Chevrolet drivers seek to tame the ‘Tricky Triangle’
· Team Chevy carries momentum to 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway
ᴏ Chevrolet coming off three consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series wins
· Chevrolet has won the past three races at Pennsylvania track
ᴏ Will Power was victorious in ‘16 in No. 12 Verizon Team Penske entry
· Four Chevrolet drivers among the top five in championship standings
ᴏ Josef Newgarden leads the points chase with four races left
· Gabby Chaves returns to competition in No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet
DETROIT (Aug. 15, 2017) – Back to back victories, and a Verizon IndyCar Series field-high three overall, have propelled Josef Newgarden to the top of the championship standings for the first time in his six-year career.
But there’s considerable work left for the first-year Team Penske driver, starting with the ABC Supply 500 this weekend at Pocono Raceway, before he can entertain visions of having his name engraved on the Astor Cup.
The 200-lap speed fest on the 2.5-mile tri-oval is the 14th of 17 races on the season, which culminates Sept. 17 at Sonoma Raceway. Newgarden, who spliced wins on the streets of Toronto and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month, holds a seven-point lead over teammate Helio Castroneves. Four Chevrolet drivers are among the top five in the standings.
Team Chevy drivers have won the past four poles and the past three races to increase its totals to seven victories and nine pole starts. The Bowtie brand also leads the Manufacturer Championship.
Newgarden, who is the fifth Team Penske driver to lead the Verizon IndyCar Series championship chase with four races left since 2010, has fared well at “The Tricky Triangle.” He started second and finished fourth in 2016 in an Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, and has placed in the top five in three of his four starts.
“We’re leading the points and we’re in a really good spot as a team,” he said. “We’re really coming together and my team continues to give me a strong No. 2 Fitzgerald Chevrolet. Pocono is a really unique track due to its corners and banking. They aren’t kidding when they call it the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ but we worked a lot on the car during the off weeks and are ready to put on a great show for the fans at Pocono.”
Team Chevy has won three of the four races since Indy car racing returned to the track after a 14-year absence. Will Power, who was runner-up to Newgarden at Mid-Ohio after earning the pole for the fifth time this season and 49th time in his career, won at Pocono Raceway in 2016.
“The No. 12 Verizon Chevy team put together a really awesome car at Mid-Ohio, which produced a strong result,” said Power, who is 52 points out of first in the standings. “Now we’re going back to Pocono where we won last year. Another win there would be huge for us in the point standings, so we’re really going to give it our all. The team worked on the car a lot and we call feel it’s going to be another strong car.”
Gabby Chaves, who has top-10 finishes in two starts this season in the No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet, will aim for another strong showing. He garnered a victory and two podium finishes at the track in Indy Lights competition.
“I believe we’ve done a good job of preparing the best we can and I’m ready to pay off all that hard work this weekend,” Chaves said of the first-year team. “I look forward to another great result for Harding Racing.”
Though JR Hildebrand, driver of the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, has competed in 58 Verizon IndyCar Series races over eight seasons, he will be making his first start at the track.
A.J. Foyt, who fields the Chevrolet cars of Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly, is the winningest Indy car driver at Pocono Raceway with victories in 1973, ’75, ’79, and ’81. Team Penske consultant/spotter Rick Mears won three times at the track. Munoz, driving the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet, won the Indy Lights race at the track in 2013 and finished third the next year in his rookie Verizon IndyCar Series season. Munoz has placed in the top seven in his three starts at “The Tricky Triangle.”
NBCSN will telecast single-car qualifications live at 1 p.m. ET Saturday and will telecast the 200-lap/500-mile race live at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Fans will have the opportunity to tour the Chevrolet IndyCar Racing Tour display at the track. The expansive display, which will be open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, will feature production vehicles such as the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Premier, the 2018 Camaro Coupe SS, the Silverado 2500 HD High Country, and the Corvette Grand Sport. Fans also can test their skills on race simulators in addition to seeing the Chevrolet V6 IndyCar race engine, and other exhibits.
Ed Carpenter Racing drivers JR Hildebrand and Ed Carpenter will conduct a Q&A with fans between 9:40-9:55 a.m. Sunday at the Chevrolet display pit box.
A white Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 will pace the field to the green flag.