Saturday, August 2, 2008

The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 from Pocono: It's Anybody's Race.

With NASCAR's longest stretch and NASCAR's tightest corners, at least from an oval-track point of view, Pocono gives it all for your enjoyment!

This is the second time our NASCAR friends visit Pocono this season. It's one of the tracks closest to the world's biggest market, New York City. It's also a very unique track. There are only three corners instead of the traditional four. Yes, it's a triangle. It's somewhat superspeedway and somewhat road course.

Of the current drivers, Bill Elliot has won here more than anyone, with a total of five wins. Jeff Gordon has won here four times, and Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte have both won at Pocono three times.

Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeremy Mayfield, Terry Labonte, Kurt Busch, and Kasey Kahne have each won twice.

Pocono is one of those tracks that makes purists ask one question, "Why do we run here twice?"

The answer is simple.

Besides Watkins Glen, Pocono is the closest track to New York City, the country's largest market. Pocono has two race dates until someone gets stupid and lets NASCAR build a track on Staten Island.

Not that a New York City connection would be bad. I say build a short track, out in the hinterlands of New Jersey, and make it as close to Bristol as they can make it. High banked turns, maybe one-half or three-fourths miles in length.

Put a roof over it, just to make sure all the racing that is advertised will happen. It can be done. Put in about 250,000 seats, and make it the world's largest rain free arena. It could be done.

I like Pocono and I hate it at the same time. I like it because it's a challenge to the best stock-car drivers in the world, but I hate it because I've seen some good drivers in bad accidents on this track.

I just pray that we don't see any bad accidents this week.

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