TRACK: Pocono Raceway
RACE: Pocono Green 225 (90 laps / 225 miles)
DATE: Sunday, June 27, 2021
TV: 12 p.m. ET on NBCSN
RADIO: 11:30 a.m. ET on MRN and SiriusXM Ch. 90
Quotes:
Michael Annett: “We ran really well last week at Nashville and had at least a top-five finish within our reach until we got caught in that crash. I like the momentum we've got going with our No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet heading into Pocono, which is a really fun track to drive. Momentum is very important at this stage of the season, and we need to keep earning stage points and good finishes to get ready for the playoffs."
Justin Allgaier: “I've always really enjoyed racing at Pocono. It’s such a unique racetrack that has seemed to suit our No. 7 team well over the last couple of years. I feel like we are hitting a good stride right now and hopefully that can continue on Sunday and we can improve that one position to go to Victory Lane with this Hellmann's Make Taste, Not Waste Chevrolet. I'm really looking forward to getting there and see what will happen."
Sam Mayer: "I'm really excited to finally get behind the wheel of the Tire Pros Chevrolet this weekend. The last year has gone by so slow but the last month has gone by super fast and I'm really thankful that I have this opportunity with JR Motorsports. Josh Berry proved that this No. 8 team could win and that is what I plan on doing every time I am in the car."
Noah Gragson: “We had another pretty good run last weekend in Nashville which helps our confidence as we head to Pocono this weekend. We had a fast Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro last year in Pocono but got caught up in a wreck late in the race that put us back around 20th. I know Dave (Elenz, crew chief) and this entire No. 9 team are working their butts off to bring a fast Camaro each week and I know this weekend will be no different."
Notes:
• Michael Annett heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend coming off his best career finish on the 2.5-mile triangular track in 2020. Annett finished fifth in last year's event there.
• Pocono has been good to Annett the past couple of seasons, as he’s earned a top-five and two top-10 results there.
• Annett celebrates his 35th birthday on June 23, just four days before this weekend's race at Pocono.
• Annett's recent surge has him 10th in the playoff standings, 53 points above the cut line to advance.
• In five previous NXS starts at Pocono, Justin Allgaier has earned a best finish of second, coming in 2017.
• In this event last season, the Illinois native led nine laps and came home with a sixth-place finish.
• Overall, on tracks two miles or greater in the NXS, Allgaier has recorded one win (Indianapolis – 2018), 14 top fives and 30 top 10s.
• This weekend at Pocono, Allgaier's No. 7 Chevrolet will carry the colors of Hellmann's and the Make Taste, Not Waste campaign. Head over to hellmanns.com for tips, tricks and recipes that use the ingredients and food in our fridges and pantries to minimize food waste.
• Sam Mayer turns 18 on June 26th and will make his NXS debut the following day at Pocono in the Tire Pros Chevrolet.
• The Franklin, Wisconsin native has only one start on a track measuring greater than two miles in length in the ARCA Menard’s Series. Mayer started 18th at Pocono and finished third during the 2020 season.
• In 29 starts across the ARCA Series the last two seasons, Mayer has accumulated 11 wins, 26 top fives and 26 top 10s. He was the 2019 and 2020 ARCA Series champion and won the inaugural Sioux Chief Showdown Championship.
• Noah Gragson heads to Pocono this weekend with a pair of top-10 finishes over the last two races.
• On 2.5-mile tracks, Gragson has had much success in his NXS career. At Daytona, the young driver won his first NXS event in 2020 and finished third in his only start at the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019. At Pocono, Gragson notched a sixth-place result in 2019, his best finish there.
• So far this season, the young Nevada driver has four top-five and seven top-10 finishes and ranks ninth in series points after 15 races.