NASCAR Cup Series | |
---|---|
Venue | Pocono Raceway |
Location | Long Pond, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Corporate sponsor | HighPoint |
First race | 1974 |
Distance | 400 miles (643.738 km) |
Laps | 160 Stage 1: 30 Final 2 Stages: 65 each |
Previous names | Purolator 500 (1974–1976) Coca-Cola 500 (1977–1980) Mountain Dew 500 (1981–1982) Like Cola 500 (1983–1984) Summer 500 (1985–1987) AC Spark Plug 500 (1988–1990) Miller Genuine Draft 500 (1991–1995) Miller 500 (1996) Pennsylvania 500 (1997-2007) Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 (2008–2010) Good Sam RV Insurance 500 (2011) Pennsylvania 400 (2012, 2016) GoBowling.com 400 (2013–2014) Windows 10 400 (2015) Overton's 400 (2017) Gander Outdoors 400 (2018) [1] Gander RV 400 (2019) Pocono 350 (2020) Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (2021) M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 (2022) |
Most wins (driver) | Denny Hamlin (5) |
Most wins (team) | Joe Gibbs Racing (11) |
Most wins (manufacturer) | Chevrolet (15) |
Circuit information | |
Surface | Asphalt |
Length | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
Turns | 3 |
The HighPoint.com 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. In 2022, it became the only Cup Series race at the track after its other Cup Series race, the Pocono Organics CBD 325, was removed from the Cup Series schedule in favor of a race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The race has been held sometime in mid-to-late July or early August each year except for when it was held in September, 1974 when it was held in April, and 2020 and 2021 when it was held in June as a doubleheader with the other Cup Series race at Pocono. Denny Hamlin is the defending winner of the event.
The race received its date in 1974 with some last minute planning, after failing to an agreement with the Trenton Speedway in New Jersey, Bill France Sr. called up Joseph Mattioli about a race being held at Pocono and the first NASCAR Cup Series race was held, the first winner was Richard Petty. He led 152 of the 192 laps ran as the race was called for rain with 8 laps to go.
In 1982, NASCAR added a second date to the schedule at Pocono for early June, for a period of time, the two races were only separated as little as five weeks on the schedule. Before the double headers, the races were held seven weeks apart.
Starting in 2007, the race was moved from its traditional July date into August, swapping dates with the Brickyard 400. This was because ESPN wanted to have their broadcast start off at Indianapolis over Pocono.
In 2008, Sunoco, the official NASCAR fuel supplier, based in Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia region of the American Red Cross, agreed to sponsorship of the race and charity events to benefit the American Red Cross South Pennsylvania-Philadelphia region. It marked the first time since 1996 that the event carried a title sponsor. Camping World took over title sponsorship of sponsorship through its Good Sam Club in 2011.
The race was a 500-mile (804.672 km), 200 lap event from its inception in 1974, through the 2011 race. On August 10, 2011, it was announced that both Pocono races would be shortened to 400 miles (643.738 km), beginning in 2012. [2]
The Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, through its marketing arm Strike Ten Entertainment, signed on as the entitlement sponsor for the 2013 and 2014 races. In 2015, Microsoft signed a one-year deal to title the event with its new Windows 10 update, and in 2016 the race returned as the Pennsylvania 400. In early-July 2017, the Marine and Watersport franchise Overton's, which is owned by Camping World, signed a three-year deal to sponsor Pocono's second race weekend through 2019, which included not only the Cup race being renamed the Overton's 400, but the 150-mile Camping World Truck Series race being known as the Overton's 150. However, on February 6, 2018, it was announced that Gander Outdoors (another company owned by Camping World) would sponsor the Cup Series races, the Gander Outdoors 400, as well as the Truck Series race, the Gander Outdoors 150. [3] The Overton's sponsorship was transferred to the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series races at Chicagoland Speedway in 2018.
In mid-2019, NASCAR and Pocono Raceway announced that the track would host a doubleheader weekend on the last weekend of June. On Saturday, the Truck event that is usually held in July and the first Cup race that is usually held in early June would run on Saturday. On Sunday, the Xfinity race that is run in June and the second Cup race followed. During this period, the race was shortened from 400 to 350 miles. [4]
The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau was the title sponsor of the race in 2021, with the name of the race being the "Explore the Pocono Mountains 350". [5] In 2022, the race returned to being 400 miles in length and M&M's (and parent company Mars, Incorporated) sponsored the race to highlight their last year as a NASCAR sponsor, and the name of the race was the "M&M's Fan Appreciation 400". [6] In 2023, HighPoint, one of the sponsors of Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14 car driven by Chase Briscoe, became the title sponsor of the race. The IT company is based in North Jersey in Sparta a little over an hour from the track. [7]
# Wins | Driver | Years Won |
---|---|---|
5 | Denny Hamlin | 2006, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2023 |
4 | Bill Elliott | 1985, 1988, 1989, 2002 |
3 | Richard Petty | 1973, 1974, 1976 |
Darrell Waltrip | 1978, 1981, 1992 | |
Rusty Wallace | 1991, 1996, 2000 | |
Kyle Busch | 2017, 2018, 2021 | |
2 | Tim Richmond | 1983, 1986 |
Dale Earnhardt | 1987, 1993 | |
Geoffrey Bodine | 1990, 1994 | |
Dale Jarrett | 1995, 1997 | |
Bobby Labonte | 1999, 2001 | |
Kurt Busch | 2005, 2007 | |
Jeff Gordon | 1998, 2012 |
# Wins | Team | Years Won |
---|---|---|
11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1999, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2017-2021, 2023 |
7 | Hendrick Motorsports | 1986, 1998, 2004, 2012-2014, 2022 |
6 | Team Penske | 1991, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011 |
3 | Petty Enterprises | 1973, 1974, 1976 |
Junior Johnson & Associates | 1979, 1981, 1990 | |
Melling Racing | 1985, 1988, 1989 | |
RFK Racing | 2005, 2008, 2010 | |
2 | Wood Brothers Racing | 1975, 1980 |
DiGard Motorsports | 1978, 1982 | |
Richard Childress Racing | 1987, 1993 | |
Robert Yates Racing | 1995, 1997 |
# Wins | Manufacturer | Years Won |
---|---|---|
15 | Chevrolet | 1977-1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2012-2014, 2022 |
13 | Ford | 1985, 1988-1990, 1994-1997, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2016 |
9 | Dodge | 1971, 1973, 1974, 1974, 1976, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2011 |
8 | Toyota | 2009, 2015, 2017-2021, 2023 |
4 | Pontiac | 1983, 1991, 1999, 2001 |
2 | Mercury | 1975, 1980 |
Buick | 1981, 1982 | |
1 | Plymouth | 1972 |
# Wins | Sponsor | Years Won |
---|---|---|
5 | Miller | 1990, 1996, 2000, 2007, 2011 |
4 | FedEx | 2006, 2009, 2019, 2020 |
3 | Coors | 1985, 1988, 1989 |
M&M's | 2017, 2018, 2021 | |
2 | STP | 1974, 1976 |
Purolator | 1975, 1980 | |
Gatorade | 1978, 1982 | |
Interstate Batteries | 1999, 2001 |
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