Pocono – One Too Many

I don’t pretend to know the inner dealings within the walls of NASCAR central, but I have to believe that the reason there’s still two races at Pocono is because of some agreement made many moons ago. From a fan perspective, Pocono is one of the most boring races to watch all year, and we get it twice! After about 20 laps, it turns into nothing but parade laps all afternoon, with the only real drama coming if fuel mileage becomes an issue.

From a driver perspective, it’s a great track because all the corners are completely different, and then you get to open it up coming down the front-stretch, but ironically, it doesn’t make for good racing. It’s narrow in the corners, and also somewhat flat, which makes passing very difficult. And the last corner before you hit the front-stretch is tough because you drop your speed considerably, just to make a good exit.

But with the growth of NASCAR and other more established tracks already closed (remember Rockingham?), why does Pocono get two races?