How Pocono Was REBORN For NASCAR Fans 

What do you think of Pocono now?

For once, Bowman changed a track's future for the better

Pocono is a prime example of what letting a race track age can do. There are multiple grooves to run, Tire management is a factor and as the racetrack continues to age, it will become more and more prevalent. NASCAR has a very good package for the intermediate tracks, and the racing for the most part has shown the immense potential for this car. I think it’s just a matter of getting the short tracks, and the road courses dialed in as well and we could have the greatest racing product on the planet with this car.

I’ve been going to Pocono since 2001. It’s a home track to me and this action really shows what the track has to offer.

Pocono is not an easy track to concur or master - Fans that call it boring or whatever don’t understand

I've been attending races at Pocono since 2007. This place will always be so special to me, and being there yesterday for not just the great racing, but the revamped fan experience as well as the complete sold-out crowd brought a *HUGE* smile to my face! I'm very happy this place is finally getting the respect it deserves to be a permanent keepsake on the schedule! 1 race is perfect for a facility like this! 😄

I've always had a bias for Pocono because I grew up 10 minutes from the track and there's a huge part of me that wants us to have 2 races again but regardless I'm very happy Pocono is really coming to life again. It has me ready for next year's race

It's the momentum that NASCAR has right now, with more and more fans coming to the races for a few weeks now

I’ve always loved Pocono. I just remember one or two terrible xfinity series races there. But overall it’s always put on a decent to great race.

Pocono is my NASCAR home track and been going races there for 20 years, yesterday felt so proud to be a fan and to be apart of that amazing crowd and atmosphere! From the giant crowd and packed infield to the long wait it took to get into (and out) the parking lots, it felt like I got transported back to 2005, and it was great to see! A late July date is perfect for this track. I have racing friends that want to go to Pocono next year now. So kudos to the track for an awesome weekend and keeping the momentum that NASCAR has right now going!

I used to hate Pocono (New Hampshire too), but both tracks are so much better with just 1 date. Next thing to do is to eliminate the stage cautions to improve the strategy. Overall though, this weekend was perhaps the best Pocono weekend in history, and I've been watching for over 20 years. All 3 races were WILD.

I love attending races there. The staff is so friendly and majority of the races I’ve attended has always been entertaining.

Same thing with New Hampshire. I think definitely like Pocono, while it sucks for me as a die hard fan, reducing it to one date a year definitely helped with attendance wise.

Pocono for me has soured over the years do to all the bad crashes. they've benefited going down to one cup race a year and I'm hoping that more tracks get that treatment long term

The next gen car really did change Pocono for the better

I was at pocono this weekend and it was a blast. Never went to a cup race at pocono but it was so much fun

I live in Maryland and we don’t have that many chances to go to a somewhat nearby race with Dover and Pocono going to one date a year. On top of that Pocono has really worked hard to modernize the facilities

I went to the second race in 2021, missed the race in 2022, and came back this year. I’m not sure how it was on TV, but I absolutely loved this race much better than the previous Pocono race I attended. The atmosphere amongst the crowd was so awesome, and it was cool to see how much action happened on the track. Really looking forward to going again next year!

The last 3 or 4 years Pocono has put on some solid racing.

Having one Pocono race at one of the most unique tracks in NASCAR combined with the good racing and controversy the Next Gen has contributed leaves fans wanting more Having one race makes it more important in fans' minds that they should attend given it's their only chance of the year to do so

I always thought Pocono was a pretty good race except the period near the end of the 2010's. I went to the July race in 2003 and it was very good. Crazy that it's been 20 years.

I went to Pocono for the first time yesterday and it was incredible! As I got onto 115, I rolled my eyes with how backed up traffic was but thankfully, only missed two laps. Thanks to JJ Yeley though, I got to see an early restart so it’s as if I didn’t miss anything. I feel like Denny Hamlin is becoming Aaron Rogers. He’s just becoming less likable every year.

You missed 3 factors, IMO: 1. Going down to one date definitely helped. Builds anticipation when you have to wait a year for the next race. 2. Shorter race helped. 500 miles at Pocono was a slog, even when the product was decent. Few races need to be 500 miles long. 3. Cannot be overstated how much the at track fan experience matters. This was not just a race weekend, this was a damn festival, it was just so fun being there, and the fair food was straight FIRE. I've never had that much fun at a racetrack.

Pocono is my home track and Sunday was my first in person Nascar race. I think a mix of how hard the next gen is to drive plus having one date has made the racing more exciting. Thinking of going again next year but getting on the infield campgrounds.

