Pocono 500 (IndyCar)
Domino's Pizza Pocono 500 (1982) Domino's Pizza 500 (1983-1986) Quaker State 500 (1987-1989) Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco (2013) Pocono IndyCar 500 Fueled by Sunoco (2014) ABC Supply 500 (2015-2019) | |
Most wins (driver) | A. J. Foyt (4) |
---|---|
Most wins (team) | Team Penske (10) |
Most wins (manufacturer) | Chassis: Dallara DW12 (7) Engine: Cosworth (11) |
Circuit information | |
Surface | Asphalt |
Length | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
Turns | 3 |
Lap record | 40.2017 seconds 223.871 mph (360.285 km/h) (Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara DW12, 2014, IndyCar Series) |
The Pocono 500
After a 23-year hiatus, the event was revived by the
The 2014 race, won by Juan Pablo Montoya, stands as the fastest 500-mile race in Indy car racing history.[2] At an average speed of 202.402 mph (325.734 km/h), it was the first 500-mile race to be completed in under two and a half hours.
Race history
USAC
The Pocono 500 began in
During the early years, the Pocono 500 utilized an expanded two-week schedule, shorter, but similar to that of Indianapolis. A week of practice was followed by two days of time trials (Saturday-Sunday), followed by race day the following weekend. In some years, qualifying also consisted of four-lap runs, mimicking Indy. During the USAC years, the race was held in late-June/early-July, and for a time, race day itself was scheduled around Independence Day. For the first number of years, the starting field consisted of 33 cars, lined up in eleven rows of three, the same as Indy.
For
In
CART
After organizational changes following the first
The increasingly rough condition of the course made the race demanding,[8] and sometimes led to high attrition and surprise winners. The unique characteristics of the course, as well as the bumpiness, kept speeds slightly down from those at Indianapolis and Michigan, but the race was still popular, and for a time, was well-attended. Several major crashes in the latter years injured several drivers, including Johnny Rutherford, Kevin Cogan, John Andretti, Arie Luyendyk, Michael Greenfield, and Mario Andretti. By the late 1980s, drivers had become increasingly vocal about their displeasure with the condition of the track, some even calling for the event to be dropped.[8]
Despite the ongoing squabbles between the series and the ownership, the race was the site of some memorable moments in Indy car history. In 1985, it was the site of Rick Mears' first win after recovering from his devastating injuries suffered in 1984. It was also the first and only Indy car win for the Judd AV engine, which occurred in 1988.
Following the 1989 event, the track was officially deemed too rough and unsuitable for Indy cars. The circuit still had metal boilerplate retaining walls, lacked catch fencing around the entire perimeter, and lacked proper runoff areas. It was heavily criticized for its roughness, cracks, and frequent debris that would cause dangerous tire punctures.[9][10] Once, after Scott Pruett punctured seven tires during practice, car owner Steve Horne walked the track and returned with a handful of nails and other junk he had retrieved.[10] The Pocono 500 was removed from the schedule indefinitely, as neither track management nor series officials were interested in continuing the event.
Though the track safety conditions were the reasons stated by the sanctioning body,[11] track management also believed the event to be a money-loser for the facility.[12] Furthermore, according to CART medical director Dr. Steve Olvey, during the 1980s the track's medical facilities were grossly inadequate, with track owner Dr. Joe Mattioli himself listed as the "track doctor," despite his profession being dentistry.
IndyCar
During both 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, heavy crashes on the Long Pond Straight sent circuit management to call for significant safety improvements to the track. SAFER barriers were added to inside walls, catch fencing was installed around the entire perimeter, paved runoff areas were built around the majority of the infield. The safety upgrades, as well as changes announced by the third-generation Igdalsky family (including repaving the circuit with new concrete pit stalls), led to discussions with IndyCar officials regarding the revival of the Pocono IndyCar race.
