Track Walk: Pocono 2013

For the first time since 1989, IndyCar heads to the Poconos for four-hundred miles of racing at the 2.5 mile, three turn Pocono Raceway. James Hinchcliffe is coming off a dominating win at Iowa Speedway as Andretti Autosport heads to the Andretti family's home track. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished second at Iowa and is nine points back of Helio Castroneves for the points lead. Marco Andretti is third in points as he will compete in his first career IndyCar race in his home state of Pennsylvania. Tony Kanaan heads to the second leg of the Triple Crown with a shot at winning $250,000 and keeping his hopes alive to become the second driver to complete the Triple Crown this October at Auto Club Speedway.

The Triple Crown
If winning the Indianapolis 500 wasn't enough for Tony Kanaan, he has a shot of making even more IndyCar history in 2013. Should Kanaan win the 400-miler this weekend at Pocono and the 500-miler at Fontana in October he would become only the second driver to win the Triple Crown in IndyCar's history. Al Unser won the Indianapolis 500, the then-Pocono 500 and California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway that year and despite making IndyCar history, Unser lost the 1978 USAC Championship Car title to a winless Tom Sneva that year by one hundred and twenty-two points. Should Kanaan fail to win at Pocono, he and the Pocono race winner will head to Fontana battling for a $250,000 prize for winning two-thirds of the Triple Crown.

Aero and Tire Specifications
The tire compounds for this weekend at Pocono will feature the same left-side specifications used at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and right-side specifications used at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory aero parts include a rear mainplane of 0 > -10.5 degrees, rear mainplane profile and rear Indy wheel guards. Optional components for Pocono are side wall, trimmed side wall, rear wheel backing plate, sidepod top infill, 2/3 radiator inlet shutter, rear wing wicker and underwing strake.

History of Pocono Raceway
The track's triangle design is based off three corners from great American ovals. Fourteen degree turn one was modeled off the now-defunct Trenton Speedway which hosted fifty-five IndyCar races before closing down in 1980. Turn two is nine degrees just like the four corners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is the tightest of the three. Turn three is six degrees of banking just like the Milwaukee Mile where the IndyCar series raced three weeks ago.

This will be the twentieth IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway and first not scheduled for five hundred miles. The pole-sitter has won six times at Pocono with a string of four consecutive wins from 1979 to 1982. Only twice has the Pocono winner come from outside the top ten (AJ Foyt 1973 and Al Unser 1976). Twelve different drivers have won at Pocono Raceway. Of those twelve, only two did not win the Indianapolis 500 in their careers and they are 1972 winner Joe Leonard and 1983 winner Teo Fabi. AJ Foyt has the most wins at Pocono with four. Rick Mears won three times at the Tricky Triangle with Danny Sullivan and Al Unser being the only other drivers with multiple victories at Pocono Raceway. The other six winners at Pocono Raceway are Mark Donohue, Johnny Rutherford, Tom Sneva, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti and Bobby Rahal. Teo Fabi is the only foreign driver to win at Pocono Raceway. Twice has an IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway not gone the full distance and both were won by AJ Foyt. In 1975, rain ended the race after four hundred twenty-five miles and in 1981 only three hundred and five miles were completed when the race was called.

Notes:
Pocono Raceway will feature an initial three-wide start something done at past Triple Crown races. Fontana this October will also feature a three-wide start. In recent years, the Indianapolis 500 has been the only race to feature a three-wide initial start.

Ryan Briscoe will have double-duty this weekend. On Saturday, while IndyCar is practice and qualifying at Pocono, Briscoe will be competing for Level 5 Motorsports at Lime Rock Park in the American Le Mans. Briscoe will not attempt a qualifying run for Pocono and will start at the back. One hundred and sixty-one miles (a little over a three hour drive) separate Lime Rock Park and Pocono Raceway.

Pippa Mann will drive the #18 Dale Coyne Honda this weakend. She has competed in the Indianapolis 500 and Texas this season.

This will be IndyCar's first stop to the Keystone State since August 29, 2004 when the IRL went to Nazareth Speedway. Dan Wheldon won that day.

Weather forecast calls for a a high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday and a high of 84 degrees Sunday. There is a thirty percent chance of precipitation both days.

Prediction
At Indianapolis Chevrolet led 193 of 200 laps. I expect more of the same. Andretti and Penske were the top two teams all May with Ed Carpenter and Tony Kanaan playing spoilers on pole and race day respectively. I am pulling for Tony Kanaan to win and keep the Triple Crown alive but I am taking Marco Andretti. This is the fourth time in 2013 I have taken Andretti and it's really do or die for the Pennsylvanian. He needs a win to make up ground in the championship picture and with seven road and street races between Pocono and Fontana, this is his best shot to win this summer. Also, talk about a great story. Andretti winning in Pennsylvania. Honda's best shots will be the Ganassi trio of Charlie Kimball, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti with Justin Wilson, Simon Pagenaud and Takuma Sato as dark horses for the Japanese manufacture. Sleeper: Josef Newgarden.