Pocono is my home track and I was at the track on Sunday. I have been going to Pocono since 2014. The race on Sunday was the best race at Pocono ever

ive been at every pocono race since 2002 and what the track itself has done for engagement of the fans needs to be noticed. talking to folks around the track that have beed to daytona, talledega, you name it, it was their favorite in terms of overall fan experience and next gen has helped its track product immensely

In the Dale 3, Rusty, Davey Allison days Pocono was an outdoor insane asylum. Place was banged out twice a year. Backlogs on I-80 for miles. Yesterday kinda brought back some of that old mojo. The sport needs more characters like back then, and fearless drivers.

Would be great if IndyCar raced at Pocono once again as a 500-mile race

Im happy that Pocono is back. Pocono is actually my third most favorite track, behind Bristol and Michigan, Michigan is my hometrack by the way.

I’ve been twice. Once just for the day and once in the infield. Compared to Michigan, Pocono definitely has the ma and pa feel to it. It’s definitely a huge property and when I was there in 18 and 19 it did not seem busy at all. Seeing how full the stands are now as well as the infield it seems like a great vibe there now. Also since Michigan has gone to one race the same thing happened there. I go every year and it is jam packed now.

Also i was born 99 and didn’t start going to races myself till 22 and I think the kids growing up watching the early 2000s and love the sport are showing up plus the gen 7 really has brought a lot of tracks back

I'm partial to the track because I grew up about 50 miles west of the track. Even a diehard Pocono fan like me will say that the racing wasn't always the best. The biggest drama was often when fuel mileage came into play. Even so, this may have been the best Pocono race that I have witnessed. In the past, you only saw 2 or more wide on the frontstretch and the inside was king. If you started on the outside, you'd likely lose a few spots. But, this year we saw 3 wide in the tunnel turn with no one out of control. And, on restarts, somehow, the outside lane was definitely preferred. As it's my "home track", I'm glad to see that it's can put on a good show. Hopefully, NASCAR and/or Goodyear won't do something to mess it up.

This was the first NASCAR race I've ever attended, so I'll try to put aside my obvious sentimental bias...I really enjoyed it until the officials officiated at the end. I went to see Kevin race since I missed Kurt, Kahne and Dale Jr.

Pocono is an incredibly unique track that deserves a date permanently on the schedule. Honestly tracks with only one date are either forgettable or start to become Crown Jewels. Night Bristol and the southern 500 being examples. In the 2000s neither would be a crown jewel but today? Both are in my opinion. Not saying Pocono ever would be but if they keep investing in the track and their facility and nascar keeps bringing packages that exemplify Poconos features (high horsepower, low downforce) than I could see Pocono become one of /THE/ races you want to win

Pocono has always been one of my favorite tracks to watch. If I lived close to Pocono I'd have gone to the races long ago. It's so good to see the track with lots of people again.

I was there this year for all four races (since the ARCA was moved to Saturday morning). Enjoyed every minute of it. Sat in the shaded section. There was WiFi everywhere even though I didn't really need it. Got to walk around the infield with the Paddock plus pass. Walked on the track and through the pit stalls getting to see the crews setting up and chatting with the fans. There was definitely a buzz and I'm going to continue going every year. Also helps I live 45 minutes away near Nazareth.

I’ve been to 6 nascar races, 5 of them at Pocono (August 16, July 19, Saturday cup 21, 22, and 23). The last couple have been amazing compared to the first few. Not many were there initially but now the track is a sellout. Amazing track resurgence.

I have always loved Pocono as it's my NASCAR (& for awhile IndyCar) home track. The track itself didn't suck, the racing package mostly sucked before this car came.

I used to not like pocono that much all those years ago but the last couple of years this track has become one of my favorites to look forward to on the schedule every year now, I've been to the last few races including this past Sunday's and let me tell you, being a part of that massive sell out crowd was something special the fan energy and the atmosphere felt like a 2000s race. Can't wait to be back at Pocono again next year😁

Pocono is my home track. I was there all weekend and Friday the infield was pretty full. The police did a great job directing traffic after the race. The first sold out race in a long time.

This year they banned beer in coolers. I just walked in with out getting it checked. 😂

Just like the Gen 7 has saved the Coca Cola 600…it has potential. If you just take aside the late race drama yesterday, it was trending towards a typical pocono race so I can’t say yet the new car has saved pocono but has potential for sure

We'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow That's where we wanna go Way down to Pocono

Being at the race, the grandstands were sold out and parking lots were full. They can sell more seats in the lower section next year if this trend continues with more people coming in. It’s still spreads out, but still exciting. If cup go back to Indy Oval, we could see similar racing.

