Fun Fact Friday: 15 things you can see at the Museum & Team Store

CONCORD, N.C.—The Hendrick Motorsports campus, located in the heart of Concord, North Carolina, has a plethora of historic exhibits and a wide variety of merchandise items inside the on-campus Museum & Team Store.

Check out the fun facts below to make sure you’re prepared for your next visit.

1) Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick and past drivers for the organization Benny Parsons and Mark Martin – all three of whom are NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017 inductees -- have pieces of history on display inside the Museum & Team Store.

2) Among the cars displayed in the museum are Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2014 Daytona 500-winning No. 88 Chevy, Jimmie Johnson’s 2007 and 2008 championship cars, and Jeff Gordon's 1997 and 1999 Daytona 500 cars, inaugural Brickyard 400-winning car and Jurassic Park-themed "T-Rex.”

3) There are four trophies from Pocono Raceway – the site of this weekend’s race -- displayed in the museum, including Johnson’s first Pocono trophy from 2004.

4) Johnson’s Superman firesuit from his win in Fontana, California, is on display alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Batman firesuit from the same race, when the two were helping to promote "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

5) Currently, there are 23 famed cars in the Museum & Team Store.

6) Visitors can also take a close look at Johnson’s 2006 championship pit box.

7) Replicas of all six of Johnson’s championship trophies are present inside Museum & Team Store.

) The NASCAR Expansion to XBOX game Forza Motorsports 6 is the newest addition to the store, including a driver’s seat, steering wheels and pedals connected to an Xbox One, giving fans the ability to test out the game.

9) An average of 3,000 race fans visit the Museum & Team store on the Friday before the grueling 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

10) There are approximately 500 items of merchandise in the team store, including sheet metal and race tires from previous events in the 2016 season.

11) In the Museum & Team Store, there is a diecast collection display case with a total of 477 diecast cars.

12) There are two tech walls displaying various engine components including three Hendrick Motorsports engines.

13) There is a chassis exploded view that shows the frame and body of the car along with a template NASCAR uses to inspect the cars before each race.

14) The first chassis constructed by Hendrick Motorsports can also be seen in the museum.

15) The Museum & Team Store was built in 1995 and renovated in May 2008.

After 13 races, Elliott weighs in on rookie season

LONG POND, Pa. -- This weekend, Chase Elliott will tackle the "Tricky Triangle" for the first time in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car.

Elliott has had a strong start to his rookie season, already logging four top-five finishes and nine top-10s within the first 13 races of the year. Among active drivers, his nine top-10 finishes are tied with teammate Jimmie Johnson for the most top-10 finishes through the first 13 races of a rookie season.

Currently eighth in the season point standings, Elliott feels as though he is in a "decent" spot, with some weekends having been better than others.

"The way I see it is yes, you can ‘points’ your way in," Elliott said of making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. "But to have a shot you’ve got to be a consistent contender to win races. And I think we have a little bit of work to do to be among those consistent contenders that have the ability each week and those are the guys you’re going to have to beat when it comes this fall."

Elliott has run consistent top-10s in the last four events, including at Talladega, where he claimed his second pole position of the year. His career-best finish was third place at Dover International Speedway.

The 20-year-old rookie said he knows he as the team behind him to remain a solid, competitive force throughout the season. Perhaps even a force competitive enough to land that first victory.

"I feel like I have a team and a group of guys that are capable of winning if I do my part for them," Elliott said. "I truly believe that. I think that’s something that’s important for all of us to believe. And if we didn’t believe that, we might as well stay home. That’s the mindset we have coming into each race weekend, regardless of where it is."

This weekend at Pocono, Elliott will look to land his No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS in Victory Lane.

"We’re going to give it our best effort to do that and if we do, great," he said. "If we don’t, it sure won’t be for a lack of effort.”

Chase Elliott’s fast Sprint Cup start compares favorably to what current drivers did

As rookie Chase Elliott prepares for this weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway, it marks a key milestone in his young career.

This will be his 19th career Sprint Cup race. Thus, he’s run in what would be equal to half a season.

When compared to the first 18 races of some drivers, Elliott matches well in regards to top-five and top-10 finishes.

Elliott, who ran five races last season, has nine top-10 finishes in his first 18 starts. Among current drivers, only Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart had more top-10 finishes at this point than Elliott did with 10 each.

Elliott has four top-five finishes at this point. Among active drivers, only Kasey Kahne had more top fives in his first 18 races with five. Also, former driver Jeff Gordon had five top-five finishes and eight top 10s in his first 18 career Cup races.

“I feel like I have a team and a group of guys that are capable of winning if I do my part for them,” Elliott said Friday at Pocono Raceway.

Here’s how Elliott’s record in his first 18 races compares to those among current drivers in their first 18 Cup races.

