Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco
TV: NBCSN telecasts the race live (noon ET). Bob Varsha is the chief announcer. Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell are the analysts. The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race telecast follows the Verizon IndyCar Series race at 4 p.m. (ET).
Radio/web: The race will be broadcast on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM 209 and Sirius 213, plus IndyCar.com and INDYCAR 14 app, both of which incorporate Timing & Scoring. Paul Page is the chief announcer.
Click it: Qualification results
Twitter: @poconoraceway, @IndyCar, #Pocono500
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny, high in the upper 70s
Qualifications: Juan Pablo Montoya, the final qualifier, set one- (223.920 mph) and two-lap (223.871 mph two-lap average) track records in single-car qualifications in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske car. Teammate Will Power and rookie Carlos Munoz will join Montoya, who returned to Indy car racing this season after a 14-year absence, on the front row.
Race laps: 200 in counterclockwise direction on the 2.5-mile tri-oval
Start: Three-wide start based on qualifications order … single-file restarts
Firestone tires: The left-side tires are the same construction as used at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, while the right-side tires are the superspeedway construction used at Texas. This combination allows Firestone to provide good grip in the flatter turns (Turns 2 and 3) from the left side of the car, while the right-side tires are optimized for the banking in Turn 1. The right-front tire features a new construction that is designed to withstand the demands of Turn 1 at Pocono, which has the highest loading of any turn on the Verizon IndyCar Series circuit in 2014.
Fuel: 125 U.S. gallons of E85 ... Verizon IndyCar Series cars carry 18.5 U.S. gallons
Aerodynamics: Superspeedway, specific to Pocono -- rear wing mainplane angle of 0 > minus 10.5 degrees. Front wing deflection allowed is .425 of an inch. A rear wing wicker is optional, as are rear wheel backing plate and an underwing strake.
Points: The middle round of the Triple Crown series carries double points (100 to the winner, 90 to runner-up, etc., to 16 points for 22nd place). Bonus points are available for leading a race lap (one point) and leading the most race laps (two points). Power, the championship front-runner, takes a 39-point lead over Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves into the race.
2013: Scott Dixon won in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, leading a team top-three sweep with Charlie Kimball recording a then-career-best second place and Dario Franchitti finishing third. It was the 100th victory for Chip Ganassi Racing and Honda's 200th win. Marco Andretti, of Nazareth, Pa., earned the Verizon P1 Award (221.337 mph).
Of note: A Verizon IndyCar Series autograph session will be held from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the INDYCAR Fan Village. ... Andretti's grandfather, Mario Andretti, won the 1986 race at Pocono, while his father, Michael, started from the pole in the Domino's Pizza 500 and finished 11th. ... After his Pocono win, Dixon went on to sweep at Toronto in the next event en route to claiming the series championship. ... There have been seven different winners representing five teams through the 10 races. There also have been eight different Verizon P1 Award winners. ... This will be the 21st Indy car race at Pocono.
The Triple Crown: The 500-mile Verizon IndyCar Series races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway are a version of the Triple Crown. From 1971-80, the Indy car Triple Crown consisted of 500-mile races at Pocono Raceway, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ontario (Calif.) Speedway. When Ontario closed in 1980, it was replaced by Michigan International Speedway and the Triple Crown lasted until 1989.
Al Unser is the only driver to have won all three races in the same calendar year (1978, driving the No. 2 First National City Travel Checks-sponsored car for team owner Jim Hall). Tom Sneva started from the pole at Indy and Ontario, while Danny Ongais was the pole sitter at Pocono.
Pocono Raceway hosted an Indy car race until 1989 and it rejoined the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule with a 400-mile race in 2013. One-hundred miles were added for the 2014 race to have all three venues host 500-mile events. Ryan Hunter-Reay won the first leg (the Indianapolis 500 on May 25). The MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., is Aug. 30.