Speculation ran rampant in 2012 after the cancellation of the
For 2014, the race returned to its traditional 500-mile distance. The three 500-mile "triple crown" races (Indianapolis, Fontana, and Pocono) would also award drivers double points towards the championship.[14] For 2015, the race secured the title sponsorship of ABC Supply Co., and was moved to its once familiar calendar slot in late-August.
After relatively clean, nearly caution-free races in 2013–2014, tragedy struck in 2015. Driver Justin Wilson was struck in the head by a piece of debris which had flown off of Sage Karam's crashed car. Wilson was airlifted to the hospital but died the next day from his injuries. In 2018, Robert Wickens was paralyzed from the waist down after a huge crash saw him get up into the catchfence. A year later in 2019, another huge pileup on the opening lap saw Felix Rosenqvist flip up into the catchfence, but no drivers were seriously injured.
On September 1, 2019, the 2020 IndyCar schedule was released, along with the announcement that they would not be returning to Pocono in 2020. It marked the second time that the track had been taken off the Indy car schedule. The race was replaced with a revived event at Richmond - a race that was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not confirmed if the removal of Pocono was permanent, and the reasons for the removal were unclear. Drivers Sage Karam and Robert Wickens tweeted that the track was too dangerous for Indy cars, citing major crashes in 2018 and 2019. In their press conference after the 2019 race, Scott Dixon, Will Power, and Simon Pagenaud defended the track's safety and expressed desire that IndyCar would return.[15] Speculation during 2020 suggested the possibility of a return for IndyCar to Pocono in 2021 or beyond. With NASCAR experimenting with running their two Pocono races as a doubleheader, it leaves room for an IndyCar weekend.[16]
Past winners
Season | Date | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) |
Report | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laps | Miles (km) | |||||||||||
USAC Championship Car | ||||||||||||
1971 | July 3 | Mark Donohue | Penske Racing
|
McLaren
|
Offy
|
200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:36:22 | 138.649 | Report
| ||
1972 | July 29 | Joe Leonard | Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing | Parnelli
|
Offy
|
200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:13:49 | 154.781 | Report
| ||
1973 | July 1 | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises
|
Coyote | Foyt
|
200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:26:58 | 144.948 | Report
| ||
1974 | June 30 | Johnny Rutherford | Bruce McLaren Motor Racing
|
McLaren
|
Offy
|
200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:11:27 | 156.701 | Report
| ||
1975 | June 29 | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises
|
Coyote | Foyt
|
170* | 425 (683.971) | 3:01:13 | 140.712 | Report
| ||
1976 | June 27 | Al Unser | Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing | Parnelli
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:28:53 | 143.622 | Report
| ||
1977 | June 26 | Tom Sneva | Penske Racing
|
McLaren
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:17:12 | 152.931 | Report
| ||
1978 | June 25 | Al Unser | Chaparral Cars | Lola T500 | Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:30:53 | 142.261 | Report
| ||
1979 | June 24 | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises
|
Parnelli
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:42:14 | 134.995 | Report
| ||
1980 | June 22 | Bobby Unser | Penske Racing
|
Penske
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:18:04 | 151.454 | Report
| ||
1981 | June 14 | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises
|
March | Cosworth | 122* | 305 (490.849) | 2:13:23 | 137.196 | Report
| ||
CART Championship Car | ||||||||||||
1982
|
August 15 | Rick Mears | Penske Racing
|
Penske
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:25:39 | 145.879 | Report
| ||
1983
|
August 14 | Teo Fabi | Forsythe Racing
|
March | Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:42:28 | 134.852 | Report
| ||
1984
|
August 19 | Danny Sullivan | Doug Shierson Racing | Lola
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:38:29 | 137.303 | Report
| ||
1985
|
August 18 | Rick Mears | Penske Racing
|
March | Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:17:47 | 151.676 | Report
| ||
1986
|
August 17 | Mario Andretti | Newman/Haas Racing | Lola
|
Cosworth | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:17:13 | 152.106 | Report
| ||
1987
|
August 16 | Rick Mears | Penske Racing
|
