Round 15: ABC Supply 500, Long Pond, PA. August 22-23, 2015.
The Pocono 500 started in 1971 as part of the USAC National Championship Trail and part of USAC's "Triple Crown", comprising the Indianapolis 500, Pocono 500, and California 500. After the CART/USAC split, the race became a CART event from 1982 - 1989, after which it was dropped, mainly due to the rough track surface as well as poor safety features, like boiler plate retaining walls and a lack of run off areas and catch fencing.
After a 23-year hiatus, the IZOD IndyCar series successfully revived the race in 2013, as well as the "Triple Crown". It adopted the 1971–80 USAC format, with the Indianapolis 500 in May, the Pocono IndyCar 400 in July and the MAVTV 500 in October at Fontana, replacing Ontario which held the original California 500, as it no longer existed. In 2014 the race returned to it's original distance of 500 miles and is the fastest 500 mile race in Indy car history, with an average speed of 202.402 mph (325.734 km/h) and was the first 500-mile race to be completed in under 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Some trivia:
Triple Crown: Al Unser Sr., 1978.
The driver with the most wins, A.J. Foyt: 1973, 1975, 1979, 1980.
The team with the most wins, Team Penske: 1971, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2014.
The track has a unique layout with three turns, each based on 3 other tracks. Turn One, with 14 degree banking, is based on the now defunct Trenton Speedway. Turn Two, also known as "The Tunnel turn", is like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with 9 degree banking and Turn 3 has 6 degree banking, similar to The Milwaukee Mile.
Track Layout:
Length: 2.5 mi - 4.023 km
Turns: 3
Lap record: July 5th, 2014, Juan Pablo Montoya, 223.871 Mph - 360.285 km/h. Team Penske, Dallara DW12-Chevrolet, Verizon IndyCar Series.
Last year's winner:
Juan Pablo Montoya,
Team Penske,
Dallara DW12-Chevrolet
Laps: 200
Distance: 500 mi - 804.672 km
Race Time: 2:28:13
Average Speed: 202.402 - 325.734 km/h
TV Coverage: NBCSN
Green flag, 2:00pm ET.