WINS (0 by Chase Elliott)

2 – Jimmie Johnson

2 – Kevin Harvick

2 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

1 – Matt Kenseth

1 – Carl Edwards

1 – Brad Keselowski

1 – Jamie McMurray

1 – Trevor Bayne

Top Fives (4 by Chase Elliott)

5 – Kasey Kahne

4 – Jimmie Johnson

4 – Ryan Newman

4 – Tony Stewart

3 – Matt Kenseth

3 – Carl Edwards

3 – Kevin Harvick

3 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

3 – Jamie McMurray

3 – Kyle Larson

Top 10s (9 by Chase Elliott)

10 – Jimmie Johnson

10 – Tony Stewart

8 – Kevin Harvick

7 – Carl Edwards

6 – Ryan Newman

6 – Kyle Larson

6 – Matt Kenseth

6 – Denny Hamlin

6 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Five drivers to watch at Pocono

Here’s who you should keep an eye on this weekend with the Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After back-to-back runner-up finishes at Texas and Bristol in April, Earnhardt has failed to post a top 10 in the last five races. But he’s been stout in recent years at Pocono where’s he collected two wins, five top fives, and eight top 10s since 2011 (10 races). The “Tricky Triangle” is a good place for him and the No. 88 team to get things together.

Martin Truex Jr.

The Coca-Cola 600 winner heads to Pocono to defend his win last spring. He threatened to sweep when the series returned to Pocono later in August, but was one of several front-runners that ran out of fuel in the closing laps (he wound up 19th). Considering how fast he and his Joe Gibbs Racing “partners” have been everywhere, expect Truex to contend this weekend at one of NASCAR’s big horsepower tracks.

Kyle Larson

Pocono is another place where Larson is steady. He’s posted a 9.0 average finish in his first four starts, including finishes of eighth and 12th in the 2015 races. If his recent surge in performance continues, he can contend again for his potential first career Sprint Cup win — or at least a strong finish to cut into his playoff deficit (-38 points behind 16th place).

Jimmie Johnson

Johnson has had a solid record of late at Pocono. Since 2011, he’s posted a 9.4 average finish (including a win in Spring 2013) there, while also leading the series in laps led (221). He’s also gained the second-most points among active drivers at Pocono during that span (356), trailing only Dale Earnhardt Jr. (371)

Kevin Harvick

Before his engine failed early last August, Harvick had finished runner-up in the previous two Pocono races. The 2.5-mile track is one of four on the current Cup schedule where he’s yet to win (the others being Texas, Kentucky, and Sonoma). But in the midst of another stellar season, he can definitely check this one off the list on Sunday.

Fog, rain limit number of cars on track in first Sprint Cup practice at Pocono

Fog and then light rain impacted Friday’s lone Sprint Cup practice session at Pocono Raceway.

Twenty-eight of 40 cars took to the track before rain shortened the session. That means if Sprint Cup qualifying later today also is impacted by weather, the starting field would not be set by practice speeds.

The first of two scheduled Xfinity Series practice sessions also was impacted by rain and did not start as scheduled at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Carl Edwards was the fastest of the drivers who practiced with a speed of 179.802 mph. Kevin Harvick was second fastest (178.827 mph), followed by Kurt Busch (178.649), Paul Menard (178.250) and Kyle Busch (178.193).

Track dryers are on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, attempting to dry the racing surface.

Additional rain is in the forecast for today, which could play havoc with the second scheduled Xfinity Series practice (3 – 3:55 p.m. ET), as well as Sprint Cup qualifying, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET.

Here’s how the abbreviated first practice session played out:

Veteran NASCAR crew chief Frankie Kerr inducted into Sprint Car Hall of Fame

Veteran NASCAR crew chief and four-time sprint car championship driver Frankie Kerr will be inducted this weekend into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.

Kerr, who won Sprint Car Series championships as a driver in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997, is part of the Hall’s 27th induction class.

Kerr currently serves as crew chief for the No. 44 TriStar Motorsports Zachry Toyota of J.J. Yeley.

Due to his induction, Kerr will not be in attendance for Saturday’s first-ever Xfinity race at Pocono Raceway, the Pocono Green 250.

No. 44 team car chief Bryan Smith and engineer Jeff Kirkendall will serve as Kerr’s replacements.

“We are fortunate to have Frankie at TriStar”, says Mark Smith, owner of TriStar Motorsports. “His knowledge and experience as a driver and Crew Chief are very valuable to our team.

“We congratulate him on this honor and are proud his accomplishments are being recognized.”

Jones boys: Erik and Brandon Jones fastest in 2nd Pocono Xfinity practice

Three of the top five fastest drivers in Thursday’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series practice session at Pocono Raceway were from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable.

rik Jones was fastest at 182.914 mph, while teammate Kyle Busch was third-fastest (171.138) and Daniel Suarez was fifth-fastest (169.792).

Sandwiched in between were Brandon Jones, who was second fastest (171.298) and Ty Dillon was fourth fastest (169.885).

There will be two more practice sessions on Friday. This is the first time the Xfinity Series has ever raced at Pocono.

Here’s how Thursday’s second practice played out: