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| IndyCar is back from its second summer break and it returns with a trip to Pocono |
Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday August 18th with green flag scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Jon Beekhuis, Dillon Welch and Robin Miller will work pit lane.
IndyCar Weekend Schedule
Saturday:
First Practice: 9:30 a.m. ET (60 minutes)*
Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. ET (Taped-delay coverage on NBCSN at 2:30 p.m. ET)*
Second Practice: 4:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes)*
Sunday:
Race: 2:30 p.m. ET (200 laps)
* - All practice and qualifying sessions are available live with the NBC Sports Gold IndyCar pass.
Championship Picture
Entering the final quarter of the season there are 266 points left on the table between the next three races and the double points finale at Laguna Seca, meaning 14 drivers will head to Pocono mathematically alive for the Astor Cup.
Team Penske's Josef Newgarden enters at the championship leader with 504 points, 16 points ahead of Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi. Newgarden suffered his second retirement of the season after he spun off on the final lap at Mid-Ohio while battling for third with Ryan Hunter-Reay and his race ended in the gravel trap. Newgarden has failed to finish in the top ten in three races this season and in the other ten races he has finished in the top five. Rossi has finished in the top five in seven of the last eight races and his worst finish in the last eight races is sixth. Rossi has finished on the podium of all three oval races this season. Rossi's only finish outside the top ten this season was 22nd in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after he was hit from behind before taking the green flag.
Simon Pagenaud is third in the championship, 47 points behind his Team Penske teammate Newgarden. Pagenaud has finished ahead of Newgarden in five of 13 races this season with three of those being Pagenaud's victories and the other two being the races where Newgarden did not take the checkered flag. Scott Dixon's victory at Mid-Ohio, combined with Newgarden's misfortune, has Dixon 62 points off the championship lead. Dixon has three consecutive podium finishes and four consecutive top five finishes. Dixon has won at Pocono but the only 500-mile race he has won in his career was the 2008 Indianapolis 500. Dixon's victory in Pocono's return to the IndyCar schedule in 2013 was only a 400-mile race.
Will Power makes it three Team Penske drivers in the top six but Power is 148 points behind Newgarden and he has finished outside the top ten in five of 13 races this season. Ryan Hunter-Reay picked up his second podium finish of the season at Mid-Ohio and he is 171 points off Newgarden. Takuma Sato has fallen into a deep rut with his best finish in the last six races being tenth with an average finish over that span being 16.5. Graham Rahal has himself on 312 points, ten points behind Sato with Rahal entering Pocono with seven consecutive top ten finishes on the trot.
Felix Rosenqvist picked up his first podium finish at Mid-Ohio, finishing less than a tenth of a second behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon in the third closest finish in a IndyCar road/street course race. Rosenqvist has three top ten finishes over the last four races. James Hinchcliffe rounds out the top ten on 287 points, nine points behind Rosenqvist. Hinchcliffe was 22nd at Mid-Ohio one race altering finishing third at Iowa.
Sébastien Bourdais dropped outside of the top ten after Mid-Ohio and he is 13 points behind Hinchcliffe. Bourdais has not had a top five finish since he finished third at Barber in the third race of the season. Spencer Pigot has climbed up to 12th in the championship after finishes of fifth and seventh in the last two races and he sits nine points behind Bourdais. Santino Ferrucci has not finished in the top ten in the last four races and he has dropped to 13th in the championship on 259 points. After not having a top ten finish in seven consecutive races, Colton Herta has three top ten results in the last four races and he is the last driver mathematically alive for the championship on 245 points, 259 points behind Newgarden.
Winless Drivers
The final quarter of the season is an anxious time for drivers without a victory. Only four races remain and five of the top ten drivers have not taken to the top step of the podium this season. Six of the top ten active drivers with the most victories have not won yet in 2019.
Leading the pack of hungry drivers is Power. Power enters 2019 with 12 consecutive seasons with a victory, the second longest streak in IndyCar history behind Dixon's 15 season streak that he extended last month at Mid-Ohio. This is not the latest Power has gone without having won a race. In 2013, Power's first victory of the season came on August 25th in the 15th race of the season at Sonoma. Power won that race after finishing fourth at Mid-Ohio. Power heads to Pocono off a fourth place finish at Mid-Ohio.
Hunter-Reay won last year's season finale at Sonoma and he is still looking for his first triumph of 2019. Unlike Power, this would be the latest Hunter-Reay's first victory of a season has come. In 2011, he won at Loudon on August 11th, the 13th race of the season and in 2015, he won at Iowa on July 18th in the 13th race of the season. Hunter-Reay has not won on an oval since his Pocono victory in 2015. Hunter-Reay has not finished on the podium at an oval since he was third at Iowa in 2017.