March | Chevrolet-Ilmor | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:11:50 | 156.373 | Report
| ||
1988
|
August 21 | Bobby Rahal | Truesports | Lola
|
Judd | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:44:21 | 133.713 | Report
| ||
1989
|
August 20 | Danny Sullivan | Penske Racing
|
Penske
|
Chevrolet-Ilmor | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 2:55:43 | 170.72 | Report | ||
1990 – 2012 |
Not held | |||||||||||
IndyCar Series | ||||||||||||
2013
|
July 7 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara DW12 | Honda | 160 | 400 (643.738) | 2:04:26 | 192.864 | Report | ||
2014
|
July 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Team Penske | Dallara DW12 | Chevrolet | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 2:28:13 | 202.402 | Report | ||
2015
|
August 23 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport
|
Dallara DW12 | Honda | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 3:25:08 | 146.245 | Report | ||
2016
|
August 22* | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara DW12 | Chevrolet | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 2:46:29 | 180.198 | Report | ||
2017 | August 20 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara DW12 | Chevrolet | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 2:43:17 | 183.737 | Report | ||
2018 | August 19 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport
|
Dallara DW12 | Honda | 200 | 500 (804.672) | 2:36:49 | 191.304 | Report | ||
2019 | August 18 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara DW12 | Chevrolet | 128* | 320 (514.88) | 1:53:45 | 168.771 | Report |
- 1975, 1981, and 2019: Race shortened due to rain.
- 2016: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
USAC Mini-Indy series
- 1979: Ronn Gregg
- 1980: Josele Garza
Indy Lights
Season | Date | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||
1986 | August 16 | Jeff Andretti | March | Buick | 40 | 100 (160.934) | 0:40:52 | 146.812 | |
1987 | August 16 | Tommy Byrne | March | Buick | 40 | 100 (160.934) | 0:35:34 | 168.7 | |
1988 | August 20 | Michael Greenfield | March | Buick | 40 | 100 (160.934) | 0:45:45 | 131.137 | |
1989 | August 20* | Tommy Byrne | March | Buick | 28 | 70 (112.654) | 0:34:17 | 122.512 | |
1990 – 2012 |
Not held | ||||||||
2013
|
July 6 | Carlos Muñoz | Dallara | Infiniti | 40 | 100 (160.934) | 0:32:47 | 182.948 | |
2014
|
July 5 | Gabby Chaves | Dallara | Infiniti | 40 | 100 (160.934) | 0:36:53 | 162.7 |
- 1989: Race postponed due to rain.
Race summaries
USAC Championship Trail
1971
The inaugural Pocono 500 was held on
1972
The second annual 500, the then-named
In the last week of July, the series returned for the rescheduled race.[38] However, defending race winner Mark Donohue was absent, recuperating from a knee injury.[39] Bobby Unser won the pole position with a new four-lap track record of 189.473 mph. Gordon Johncock qualified second, and Mario Andretti third.[40][41][42][43] After controversy had overshadowed the event back in June, more controversy would come to pass at the conclusion of the race itself.
Polesitter
1973
In response to the tragic
1974
Johnny Rutherford, who won the Indianapolis 500 one month earlier, was victorious at Pocono, becoming the first driver to win two of the Indy car Triple Crown races in one season. Rutherford and the McLaren team stuck to a strict fuel conservation strategy and ran a steady pace, while many other teams ran their cars out of fuel.[60] Mario Andretti set the pace early, taking the lead on lap 10, and leading a total of 57 laps in the first half. However, on lap 133, Bill Simpson blew an engine dumping oil on the track, and Andretti running right behind him, spun in the oil and crashed. Late in the race, Wally Dallenbach led polesitter Bobby Unser, Rutherford, and Jimmy Caruthers. Unser started fading, however, as he was running low on his fuel allotment. The leaders made their final pit stops around lap 181, with Unser not having any fuel remaining in his pitside tank except what was left in the hose. Back out on the track, a two-man duel to the finish between Dallenbach and Rutherford was about to materialize, with Caruthers moving up to third. The exiting finish fizzled when Dallenbach blew a piston on lap 188. Rutherford cruised to the finish, while Caruthers barely made it home to finish second, running out of fuel on a cool down lap. Bobby Unser limped to a 5th-place finish three laps down, slowing down to 150 mph to save fuel.[60][61][62] Defending race winner A. J. Foyt struggled during time trials, he first burned a piston, then broke a universal joint, before qualifying 29th.[63] On race day, he tapped the wall and was forced to drop out after 20 laps with a damaged suspension.
