EVENT: Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR
VENUE: Pocono Raceway
TUNE IN: Television (12 p.m. ET on TNT) and Radio (12 p.m. ET on MRN). Check local listings.
News & Notes
POINTS AFTER DOVER: After finishing fourth last weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. improves to third in the championship standings. He trails leader Greg Biffle by 10 points.
MOST RECENTLY AT POCONO: Earnhardt worked his way from his 19th starting position to finish ninth at Pocono Raceway last June. It was Earnhardt’s third top-10 finish at Pocono behind the wheel of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He finished inside the top nine in both NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono in 2011.
AT POCONO: In 24 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt has recorded one pole position, five top-five finishes and eight top-10s. He has completed 97.2 percent of all the laps he's attempted (4,556 laps of 4,689 total). The 37-year-old driver has led a total of 98 laps at the 2.5-mile track.
POCONO POLE POSITION: Earnhardt earned his Sprint Cup pole position at Pocono in August 2007, and he went on to lead eight laps and finish second in that race. The runner-up effort matched his best performance at the Long Pond, Pa., track. Earnhardt also finished second there on July 29, 2001, after leading 31 laps.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-726. This is a new chassis that has not been raced.
PENNSYLVANIA NATIVES: Two members of the No. 88 Chevrolet team consider the Keystone State home. Spotter T.J. Majors hails from Wampum, where he grew up racing dirt tracks in western Pennsylvania and in 2003 was named the Goody's Dash Series Rookie of the Year. Shock specialist Jason Seitzinger is a native of Shartlesville.
PEPSI’S PLACE: PepsiCo's Purchase, N.Y., headquarters is located 125 miles east of Pocono Raceway. The company, which sponsors Earnhardt's car with its Diet Mountain Dew brand, has been headquartered in Purchase since 1970.
HENDRICK AT POCONO: Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest organization at Pocono with 12 Cup victories. In 56 Cup races (181 starts) at the 2.5-mile racetrack, Hendrick Motorsports has gathered 52 top-five finishes and 94 top-10s. Jeff Gordon most recently won at the Tricky Triangle in June 2011 after leading 39 laps.
STILL ROLLING: Since Jimmie Johnson went to Victory Lane on May 12 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has collected three straight Cup wins. Kasey Kahne followed Johnson’s victory with a win in the 600-mile event at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on May 27, and Johnson won at Dover (Del.) International Speedway last weekend. Hendrick Motorsports has won three or more consecutive Cup events 12 times in its history, achieving a team-best six straight during its 18-win season in 2007.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, will be available to members of the media on Friday at 11:45 a.m. local time in the Pocono Raceway media center.
Quotes
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET (ON THE REPAVE AT POCONO RACEWAY.): “I’m looking forward to testing the new surface and seeing what the track is like. I know NASCAR is wanting to get enough rubber down so we have a good race. We’ll just go out there and try to learn what we can and use it as an opportunity to try some things we haven’t been able to work into the practice sessions this year. I heard that there’s a big curve in the tunnel turn that I was hoping would be gone, but that’s still there I guess. Other than that, I think the track is going to be in excellent shape.”