IZOD INDYCAR SERIES RETURNS OPEN-WHEEL RACING TO POCONO RACEWAYRace Broadcast Sunday, July 7 Noon (ET) ABC (Live)
Track Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile tri-oval) Distance 160 laps/400 miles
Radio IMS Radio Network XM 211/Sirius 211
2012 Race Winner Returning event
Last winner Danny Sullivan 1989
Last Pole Sitter Emerson Fittipaldi, 1989
Track Record Single Lap: Emerson Fittipaldi (42.510, 211.715 mph) Aug. 19, 1989
Kanaan goes for second leg of the Fuzzy's Triple Crown
Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan will have more than a race win on his mind at Pocono Raceway. Should Kanaan win the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco, he'll guarantee himself a $250,000 bonus and remain eligible for a $1 million bonus awarded by Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka for 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.
INDYCAR returns to Tricky Triangle
The Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco will mark the first open-wheel race at Pocono Raceway since 1989. The 2.5-mile oval hosted Indy car races from 1971 to 1989 with drivers such as A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser, Mario Andretti and Johnny Rutherford capturing wins. Who will join those racing greats among the Pocono winners?
Castroneves hopes to pad points lead
Helio Castroneves took control of the IZOD IndyCar Series points lead with his victory at Texas Motor Speedway and carries a nine-point advantage into the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco. The Brazilian leads the Andretti Autosport duo of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti (55 points back). Can the Brazilian fare well in Team Penske's former home of Pennsylvania and return the team to victory lane at Pocono, where it has won seven times.
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, competed in the last Pocono race in 1989 and won the 1986 race, while his father Michael won pole for the race in 1986.
Andretti teammates hope to stay hot in Pennsylvania
James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay hope to keep their red-hot summer going at Pocono Raceway. Hunter-Reay has finished on the podium in five of the last six races and closed to within nine points of Helio Castroneves, while Hinchcliffe dominated the Iowa event to claim his third win of the season.
Will competitive IZOD IndyCar Series season add eighth winner in 11 races?
The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season has seen seven winners in the first 10 races. The seven winners who won from St. Petersburg to Texas included three first-time winners - James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato and Simon Pagenaud. The stretch of seven different race winners from Barber to Texas was the longest stretch of different winners since 2010, when seven different drivers won from St. Petersburg to Iowa. Will the trend continue in INDYCAR's return to Pocono?
American drivers hope for glory on 4th of July weekend
The IZOD IndyCar Series features a group of home-grown stars who represent the stars and stripes in the most diverse series in motorsports. Reigning series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, race winners Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter and Graham Rahal and rising stars Charlie Kimball and Josef Newgarden all worked their way up the American open-wheel ladder to reach the IZOD IndyCar Series. Can one of them win on Independence Day weekend not far from Philadelphia?
Race Notes:The Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco will be the first IZOD IndyCar Series event at Pocono Raceway and the first Indy car race at the track since 1989. No driver entered has raced an Indy car at the track, but Dario Franchitti raced a NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the track in 2008. Past winners at the track are: Mark Donohue (1971), Joe Leonard (1972), A.J. Foyt (1973, 1975, 1979 and 1981), Johnny Rutherford (1974), Al Unser (1976 and 1978), Tom Sneva (1977), Bobby Unser (1980), Rick Mears (1982, 1985, 1987), Teo Fabi (1983), Danny Sullivan (1984 and 1989), Mario Andretti (1986) and Bobby Rahal (1988).The Pocono race winner won the Indy car championship in the same year he won at the track five times. Joe Leonard (1972) A.J. Foyt (1975 and 1979) and Tom Sneva (1977) won USAC titles. Rick Mears (1982) won the CART title.Team Penske has won seven times at Pocono (Mark Donohue-1971; Tom Sneva-1977; Bobby Unser-1980; Rick Mears-1982, 85, 87 and Danny Sullivan-1989.) It has won six poles Donohue (1971), Bobby Unser (1980), Rick Mears (1982, 1984, 1985 and 1988).A.J. Foyt Racing competed in every event at Pocono from 1971-1989. 