Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Looking Back at the Past Five Pocono Races

By Asher Fair

LONG POND, PA - JULY 6 : Scott Dixon of New Zealand drives the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda during practice for the Pocono INDYCAR 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 6, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - JULY 6 : Scott Dixon of New Zealand drives the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda during practice for the Pocono INDYCAR 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 6, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Verizon IndyCar Series is scheduled to make its annual trip to the Pocono Raceway oval. The race was added to the schedule in the 1971 season and has been on the schedule in all but one season since the adoption of the DW12 chassis.

For the fifth consecutive season and 24th season overall, IndyCar will race around the triangle-shaped three-turn, 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway oval located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. What sorts of things might we have to look forward to in this season’s race?

Let’s take a look back at the past five races at Pocono as we prepare for the race on Sunday, August 20th, 2017.

1989

Danny Sullivan took the victory for the second time in his career at Pocono. He won the race by over four seconds over the now four-time Indy 500 champion Rick Mears. Michael and Mario Andretti finished in 3rd and 5th place, respectively, in their hometown race.

2013

In the series first race at Pocono since 1989, Marco Andretti led a top 3 Andretti Autosport sweep of the front row. Then, Scott Dixon led a top 3 Chip Ganassi Racing sweep of the podium. The win started a three-race winning streak for Dixon that propelled him to the 2013 championship. Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti took 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

2014

More from IndyCar

Tony Kanaan dominated the race, but he had to pit late for fuel. Then, Josef Newgarden, who started in the back of the field, took the lead before having to pit. Polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya regained the lead and hung on for his first IndyCar race victory since the 2000 Indy 500. The race was the fastest 500 mile race in IndyCar history (202.402 miles per hour average).

2015

Half of the 24 drivers in the field led laps in this race, which featured a total of 34 lead changes. The race was marred with the death of Justin Wilson, who was killed as a result of his helmet being hit by debris from Sage Karam’s crash late in the race. Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race, but it was far from a happy occasion for anybody.

2016

After rain pushed the race back a day, Ryan Hunter-Reay charged from his last place starting spot to attempt to defend his 2015 Pocono race victory. However, a mechanical issue late in the race hindered him from that quest, although he did recover to finish in 3rd place. Will Power won the race after 29 lead changes, and polesitter Mikhail Aleshin tied his career-high finish of 2nd place.

Next: IndyCar Driver Power Rankings

Who do you think will win this year’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Finally, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.