This was the final NASCAR race for Jason Leffler before his death in a sprint car crash on June 12, 2013.
Report
Background
Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°.[4] However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°.[5] The front stretch at Pocono Raceway is 3,740 feet long, the longest at the track.[5] The back stretch, is 3,055 feet long, while the short stretch, which connects turn two with turn three, is only 1,780 feet long.[5]Joey Logano was the defending race winner after winning the race in 2012.[6]
Three practice sessions were held before the race. The first session, scheduled on June 7, 2013 for 90 minutes, was canceled because of rain showers.[10] The second and third, held a day later on June 8, 2013, were 50 and 60 minutes long.[11]
Forty-three cars were entered for qualifying.[12] However, wet weather soaked the track, therefore canceling the session and making the owner's points championship determine the qualifying grid.[13] Johnson, whose owner was first in the owner's championship before the race, was rewarded the pole position.[14] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Edwards.[14] Bowyer was third, Kenseth took fourth, ahead of Earnhardt Jr. who started fifth.[14] Kahne, Kyle Busch, Menard, Keselowski and Gordon rounded out the first ten positions.[14]
In the Saturday morning session, Johnson was quickest, ahead of Edwards and Kurt Busch in second and third. Marcos Ambrose and Harvick followed in the fourth and fifth positions.[15] Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the first ten positions.[15] In the final practice session for the race, Kurt Busch was quickest with a time of 51.331 seconds.[16] Johnson followed in second, ahead of Edwards and Stewart in third and fourth.[16]Ryan Newman, who was fifteenth quickest in second practice,[15] managed fifth.[16]
^"2013 FedEx 400 Report"(PDF). Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. 2013-06-02. p. 2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-10-08. Retrieved 2013-06-05.