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:James Hinchcliffe won the Iowa Corn Indy 250. It was his third win of 2013 and the fourth straight win at Iowa for Andretti Autosport.Ryan Hunter-Reay won Milwaukee IndyFest for the second consecutive year. It was Hunter-Reay's second win of 2013 and the fourth for Andretti Autosport in 2013.Marco Andretti won his first pole position of 2013 at Milwaukee. It was his third career pole and second at Milwaukee.Helio Castroneves won his 28th Indy car race in the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway.Will Power won his 31st career Indy car pole at Texas. Mike Conway and Simon Pagenaud split the winsin the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit. It was Conway's second Indy car win and Pagenaud's first Indy car victory.Tony Kanaan won the 97th Indianapolis 500 to record his 16th Indy car victory.Ed Carpenter won his first pole position since 2010 at Kentucky when he won the pole for the 97th Indianapolis 500.There were a race-record 14 leaders and race-record 68 lead changes at Indianapolis. James Hinchcliffe won the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 with a last-lap, last-turn pass of Takuma Sato. It was his second win of 2013 and the third win in four races for Andretti Autosport.Takuma Sato won his first Indy car race in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He was the 208th driver to win an Indy car race and first Japanese driver to win. It was A.J. Foyt's first win as a car owner since 2002.Dario Franchitti won his 30th career Indy car pole at Long Beach.Ryan Hunter-Reay won his 10th Indy car race in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park from the pole position. It was the second time he had won a race from pole.James Hinchcliffe won the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. It was the first win of his Indy car career. He was the 207th driver to win an Indy car race.Will Power won his 30th career Indy car pole at St. Petersburg. Tristan Vautier started his first career IZOD IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg.
Milestones & Records:
Should Dario Franchitti win the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series championship, he will join A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win at least five Indy car titles in their career. Franchitti won the title in 2007 and again from 2009-2011. Foyt won seven championships in his career.
With their next victory, either Dario Franchitti or Sebastien Bourdais will move into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time wins list. Franchitti and Bourdais are tied with Paul Tracy with 31 wins.
With a victory in 2013, Scott Dixon will extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to nine.
With his next victory, Scott Dixon will move into sole possession of ninth place on the all-time wins list. Dixon won his 29th race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 5, 2012, to tie Rick Mears for 10th place on the all-time wins list.
Helio Castroneves moved into sole possession of 11th place on the all-time victory list with his win at Texas Motor Speedway on June 8. Castroneves had been tied with Johnny Rutherford for 12th with the victory.
Helio Castroneves needs two earned poles to reach 40 career poles in his Indy car career after he won the Verizon P1 Award at Iowa Speedway.
Will Power recorded the 30th pole of his Indy car career at St. Petersburg and his 31st pole position at Texas.
Dario Franchitti recorded the 30th pole of his Indy car career at Long Beach and his 31st pole position at Detroit 1.
Scott Dixon needs two earned poles to reach 20 in his Indy car career.
With one pole in 2013, Scott Dixon will extend his IZOD IndyCar Series streak to seven consecutive seasons.
Scott Dixon's second-place finish at Barber was the 30th of his Indy car career. It tied Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Jr., and Bobby Unser for fifth on the all-time list.
Tony Kanaan tied Helio Castroneves for 10th on the all-time top-five list by recording his his 110th top-five finish at Iowa.
Scott Dixon recorded the 100th top-five finish of his Indy car career at Barber Motorsports Park. With a pair of top-five finishes at Detroit, Dixon tied Paul Tracy for 12th on the all-time list.
Tony Kanaan will attempt to make his 207th consecutive start. Jimmy Vasser holds the all-time record of 211. Scott Dixon with 148 straight starts (7th all-time) and Marco Andretti with 124 straight starts (15th all-time) are the only other active drivers with a streak of more than 100 consecutive starts.
Ryan Hunter-Reay needs one start to mark his 100th consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series starts.
At-Track Schedule (all times local):
Saturday, July 6
10 - 11 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice
1:15 p.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying (single car/cumulative time of two lap)
5:30 - 6 p.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series final practice
Sunday, July 7
8-8:05 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series systems check
11:30 a.m. - Pocono INDYCAR 400 pre-race
12:15 p.m. - Pocono INDYCAR 400 200 laps/400 miles), ABC (Live)