They call Pocono Raceway a tri-oval, but really, it’s a triangle, with three sharp turns and three long straightaways making up a long 2.5 mile course. Because of its unusual configuration, Pocono has elements of two kinds of driving. Like a superspeedway, it’s long, with plenty of room to get on the throttle. But because of the tight corners, you’ve got to slow way down at times to get around. The key thing to remember is that each turn and each straight is different at Pocono, so the teams will have to compromise on set up, and pick one turn to handle best in.

At 3740 feet, the front stretch is the longest patch of straight asphalt on the circuit. Drivers can actually go 4 or even 5 wide as they pass the flagstand. To win at Pocono, you need horsepower down the long straights, and lots of downforce when you hit those tight turns. As you get up to super high speeds in the straights, and then slow down dramatically for the turns, the course can be tough on engines—and at 500 miles, it tends to be pretty long. And brakes are also important, as the drivers hit those tight corners at very high speeds.

Some people think that turn three, the longest and flattest one on the course, is the most important place at Pocono. You’ve got to be able to carry your speed into that long front stretch as you come off that final turn. But our own Barry Dodson says it’s turn 2, the tightest and toughest of them all, that is the key because without being right off of two you’ll never get to three in good shape.

It’s hard to truly “get� Pocono without going there. The drive is beautiful and the track is ridiculous. It single handedly proves that families don’t get into racing for the money, but for the love. You couldn’t dream this kooky place up if you had to. But in the end it works. It has straightaways that are technically over your head. You kind of look up from the infield to see cars whiz by. It has three different turns and a very accessible garage area. Did I mention the world’s largest urinal? They got that too. And as our sport gets more and more corporate it’s great to have the Mattiolis running such a fan friendly joint.

The tricky triangle looks and races like no other racetrack, with three totally different turns. The second, or “tunnel� turn, is the hardest to navigate, but turn 3 may be the most important, because when you leave it you’re headed down the longest straight in NASCAR racing. If you go into 3 easy, a la Harry Gant, you can come out hard on the other side. Some drivers just seem to take to this place, most recently Denny Hamlin. Pocono is also a family-owned, fan friendly facility. The Mattiolis are GREAT PEOPLE.