The ARCA Menards Series heads to the Pocono Raceway this weekend for the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200. Friday’s (May 31) edition will be the 64th ARCA race at Pocono.
In the track’s long-storied history on the ARCA schedule, many have risen to the challenge that the “Tricky Triangle” presents and gone on to have success in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Ryan Newman, Casey Atwood, Casey Mears, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano, Ty Dillon and Kyle Larson won ARCA races at Pocono, just to name a few. On Friday, another driver will add his or her name to that list. Defending race winner Harrison Burton will return to defend his victory from last season but a stout field of 18 other drivers will look to earn their first Pocono victory.
Entry List for Friday’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono
At Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend, Michael Self looked to be in championship form again, dominating nearly the whole race until a late move shuffled him back and he ran out of time to rebound. Self still earned a top-five finish and padded his points lead over Travis Braden and now has a 55-point lead over Braden, while Bret Holmes‘ strong Charlotte showing landed him tied with Braden for second place.
Self and Christian Eckes are both competing for the championship alongside Braden and Holmes as the series enters the heat of summer. The temperatures are climbing higher — not just outside, but inside the cars as well. Tempers usually rise as the points battle is brewing up to be a strong one. Five drivers enter Pocono as championship contenders, but the triangle track likes to play games, and it could thin out the herd this weekend.
Toyota’s winning streak came to an end last weekend, and if the drivers of Venturini Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have anything to say about it, it will begin again. Toyota has seven drivers ready to step up and begin a new winning streak, but if the Fords and Chevrolets in the field have a say, that streak will be a thing of the past. Both Ty Majeski and Joe Graf Jr. look to begin a winning streak for the Blue Oval, backing up Majeski’s Charlotte win. Don’t count out Holmes or Cole Glasson to earn Chevrolet’s first victory in the series since Elko Speedway last season when Gus Dean earned the victory.
Ford has an uphill battle themselves as they have not earned a victory at Pocono in ARCA since Chase Briscoe won in 2016. Chevrolet’s last win at Pocono came in 2017 with Justin Haley capturing the victory. Toyota swept the season last year with Burton winning in June and Zane Smith winning the rain-shortened edition in the late summer.
The General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 will be shown live on FOX Sports 2 at 5:30 p.m./et and will be shown delayed at 8 p.m./et on FOX Sports 1.
About the author
His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.
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