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Sprint Cup
CUP: Pocono Presents Unique Challenge
The tricky, triangle-shaped Pocono Raceway is the next stop on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour...
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams visit Pocono Raceway twice each season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
For the Sprint Cup Series, Pocono Raceway defines the word unique.
There is no other race track in the world even remotely similar to the wackily shaped 2.5-mile speedway in the Pocono Mountains. It is very long but relatively flat. It has three turns, not four. It has one of the longest front straightaways in motorsports.
All of the factors add up to one of the most challenging courses in racing. Sprint Cup drivers will test it for the first of two times this season Sunday in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500, the 14th race of the year.
“It is like being at three different race tracks at the same time,” said Greg Biffle. “You go through turn one, and it is very bumpy and hard braking into it. Then you get to the tunnel turn, and it is a real quick turn where the wall comes up really fast. In (turn) three it is long, sweeping and fairly smooth. To get your car to be able to drive all three of those technical elements at the same time is really hard.”
Pocono’s second turn is called the tunnel turn (because the infield tunnel is located there). The banking there is only eight degrees, so drivers are practically flat-tracking it through the turn after building speed down the backstretch. It’s known as one of the most difficult turns in racing.
“It is tricky to not be loose in, and you really have to commit to that corner on exit,” Biffle said. “There is a lot of speed to be had there. If you don’t slow down too much and re-accelerate coming out you are good, but the tunnel corner is the trickiest.”
The fact that Pocono’s corners are so different means crew chiefs can’t prepare cars to fit each turn precisely. It’s a matter of compromise.
“They’re all very unique and challenging in their own way, and I think that’s what makes Pocono so special,” said Jeff Gordon. “I've always said that the tunnel turn is one of my favorites but also one of my least favorites because when you hit it right, it’s just so incredible and such a great feeling, and it’s such a thrill to go through there. But when you don’t hit it right, it's the most physical corner there is on the track because you lose so much momentum and time, and you’re hitting the steering wheel because you messed it up. And it’s such a short corner, but it’s really fast.
“But the most challenging one is probably the third turn, where it’s just really flat and really fast and it’s really difficult to get it right.”
Teams that run well at Pocono often can duplicate that performance later in the year at the more prestigious race at Indianapolis, another relatively flat track with difficult turns.
“[Pocono] really challenges the teams and engineers, and there are a lot of different theories right now on what makes you go fast at a place like Pocono that might apply to Indianapolis,” Gordon said.
“And I feel like Pocono is one of those tracks where everybody sort of uses it as a test session for Indianapolis because Indy is such an important race and prestigious. You can’t apply those long straightaways in that flat last corner to Indy. It seems like if you get yourself right there, it gives you a good opportunity to possibly find something for Indy. But it’s always fun and challenging, and I look forward to getting back there.”
Practice for the 500 is scheduled to begin at noon ET Friday. Qualifying is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Friday. The race is scheduled for a 1 p.m. green flag Sunday.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
There is no other race track in the world even remotely similar to the wackily shaped 2.5-mile speedway in the Pocono Mountains. It is very long but relatively flat. It has three turns, not four. It has one of the longest front straightaways in motorsports.
All of the factors add up to one of the most challenging courses in racing. Sprint Cup drivers will test it for the first of two times this season Sunday in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500, the 14th race of the year.
“It is like being at three different race tracks at the same time,” said Greg Biffle. “You go through turn one, and it is very bumpy and hard braking into it. Then you get to the tunnel turn, and it is a real quick turn where the wall comes up really fast. In (turn) three it is long, sweeping and fairly smooth. To get your car to be able to drive all three of those technical elements at the same time is really hard.”
Pocono’s second turn is called the tunnel turn (because the infield tunnel is located there). The banking there is only eight degrees, so drivers are practically flat-tracking it through the turn after building speed down the backstretch. It’s known as one of the most difficult turns in racing.
“It is tricky to not be loose in, and you really have to commit to that corner on exit,” Biffle said. “There is a lot of speed to be had there. If you don’t slow down too much and re-accelerate coming out you are good, but the tunnel corner is the trickiest.”
The fact that Pocono’s corners are so different means crew chiefs can’t prepare cars to fit each turn precisely. It’s a matter of compromise.
“They’re all very unique and challenging in their own way, and I think that’s what makes Pocono so special,” said Jeff Gordon. “I've always said that the tunnel turn is one of my favorites but also one of my least favorites because when you hit it right, it’s just so incredible and such a great feeling, and it’s such a thrill to go through there. But when you don’t hit it right, it's the most physical corner there is on the track because you lose so much momentum and time, and you’re hitting the steering wheel because you messed it up. And it’s such a short corner, but it’s really fast.
“But the most challenging one is probably the third turn, where it’s just really flat and really fast and it’s really difficult to get it right.”
Teams that run well at Pocono often can duplicate that performance later in the year at the more prestigious race at Indianapolis, another relatively flat track with difficult turns.
“[Pocono] really challenges the teams and engineers, and there are a lot of different theories right now on what makes you go fast at a place like Pocono that might apply to Indianapolis,” Gordon said.
“And I feel like Pocono is one of those tracks where everybody sort of uses it as a test session for Indianapolis because Indy is such an important race and prestigious. You can’t apply those long straightaways in that flat last corner to Indy. It seems like if you get yourself right there, it gives you a good opportunity to possibly find something for Indy. But it’s always fun and challenging, and I look forward to getting back there.”
Practice for the 500 is scheduled to begin at noon ET Friday. Qualifying is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Friday. The race is scheduled for a 1 p.m. green flag Sunday.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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