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.

Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.

Monster Slayers

Event Day Games Preview: Drivers have been in survival mode lately. From the track Too Tough to Tame, to NASCAR's version of Noah's Ark last week in Charlotte, to the Monster Mile, it just keeps getting rougher.

Dover is one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. Concrete high-banked courses require drivers to pull heavy G-loads in the corners, and this track is nearly as much turn as it is straightaway. The groove at exit is narrow, since all of that momentum pushes a car from the bottom of the course to the outside wall and track blocking, "Big One" crashes are nearly as prevalent at Dover as on one of the restrictor-plate superspeedways.

It’s a rhythm track, however, and once a driver learns the secrets to conquering the Monster, they can often string together some incredibly long streaks. Carl Edwards enters the weekend with five consecutive results of third or better, and this could very well be the week he snaps out of his early-season funk.

Roush-Fenway teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth are two other drivers who swept the top-five last year and in the fall, three of the Cat in the Hat's men finished first, second and third. If you think you see a pattern emerging, jump on it.

Expect Hendrick Motorsports to be in their mirrors. Last fall, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson finished fourth and fifth on the Roushketeers' bumpers and Jeff Gordon came home just a couple of spots further back in seventh.

Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.