Statistical Advance: Analyzing the doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway

Pocono Raceway Loop Data

Top 10 Driver Ratings
Denny Hamlin………………………… 105.1
Erik Jones……………………………… 103.6
Kurt Busch…………………………….. 100.7
Jimmie Johnson……………………….. 99.1
Kevin Harvick…………………………… 98.6
Chase Elliott…………………………….. 98.2
Kyle Busch………………………………. 95.4
Brad Keselowski………………………. 94.7
Joey Logano……………………………. 89.3
William Byron…………………………… 88.3
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2019 races (30 total) among active drivers at Pocono Raceway.

Top 10 Average Running Positions
Erik Jones……………………………… 8.880
Denny Hamlin………………………. 10.288
Chase Elliott…………………………. 11.098
Kurt Busch…………………………… 11.553
Jimmie Johnson……………………. 12.012
William Byron……………………….. 12.023
Kevin Harvick……………………….. 12.356
Daniel Suarez………………………. 12.880
Ryan Newman……………………… 12.946
Brad Keselowski…………………… 13.091
Note: Average Running Position is compiled from 2005-2019 races (30 total) among active drivers at Pocono Raceway.

At Pocono Raceway:

HISTORY

• Opened in 1968 as a three-quarter-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was on August 4, 1974, and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Dodge, 115.593 mph).
• The 2.5-mile track was repaved during the fall of 2011.
• 2012 marked the first season the NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles.
• Prior to 2012, all NASCAR Cup Series races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway.
• There have been 84 NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.
• 2020 marks the first season the NASCAR Cup Series will hold a doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway.

STARTS

• A total of 350 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway; 251 have competed in more than one series race at Pocono.
• Ricky Rudd leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Pocono Raceway with 55.
• Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth lead all active series drivers with 38 starts at Pocono each.
• A total of 33 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have made their series debut at Pocono Raceway; the most recent and only active driver to make his debut at Pocono is Richard Petty Motorsport’s Bubba Wallace (June 11, 2017).
• David Pearson (six starts) leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Pocono Raceway with a 4.667.
• Denny Hamlin (28 starts) leads all active series drivers in average starting position at Pocono with a 7.143.

POLES

·        A total of 46 different drivers have won the Busch Pole Award at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series; 12 of the 46 are active this weekend.  

• NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott (1984, 1985 sweep, 1995 and 2002) and Ken Schrader (1989, 1992, 1993 sweep and 1995) lead the series in poles at Pocono Raceway with five each.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers at Pocono Raceway with four poles (Spring 2010, Fall 2015, 2017 sweep).
• Buddy Baker won the inaugural Buch Pole Award at Pocono Raceway in 1974 with a speed of 144.122 mph.
• Of the 46 pole winners at Pocono, only six have won consecutive Busch poles:
  • Bill Elliott (1984-85),
  • Mark Martin (1990-91),
  • Ken Schrader (1993 sweep),
  • Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep),
  • Joey Logano (fall 2011 and spring 2012)
  • Kyle Busch (2017 sweep).

• Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Pocono with three; fall 1984 and both races in 1985.
• Youngest Cup Series Pocono pole winner: Joey Logano (August 7, 2011 – 21 years, 2 months, 14 days).
• Oldest Cup Series Pocono pole winner: David Pearson (June 10, 1984 – 49 years, 5 months, 19 days).
• Four drivers have posted their first-career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Pocono Raceway:
  • Harry Gant (1979),
  • Casey Mears (2004),
  • Kyle Larson (2014)
  • Daniel Suarez (2018).
• Eight different manufacturers have won a NASCAR Cup Series pole at Pocono Raceway; led by Chevrolet with 34, followed by Ford (18), Toyota (9), Dodge (8), Pontiac (6), Buick (2), American Motors Company and Oldsmobile (each have one).  

