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| IndyCar Returns to Pocono for 4th of July Weekend |
Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. ET Sunday July 6th. Green flag is at 1:10 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Bob Varsha (Leigh Diffey is on Formula 1 duty), Paul Tracy, Townsend Bell, Kevin Lee, Kelli Stavast, Jon Beekhuis and Robin Miller.
This race is scheduled to feature a three-wide initial start.
Does the First Winner From Pole Position Come This Weekend?
Ten races into 2014 and the best position a race winner has come from is 3rd (Ryan Hunter-Reay at Barber and Simon Pagenaud in Houston 2). Four winners this season have come from outside the top fifteen (Mike Conway at Long Beach, Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500, Will Power in Belle Isle 1 and Carlos Huertas in Houston 1). Pole sitters haven't faired well at all in 2014 as they combine for three top fives, four top tens and six finishes outside the top fifteen. Last year, Marco Andretti dominated from pole position, leading 88 laps but poor fuel strategy cost the Pennsylvania-native and he had to conserve to finish tenth before running out just short of the pit lane on his cool down lap.
Double Points, Part Two
This is the second leg of the Triple Crown, which means the second race of the 2014 season worth double points. At Indianapolis, Ryan Hunter-Reay went from trailing points leader Will Power by a single point at the start of oval practice to leading by forty when it came time to drink the milk. Two drivers who took gargantuan leaps thanks to double points at Indianapolis were Colombians Carlos Muñoz and Juan Pablo Montoya. Muñoz entered 19th in the championship, 88 points back and was 6th in the championship though 110 points backs when the checkered flag flew at the end of the Indianapolis 500. Montoya went from 15th, 79 points back to 7th, 122 back after the Indianapolis 500.
The gaps are much wider entering Indianapolis. Power leads Castroneves by 39, Hunter-Reay by 41 an Houston 2 winner Simon Pagenaud by 59 points. Montoya finds himself 5th but 116 points back of his Team Penske teammate with Marco Andretti 124 points back in 6th. Muñoz is 7th, 135 points behind Power.
Double points should shake up the middle of the championship. Thirty-eight points cover Sébastien Bourdais in 8th and Carlos Huertas in 17th.
Despite being worth double points, I don't see Pocono as a chance for a driver deep in the standings to sneak back into the championship picture. Even if say James Hinchcliffe, who is tenth in the championship, scores maximum points (104) and Will Power scores the minimum (16), Hinchcliffe would still find himself trailing Power by 87 points. While the deficit would be much smaller, it would still be no easy task to conquer with seven races remaining.
Penske Fuel Makers
Through two oval races, if there was one team that seemed to stretch a stint longer than anyone else, it is Team Penske and in particular Juan Pablo Montoya. The Colombian had stretched fuel mileage to the point at Indianapolis that he could have made one fewer pit stops than the rest of the field but that strategy was washed away when he was caught speeding on the pit lane. He also ran some of the longest overall stints in the Texas race a month ago. Montoya's best career finish in 14 NASCAR starts at Pocono is 2nd. That came in the July 2009 race. Montoya had four top ten finishes at Pocono in his NASCAR career along with one pole at the track.
Will Power was in the same boat as Montoya at Indianapolis, stretching fuel to last longer than anyone else but all for naught as a pit lane speeding violation crushed the dreams of Indianapolis glory. Power had one of the best cars at Texas before being caught speeding on the pit lane. He did recover from both penalties to finish eighth and second in the respective oval races.
Pocono came down to stretching fuel in 2013 but with 100 extra miles, will that prevent a fuel mileage derby?
Honda's High Note
Honda swept the weekend at Houston, had five of six podium finishers and twelve of twenty top ten finishers. Honda swept the Pocono podium in 2013, had four of the top five and six of the top ten. Honda will have a dozen cars looking to get the manufacture their third consecutive victory and sixth overall on the season, which would break the current tie with Chevrolet for most wins in 2014.
Indy Lights
For the first time since the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Carb Day, the Indy Lights series takes to the track. Gabby Chaves leads the championship with 265 points, one ahead of Zach Veach in the championship standings. Last year, Chaves and Veach finished third and fourth respectively at Pocono. Luiz Razia is third in the championship, eight points behind Chaves. Razia has started from pole position the last two races. Razia's Schmidt Peterson teammate Jack Harvey is fourth in the championship, 28 back with Matthew Brabham rounding out the top five, 31 points behind.
The Indy Lights race will take place at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Fun Facts
The pole-sitter has won six times at Pocono out of twenty races.
Scott Dixon's victory last year from 17th is the furthest back a Pocono winner has ever started.
Should he take the green flag, Ed Carpenter will be starting his 150th career IndyCar race.
This will be the first race on July 6th, since 2008 when Ryan Hunter-Reay won at Watkins Glen.
Twice has a driver won their first career race at Pocono. The inaugural Pocono 500 was Mark Donohue's first career IndyCar victory. He'd win his second career race 15 days later at Michigan and would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 the following year. Teo Fabi's first career IndyCar victory was at Pocono in 1983. The Italian would win three more races that season at Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca and Phoenix.
Juan Pablo Montoya needs to lead 197 laps to become the twenty-third driver to join the 2,000 laps led club.
Ryan Briscoe needs to lead 65 laps to become the twenty-seventh driver to join the 1,500 laps led club.
For more fun facts, head over to the Telemetry Center.
Predictions
Marco Andretti bounces back after last year's disappointing finish and wins. Andretti Autosport puts three cars in the top ten. Simon Pagenaud gets a top five. Justin Wilson gets a top ten. Ganassi Racing puts two cars in the top ten. Josef Newgarden gets his first top ten since Barber. Sleeper: Sébastien Bourdais.
