Pocono Weekend Preview
June 2, 2016
Staff Report
NASCAR Wire Service
Truex tries to tame 'Tricky Triangle' following dominant Charlotte performance
Martin Truex Jr. did more than just win last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He dominated it.
The
No. 78 driver from single-car Furniture Row Racing led a track-record
392 laps and an all-time NASCAR-record 588 miles on his way to his first
victory of the season in
one of the sport's crown-jewel races.
Truex's
triumph ended an early season of bad luck where he lost the Daytona 500
by a mere 0.010 seconds and failed to win two races in which he led the
most laps – Texas and
Kansas.
"To
win a race, the Coke 600 is one of the races everybody wants to win,
it's so huge," Truex said. "We came close to the Daytona 500, now to be
sitting here, it's just unbelievable.
These are the races that define drivers' careers, and it's really a
neat opportunity for me."
Truex
will try to visit Victory Lane for the second straight week in Sunday's
Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400 at Pocono Raceway – a contest he won last
year to jumpstart his
run to the Championship 4 Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
In 20 career starts at the Tricky Triangle, he has one win, three
top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
"I
love racing (at Pocono)," Truex said. "It's a really fun unique
racetrack and we tested there a couple months ago and thought it went
pretty good. The fall race or the second
race there last year we had a pretty good run and felt like we had a
shot at winning. Kind of got messed up on a fuel mileage deal. Hopefully
we'll go back there and repeat."
The
entire Furniture Row Racing team has expressed higher ambitions than
winning a few more races. Now with a victory and a series-high 809 laps
led, it believes a championship
is within reach.
"This
is definitely the best position I've ever been in in my Sprint Cup
career by far, by a longshot," Truex said. "The laps we led last year,
making the final four of the
Chase and having a shot at going to Homestead to win a championship,
that's almost as good as it gets, and now, here we are doing the same
thing. I feel like we're better in every department this year than we
were last year in every area.
"Our
goal obviously was to get to victory lane. We did that. Now we can
focus on hopefully getting a few more (wins), getting a good seed in the
Chase, and ultimately going
back to Homestead with a shot at a championship and doing a better job
than we did last year, so that's our goal, that's our focus."
NASCAR XFINITY Series set for Pocono debut
For the first time since its formation in 1982, the NASCAR XFINITY Series will compete at Pocono Raceway.
The
young drivers from the series where names are made, along with some
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars sprinkled in, will take their turn at
navigating the sport's most intricate
track in Saturday's Pocono Green 250 (1 p.m. ET on FOX).
Pocono
is the only course on the circuit with three turns – each inspired by
separate tracks. Turn 1, featuring 14-degree banking is modeled after
Trenton Speedway. Turn 2
has eight degree banking like Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The third
turn, developed from the Milwaukee Mile, contains six-degree banking.
Furthermore,
the Pennsylvania track's three straightaways of varying lengths combine
to form a triangle. The frontstetch spans 3,470 feet and connects to
the 3,055-foot backstretch
and 1,780-foot frontstretch to create a 2.5-mile course.
“I’m
looking forward to going back to Pocono," said Elliott Sadler, who
joins Joey Logano and Kyle Busch as the only drivers in the field who
have won there. "We were able
to win the inaugural [NASCAR Camping World] Truck Series race there
back in 2010 and I know we’re capable of going there and doing the same
thing this weekend in the XFINITY Series. This track can be tough to get
your arms around because all three corners
are very different. We have a chance to test on Thursday which is
always a big help when we are going somewhere new as a series. I know we
have a lot of fans in that area and we’re going to come up and put on a
great show for everyone.”
Race Weekend Guide
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race:
Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400
Place:
Pocono Raceway
Date and Time: Sunday, June 5 at 1 p.m. ET
Tune-in: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (160 laps)
What To Watch For:
Matt Kenseth goes for his second consecutive Pocono win. ... Active
Pocono
wins leader Denny Hamlin tries for his fifth victory at the Tricky
Triangle. He has not visited Victory Lane at the 2.5-mile track since
2010. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. eyes his first win of the season. The No.
88 Chevrolet driver swept the Pocono races in 2014.
... Kyle Busch shoots for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at
Pocono. He has captured a checkered flag at every active NASCAR track
(21 of 23), except for Charlotte and the Tricky Triangle.
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Pocono Green 250
Place: Pocono Raceway
Date and Time: Saturday, June 4 at 1 p.m. ET
Tune-in: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 250 miles (100 laps)
What To Watch For:
Daniel Suárez attempts to extend his 14-point standings lead and grab
his first
NASCAR national series victory. ... Erik Jones, who boasts two wins
this season, tries to find some consistency after logging his second DNF
of the season at Charlotte. ... Alex Bowman takes the wheel of the No.
88 for the second time this season. He finished
third in his first start of the year at Dover. ... NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series regulars Kyle Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Paul Menard, Joey Logano,
Josh Wise and Aric Almirola are all scheduled to compete in the Pocono
Green 250.
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