Rahal heads to Pocono off the back of tremendous results and a top ten finish at Pocono would match his personal best streak of consecutive top ten finishes at eight races. However, Pocono has not been kind to Rahal. In six starts at the track, Rahal's best finish is ninth and his average finish is 15.1667. He has completed all 500 miles at Pocono on two of six occasions.
Bourdais has won a race each of the last five seasons but he has never won a 500-mile race and he has not won an oval larger than a mile since the 2005 Champ Car race at Las Vegas. The good news for Bourdais is his Pocono results in recent years have been promising. Last year, he finished fourth after a hard battle with Dixon and prior to that he had a fifth place at Pocono in 2016 driving for KV Racing.
Tony Kanaan heads to Pocono eliminated from the championship battle and he has only scored 199 points from 13 races, leaving him 18th in the championship. Kanaan has not won since Fontana in 2014 but his last two victories have come in 500-mile races. Prior to his Fontana victory Kanaan won the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Kanaan has won 500-mile races at three different tracks. His first career victory in 1999 came at Michigan in a 500-mile race. Kanaan could become the first driver in IndyCar history to win 500-mile races at four different tracks. His last top five finish was a fifth at Pocono in 2017.
IndyCar has not had a new winner since Dixon won his first race of 2019 in the second Belle Isle race.
Penske's Oval Record
There might be a few things in Will Power's favor this weekend and that is Team Penske has been mighty on ovals since 2017. Entering Pocono this weekend, Team Penske has won all three oval races in 2019, four consecutive oval races dating back to last season and 11 of 15 oval races since Newgarden joined the team in 2017.
Newgarden is responsible for Team Penske's last two oval victories but all three Penske drivers have won in the last four oval races. Newgarden and Power have each won four oval races since 2017. Pagenaud's Indianapolis 500 victory in May was the second oval victory of his career with the other being Phoenix in 2017 and Hélio Castroneves won the 2017 Iowa race.
In the last 15 oval races, Team Penske has won eight pole positions, led 2,085 of 3,640 laps or 57.28% of all oval laps run since 2017 and Team Penske has had multiple drivers lead a lap in 12 of the last 15 oval races. In the three oval races in 2019, Team Penske has led 494 of 748 laps or 66.042% of the oval laps contested in 2019.
In those 15 oval races, Team Penske has combined to lead more than 50% of the laps on seven occasions, including combining to lead all 250 laps at Phoenix in 250, 243 of 300 laps at Iowa in 2017, 240 of 248 laps at Gateawy in 2017, 252 of 300 laps at Iowa in 2018, 144 of 200 laps at Indianapolis this year and 296 of 300 laps at Iowa this year. Penske has won six of the seven oval races where it has led 50% of the laps or more with the exception being Iowa last year.
In the four oval races Team Penske has not won since 2017, a Penske car has finished runner-up in three of those and in last year's Iowa race, Josef Newgarden was the top Penske car in fourth. Team Penske has had at least one top five finisher in 18 consecutive oval races with the last oval race not to have a Penske entry in the top five being the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016. Power was the top Team Penske finisher that day and he finished tenth.
Through three oval races in 2019, Pagenaud leads the unofficial oval championship with 174 points and he is only three points clear of Newgarden. Rossi is third on 151 points with Power and Ferrucci tied for fourth on 103 points with the tiebreaker going to Ferrucci. A Penske driver has scored the most points on an oval in five of the last six seasons. However, the last time the driver to score the most oval points in a season won the overall championship was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.
Penske has won three of the last five Pocono races and it has won ten times at Pocono Raceway, the all-time track record, but its toughest competition this weekend is going to be Andretti Autosport. The two teams have combined to win 11 of the last 13 500-mile races in IndyCar and the two teams have combined to win eight consecutive 500-mile races dating back to Pocono 2015.
500-Mile Race Record
This weekend's Pocono race will be the 174th 500-mile race in IndyCar history and this will be the 25th 500-mile race to take place at Pocono Raceway. The only track to host more 500-mile races is Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Simon Pagenaud became the 97th different driver to win a 500-mile race with his Indianapolis 500 victory in May and he became the fourth Frenchman to win a 500-mile race joining Jules Goux, René Thomas and Gaston Chevrolet. He became the first European driver to win a 500-mile race since Dario Franchitti in the 2012 Indianapolis 500. Pagenaud could become the first driver to win multiple 500-mile races in a single year since Juan Pablo Montoya won at Indianapolis and Michigan in 2000.
Pagenaud could become the eighth driver to win multiple 500-mile races in a year and only the third to be perfect on 500-mile races. Al Unser completed the Triple Crown in 1978 with victories at Indianapolis, Ontario and Pocono and Rick Mears won at Indianapolis and Michigan in 1991.
