NASCAR 2012 Pocono 400 Picks & Predictions
By ATSSportsline.com
LONG POND, PA (TheSpread) - The Sprint Cup Series heads to Long Pond, Pa, for the 14TH Cup race. on Sunday, June 10 at 12:30pmET for the Pocono 400 at the Pocono Raceway.
Jimmie Johnson is the co-favorite along with Denny Hamlin. Johnson came off dominating at Dover and has won two of the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup races, as well as the non-points All-Star race.
Pocono is considered one of the more boring races. The track’s unique triangle shape and sweeping, flat corners make passing very difficult. Drivers have to try to get their cars to handle around three different sets of corners, and crew chiefs have to find the right fuel and tire strategy to deal with the long green flag runs. The race was a 500 mile event from its inception in 1982, through the 2011 race. Last August, it was announced that the race would be shortened to 400 miles, beginning in 2012.
Jeff Gordon 8-1
Gordon has had rough luck this year. But he has been very good at Pocono. He is defending winner of this weekend’s race and has three straight finishes of sixth or better at the track. In his last 11 starts at Pocono, Gordon has 10 top-15 finishes and nine top 10-s. He has five wins at the big track including at this same race a year ago.
Kevin Harvick 12-1
Harvick has four straight top-15 finishes at the track, and he has finished in the top five in three of his last four starts. During the past two seasons, he is tied with Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch for the most top-five finishes at Pocono.
Live Longshot
Ryan Newman 30-1
Newman won this race in 2003 and has been pretty reliable at this track in recent seasons. He has seven straight top-15 finishes including a pair of top-10 runs last year.
2012 Pocono 400 Information
Race Date: Sunday, June 10
Start Time: 12:30pmET
Green Flag: Approx. 1:18PM ET
TV Coverage: TNT
Radio Coverage: Performance Racing Network (MRN/Sirius NASCAR Radio)
Track Type: 2.5 mile oval (160 laps, 400 miles)
Recent Winners
2011: Jeff Gordon
2010: Denny Hamlin
2009: Tony Stewart
2008: Kasey Kahne
2007: Jeff Gordon
Last Year’s Top 5
Jeff Gordon
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
Jimmie Johnson
Kevin Harvick