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| IndyCar will fill the front straightaway at Pocono |
Coverage:
Time: Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday August 19th with green flag scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt and Robin Miller will work pit lane.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Saturday:
First Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET (60-minute session)
Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN will have live coverage of this session)
Second Practice: 4:45 p.m. ET (60-minute session)
Sunday:
Race: 2:05 p.m. ET (200 laps)
The Championship Picture
We have reached the final quarter of the IndyCar season. With four races remaining and 266 points left on the table, 14 drivers head to Pocono mathematically alive for the championship.
Scott Dixon has led the championship since he won at Texas in June and with 494 points he is 46 points clear of the most recent winner Alexander Rossi. This is the first time Dixon has been leading the championship with four races to go since 2009 when he led after Mid-Ohio. He would drop to third in the next race but retook the championship lead after the penultimate round at Motegi. He would then lose the championship by ten points to teammate Dario Franchitti. In 2008, Dixon led the championship with four races remaining in the season and won the championship. He led the championship after 15 of 18 races that year and was never lower than second in the championship.
Rossi's Mid-Ohio victory ended a brief skid of three consecutive finishes outside the top five. He and Dixon are tied for most podium finishes this season with each driver finishing on the podium six times in the first 13 races. Rossi won from pole position at Mid-Ohio, his second victory from pole position this season. The only other driver to win multiple times from pole position this season is Josef Newgarden, who is third in the championship, 60 points behind Dixon. Newgarden's only three podium finishes this season have been his victories at Phoenix, Barber and Road America.
Will Power won last year at Pocono and he is fourth in the championship, 87 points behind Dixon. Power's third place finish at Mid-Ohio was his first podium finish in four races and he has five podium finishes this season. Ryan Hunter-Reay is 95 points behind Dixon. Hunter-Reay has not finished in the top five in the last three races after five consecutive top five finishes and eight top five finishes in the first ten races.
One hundred and 14 points behind Dixon is the top rookie, Robert Wickens. The Canadian has four consecutive top five finishes including two consecutive podium finishes. Wickens has ten top ten finishes through 13 races. Simon Pagenaud trails Dixon by 150 points with the 2016 champion's only top five finishes this season being his runner-up performances at Texas and Toronto, both races won by Dixon. Graham Rahal is tied with Dixon for most top ten finishes this season with each driver having 11 but Rahal's only podium finish was second at the season opener in St. Petersburg and he has not had a top five finish since the second Belle Isle race. Rahal is 159 points behind Dixon.
James Hinchcliffe sits on 328 points and he is ninth in the championship with Sébastien Bourdais rounding out the top ten on 293 points. Marco Andretti is eight points outside the top ten with last year's Pocono pole-sitter Takuma Sato on 258 points. Ed Jones is three points behind Sato and has not had a top ten finish in the last three races. Spencer Pigot is the final driver with a shot at the championship but the Ed Carpenter Racing driver has a 255-point deficit to overcome.
Power's 500-Mile Dominance
Will Power heads to Pocono and could do something only the Al and Bobby Unser achieved.
Not only is Power going for his third consecutive Pocono victory but he could become the third driver to win three consecutive 500-mile races in IndyCar history. Al Unser won four consecutive 500-mile races when he won the 1977 California 500 and followed it by completing the Triple Crown in 1978 with victory at Indianapolis, Pocono and Ontario. Bobby Unser won 500-mile races at Pocono and Ontario in 1980 and then won the Indianapolis 500 the following year.
Power has already joined the Unsers as the only drivers to have won a 500-mile race in three consecutive seasons with Bobby Unser having accomplished it twice. Uncle Bobby won at least one 500-mile race from 1974-1976 and he did it again from 1979-1981. Al Unser won at least one 500-mile race from 1976-1978.
The last time a driver won multiple 500-mile races in a year was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000, who won the Indianapolis 500 and then won at Michigan. The last time a driver won multiple 500-mile races in the same season was Rick Mears in 1991, who won at Indianapolis and Michigan. Power could tie Mears for second most victories at Pocono. Power's Indianapolis 500 victory was his fourth 500-mile race victory and he is one of eight driver to have won four 500-mile races. Only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford have won at least five 500-mile race victories.
Who could stop Power from joining the Unsers in IndyCar history?
