CONCORD, N.C. – This Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports will head to one of its best tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Nicknamed the “Tricky Triangle” for its unique, three-turn configuration, Pocono Raceway has been the site of numerous highlights for the organizations and its drivers.
Below are some key insights for Sunday’s race.
- Hendrick Motorsports has an impressive resumé at Pocono. The organization leads all teams with 17 wins there, with the four most recent coming as season sweeps. In addition, the organization owns track records in each of the following categories: pole positions (12), top-five finishes (68), top-10 finishes (123) and laps led (3,250). Its wins have come via seven different drivers.
- Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, has collected four straight top-five finishes. It marks the longest top-five streak of the 23-year-old driver's NASCAR Cup Series career. Looking to keep the momentum headed into the “Tricky Triangle,” where he averages a starting position of 12.7 and a finishing position of 12.0, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native is looking for his second victory of 2019. During his first Cup start at Pocono in June 2016, Elliott led 51 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, his best result at the venue. The No. 9 car number currently ranks fourth for the most wins at Pocono Raceway with six. His father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, garnered five of those wins. Chase Elliott hopes to add another victory to the family’s total this weekend.
- When William Byron heads to Pocono Raceway, it will be the sixth time he will compete at a track that has been good to him across different series. He won the pole in his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start there and dominated by leading 44 out of 60 laps before capturing the win. After that, he collected a solid top-15 finish in his lone Xfinity Series start at Pocono before moving up to the Cup Series full time. Byron had solid days in his two Cup-level starts there last season, including a sixth-place finish in the July race after leading 10 laps. Luck could be on the driver’s side with the iconic No. 24 car number on his door. Four-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon earned six wins at the Long Pond, Pennsylvania, track – the most of any Cup Series driver – while piloting the No. 24 Chevrolet. With the six wins by Gordon, the No. 24 is tied for the third-most victories by a car number at the “Tricky Triangle.”
- Jimmie Johnson most recently won at Pocono on June 9, 2013, when the El Cajon, California, native dominated the 400-mile event by leading 128 of 160 laps. The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver has earned three Cup Series wins at the Pennsylvania track and has a history of starting inside the top 10. In 34 starts there, he has taken the green flag inside the top 10 a total of 19 times and boasts an average starting position of 11.1. Eight of his top-10 starts were on the front row.
- This weekend, Alex Bowman will make his seventh NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway. The 26-year-old driver has completed 99.2 percent of the laps in his six events there. His personal track-best finish of third came in his most recent appearance when he started 10th for the 164-lap event last July. Back in June 2016, Bowman made one Pocono start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, starting and finishing 10th.
Keep these statistics in mind as Hendrick Motorsports looks to claim its 18th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono this weekend. Tune into FS1 on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET to watch all the on-track action.