WINS

• A total of 37 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Pocono Raceway, 11 are entered this weekend.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Pocono with six victories (1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2011 and 2012).
• Denny Hamlin leads all active series drivers in wins at Pocono with five victories (2006 sweep, 2009, 2010 and 2019).
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in 1974.
• 24 different drivers have multiple series wins at Pocono Raceway; including five active drivers: Denny Hamlin (five), Jimmie Johnson (three), Kurt Busch (three), Kyle Busch (three) and Martin Truex Jr. (two).
• Eight drivers have posted consecutive wins at Pocono Raceway:
  • Bobby Allison (1982 sweep and Spring 1983)
  • Bill Elliott (1985 sweep)
  • Tim Richmond (1986 sweep and spring 1987)
  • Bobby Labonte (1999 sweep)
  • Jimmie Johnson (2004 sweep)
  • Denny Hamlin (2006 sweep and 2009-2010)
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014 sweep)
  • Kyle Busch (2018-2019)
• Youngest Cup Series Pocono winner: Joey Logano (June 10, 2012 – 22 years, 0 months, 17 days).
• Oldest Cup Series Pocono winner: Harry Gant (June 17, 1990 – 50 years, 5 months, 7 days).
• 16 of the 84 (19%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway have been won from the pole (14) or first starting position (two); the most recent was Kyle Busch on July 30, 2017.
• The two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono that were won from the first starting position after qualifying was cancelled; Tony Stewart (2009) and Jimmie Johnson (2013).
• The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (16) than any other starting position at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series – a 19% winning percentage.    

• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Pocono is 29th, by Carl Edwards in the spring of 2005.
• A total of four NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Pocono Raceway: Ryan Blaney (06/11/2017), Chris Buescher (08/01/16), Denny Hamlin (06/11/06) and Jeremy Mayfield (06/21/98).
• Denny Hamlin (2006) is the only active driver to win at Pocono in his first appearance.
• Kevin Harvick leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono without visiting Victory Lane at 36.
• A total of 26 different organizations have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Pocono with 17: Jeff Gordon (six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Kasey Kahne (one), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one).
• Eight different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono; led by Chevrolet with 32 victories; followed by Ford with 23, Toyota (nine), Dodge (seven), Pontiac (six), Buick (four), Mercury (two) and Oldsmobile (one).

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes

• A total of 37 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished runner-up at Pocono Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Pocono with seven second-place finishes.
• Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Pocono with five.

Top-Five Finishes

• A total of 75 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-five at Pocono Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famers Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon lead the series in top fives at Pocono with 20 each.
• Kurt Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top fives at Pocono with 14.

Top-10 Finishes

• A total of 122 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished in the top-10 at Pocono Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Pocono Raceway with 34 top 10s.
• Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with 20 top-10 finishes each at Pocono.

Average Finish

• Erik Jones leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Pocono with a 8.333 in six starts.

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 128 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have led at least one lap at Pocono Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in laps led with 1,040 laps led in 47 starts.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in laps led at Pocono Raceway with 743 laps led in 36 starts.

• Most laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway by the race winner was 175 of 200 scheduled laps (87.5%) on August 5, 2007 by race winner Kurt Busch.
• Most laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway by a non-race winner was 154 of the scheduled 200 laps (77%) on June 9, 1985 by Geoff Bodine; he finished fourth.
• Since reducing the race length to 400-miles in 2012, the most laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway is 128 of 160 scheduled laps (80%) on June 9, 2013 by race winner Jimmie Johnson.
• Since reducing the race length to 400-miles in 2012, the most laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway by a non-race winner is 100 of 160 scheduled laps (62.5%) on June 11, 2017 by Kyle Busch; he finished ninth.
• The fewest laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway by the race winner is just two laps led on August 2, 2015 by Matt Kenseth; he started the race from the seventh starting position. Kenseth led one lap (88) earlier in the race and took the lead on the final lap to win the event.

TRACK SPECIFIC STATS

• Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway is the race on July 23, 2000, that was won by Rusty Wallace over Jeff Burton with a margin of victory of 0.126 second.

• There have been four NASCAR Cup Series races resulting with NASCAR Overtime at Pocono.

• Seven of the 84 series races at Pocono Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions.

• Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway six times; twice the driver who started first after qualifying was cancelled won the event.

FEMALE COMPETITOR STATS

• Two female drivers have competed at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.

NASCAR IN PENNSYLVANIA

• There have been 151 NASCAR national series races among 10 tracks in the state of Pennsylvania.
• Among the 10 tracks in Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway has hosted the most NASCAR national series events.
• The first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Pennsylvania was the NASCAR Cup Series event held on September 11, 1949 at Langhorne Speedway and won by Curtis Turner (Oldsmobile).
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was on August 4, 1974, and the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Dodge, 115.593 mph).

PENNSYLVANIA DRIVERS IN NASCAR

• A total of 148 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.
• Three of the 148 Pennsylvania drivers have won in NASCAR’s premiere series.

Pennsylvania Winners in NASCAR