The Sprint Cup series is headed back to Pocono for the second 2016 NASCAR race at the track called the Tricky Triangle for the Pennsylvania 400.
Pocono Raceway is a unique challenge for drivers and teams. The 2.5-mile track is both a super speedway and a road course blended together. The long straights allow for high speeds as two of them are over 3,000 feet long. However, the track has only three turns and each is different from the others. Turn one has banking of 14-degrees, turn two has 8-degree banking while turn three has just 6-degrees of banking.
The design of the triangular shaped race track requires cars to have the ability to hit maximum speed as well as handle very well for a driver to have a chance to win the race. If one or both of these categories are not met a driver can lose control and crash or have a mechanical failure, both of which will end a driver’s day early.
Counting this weekend there are just six races left for drivers to get their names on the 2016 Chase Grid with a chance to race for the championship in NASCAR’s playoffs. Below is what the Chase Grid looks like heading prior to the Pennsylvania 400.
It will definitely be a busy day for the pit crews and a challenging day for the drivers this Sunday at Pocono. So, which drivers have performed well in their Sprint Cup careers at the Tricky Triangle? Let’s take a look.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Pocono
Chase Elliott – 130.9
Kurt Busch – 106.8
Jimmie Johnson – 106.3
Denny Hamlin – 106.0
Carl Edwards – 95.1
Tony Stewart – 94.7
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 93.9
Kevin Harvick – 92.4
Ryan Newman – 92.3
Joey Logano – 92.2
(NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races {23 total} among active drivers at Pocono Raceway)
When it comes to winning on the Tricky Triangle Jeff Gordon is king with the record for the most trips to Victory Lane with a total of six. Jeff’s driver rating last year at Pocono was 103.5 and he will fill-in again this week in the #88 Chevrolet for Dale Jr., who is on medical leave from racing.
Denny Hamlin has four checkered flags from Pocono that he has collected during his Sprint Cup career. Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte and the winner of the first 2016 race at the track Kurt Busch each has a trio of wins on the Tricky Triangle.
The four drivers with two wins each at Pocono are Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart (who will be racing for the final time in his career at the track this weekend) and Dale Jr. (who as previously mentioned will not be racing this weekend).
Six other active Sprint Cup drivers have won a single race at the Pocono Raceway and include Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and last year’s winner of this race Matt Kenseth.
Hopefully this week’s race will be a little more exciting than last week’s Brickyard 400 for fans to watch. I don’t mean to sound negative, but seriously, other than the checkered flag what real highlights came out the race last week?
Perhaps the fact that drivers not currently on the Chase Grid have only six more weeks to earn their spots they will drive with a little more urgency and pair that with the challenges of the Tricky Triangle and result could be a very exciting race to watch.
We will all find out what kind of race it will be and which driver makes the trip to Victory Lane this Sunday, July 31st starting at 12:30 PM central time when the NASCAR Sprint Cup series races 160 laps (400 miles) around Pocono Raceway in the Pennsylvania 400.
By: Buck Stevens