1975
Rain delayed the start of the race by two hours. Just like the Indy 500 a month earlier, the race would be shortened due to rain. Polesitter Gordon Johncock (183.281 mph),[64][65] took the lead at the start, and led 29 laps. One by one, however, most of the top contenders fell by the wayside. Johncock would crash in turn two on lap 139, and Mario Andretti suffered a burned piston. Johnny Rutherford battled mechanical problems all day, and Bobby Unser dropped out at the halfway mark with a broken drive shaft. Al Unser dropped out early with a manifold failure, and a broken oil pump put Jerry Grant nearly twenty laps down. A. J. Foyt avoided all trouble, and found himself the dominant car of the day. Foyt held off mild challenges from Bill Vukovich II and Jimmy Caruthers in the second half. With storm clouds looming in the distance, Foyt cranked up his turbocharger boost sometime around the 130-lap mark, gambling that the rain would end the race early. Foyt pulled out to a 15-second lead when the caution came out for rain on lap 168. Two laps later, a downpour ensued, sending the crowd of 110,000 scurrying for cover. Foyt was declared the winner, the first two-time winner at Pocono, with Wally Dallenbach second. Gary Bettenhausen charged from 31st starting position to finish fifth.[66][67][68][69]
1976
Rain washed out two days of scheduled qualifying, and USAC officials set the starting field by a lottery system.[70][71] The top 30 positions were filled by a draw, and the final three spots were left open, to be filled by a last-chance qualifying session on Thursday.[72] Johnny Parsons drew the pole position, with Bill Vukovich II second, and Mario Andretti on the outside of the front row.[73] Andretti grabbed the lead at the start, but A. J. Foyt passed Andretti to take the lead on lap 7. Foyt's turn at the front was short-lived, as he blew his engine on lap 31. After starting 16th, Al Unser was charging up the field and took the lead for the first time on lap 32. Unser, however, suffered two setbacks that nearly cost him the race. During a routine pit stop on lap 58, the pneumatic jack on Unser's car failed, necessitating the use of a hand jack. Unser came out of the pits a lap down. Later on lap 76, Unser cut a tire down the mainstretch, and had to limp back to the pits. Unser re-joined the race just ahead of leader Andretti, at that point just seconds away from being two laps down. On lap 88, a fortuitous caution came out for a spin by Al Loquasto, and that allowed Al Unser to circle around and catch up to the back of the field. Running one lap down, Unser's Parnelli/Cosworth chased down Andretti's Penske McLaren/Offy and he un-lapped himself on lap 104. John Martin stalled on lap 115, bringing out another caution, and Unser made up the rest of the lap. The green flag came back out on lap 119, and three laps later Unser blew by Andretti to take the lead. Unser cruised the rest of the way, and Mario Andretti faded after he broke an anti-sway bar on lap 179. With the victory, Al Unser secured the first Indy car win for the Cosworth engine.[74][75] After not qualifying at Indianapolis, Janet Guthrie started her first 500-mile Indy car race, placing 24th with a cracked transmission case after 89 laps.[76]
1977
Three weeks after winning his record fourth Indianapolis 500, A. J. Foyt threatened to skip the Pocono 500 after getting into a dispute with USAC series sponsor Citicorp.[3][77] Foyt skipped practice on Tuesday, and after running only 35 practice laps Wednesday, still insisted he might put another driver in his car.[78] Nevertheless, Foyt changed his mind at the last minute and qualified the car. Foyt put secured the pole position (189.474 mph), bumping Johnny Rutherford from the top spot and prompted a chorus of boos from some fans in attendance. Mario Andretti qualified third to round out the front row. Tom Sneva, who broke the 200 mph barrier at Indy in May, placed fourth on the grid.[79][80] During final practice on Friday, Andretti's engine over-revved, and it suffered bent valves. It was the fifth engine that Penske teammates Andretti and Sneva had gone through for the week. Without another spare, the crew was forced to salvage parts from one of the already-blown engines to get Andretti on the grid for race day.[81]
