| Pocono Raceway | |
| Facility Statistics | |
| Location | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
| Capacity | 76,812 |
| Owner | Pocono International Raceway |
| Major Races | |
| 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup | Pocono 500, Pennsylvania 500 |
| Dimensions | |
| Shape | Tri-oval |
| Distance | 4 km (2.5 miles) |
| Banking/Turns | 14°/8°/6° |
| Banking/Straights | Minimal |
Pocono Raceway is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania; it is the site of two annual NASCAR Nextel Cup races held just a few weeks apart in June and July.
Pocono Raceway has a unique design; it could be said to be a tri-oval, but the turns are much more severe than those of a more typical tri-oval such as Daytona and the track is really nearly a triangle; they have been likened somewhat to the hairpin-style turns of road courses. An additional complication is that none of the three turns is identical, nor are any of the three straightaways identical in length. Finally, the banking of each turn is considerably less than on many other long ovals. Although the track is very long (2.5 miles) the severe nature of the turns tends to make the overall speeds much lower than at other tracks of similar lengths; restrictor plates are not needed here.
The odd design makes the setup of the car and the crews' ability to make chassis adjustments even more crucial here than at many other tracks; often it is the difference between a winning performance and near-disaster. Drivers tend to either love the track or hate it, largely depending on how well it suits their driving style and their crews' abilities.
Many fans contend that the 500-mile races at Pocono take too long, and that they would like to see them shortened by at least 100-150 miles. Some fans wouldn't mind seeing the track disappear from the schedule altogether.
See also: List of NASCAR race tracks
Current Races
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Pocono 500
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - Pennsylvania 500
Records
- NASCAR Qualifying: Tony Stewart 277.436 km/h (172.391 mph), 2000
- NASCAR Race: Rusty Wallace, 233.181 km/h (144.892 mph), July 21, 1996