Dover only having 1 race is absolutely increasing Poconos attendance

credit goes to the new car. The new car does great on 2 mile+ tracks

Went to my first race there in 2001. Ricky Rudd won. Back then you spent a week infield and it was amazing. All the practices and qualifying and races. Plus it was just fun for a kid. Went back 20 years later and it’s just as fun. I’m biased but it’s my favorite track. Going there will help sway people.

Went to the 1st race in 2021 and this past weekend and holy shit was the experience night and day. It was PACKED and so many things to do. The atmosphere was top notch.

Pocono Raceway has definitely seen it's charm come back. I remember the glory days from the 2000s and early 2010s when the track was packed for almost every NASCAR race. It's such a bummer to see photos of empty seats at the track from the late 2010s. And yes, there was actually rumors of Pocono closing, around the same time rumors were going around regarding the closure of tracks like COTA, Kansas and Homestead Miami. Many people like to blame the decline of NASCAR during the late 2010s for empty seating at the track, but I really think it's because in the later years Pocono had two race weekends, fans of Pocono Raceway who used to go to all the race weekends back in the day preferred to just attend one race during that time because of massive increases in pricing. The same thing can be said for other tracks that had two dates. The ownership of the track are definitely smart when it came to fixing the problem. First was the Pocono doubleheader that was held in 2020 and 2021, and a thriller of a finish during the 2021 Saturday race between Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman definitely brought Pocono back in the spotlight. Then when WWT Raceway came onto the 2022 schedule, Pocono surrendered one of it's races, and led to Pocono having only one race weekend. That really brought the attendence up. By the way, the Governor of Pennsylvania at the time actually would have had allowed limited capacity at the track for the 2020 races on the condition that Monroe County, the Pennsylvania county that Pocono Raceway is located at, was allowed to enter the "Green Phase" of reopening by June 26. In cause you don't know what I'm talking about, when states started to allow businesses to reopen with safety measures after the shutdowns early in the pandemic, Tom Wolf, the Governor during that time, implemented a county color coding system to allow counties with low virus transmission rates to safely open back up. You had the red phase, yellow phase and green phase. Red phase meant high transmission and non essential businesses must stay closed, yellow phase meant some non essential businesses can open back up with social distancing requirements, but large gathering places (movie theaters, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, festivals, stadiums etc) must remain closed, and green phase meant all businesses can open back up with social distancing measures. But Monroe County was seeing a resurgance of cases of the virus, mainly because of an outbreak at a nursing home in the county, which resulted in Monroe County not being allowed to enter the green phase until it was too late. By the way, the 2019 Pocono 400 might not have been a great race, but it was definitely a memorable historic one, with Kyle Busch tying Rusty Wallace for his 55th win. I think more people need to look back on that race and appreciate it more and more. Say what you want about Kyle Busch and the 550 HP package, but the 550 package actually worked at Pocono.

I wasn't long ago when the summer was a drag. June wasn't great but July has been awesome racing

I been to this track in the recent weekend, trucks was wild xfinity was wild and cup went full a million scoleville of chaos and action. Plus with recent addition of the new paddock plus fans got to see victory lane up close which to me was more cool. (Yes that building was gone but you got to change it up sometime). My take is for the track to have it’s rising Daytona project for the grandstand and garage bc I think it can be better for the fan experience long term with new seating more access to the garages and more money for their value. I had a great time and Poconos as home track for me as NJ guy I think earned it

Ive loved attending races here since I was a kid! Id love to come back to this track to see it with a sold out crowd

Pocono has always been one of my favorite. Im glad we finally have a good intermediate package so it can put on a great show.

Pocono has always been one of my favorites. Not sure why it gets hate. High speeds and swapping of positions.

There were really 4 rivalries. Hamlin v Larson Preece v LaJoie Dillon v Reddick Stenhouse Jr. v Cindric

I live very close to pocono and got stuck in the traffic to the track on race day. Roads were shut down with traffic for miles around the track. It was very surprising.

The only problem I have and I am not even a 22 fan was the fact that you get penalized for winning a stage and forced to the back. For most tracks, I don't like stage racing and it has taken a lot of the strategy away only to replace it with the decision to win the stage or not. And not winning should never be incentivised soo much. Sucked to see him put in that spot for winning and he legitimately won that stage and didn't just stay out while others pitted and won.