A. J. Foyt took the lead at the start, and led 26 of the first 60 laps. His day would be cut short on lap 118 with a burned piston. High attrition saw more than half the field eliminated before lap 100, and only eight cars left running at the finish. The race settled down among four contenders: Patrick teammates Gordon Johncock and Wally Dallenbach, and Penske teammates Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva. In the second half, Andretti and Sneva were in control, but both were suffering various mechanical problems. Andretti once had to pit for an engine issue, while both Andretti and Sneva had failing brakes. While leading the race on lap 161, Andretti cut a tire and headed to the pits. Without brakes, he overshot his pit stall and had to go around the track once more before receiving service. Sneva, coping better with his brakes, put Andretti a lap down. On lap 187, Mike Mosley wrecked in turn two, bringing out a yellow. On the restart on lap 193, Andretti got the jump and passed Sneva to get his lap back. Seconds later the caution was out again when a leftover piece of debris was spotted at the crash site. Andretti circled around to make up the rest of the lap. With four laps to go, the green came out once again, but this time Sneva was able to stay ahead. Andretti made up some ground, but Sneva crossed the finish line 1.75 seconds ahead. It was Penske's second Pocono 500 victory, and the team's first 1st-2nd sweep in a 500-mile Indy car race.[82][83][84]
1978
Danny Ongais won the pole position and led 59 laps.[85][86] However, nearly identical to his outing at Indianapolis a month earlier, he blew his engine while leading the race on lap 130. The race shaped up as a duel between Indy 500 winner Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford, with Tom Sneva in close pursuit. After Ongais dropped out, Unser came to the lead, having driven a steady, fuel and tire conserving pace. On lap 161, Rutherford pitted, and came out still holding the lead. Three laps later, Rutherford believed he had a flat tire, and had to make an unscheduled pit stop. The team determined there was no puncture, but by then it was too late. By the time Rutherford returned to the track, Unser had pulled out to a 20-second lead. Unser made his final pit stop on lap 177, briefly relinquishing his lead. Sneva and Rutherford made their final pit stops, and by lap 190, Unser had cycled back into first place. Rutherford went on a charge over the final nine laps, in a desperate attempt to catch Unser. Rutherford touched wheels passing the lapped car of Wally Dallenbach on lap 198, drawing the ire of Dallenbach, as well as Sneva who witnessed the incident in his mirrors. On the final lap, going into turn one Sneva was able to block Rutherford, but moments later Sneva sputtered out of fuel. Rutherford sailed by to take second, while Unser went on to win. Sneva limped to a third-place finish.[87][88][89]
The win Al Unser's third consecutive 500-mile race victory, having won the 1977 Ontario 500 and 1978 Indianapolis 500. Unser would go on to win at Ontario again in September 1978, winning USAC's "triple crown", the first and only driver in history to do so. Mario Andretti's ongoing misfortunes at Pocono continued, as he dropped out with gearbox failure. After leading twenty laps in the first half, A. J. Foyt was not a factor in the second half, suffering engine failure with ten laps to go. After numerous cautions in the first laf, the final 89 laps were run under green. During practice, a controversy stirred, as several drivers, most outspokenly Pancho Carter, complained of bad bumps in the Tunnel Turn.[4][5][6]
1979
The race took place just one month after the tumultuous 1979 month of May at
1980
The 1980 TrueValue Hardware 500 at Pocono was held as part of the
