CONCORD, N.C. - This weekend, Hendrick Motorsports travels north to Pocono Raceway to compete at "The Tricky Triangle."
At 2.5 miles in length, Pocono's unique configuration provides a challenge to even the best drivers the sport has to offer. To start, competitors will build quite a bit of speed as they head down the long front straightaway. Into turn one, 14 degrees of banking allow for that speed to be carried through to the "Long Pond Straight" as the field heads to the difficult turn two. With only eight degrees of banking, the second turn, also known as "The Tunnel Turn," forces drivers to be cautiously aggressive as they head to turn three. Now working with only six degrees of banking, each driver must manage throttle time in order to build a run to the start/finish line.
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Another one-of-a-kind attribute to Pocono is the history behind each of the three corners. Turn one is patterned after New Jersey's former Trenton Speedway, turn two after Indianapolis Motor Speedway and turn three is modeled after the Milwaukee Mile. Each requires a little something different to be successful.
Hendrick Motorsports’ 19 wins at the Long Pond, Pennsylvania, venue are the most by any team in the Cup Series. Team vice chairman Jeff Gordon leads the way with six wins, while Jimmie Johnson and Tim Richmond each earned three in their time with Rick Hendrick’s team. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s two wins came in a sweep of the 2014 events. Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte, Kasey Kahne, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott have each found victory lane once for the team.
This weekend will also see the No. 17 HendrickCars.com entry return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series after earning a third-place finish at the Chicago Street Course. For Saturday's event, William Byron will be behind the wheel for his third start in the division this season with Brandon McSwain as crew chief.
KEY NUMBERS TO KNOW FOR POCONO
Data provided by Racing Insights
Larson, No. 5 team
Despite crashing out last weekend in Chicago, Kyle Larson remains the regular season points leader. While he has yet to win at Pocono, he has led the most laps for an active driver without a win at the Pennsylvania facility (158) and has earned a pair of runner-up finishes in his career. For this weekend, the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com team will look to build on their Cup Series-best 213 stage points and further distance themselves from the competition in the standings.
Elliott, No. 9 team
While Elliott's run of top-20 finishes to start the 2024 season has come to an end, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native still has several high marks on his resume this season. His average finish of 10.60 through the first 20 races is the second-best of his career ('22 at 10.40 is the best). Elliott leads the Cup Series in races running at the finish (33 consecutive) and sits in a tie for second-most top fives (seven) in 2024. He'll go for another crown in Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon.
Byron, No. 24 team
Although Byron has yet to break through for victory at Pocono, the driver of the No. 24 entry has a career-best finish of third at this track and has led 130 circuits in the process. In fact, 95 of those laps led have come since the start of 2021, which leads the Cup Series. With another top-10 finish at Chicago, Byron's average finish has climbed to the third-best on the tour at 13.25. He'll aim to capture his first career Pocono victory this Sunday.
Bowman, No. 48 team
Pocono's main event will be the 50th race for the pairing of crew chief Blake Harris and Bowman on the No. 48 Ally Racing team. Fresh off a victory that snapped an 80-race winless drought for Bowman, the group will look to return to victory lane once again. By the numbers, the Tucson, Arizona, native sits in the midst of one of his best statistical seasons. His average finish of 13.8 sits within a single position of both Byron and Larson while his 11 top-10 finishes are tied for the second-most in the Cup Series. This weekend, he'll aim to win for the second time in his career at Pocono.
Hendrick Motorsports
With Bowman's triumph at Chicago, 2024 is now the eighth season four drivers have won a race for Hendrick Motorsports. Chicago's win was also the 32nd different track the team has won at. For Pocono, the group will look to win for the first time since Elliott's 2022 triumph. With 19 wins, Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams in terms of Cup Series Pocono victories.
DID YOU KNOW?
In the last 32 races, Hendrick Motorsports has not gone more than three races without winning.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS AND TV COVERAGE
Saturday, July 13
10 a.m. ET: Practice - USA Network (Xfinity)
10:30 a.m. ET: Qualifying - USA Network (Xfinity)
12 p.m ET: Practice - USA Network (Cup)
12:45 p.m ET: Qualifying - USA Network (Cup)
For the Xfinity Series, Byron will be the 15th car to qualify. All entires will share the track for practice.
For the Cup Series, Larson, Byron and Bowman will be in Group A while Elliott will be in Group B.
3 p.m. ET: Xfinity Series main event - USA Network
Sunday, July 14
2:30 p.m. ET: Cup Series main event - USA Network
STAGE LENGTHS (Xfinity)
Stage 1: Lap 20
Stage 2: Lap 40
End of Race: Lap 90
STAGE LENGTHS (Cup)
Stage 1: Lap 30
Stage 2: Lap 95
End of Race: Lap 160
WILL THE RACE BE ON THE RADIO?
Yes, listeners can find both events on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
CAN I STREAM ONLINE?
Yes. Download the NBC Sports App for online coverage. Fans can also keep up with the action on X by following @TeamHendrick.