NASCAR Weekend Schedule for Pocono Raceway

First off

Now Talladega is in the books and I’m not going to say too much on that other than we did see some great racing over the weekend, especially in the Cup series, where the racing was the best it’s been in years!! Congrats to NASCAR on hitting it big time with the changes to the cars* and no practice and quals!! Well on to Pocono!

Next – Pocono Raceway

Pocono Raceway or The Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of four NASCAR national series races and an ARCA Menards Series event in June: a NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader with support events by the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

Pocono Raceway is one of only three NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation, the dominant track owners in NASCAR. The other two tracks that hold this distinction are Dover International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pocono CEO Nick Igdalsky and president Ben May are members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli. Mattco also owns South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia.

Outside the IndyCar Series and NASCAR races, Pocono is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) as well as many other clubs and organizations. The triangular track also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – the north course, east course and south course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the track to complete a lap. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also, some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together.

The track was designed by 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500 winner Rodger Ward. Pocono Raceway has a unique design, as each turn is modeled after a turn at a different track.

Pocono Raceway – Track configuration

Turn one (14° banking) – modeled after Trenton Speedway
Turn two (9° banking) also known as the “Tunnel Turn” – modeled after Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Turn three (6° banking) – modeled after the Milwaukee Mile

The circuit is sometimes considered a tri-oval, but the turns are much more severe than those of a more typical tri-oval such as Daytona and other intermediate speedways. An additional complication is that the three turns are in no way the same, nor are any of the three straights identical in length. The banking of each turn is considerably less than on many other long superspeedways. Although the track is long [2.5 mi (4.023 km)], the sharp nature of the turns and the low banking tend to make the average speeds lower than at other tracks of similar lengths. Because of its unique characteristics, Pocono is sometimes referred to as a roval (an oval track that behaves like a road course). Others refer to Pocono as a modified road course, due to the use of shifting gears to handle the range between the slowest turn and the fastest straightaway.

The unique design makes the setup of the car and the crew’s ability to make chassis adjustments more crucial than at many other tracks. Often it is the difference between a winning performance and a poor performance.

Pocono Raceway – Weekend Schedule

The weekend starts of on Friday with a ARCA race where Hailie Deegan and her DGR Team mates take on the Triangle and the rest of the field. Unfortunately the ARCA Races are not broadcasted in Sweden but a live leaderboard maybe available from the ARCA Racing page!!

ARCA

Friday, June 26th

6:00 PM CET 24:00
General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (80 laps / 200 miles)
TV FS1

TRUCKS

Pocono Organics 150
Pocono Raceway
Saturday, June 27, 2020
12:30pm/et CET 18:30
Green flag: (approx.)12:45pm/et
FS1, MRN/SiriusXM Sweden Viasat / Viaplay
(STAGES 15/30/60 LAPS = 150 MILES)
No practice or qualifying

CUP

Kids Free 325
Pocono Raceway
3:30pm/et, CET 21:30 Saturday, June 27
TV: FOX Sweden Viasat / Viaplay
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM
(STAGES 25/77/130 LAPS = 325 MILES)
No practice or qualifying

Worry-Free Guarantee 350
Pocono Raceway
4:00pm/et, CET 22:00 Sunday, June 28
TV: FS1 Sweden Viasat / Viaplay
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM
(STAGES 30/85/140 LAPS = 350 MILES)
No practice or qualifying

NXS

Pocono Green 225
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, June 28
12:30pm/et CET 18:30
TV: FS1 Sweden Viasat / Viaplay
Radio: MRN, Sirus XM NASCAR
(STAGES 20/40/90 LAPS = 225 MILES)

Stay Safe!

//Bernth

*

• The rules update was published on May 1 and includes a reduction of horsepower via the tapered spacer, an intended reduction of drag through the elimination of the aero ducts and an application of slip tape to minimize the locking of bumpers while drafting.
  The changes also include a litany of safety enhancements intended to protect the driver’s compartment:

—Elimination of aero ducts at superspeedway tracks;
—Reduction in size of throttle body from 59/64 inches to 57/64 inches;
—Updated roll bar padding specifications;
—Oil reservoir tank or overflow expansion tank must contain a check valve;
—Slip tape must be applied along the entire length of the lower rearward-facing surfaces of the rear bumper cover and extension;
—And addition of a lower main roll bar support bar No. 20 / intrusion plate and upper main roll bar support bar No. 21 (mandatory superspeedways, optional elsewhere). https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a32873835/inside-the-rule-changes-resulting-from-ryan-newmans-daytona-500-crash/

Fact credit: Wikipedia and Jayski

Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images