FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS RETURNS TO POCONO RACEWAY

Date / Time 4 p.m. (ET) Saturday, July 6Track Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile tri-oval) Distance 40 laps/100 miles TV NBC Sports Network (Tape) 7 p.m., July 12Radio IMS Radio Network Sirius 211/XM 211 indycar.com (Live)

2012 Winner  - Returning event

Pocono 100 will play role in title chase

Firestone Indy Lights takes on its fourth oval in a row, this time making its first visit to Pocono Raceway in more than 20 years for the Pocono 100. Pennsylvania native Sage Karam has vaulted into the championship lead by winning the last two races. He leads Carlos Munoz by nine points. Gabby Chaves (-30 points), Peter Dempsey (-41 points) and Jack Hawksworth (-50 points) are in the hunt for the title in the seventh of 12 races.

Hometown driver seeks third win in a row

Rising American standout Sage Karam captured his first two Firestone Indy Lights victories at the Milwaukee Mile on June 15 and Iowa Speedway a week later. He aims for his third win at Pocono Raceway. The 18-year-old native of Nazareth, Pa., grew up across the street from racing legend Michael Andretti and is the first driver to win in USF2000, Pro Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights. Now a driver for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, can Karam keep up his win streak?

Irish driver hopes to emulate countryman's success

Firestone Freedom 100 winner Peter Dempsey hopes the luck of the Irish remains at Pocono Raceway. Dempsey, a native of Ashbourne, Ireland, seeks to score his second superspeedway win at "The Tricky Triangle," where Irish driver Tommy Byrne won two of the four Firestone Indy Lights races in the 1980s.          

Munoz chasing Firestone Indy Lights title

Andretti Autosport's Carlos Munoz, who won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award after finishing second, has been equally impressive in his second season in Firestone Indy Lights. The Colombian has won four poles and two races in six starts. Can he continue his strong start and regain the points lead at Pocono?

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates aims for another sweep

Sage Karam isn't the only rising star racing at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Teammates Gabby Chaves and Jack Hawksworth have been regular visitors to the podium, with Hawksworth winning at St. Petersburg. The three drivers swept the podium at Iowa. Will they accomplish the feat again at Pocono?

Veach searches for first win at Pocono

Young American driver Zach Veach comes to Pocono in search of his first Firestone Indy Lights win after leading his first laps in the series at Milwaukee. The teenager from Stockdale, Ohio, is moving up the Mazda Road to Indy under the tutelage of Michael Andretti.

More for Team Moore?

Team Moore Racing's Juan Pablo Garcia scored his best oval finish when he notched a top five at Milwaukee. Now the Mexican driver aims to improve on that by finishing on the podium. Can he do so at Pocono?

Race Notes:

         This is the first Firestone Indy Lights race under INDYCAR sanction. The original CART-sanctioned Firestone Indy Lights held four races at the track from 1986-1989. Jeff Andretti won the first race in 1986.

         Tommy Byrne won at the track twice, winning in 1987 and 1989.

         Carlos Munoz, Peter Dempsey, Sage Karam and Jack Hawksworth are the only drivers entered in the Pocono 100 who have previously won a race in Firestone Indy Lights.

Season To Date:

         Sage Karam won back to back races at Iowa Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile. Karam's win at Milwaukee from pole was his first win in Firestone Indy Lights.

         Peter Dempsey won the Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a dramatic four-wide pass on the final lap. Dempsey's margin of victory was .0026 of a second, the closest finish on the famed IMS oval.

         Sage Karam won his first pole position in Firestone Indy Lights at Indianapolis.

         Carlos Munoz won back-to-back races at Barber Motorsports Park and the Streets of Long Beach. They were his third and fourth career Firestone Indy Lights wins, respectively. Munoz has won four of his Sunoco Pole Awards this season.

         Jack Hawksworth won his Firestone Indy Lights debut at St. Petersburg. He became the 11th driver to win his first Firestone Indy Lights start.

Milestones:

         Jack Hawksworth claimed his first career win at St. Petersburg. It was Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' seventh win at St. Petersburg.

         Gabby Chaves, Jack Hawksworth, Sage Karam, Ethan Ringel and Zach Veach made their series debut at St. Petersburg.

         Matthew Di Leo made his series debut at Long Beach.

         Peter Dempsey won his first Firestone Indy Lights race at Indianapolis. It was Belardi Auto Racing's first win in Firestone Indy Lights.

         Kyle O'Gara and Jimmy Simpson made their series debut at Indianapolis.

         Sage Karam won his first Firestone Indy Lights race at Milwaukee. He is the first Mazda Road to Indy driver to win races in the USF2000 Championship, Pro Mazda Championship and Firestone Indy Lights.

At-Track Schedule (all times local):

Friday, July 5

9 a.m.- Noon - Firestone Indy Lights Open Test

1 - 5 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights Open Test

Saturday, July 6

9 - 9:45 a.m. - Firestone Indy Lights practice

12:15-1 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights Sunoco Pole Qualifying (single car/cumulative time of two laps)

3:30 p.m. - Pocono 100 pre-race

4 p.m. - Pocono 100 (40 laps/100 miles), NBC Sports Network (Taped) 7 p.m. (ET), July 12