PIT BOX: ARCA Menards Series joins NASCAR for busy weekend at Pocono

After a three-week break, the ARCA Menards Series is back for its eighth of 20 races on the 2021 schedule. And the series is far from alone in its visit to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Friday’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 will be the first of five races over the span of three days across four series at the 2.5-mile tri-oval known as the Tricky Triangle.

And that does not count the ARCA Menards Series’ open practice at Pocono scheduled for Thursday.

Fans will be able to attend Friday’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono. Tickets are available at PoconoRaceway.com.

The race will broadcast live on FS1 with live streaming available on the Fox Sports App. A radio broadcast also will be available on MRN and SiriusXM.

General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Pocono Raceway and the ARCA Menards Series in November announced the series’ inclusion in what would be a packed weekend of stock car racing. That weekend has arrived.

Friday’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 will begin what has become a doubleheader weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series, which will compete on both Saturday and Sunday at Pocono.

Race 1 of the Cup Series’ doubleheader is a 130-lap event starting at 3 p.m. ET, and the series will follow with a 140-lap race the following day starting at 3:30 p.m. ET. Both will broadcast live on NBCSN.

The first Cup Series race is the second leg of a Saturday doubleheader with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. That Truck race, the CRC Brakleen 150, will start at noon ET and broadcast live on FS1.

The second Cup Series race is the second leg of a Sunday doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series. That Xfinity race, the Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons, will start at noon ET and broadcast live on NBCSN.

The ARCA Menards Series gets the spotlight Friday as the only race of the day scheduled at Pocono.

On Thursday, the ARCA Menards Series will hold an optional open practice session from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET. This is in addition to the final practice (2:15 p.m. ET) and qualifying session (4 p.m. ET) scheduled for race day.

Ty Gibbs is the defending winner of the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200; he led 65 of the 80 laps last year at Pocono.

Now 18, Gibbs will look to repeat Friday. And considering how he has dominated the series in 2021, winning five of the seven races contested thus far, he will be among the favorites to do just that.

The complete entry list for Friday’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono will be released Tuesday.

RACING REFERENCE:

• ARCA Menards Series Points
• Previous races at Pocono
• ARCA Menards Series drivers at Pocono

RACE FACTS

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 is limited to 30 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2021 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: Timed session. All cars must make a qualifying attempt, and all drivers must practice before they can qualify.

RACE PIT STOP: Modified live pit stop procedure. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to the last 10 laps of the race. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once the race has started.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire use at track (total “from home” plus purchased at track) is 16. Per ARCA Rulebook, the maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is eight (8).