While Tony Kanaan could make history as the only driver with 500-mile victories at four different circuits, Will Power could join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford as drivers with five 500-mile race victories. Power is also attempting to win a 500-mile race in his fourth consecutive season. The only other drivers to win a 500-mile race in three consecutive seasons are Bobby Unser, who did it from 1974-76 and 1979-81, and Al Unser, who did it from 1976-78.
Last year, Alexander Rossi led 180 of 200 laps, 450 of 500 miles and he became the ninth driver in IndyCar history to lead at least 450 miles in a race. Rossi was the first driver to lead at least 450 miles in a race since Bobby Unser won the 1980 California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway. It was the first time a driver has led at least 450 miles in a Pocono race. Rossi could become the first driver in IndyCar history to lead 450 miles multiple times in a career.
Chevrolet has won 11 of 17 500-mile races since it returned to IndyCar competition in 2012. Each manufacture has won at least one 500-mile race a season since 2014.
Fast Facts
This will be the 12th IndyCar race to take place on August 18th and first since Cristiano da Matta won at Road America in 2002.
Mario Andretti won at Springfield on August 18, 1969 and Michael Andretti won on August 18, 1996 at Road America.
Seventeen different drivers have won at Pocono including five different drivers in the last six years. Thirteen of those 17 drivers are Americans.
The only European driver to win at Pocono is Teo Fabi, who won the 1983 race.
The most recent IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio was the 18th time since reunification where none of the podium finishers started in the top five. Dixon started eighth with Rosenqvist in sixth and Hunter-Reay in tenth. It was the third time none of the podium finishers started in the top five this season but the 2015 season had it occur four times.
The 2013 Pocono race had all three podium finishers start outside the top ten with Dixon winning from 17th, Charlie Kimball finishing second from 12th and Dario Franchitti rounding out the all-Ganassi podium from 20th.
Honda and Chevrolet have split the previous six Pocono races with three victories apiece.
Only twice has the Pocono winner started fifth and those were with Johnny Rutherford in 1974 and Will Power in 2017.
Last year's Pocono race was the fourth fastest 500-mile race in IndyCar history with an average speed of 191.304 MPH. It was the 12th 500-mile race to be completed at an average speed above 180 MPH.
Of those dozen 500-mile races, ten different drivers have claimed victory. The only driver with multiple 500-mile race victories with an average speed above 180 MPH is Tony Kanaan. All three of Kanaan's 500-mile race victories came at average speeds above 180 MPH.
The average starting position for a Pocono winner is 5.24 with a median of three.
The average starting position for a Pocono winner since 2013 is seven with a median of 6.5.
The average number of lead changes in a Pocono race is 19.192 with a median of 16.5.
Last year's race had 11 lead changes and it was the eighth time a Pocono race has had 15 lead changes or fewer.
The average number of cautions in a Pocono race is 6.625 with a median of seven. The average number of caution laps is 37.416 with a median of 34.5.
The average number of cautions in a Pocono race since 2013 is four with a median of 3.5. The average number of caution laps is 23.1667 with a median of 14.5.
If you remove the 2015 Pocono race, which had 12 cautions for 74 laps, the average number of cautions since 2013 is 2.4 with a median of three and an average number of caution laps of 13 with a median of 12 laps.
Possible Milestones:
Will Power is one top five finish away from 100 top five finishes.
Ryan Hunter-Reay is one top ten finish away from 125 top ten finishes.
Josef Newgarden needs to lead 61 laps to reach 500 laps led this season and he would become the ninth driver to lead 500 laps in a season since reunification joining Scott Dixon and Hélio Castroneves in 2008, Dixon and Ryan Briscoe in 2009, Dario Franchitti in 2010, Franchitti and Will Power in 2011 and Power in 2014.
Sébastien Bourdais needs to lead 48 laps to reach the 2,700 laps led milestone.
Josef Newgarden needs to lead 17 laps to reach the 2,000 laps led milestone.
Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead 55 laps to reach the 1,600 laps led milestone.
James Hinchcliffe needs to lead 44 laps to reach the 800 laps led milestone.
Takuma Sato needs to lead 53 laps to reach the 700 laps led milestone.
Graham Rahal needs to lead 12 laps to reach the 400 laps led milestone.
Predictions
Honda dominates per se and Alexander Rossi gets another 500-mile race victory, Colton Herta gets a top five finish and at least one Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car gets a top five finish. A Team Penske car will finish on the podium. There will be at least double the number of lap leaders in this year's race compared to last year's race. Tony Kanaan gets his best starting position of the season and his best finish of the season. Charlie Kimball finishes this race. At least ten cars finish on the lead lap. Sleeper: Spencer Pigot.