Seven other drivers are entered with a 500-mile race victory. Two active driver have multiple 500-mile race victories. Tony Kanaan has three 500-mile victories and Ryan Hunter-Reay has won two 500-mile races, including a victory at Pocono in 2015. Alexander Rossi has five 500-mile starts and outside of a retirement in the 2016 Pocono race, his finishes have been first, seventh, third and fourth.
Takuma Sato started on pole position last year at Pocono but he finished 13th. Sato has retired and finished outside the top twenty in three of five Pocono starts. Graham Rahal won at Fontana in 2015 but he has finished outside the top ten in four of his last six 500-mile starts and his best finish in those six races was ninth last year at Pocono. Ed Carpenter finished second to Power this year at Indianapolis after he started from pole position but in five Pocono starts his best starting position is tenth in 2016 and his best finish was ninth in 2013 when the race was 400 miles.
Scott Dixon's only 500-mile race victory was his 2008 Indianapolis 500 victory. He won at Pocono in 2013 but that was a 400-mile race. In the 18 500-mile races since the 2008 Indianapolis 500, Dixon has four podium finishes, seven top five finishes and 15 top ten finishes.
Power's Penske teammates are two drivers who could possibly stop the Australian's dominance. Josef Newgarden's worst finish at Pocono is eighth and he has finished second two of the last three years including last year to Power. On top of that, Newgarden has led a lap four consecutive years at Pocono. Since 2015, Newgarden has six top ten finishes in eight 500-mile races. Simon Pagenaud picked up his first top five finish at Pocono last year when he finished fourth but he has four top ten finishes in five Pocono starts and he has started on the front row two of the last three years. Both Newgarden and Pagenaud are looking for their first 500-mile race victory.
Who is Running Out of Time for a Victory?
With only four races remaining, time is running out for drivers looking to get their first victory of the season. Through 13 races there have been seven different winners and there have been four different winners in the last four races.
Robert Wickens, Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal are the three drivers in the top ten of the championship without a victory this season. Wickens could become the third driver to pick up a first career victory at Pocono. Mark Donohue won the inaugural Pocono and not only was its Donohue's first career victory but it was Team Penske's first IndyCar victory. Teo Fabi's first career victory was at Pocono in 1983.
While Pagenaud has had respectable results at Pocono, the track has not been as kind to Rahal. Last year's ninth place finish was his first top ten finish at the track in five starts. Last year, he started seventh and that was only the second time he had started in the top ten. His average finish in five Pocono appearances is 15.4. The only drivers with worst average finishes at Pocono with at least four starts since 2013 are James Hinchcliffe at 16.5 and Takuma Sato at 16.8. Ironically, Sato and Hinchcliffe rank second and third in average Pocono starting position of the drivers with at least four starts since 2013 at 4.8 and 6.5 respectively. Rahal's average starting position here is 10.6.
Marco Andretti heads to his home race on a 122-race drought and if he does not win at Pocono or Gateway he will at least match Graham Rahal's record for most starts between victories in IndyCar history. Andretti has had his fair share of heartbreak in his backyard. He started on pole position in 2013 and he led 88 laps but he was forced to conserve fuel to make it to the finish and he dropped to tenth. He started fifth and finished ninth in 2014 but the last three years Andretti has finished outside the top ten. Last year's race saw Andretti stretch his fuel and lead nine laps but a pit stop for a splash with ten laps to go relegated him to an 11th place finish. Andretti's 97 laps led at Pocono is the third most since the series returned to the track in 2013. His grandfather Mario won three 500-mile races with his final 500-mile race victory coming at Pocono in 1986. His father Michael's two 500-mile race victories were at Michigan in 1987 and 1989.
While Andretti is on a 122-race slump, Tony Kanaan has not won in his last 62 starts. His most recent victory was in a 500-mile race and that was the 2014 season finale at Fontana. It was Kanaan's only victory in four years with Chip Ganassi Racing. Kanaan has not finished in the top five since last year at Pocono when he finished fifth. Like Andretti, Kanaan has been snake bitten at Pocono as well. Kanaan has led every year at Pocono and he has started in the top ten four of five years but he has finished outside the top ten three times. His 147 laps led is the second most led at Pocono since IndyCar returned in 2013 with only Power's 175 laps led ahead of Kanaan in that category. A.J. Foyt won four times at Pocono and Foyt's 67th and final IndyCar victory came at the track on June 21, 1981.
Aero Adjustments and Weather
In response to the racing in the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar has introduced a front wing extension in hopes of increasing downforce to the front of the cars and decrease the aero push felt when cars are in traffic. The modification should help cars with understeer.
One other change from the Indianapolis 500 will be temperature. This year's 102nd running of the famed race occurred in sunny and near-record heat with the entirety of the race occurring with temperatures in the lows 90s. The forecast for Long Pond, Pennsylvania for Sunday is most cloudy conditions and highs in the low 70s.
The cooler temperatures should allow for more grip, less cars sliding around and the conditions should be more optimal for passing.
Fast Facts
This will be the 13th IndyCar race to take place on August 19th and first since Bruno Junqueira won at Road America in 2001. It was Junqueira's first career victory. Michael Andretti finished second that day with Adrian Fernández rounding out the podium. Scott Dixon was the fourth-place finisher.
Danny Sullivan won at Pocono on August 19, 1984.
This year's race occurs on the 43rd anniversary of Mark Donohue's passing following an accident in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Charlie Kimball finished second in the 2013 Pocono race and since then his average finish at the track is 15th. Last year was the first time Kimball finished on the lead lap at Pocono since 2013.
Zach Veach has yet to finish on the lead lap in the first five oval starts of his career.
Matheus Leist has retired from three of the last five races.
Max Chilton has finished outside the top twenty in the last two races. The only other time he has finished outside the top twenty in consecutive races was both Belle Isle races in 2016. Chilton has not finished on the lead lap in an oval race since last year's Indianapolis 500.
Pietro Fittipaldi's grandfather Emerson held the Pocono track record from 1989 to 2013 with a lap at 211.715 MPH that won him the pole position for the 1989 race. Emerson Fittipaldi's best finish at Pocono came in his first start at the track when he started and finished seventh in 1984. He would retire from his next four starts at the track.
Conor Daly will drive the #88 Harding Racing Chevrolet this weekend. This will be his third Pocono start. Last year, Daly finished 14th and on the lead lap. It is so far his only lead lap finish on an oval in his IndyCar career.
The Pocono winner has gone on to win the championship six times. Those drivers are Joe Leonard in 1972, A.J. Foyt in 1975, Tom Sneva in 1977, A.J. Foyt in 1979, Rick Mears in 1982 and Scott Dixon in 2013.
Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Will Power are the only three drivers to have completed all 960 laps since IndyCar returned to Pocono in 2013.
The average starting position for a Pocono winner is 5.333 with a median of 3.5.
Since 2013, the average starting position for a Pocono winner is 7.8 with a median of five.
Since 2013, the driver that has led the most laps has not won at Pocono. Dating back to the CART-era, the last time the driver who led the most laps won at Pocono was Rick Mears in 1987 when he led 80 laps.
Eleven laps is the fewest laps led by a Pocono winner and it A.J. Foyt did it in 1973.
That 1973 race is the only Pocono race to have a pass on the final lap. Roger McCluskey ran out of fuel while leading allowing Foyt to take the victory.
The average number of lead changes in a Pocono race is 19.52 with a median of 17.
The average number of cautions in a Pocono race is 6.826 with a median of seven. The average number of caution laps is 38.608 with a median of 36.
Possible Milestones:
Chip Ganassi Racing is one victory away from tying Newman-Haas Racing for second all-time in team victories in IndyCar with 107 victories.
Sébastien Bourdais is one top five finish away from 75 career top five finishes.
Marco Andretti is one top ten finish away from 100 career top ten finishes.
Sébastien Bourdais is one top five finish away from 75 career top five finishes.
Marco Andretti is one top ten finish away from 100 career top ten finishes.
Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead eight laps to surpass Tomas Scheckter for 31st all-time in laps led.
Takuma Sato needs to lead 23 laps to reach the 500 laps led milestone.
Graham Rahal needs to lead 21 laps to reach the 400 laps led milestone.
Alexander Rossi needs to lead 45 laps to reach the 300 laps led milestone.
Charlie Kimball needs to lead 37 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone.
Predictions
Alexander Rossi makes it two consecutive victories and Tony Kanaan finishes on the podium while Scott Dixon finishes in the top five. Rossi does not lead the most laps. A Penske car starts on pole position and both Ed Carpenter Racing entries start in the top ten. At least two drivers get their first top ten finishes of the season. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has both cars start outside the top ten but one will finish in the top eight. Zach Veach finishes on the lead lap. At least one rookie retires from the race. Sleeper: Spencer Pigot.
