1. Ratings for Pocono among season's best

2. Pocono wins propels Dixon up another level

3. Conway back with Coyne for Toronto, Houston twin bills

4. Inside the box score: Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco

1. Ratings for Pocono among season's best: Overnight television ratings for ABC's telecast of the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco from Pocono Raceway earned a 1.1 overnight rating.

The July 7 telecast tied the June 8 primetime race from Texas Motor Speedway as the network's highest-rated race outside of the Indianapolis 500 this season.

Indianapolis led all markets with a 4.6 rating, followed by Richmond, Va. (2.6), Nashville, Tenn. (2.5) Atlanta (2.3) and Tulsa, Okla. (2.1).

2. Pocono wins propels Dixon up another level: For an early birthday present, Scott Dixon wouldn't turn aside a victory - or two - in the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader this weekend.

Dixon, who turns 32 on July 22, earned his 30th Indy car win in the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco on July 7, which broke a tie with Rick Mears for 10th on the all-time list.

Next up is Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti and Sebastien Bourdais with 31 wins each, both of whom will compete on the streets of Exhibition Place in the twin 85-lap races.

"He deserves every one of his 30 wins. I've said it before; I think Scott, with his age, with how good he is, he can put up some really stout numbers going forward," said four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, who turned 40 on May 19.

"I'd like to win a couple here soon, stretch that a little again. I don't know a number but I can see Scott getting into the 40s going forward. He's got a few years on the clock yet, so I really think he can put big numbers up in terms of championships, race wins."

Dixon made his 212th Indy car start (149th in a row) at Pocono. He's been in a Target Chip Ganassi Racing car since the midway point of the 2002 CART season. Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti are some of the figures within reach.

"Stat stuff is great to look back on, but for me it's just trying to get the maximum that we can," said Dixon, who collected his fifth top-five finish of the season. "It would be great to look back and think that's a lot more than 30 or 31.

"Dario has been doing it a little bit longer, and hopefully I can continue a little bit longer.  To be on the list of names that we are encroaching on is for myself and Dario and Bourdais very exciting. There are some massive legends out there, people I've looked up to my whole career, and to be on a list not far from them is pretty exciting."

Dixon, who won the IZOD IndyCar Series championship in 2003 and '08, jumped from seventh to fourth in the standings into title contention with the victory by .4572 of a second over Charlie Kimball in the 160-lap race on the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

He's 65 points behind Helio Castroneves with seven consecutive road/street course races directly ahead. That includes the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he's won the past two years. Also, both races in Toronto pay full points.

"I hope that at Mid‑Ohio we have our typical tendency to do well there," Dixon said. "Toronto also is going to create some great racing. I wish we started the year a little more positive and we wouldn't have to work so hard in the summer months. But I think that we have a lot of good racetracks coming up."

3. Conway back with Coyne for Toronto, Houston twin bills: Englishman Mike Conway, who claimed a win and a pole for Dale Coyne Racing at Belle Isle doubleheader in June, will return to the team for the IZOD IndyCar Series doubleheader events at Toronto on July 13-14 and Houston in October.

Conway, 29, will drive the No. 18 Sonny's BBQ car, the same entry he drove at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit back in June. Conway was the only driver to secure podium finishes in both races, including his second series win in the first race.

"I am very happy to back in an IZOD IndyCar Series and with Dale Coyne Racing," Conway said. "Hopefully we will pick up from where we left off in Detroit. Toronto is one of my favorite circuits so there is no reason why we can't do well there.

"Houston will be new to a lot of people, however Dale Coyne and my teammate Justin (Wilson) raced there in Champ Car so I am hoping to get some good feedback from them. They should both be really good weekends and I want to thank Dale for giving me another chance to be a part of it."

Conway has notched 15 top-10 finishes, five top-five finishes and two wins in his previous 56 starts.

4. Inside the box score: Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco: Some numbers to note from the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco, the 11th race of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

2 - Consecutive front-row starts for James Hinchcliffe

3 - Positions gained by Tony Kanaan in the final 16 laps of the race (16th to 13th).

3.41 - Average running position of 10th-place finisher Marco Andretti during the 160 laps.

4 - Points separating Carlos Munoz and Sage Karam in the Firestone Indy Lights standings.

5.44 - Average running position of race winner Scott Dixon during the 160 laps.

6 - Podium finishes for Sage Karam during the Firestone Indy Lights season.

7 - Consecutive top-10 finishes for Helio Castroneves.

17 - Positions improved by Dario Franchitti, the most gained in the race.

23 - Points separating Helio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

30 - Wins for Scott Dixon in his Indy car career, 10th on the all-time list...Laps that Ed Carpenter improved his position over the 160 laps of competition, most of any driver.

90 - Wins as a car owner by Chip Ganassi, which ranks third all-time among Indy car team owners.

100 - Wins by the Target's race program, across Indy car, stock car and sports car racing

149 - Consecutive Indy car starts for Scott Dixon dating to the 2004 race in Michigan. Dixon ranks seventh on the all-time list.

200 - Wins by Honda in Indy car competition.

207 - Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland. Kanaan is second to Jimmy Vasser's 211 straight starts.

1,583 - Laps completed by Helio Castroneves. He is the only driver to complete every lap of every race.

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Honda Indy Toronto on July 13-14 on the streets of Toronto's Exhibition Place. The race will be televised live at 3 p.m. (ET) by NBC Sports Network and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211, www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 13 App for most smartphones and tablets. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Toronto 100 at 11:30 a.m. on July 13 on the streets of Toronto's Exhibition Place. NBC Sports Network's coverage of the Pocono 100 from Pocono Raceway will be telecast at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on July 12.