Pocono Plans

by Andrew Marren

For Race 14 on the 36-race Sprint Cup Series schedule, NASCAR heads to the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA for the Pocono 500, the first of two stops at the track. Nestled in the Pocono Mountains, this track has played host the at least one NASCAR event a year since 1974. The second date on the tour was added in 1982. Pocono boasts NASCAR’s most unique track design; a 2.5-mile flat triangle with three straightaways with different lengths, three turns with varying degrees of banking. Pocono also boasts the circuit’s most treacherous corner, Turn two, or the “tunnel turn.” This corner has seen many grinding crashes, none worse than the lap one crash in the 1988 Miller High Life 500 that ended the career—and nearly took the life of—legend Bobby Allison; a scene I personally saw play out while attending my first race.

Due to the nature of the track’s layout, teams and drivers have a difficult time figuring out the car’s setup for optimal performance. Turn three is probably the most important turn to handle well enough that drivers can apply maximum horsepower for the frontstretch, the longest straightaway in NASCAR. This makes Pocono the place where man and machine must act in harmony more than any other track.

In 2008, Kasey Kahne rode the momentum he picked up during the two weeks NASCAR spent in Charlotte. There, he won both the All Star race and the 600 before riding his Budweiser Dodge to victory. That was his first at Pocono.

If you’re looking for a favorite in this race look no further then Denny Hamlin, driver of the FedEx Toyota out of the Joe Gibbs Racing stable. Hamlin has six career starts at Pocono Raceway and in that span, he has five top-10s. Among those top-10s are two wins and four top-fives. He’s also scored two pole positions.

Of course you will have to look at the Hendrick Motorsports stable as well. Jeff Gordon (four) and Jimmie Johnson (two) have combined for six total wins at Pocono. Mark Martin has not won there, but his average finish of 10.7 is highest among active non-winners. And keep an eye Dale Earnhardt Jr., if for nothing else just to see how the adjustment to his new crew chief Lance McGrew is playing out.

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