The weekend will begin with The ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menard’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 on Friday, June 3. On Saturday, the Pocono Green 250 will take place, the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race at ‘The Tricky Triangle.’ On Sunday, June 5 the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 will close out the first race weekend of the year in Long Pond, Penn.
MEDIA CENTER: Our media center will be open during the following times
Thursday: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Saturday: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Pocono Raceway would love for you to join the conversation this weekend. Be sure to follow @poconoraceway on Twitter and Instagram and to use these official hashtags.
- General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (ARCA) – #AnywhereIsPossible
- Pocono Green 250 (XFINITY Series) – #PoconoGreen250
- Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 (Sprint Cup Series) – #Axalta400
- Pocono Raceway’s Official Hashtag: #WhatTurn4
SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS: Pocono Raceway has added Steel And Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers and extended the pit wall in an effort to make the track safer for drivers, teams and fans. The pit wall has been lengthened 100 feet and 6,000 feet of SAFER barrier has been added to the track. An additional 5,100 feet of SAFER barrier is scheduled to be added by 2017 where all outside walls, including straightaways, will be covered. A mild fall and late start to cold weather allowed the project to be completed in its majority and is currently ahead of schedule.
NATIONAL MOTORSPORTS DAY: The General Assembly of Pennsylvania unanimously passed a resolution designating the week of May 29 through Jun 5, 2016 as “NASCAR Fan Appreciation Week.” The House of Representatives also designated June 2, 2016, as “Motorsports Day” in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
NEWMAN AND TRUEX JR. GO FISHING: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. had a friendly fishing competition in the Poconos during the Goodyear Tire Test in April at Pocono Raceway. Newman, driver of the No.31 Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Chevrolet SS, and Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota Camry, are both avid fishermen and decided to enjoy the great fishing areas in the beautiful Pocono Mountains.
POCONO GREEN 250: The inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Pocono Raceway, the Pocono Green 250, will highlight sustainability initiatives at the track and the work of its partners. Pocono Raceway’s President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky, a board member of the Green Sports Alliance and winner of local, regional and national awards for his sustainability work, made the announcement. Pocono Raceway features a three megawatt solar farm that powers not only the facility but the local community as well. Pocono Raceway was the first facility to rely 100 percent on solar power generated onsite with the opening of the 25-acre Solar Farm across the street from the raceway in 2010.
Pocono Raceway recently launched a partnership with Penn State University with an aggressive and ambitious goal to make the raceway a “near zero waste” facility. New food and beverage provider Spectra and Pocono Raceway are working with “Rock & Wrap It Up” on a food donation program to support local charities and food banks. A pilot program will begin this weekend with a local composting facility in an effort to divert even more bio waste from landfills.
Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch have contributed recycling bins to the track in efforts to reduce the amount of recyclable items being thrown in the trash.
Pocono Raceway also works hand-in-hand with NASCAR Green. Partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation, the raceway has planted more than 8,500 trees, 8,000 of those as part of the NASCAR Clean Air Tree Planting Program which has planted enough trees to offset all national series NASCAR racing for the next 40 years.
For the past five years, NASCAR has relied on Sunoco E15 fuel for its three national touring systems, a blend that is a 15 percent ethanol using American-made ethanol from corn grown by American Farmers. Sunoco Green E15 is blended at Sunoco’s fuel facility in Marcus Hook, Pa., and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the sport by 20 percent.
NATHAN’S HOT DOG EATING CONTEST: Nathan’s Famous and Pocono Raceway are partnering to hold a regional qualifier event for the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest held on July, 4 in Coney Island, N.Y. The qualifier will be held Sunday, June 5, at 11 a.m. in the back end of Fan Fair (located near the Parking Lots) behind the grandstands on the Nathan’s Famous stage. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty will participate in a Q & A session and will then give the green flag to the hot dog eating qualifier event. The winner of the event will gain an entry to the annual finals on July 4.
#ANYWHEREISPOSSIBLE 200 GRAND MARSHALL: Josh Torres will serve as the Grand Marshall for the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 on Friday, June 3.
POCONO GREEN 250 GRAND MARSHALL: Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Mike Stack has been announced as the Grand Marshall for the Pocono Green 2500, the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, June 4.
AXALTA “WE PAINT WINNERS” 400 GRAND MARSHALL: Charlie Shaver, Chairman & CEO of Axalta Coating Systems will serve as Grand Marshall for the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 on Sunday, June 5.
PA PARTNERS: Pocono Raceway is proud to partner with these local Pennsylvania companies: Axalta (Glen Mills), Comcast (Philadelphia), Mod Space (Berwyn) Sunoco (Philadelphia), Lehigh Valley Health Networks, Unique Pretzels (Reading), Kovatch (Nesquehoning), Pocono Medical Center (East Stroudsburg), Pennsylvania Lottery, Ditech Financial (Fort Washington), Tork (Philadelphia), Kalahari Resorts and Conventions (Pocono Manor), Independent Graphics (West Wyoming), and Stock Car Racing Experience (Long Pond).
ARCA COMPOSITE CAR: ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards composite bodywork will be making its debut in a superspeedway at Pocono Raceway in ARCA’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 on Friday, June 3.
The composite bodywork that made its debut in 2015 only on tracks one mile and a half and less and spent several months in the wind tunnel, were approved to make its debut in superspeedways in 2016 except Daytona and Talladega. The composite body is a state-of-the-art laminate blend that will reduce the possibility of debris, is lightweight without compromising rigidity and has 12 layers of fire retardant panels that are easy to install.
Even though the composite body has been approved to use at Pocono Raceway, the old steel-body cars are still eligible to race. The composite body, identical to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series bodywork, will bring weight advantage to the teams using it over the steel-body cars. The introduction of the composite project by ARCA is an initiative for overall cost containment in the series.
BYRON RACING ARCA: William Byron, a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race winner, will be joining Venturini Motorports for the ARCA Racing Series General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono Raceway on Friday, June 3. Byron will make his fourth start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and will have his first attempt ‘The Tricky Triangle.’ After finishing second in his first superspeedway race earlier in 2016, Byron will be looking to get a victory in his second try at a superspeedway this weekend. Byron is currently atop of the NCWTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings and in seventh place overall in the championship.
HONORING A HERO: Pocono Raceway will honor a hero during its July 31 Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Nominations are now being accepted and a $5,000 prize will be presented to the chosen hero during driver introductions on Sunday, July 31. All fans are free to nominate anyone they believe is a hero in the community and top consideration will be given to heroes that are aligned with Pocono Raceway’s core values. Submissions will be accepted until July 5, 2016, at poconoraceway.com/hero.
POKER TOURNAMENT: The Fifth Annual Pocono Raceway Poker tournament, benefitting the NASCAR Foundation and Pennsylvania-based Michael’s Way, will be held at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., on Thursday, July 28, 2016. This tournament will feature NASCAR drivers and other celebrities for these two great causes. NASCAR Foundation has contributed over $25 million to initiatives that inspire children across the country and Michael’s Way focuses on improving the lives of children with pediatric cancer and the parents under financial strain after diagnosis.
SOLAR GOLF CART: If you see Pocono Raceway President & CEO Brandon Igdalsky riding around in his golf cart, make sure he parks it in the sun. His custom golf cart is solar-powered.
ANTHEM SINGERS: National Anthem singers for the weekend include Crystal Day (ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200); Alyssa Golden (NASCAR XFINITY Series Pocono Green 250) and the Air Force Rock Band for the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400.
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