NASCAR at Pocono 2015: Start Time, Top Drivers, TV Schedule and More
NASCAR returns to Pocono Raceway on Sunday for another date with the Tricky Triangle in what might be the most difficult, unpredictable race of the season.
If sweltering heat pours down on the drivers, the ever-changing grooves of the track they treat as a road course will prove the trickiest adversary to date—especially with everyone once again chasing the rear bumper of one Jimmie Johnson after his triumph last week at Dover.
Plenty of high-profile contenders perform well at Pocono, and there's always a chance at a surprise. So this weekend's event as the summer heat kicks in isn't one to miss.
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Viewing Details
Where: Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania
When: Sunday, June 7, at 1 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox Sports 1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 440 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 516 |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 440 |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 432 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 414 |
| 6 | Matt Kenseth | 377 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 345 |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 340 |
| 9 | Carl Edwards | 338 |
| 10 | Martin Truex Jr. | 472 |
Drivers to Watch
Jimmie Johnson
Johnson took care of business at the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks last week in Dover, Delaware, leading just 23 laps but turning it on when it mattered most to climb the race standings and the series leaderboard.
The man's just on fire, a winner in a series-high four races so far, a win in almost a third of the races run entering Sunday. ESPN Stats & Info puts his staggering dominance into perspective:
Johnson finished sixth last year, breaking a two-race winning streak. This year, it's not out of reason to think he can create yet another two-win streak with a victory this weekend.
This is especially the case after last week's display, where Johnson showed the grit and experience to hold on to a lead despite three late restarts. In other words, he can still improve heading into the comforts of the Tricky Triangle, which brings one word to mind.
Scary.
Sitting fourth in the standings, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the lone other racers who can call the Tricky Triangle comforting.
Earnhardt won this event last year and even won both events at Pocono, meaning he will feel right at home Sunday as he hunts for his second win of the season, the first coming back in early May at Talladega Superspeedway.
To be blunt, Earnhardt needs a third victory at the venue, especially after a 14th-place finish last week thanks to a speeding hiccup on pit road.
Regardless, he sounds ready to tackle the friendly confines this weekend.
"We're going to some tracks where I think we can do really well, so I'm looking forward to it," Earnhardt said on the Dale Jr. Download (h/t Jared Turner of FoxSports.com). "Every week I'm really excited about what we've got going on...and all the guys are really fired up."
It will be quite interesting to see which set of momentum could prevail—Johnson's current or Earnhardt's success at the course.
When one thinks of a contender this weekend with a serious lack of momentum, Jeff Gordon sits atop the list.
The veteran rests 13th in the standings, just a few spots above the cutoff line and still searching for his first win of the season. What better way to pull it off, though, in what seems his last season, than at a course he's so familiar with?
Gordon has six wins at Pocono, although the last one came in 2012. Still, if there's a time for him and the team to pull it together, it figures to come this weekend.
He spoke with ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass on his team's performance: "They are just as excited to give me their best in my final year as I am to give them my best and us to work well together as a team. I think that most of that push right now is just coming because we are not performing as well as we feel like we are capable of."
As the sport changes and the pressure builds for Gordon to get a win, now feels like the right time for everything to fit into place and the team to iron out the remaining issues.
It just so happens to coincide with a weekend at a track Gordon could classify as a second home, so keep a close eye on the veteran as he enters his stomping grounds.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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