INDYCAR: Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco‏

Pocono plays host to second jewel in Verizon IndyCar Series' Triple Crown

Race Broadcast Sunday, July 6 Noon (ET) NBCSN

Qualifying Broadcast Saturday, July 5 7 p.m. (ET) NBCSN

Track Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile tri-oval) Distance 200 laps/500 miles

Radio IMS Radio Network (XM 209/Sirius 213/IndyCar.com/INDYCAR 14 App)

2013 Race Winner Scott Dixon

2013 Pole Sitter Marco Andretti

Track Record Single Lap Marco Andretti (40.6547, 221.377 mph) July 2013

Two-Lap Run Marco Andretti (1:21.3473, 221.273 mph) July 2013

First Indy car Race 7/3/1971

Hunter-Reay goes for second leg of Indy car's Triple Crown

Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay will have more than a race win on his mind at Pocono Raceway. Should Hunter-Reay win the Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco, he'll capture the second jewel of Indy car racing's Triple Crown, winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway. Al Unser is the only driver to have won all Triple Crown races (Indianapolis, Pocono and Ontario) in the same calendar year, winning in 1978.

Power looks to tighten grasp on championship lead

With wins at St. Petersburg and Belle Isle, Will Power remains himself atop the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings. The Australian leads Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves by 39 points but Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud are within striking distance. Can Power pad his lead with a strong performance at Pocono and strengthen his hold on the series championship lead?

Andretti looks for breakthrough win at hometown track

Marco Andretti will compete in a virtual hometown race at Pocono. The third generation driver, who hails from nearby Nazareth, Pa., can lean on family ties for some advice. Andretti's grandfather, open-wheel great Mario Andretti won the 1986 race, while his father Michael won pole for the race in 1986.

Dixon hopes to repeat season turnaround at Pocono

In 2013, Scott Dixon began a run of three-straight wins at Pocono that helped propel him to the Verizon IndyCar Series championship. He hopes to repeat the feat with another win at "the Tricky Triangle" to get back in the title race. Can Dixon lead another Ganassi sweep at Pocono?

American drivers hope for glory on 4th of July weekend

The Verizon IndyCar Series features a group of home-grown stars who represent the red, white and blue in the most diverse series in motorsports. Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, race winners Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Charlie Kimball and Graham Rahal and rising star Josef Newgarden all worked their way up the American open-wheel ladder to reach the Verizon IndyCar Series. Can one of them win on Independence Day weekend not far from Philadelphia?

Will competitive Verizon IndyCar Series season add eighth winner in 11 races?

The 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season has seen seven winners in the first 10 races, including wins by Ed Carpenter Racing, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Dale Coyne Racing which featured first-time winner - Carlos Huertas. Will the trend of small team success continue at Pocono or will it be one of the series' heavyweights?

Generation Next

James Hinchcliffe, Simon Pagenaud and Charlie Kimball all scored their first win in 2013, finished top 10 in the championship standings and established themselves as the next stars of the sport. The trio of young stars is joined by a talented rookie class that has already produced a race winner in Carlos Huertas. Will another young star be a threat to win this weekend?

Race Notes:

The Pocono INDYCAR 500 will be the 21st Indy car race conducted at Pocono Raceway. Scott Dixon won Indy car's return to the track in 2013. Marco Andretti won the pole.Five drivers entered in the event – Mikhail Aleshin, Jack Hawksworth, Carlos Huertas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Munoz – will make their first attempt to start a Verizon IndyCar Series race at Pocono Raceway. Munoz and Hawksworth competed in Indy Lights at the track in 2013 with Munoz winning the race.The Pocono INDYCAR 500 will be the third race on an oval in 2014. The first two races were won by Ryan Hunter-Reay (Indianapolis 500) and Ed Carpenter (Texas).The Pocono race winner won the Indy car championship in the same year he won at the track six times. Joe Leonard (1972) A.J. Foyt (1975 and 1979) and Tom Sneva (1977) won USAC titles. Rick Mears (1982) won the CART title and Scott Dixon (2013) won the Verizon IndyCar Series title.A.J. Foyt Racing has competed in every event at Pocono from 1971-1989 and in its return in 2013. Team owner A.J. Foyt won at the track four times (1973, 1975, 1979 and 1981) and earned two poles (1977 and 1979).Season to Date:

Will Power won the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. It was the 22nd win of his Indy car career, tying Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi for 19th all time.Mike Conway won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for the second time in his career. It was his third Indy car win.Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama for the second consecutive season.Simon Pagenaud won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, becoming the fourth different winner in as many races.Ryan Hunter-Reay won the 98th Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to win multiple races in 2014.Will Power and Helio Castroneves split the doubleheader races at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans – helping Team Penske sweep the wins in Detroit for the first time.Ed Carpenter won the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time in his career. It was his third Indy car win.Carlos Huertas claimed the first win of his career when he won the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race 1. He became the 211th different winner in Indy car racing.Simon Pagenaud won the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race 2. It was his second win of the season and fourth of his career.Mikhail Aleshin, Jack Hawksworth and Carlos Huertas started their first career Verizon IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg.Milestones & Records:

Should Scott Dixon win the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series championship, he will join A.J. Foyt, Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Bourdais and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win four Indy car titles in his career. Foyt won seven championships in his career, while Andretti, Bourdais and Franchitti each won four titles.With a victory in 2014, Scott Dixon will extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to 10.Helio Castroneves tied Rick Mears for 11th place on the all-time wins list with his 29th race win at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park on June 1.Will Power tied Tommy Milton for 18th place on the all-time wins list with his 23rd race win at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park on May 31.Will Power’s win at St. Petersburg extended his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to eight.With his next victory, Sebastien Bourdais will move into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time wins list. Bourdais is tied with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy with 31 wins.Helio Castroneves reached 40 career poles in his Indy car career by earning the pole for the second race at Houston. Castroneves is the active leader with 40 pole positions, which is tied with Rick Mears for fourth all-time.With one pole in 2014, Scott Dixon will extend his Verizon IndyCar Series streak to eight consecutive seasons.Tony Kanaan will attempt to make his 226th consecutive start, which would extend his all-time record. Scott Dixon with 167 straight starts (fourth all time), Marco Andretti with 143 straight starts (11th all time) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (16th all time) with 118 straight starts are the only active drivers with a streak of more than 100 consecutive starts.Helio Castroneves is the active leader in starts with 287, which is eighth on the all-time list.Tony Kanaan has 286 starts, which is ninth on the all-time list.Helio Castroneves is the active leader in top-five finishes with 116, which is eighth on the all-time list.Tony Kanaan passed Bobby Unser for ninth on the all-time list with 113 top-five finishes.At-Track Schedule (all times local):

Saturday, July 5

10 – 1 1 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2

5 – 6:30 p.m. – Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (Single car/Cumulative time of two laps), NBCSN (Taped, 7 p.m. ET)

Sunday, July 6

9 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series systems check

Noon – Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco pre-race

1:08 p.m. – Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco (200 laps/500 miles), NBCSN (Live)


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