1981
In the height of the USAC/CART split, A. J. Foyt won the USAC Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500. This was the final Indy car race USAC sanctioned at Pocono and Foyt's final Indy car win. Many CART regulars boycotted the race, therefore, USAC opened the field to both Gold Crown cars and Silver Crown cars. A rag-tag field of Indy cars and front- engine dirt-track cars ran a two-class race. Tom Sneva, one of the few CART drivers who defied the boycott, won the pole and dominated the early stages but retired with a broken transmission. Geoff Brabham, another CART driver who would face a suspension from his primary series for competing, then battled Foyt for the lead. Rain ended the race after 122 of a scheduled 200 laps, with Foyt in front.[95]
CART PPG Indy Car World Series
- 1982: Initially the Pocono 500 was not on the schedule for 1982.Michigan, was looking to sweep the Indy car "triple crown", but his gearbox failed while running second on lap 193. The only major incident of the day involved Johnny Rutherford. His car blew a right rear tire, and he crashed in turn one. The car became airborne, and almost left the track. The broken car landed back on the track, and Rutherford suffered a broken hand.[98]
- 1983: Rookies Teo Fabi and Al Unser Jr. combined to lead 143 of the 200 laps, and emerged as the only two contenders late in the race. During his final pit stop on lap 178, Unser Jr. nearly stalled, and handling problems slowed his pace. Fabi, who raised eyebrows by winning the pole at Indy, cruised to victory.
- 1984: An exciting three-car battle to the finish between Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal, and Danny Sullivan. With the three cars running nose-to-tail on lap 194, Rahal passed Mears going into turn one to take the lead. Down the Long Pond straight, Sullivan slipped by Mears as well, and set his sights on Rahal. In turn two, Sullivan passed Rahal, and pulled out to a sizable lead. Heavy traffic on the final lap allowed Mears to close up, but Sullivan held off the challenge at the checkered flag to win. Rahal finished third, blowing his engine as he crossed the finish line.
- 1985: Rick Mears completed a comeback from his devastating leg injuries suffered at Sanair in 1984 by winning the Pocono 500 in a part-time entry for Penske Racing.
- 1986: Mario Andretti and Bobby Rahal battled for the lead in the late stages of the race. On lap 174, Rahal suddenly pulled to the inside with an engine fire, leaving Andretti all alone in the lead. Andretti cruised over the final 26 laps, beating second place Kevin Cogan by over a lap.
- 1987: Mario Andretti led 22 laps, but got too low in turn one on lap 89, and crashed hard into the outside wall. He suffered a separated shoulder. The rough apron of turn one was stained by lime, which caused Andretti's car to lose traction[99] Rick Mears won his first race since 1985, and Geoff Brabham finished second, the best finish yet for the new Brabham-Honda/Judd engine.
- 1988: The race was slowed 11 times for 65 laps, including six wrecks. Rookie John Andretti suffered a serious wreck with 18 laps to go near the pit exit. Most of the contenders dropped out, leaving Bobby Rahal in the lead for the final 28 laps. Rahal scored Judd's first and only Indy car victory, and it was Rahal's last win with Truesports.
- 1989: Emerson Fittipaldi sets a new all-time track record during qualifying, with a pole speed of 211.715 mph. Danny Sullivan held off his Penske teammate Rick Mears to win the final CART series race at Pocono. It was Sullivan's first victory since breaking his arm in a practice crash earlier in the season at Indianapolis. Track owner Joe Mattioli vowed that single-seater racing would never return to his circuit, a vow that ended after his death in 2012. The race name "Quaker State 500" was still used widely in 1989, even though Quaker State motor oil had dropped their title sponsorship. The name was instead tied to the state of Pennsylvania's nickname being "the Quaker state".
