Chevrolet seeks another superspeedway win
Chevrolet looks to add to Pocono Raceway success
Chevrolet drivers have three wins, three poles at track
Team Chevy drivers are first and third in championship standings
Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud seek to increase points
Familiar names behind the wheel of Chevy-powered cars
Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Charlie Kimball back on track
DETROIT (August 14, 2019) – The ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway kicks off a critical three-week stretch of racing for NTT IndyCar Series teams and drivers, and Will Power couldn’t be more pleased the Tricky Triangle is part of the championship mix.
Power is fifth in the championship standings, and to make hay in the final four races will require the 2014 driver titleholder to continue his success at the 2.5-mile tri-oval on August 18.
Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, has won two of the past three races at the Pennsylvania racetrack and was runner-up in 2018 after earning the NTT P1 Award. In the six races at Pocono since the NTT IndyCar Series returned to the track in 2013, he’s recorded five top-five finishes to match his number of top-five starts.
“Pocono is a track I feel really comfortable at,” said Power, who secured his 57th career pole for the most recent NTT IndyCar Series race on July 28 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. “Pit strategy is so important there so we’re ready for that. We’re going to do everything we can to go out there and just compete for wins.”
Series championship points leader Josef Newgarden and Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud, who is third in the standings, also have found success at Pocono Raceway over the years.
Newgarden, driving the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet in the 200-lap race August 18, has a pair of second-place finishes among his six top 10s. Aside from contact in the 2016 race that relegated Pagenaud to 18th place, the driver of the No. 22 Penske Truck Leasing Team Penske Chevrolet has five top-10 finishes.
“My crew has been really giving it their all every race and we’re all ready to keep fighting for more wins to keep gaining points and continue to make a run at the championship,” Newgarden said.
Team Chevy drivers have three poles and three victories since the NTT IndyCar Series returned to the racetrack in 2013. This season, Chevrolet has seven poles and seven wins in 13 races, including Pagenaud winning the Indianapolis 500 from the pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the other 2.5-mile oval on the schedule.
Pocono Raceway would appear to be a wide-open speedfest, but the superspeedway is aptly nicknamed the Tricky Triangle because of its three distinct turns — Turn 1 (14-degree banking) was modeled after Trenton Speedway in New Jersey, Turn 2 (9-degree banking) has characteristics of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Turn 3 (6-degree banking) is similar to The Milwaukee Mile.
Nine drivers powered by the direct-injected 2.2-liter, twin turbocharged Chevrolet V6 engine are entered.
Carlin will welcome back Conor Daly and Charlie Kimball this weekend. Daly returns to the No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet. He finished 11th at Texas Motor Speedway and 13th at Iowa Speedway for the team this season. In three starts in the No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet, Kimball has a best finish of 17th on the street circuit at St. Petersburg, Florida.
Additionally, team owner Ed Carpenter will be behind the wheel of the No. 20 Autogeek Chevrolet.
NBCSN will telecast the 200-lap race live at 2 p.m. ET August 18.