Pocono 101: Hendrick’s momentum, Kyle Busch’s triangle dominance, more

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend for a "Tricky Triangle" showdown on the 2.5-mile track. Leading into Sunday's Pocono 400 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), here's the rundown on a few things to watch. RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Pocono   TRACK DETAILS Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile triangular track and has a minimum width of 60 feet. With a unique track design featuring a 3,055-foot back straightaway, the banking in each corner varies: Turn 1 – 14 degrees, Turn 2 – 8 degrees and Turn 3 – 6 degrees. The raceway also has the longest main straightaway in motorsports, with a 3,740-foot frontstretch. The inaugural Monster Energy Series race at the track was won by Richard Petty on Aug. 4, 1974. GOING LIVE? This year, kids ages 12 and under are free for all three days of racing. Yes, that includes Sunday -- for the first time ever -- for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Additionally, Pocono Raceway touts more than 30 events and activities for fans throughout the weekend. Explore more on Pocono Raceway's website. RULES PACKAGE  Pocono will feature the 2019 rules package with a tapered-spacer engine that will generate about 550 horsepower. The cars will have aero ducts, a change that NASCAR made after seeing the non-duct package at Atlanta earlier this season. In addition to both Pocono races, this change also goes into effect for the races at Darlington and Homestead later this season. Cup teams are allowed three sets of Goodyear Eagle tires for practice, one set for qualifying and seven sets for the race. "Pocono provides several challenges for tires and teams, being pretty flat with long, fast straightaways and three unique corners," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "We have to bring a tire setup that handles those demanding conditions, perhaps most notably the corners where we need to provide grip levels more like what's needed on a short track. This being a race with higher downforce than last year paired with the lower horsepower package, the tread compounds remain unchanged from 2018, which should help with grip as well." STATS • Kyle Busch has dominated the scene at Pocono in recent years, winning two out of the last four races and leading in all four. He also has 239 combined laps led in the last two years at the track. • Over the last four Monster Energy Cup Series races in 2019, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have trended upward. The Hendrick team has the most poles (two), most top-five finishes (seven), most laps led (416), and is tied for second in wins after Chase Elliot’s victory on April 28 at Talladega. • With a win at the track in 2017, Ryan Blaney is hoping to cash in on a win for the first time in 2019. Blaney has led 359 laps in races this season, the most without a victory. LIVE COVERAGE This week's race will be televised on FS1, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Log onto NASCAR.com for coverage, including in-car cameras on Drive and in-car audio on RaceView. Be sure to follow your Fantasy Live team and make your garage decision by the end of Stage 2 when rosters are final. 2018 RACE WINNER  Martin Truex Jr. brought home the checkered flag at last year’s race, finishing ahead of Kyle Larson by 2.496 seconds. Truex led 31 laps en route to his second victory at the Pennsylvania track. ACTIVE POCONO WINNERS  Denny Hamlin (four), Kurt Busch (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Kyle Busch (two), Martin Truex Jr. (two), Ryan Blaney (one), Chris Buescher (one), Brad Keselowski (one), Joey Logano (one), and Ryan Newman (one).