IndyCar Series
- 2013: The Igdalsky family, third-generation family members who took over the circuit after Joe Mattioli's death, visited an IZOD IndyCar Series race in 2012, and by the end of the season announced a revival of the race, with a distance scheduled of 400 miles. Pennsylvania native Chip Ganassi's team, Chip Ganassi Racing, swept the podium with Scott Dixon winning, Charlie Kimball second, and Dario Franchitti third. The average speed of 192.864 mph was a Pocono Raceway record, slowed by only two brief caution periods.
- 2014: Juan Pablo Montoya won the fastest 500 mile race in Indycar history. At an average speed of 202.402 mph, it was the first 500-mile race to average over 200 mph, and was slowed by only one caution for six laps. Montoya's victory capped off his return to the American open wheel circuit after spending the previous 13 season in Formula One and NASCAR.
- 2015: Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race. On lap 179, Sage Karam spun and a piece of debris from his car struck Justin Wilson on the head, knocking Wilson unconscious and sending him into the wall. Wilson was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest in Allentown, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day.[100][101][102]
- 2016: Rain postponed the race from Sunday until Monday. Pole sitter Mikhail Aleshin led 87 laps. With 35 laps to go Will Power took the lead, and shortly after, a late caution came out for debris. The green flag came out with 22 laps to go, with Power and Aleshin battling nose-to-tail to the finish. Ryan Hunter-Reay started last due to a practice crash, but managed to lead 31 laps. With Power and Aleshin finishing 1–2, Hunter-Reay, who pitted for tires under the yellow, dramatically charged through the field to finish third.
- 2017: Will Power fell a lap down after he was forced to pit to replace a broken nose cone on lap 65. Later in the race, he suffered a damaged rear wing assembly after being hit by Charlie Kimball. Power worked his way back to the lead lap, and through an out-of-sequence pit strategy took the lead on lap 154. Power had built such a large lead by lap 161 that he was able to pit without losing the lead. In the final nine laps, Power held off the furious challenge of Josef Newgarden, and became the first ever back-to-back winner of the Pocono 500.
- 2018: Alexander Rossi dominated and won the race. On lap 7, Robert Wickens and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact in turn 2, which sent Wickens' car into the catchfence and caused a multicar wreck which also involved James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato and Pietro Fittipaldi. The race was red-flagged for two hours to repair the catchfence while Wickens was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest with injuries to his legs, spine and right arm in addition to pulmonary contusion.[103][104] Wickens would later reveal that the crash left him paralyzed from the waist down.[105]
- 2019: For the second year in a row, a major crash early on took out several contenders. Three-wide down the Long Pond straight, Takuma Sato clipped wheels with Alexander Rossi, triggering a huge melee, which sent Felix Rosenqvist into the catchfence. No drivers were seriously injured, but a lengthy delay was needed to make repairs to the catchfencing, and the incident drew the ire of the paddock. When the race was restarted, Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon set the pace in the first half. Just after the halfway point, storm clouds began to appear to the west, threatening to end the race early. Will Power, who was off-sequence on pit stops due to running over debris on the first-lap crash, started charging, and took the lead on lap 115 after a sequence of pit stops. The red flag came out for lightning on lap 128, and with heavy rain approaching, Power was declared the winner with his third Pocono 500 win in four years. A few weeks later when the 2020 schedule was rolled out, the IndyCar Series would not be returning to Pocono in 2020, making Power the last winner of the event for the near future.
References
- ^ "ABC Supply To Sponsor August INDYCAR Race at Pocono – ABC Supply 500". PoconoRaceway.com. April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ Estrada, Chris (July 6, 2014). "Today's race at Pocono was fastest 500-miler in IndyCar history". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^
- ^ ABC only wanted 400 miles of IndyCar at Pocono Keith Groller, The Morning Call, October 02, 2012
- ^ Series makes changes to 2014 points system Crash.net, March 21, 2014.
- ^ "'Dixon, Power, Pagenaud defend Pocono after crashes'". Motorsport.
- ^ Trackside with Kurt Cavin and Kevin Lee. June 30, 2020. WFNI.
- ^
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