win and he has run upfront – leading the third-most percentage of laps this season (12.2%) sitting behind a pair of JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier. This weekend’s Pocono 225 recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons on Sunday, June 27 (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be Cindric’s third Xfinity Series start at Pocono. In his series track debut, Cindric finished fourth at Pocono in 2018 and last season, he finished seventh. In both races, he started from third. Cindric has the third-best average running position at Pocono, behind Cup Series drivers Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Cindric has the third-best driver rating behind Keselowski and Busch at 105.6. He’s also sitting right behind them in third for the fastest laps run, too. Next Race: Pocono Organics 150 to benefit Farm AidThe Place: Pocono RacewayThe Date: Saturday, June 27The Time: 12:30 p.m. ETTV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ETRadio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR RadioDistance: 150 miles (60 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 60)2019 Race Winner: Ross Chastain Time for the Trucks to get Tricky The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is back in action this weekend at Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 150 to benefit Farm Aid this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET (on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The series was off last weekend as the other two national series took to Talladega Superspeedway. This weekend’s race will mark the sixth of the season for the Gander Trucks. Grant Enfinger is the only fulltime Gander Trucks driver to have won a race so far along with NASCAR Cup Series regulars Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. This means that there’s only one 2020 Playoff position taken currently on wins. Kyle Busch is the only driver to have won twice at Pocono (2015, 2018) and Ross Chastain is the most recent winner (2019). The inaugural Gander Trucks race at Pocono was on July 31, 2010 and Elliott Sadler took home the victory. Four of the races were won from the pole but none of the 10 races run were won from a starting position outside of the top six. Chevrolet has five wins at Pocono while Ford has one and Toyota has four. There are no current fulltime active drivers in the series with a prior win. Busch and Chastain are the only two drivers that are still running in the Gander Trucks on a part-time schedule with previous Pocono wins and Chastain is the only one scheduled to run this weekend for Niece Motorsports. There have been 10 Gander Trucks races at Pocono with eight different pole winners and nine different race winners. William Byron was the youngest winner at 18 years, 8 months and one day in 2016. Kevin Harvick was the oldest winner in 2011 at 35 years, 7 months, 20 days. Chastain holds the race record at 124.224 mph in 2019 and Austin Hill holds the qualifying record from last season’s race at 171.347. Norm Benning, Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter have the most starts in the series at Pocono with 10. Last season’s race had the fewest leaders with only two and had the most laps led by a race winner with 54. Busch has the most wins for a truck owner, too, with four. Austin Hill hunting for first 2020 win Austin Hill, the current NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series points leader has had an extremely strong start to the season, but he is still looking for his first win of the season. He has two top fives and five top 10s to his name in five starts and has led 102 laps, the most of any fulltime Gander Trucks driver in 2020. He is the only driver to have finished every Gander Trucks event in the top-10 and holds a 44-point lead over Christian Eckes in the points standings. Last season, Hill started on the pole, but a clutch issue took him out of the race early and he finished 30th. He has four starts at the track with a best finish of 11th in 2017.