I’m still not a fan of Pocono, but the track is legendary for sure

I think the one race at Pocono that was good during the Gen 6 era, I think it was 2014 or 2015, it was the Pocono race where Kurt Busch was in a massive fuel save mode and was shutting the car off as he was going into T1. I thought that race was pretty good cause of the strategy and wondering if Kurt was gonna make it by doing this or not. But it definitely looks like the single race date for Pocono has definitely saved the track, same with New Hampshire. And hopefully the same gets done to many of the other tracks. Especially with the short tracks. Fans were always going on about how NASCAR needs more short tracks, then never show up for em cause of all the short tracks NASCAR has and the ones fans want r all in the same area. But then ya get one inside a major football stadium and supposedly a 2 mile track getting cut down to a .5 mile banked short track and people got a massive issue. Fontana I can understand, but seeing how Michigan, Kentucky, and Texas have been racing wise since their repaves, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

I think this is pretty great !

I like it because it’s unique. But the race in the past couple years has been better. It’s been along time since I’ve been there over 20 years ago in 2003.

Pocono and the glen are my faves in the cup series

Playing NASCAR 15 recently reminded me how nascar packed these high speed tracks 💀

I want to go to Pocono next year

one benifit is not having the worthless 550 package

I always thought Pocono was a cool track to watch. Even as a young fan I liked the whole “no turn 4” craze, and all the different style turns. That alone made me want to watch even if the racing was kinda bland. Now this makes me want to see how Indy would do

As an Indycar fan in addition to NASCAR, I don't see the same rebirth for Pocono for an Indycar return that happened for NASCAR for one major reason and that is safety. The death of Justin Wilson in 2015 as well as the violent accident that paralyzed Robert Wickens in 2018 all but sealed Pocono's reputation as an unsafe track for Indycar & the majority of the current Indycar field would object big time to going back there because the speeds are way too high & putting restrictor plates on the cars to slow them down would likely result in a Las Vegas 2011 scenario. I say this even though I think Indycar needs more ovals on its schedule to balance out the number of road/street courses. For those wondering what happened to the date previously held by Pocono on the Indycar schedule, it was taken by the Nashville street race. Apart from the first edition, that race has been pretty bad (the worst among the street circuits on the schedule) & Indycar should look to move the race to Nashville Superspeedway instead.

No Indycar date, 1 cup date. That’ll make a difference

NASCAR gotta do one date per track for most tracks. You’ll see images like Pocono more often when the single date is the big event for the year. Don’t saturate the market when the sport doesn’t have the same popularity. I think Michigan is having the same effect

As a pa native who went to about half off the pocono races from 2010-2014 and went to the last two I agree I love the racing I always did the problem isn’t racing it is getting into the track is a nightmare they only have one entrance and they only have a two lane high way going by the track and they really need to upgrade the facilities the only have one big screen and it’s pretty small so if miss something on the track it’s difficult actually look at that screen me and my bother in law had look up nbc tele cast twice for the running order now will I go back again hell yeah I love NASCAR it wasn’t a bad experience it’s just need to do a better job at upgrading it

Tell ya’ll what I’ll take two Pocono races over a single Vegas or Indy road course (because I want brickyard back on the schedule) Let’s have the season end on a historical track like Nashville fairgrounds or maybe Bristol Room for debate? How. Y’all feel on my insignificant opinion?

You need a Pocono on the track. It's big, it's unique, it's a track that takes a lot of skill to figure out. It might not be as sexy as the tri-ovals and superspeedways but breaks up the "cookie cutter" tracks fans have long bellyached about. That said, having one date rather than two (relatively close to each other on the schedule) dates, probably will help it out in terms of attendnace.

I always liked pocono.

You forgot the best rivalry: Joey Logano vs the tow truck drivers

I usually cancel my TV subcription for this time of the year. Some of my least favorite tracks in a row (Loudon, Atlanta, Pocono) and I just wait for the football season to start. I’ve watched every single race this year start to finish and I couldn’t give a damn less about football. Pocono was cool, atlanta was amazing. I attended nashville in person and there wasn’t more than a couple dozen empty seats not to mention it was a solid race. Richmond was a little boring but still awesome and solid. Like Jr said, it’s a great time to be a nascar fan.

People hate to admit it, but the next gen car though has flaws and is not perfect, is probably the best intermediate and road course car in the history of the sport. Not to mention, it looks good

That 2022 Pocono DQ was the biggest BS call I've seen in a while. It made me lose all respect for the inspection process. Cause they wanted the Golden Boy to win.

Pocono has always been great

Im from PA and was at the first 2019 pocono race and the racing was boring and Kyle Busch dominated. The experience of the track itself though was great . That was the first race my wife ever went to she liked it

I think Canadians being allowed easily in America helped this weekend

Pocono Was Fine Prior To 2019

I was there I said it was entertaining

At least the crowds are good again at Pocono. I was surprised it got a sellout and performed well the last 2 years. 4 years ago the Pocono races we're just write off weekends that no one looked forward to.

I was there

Its a boring race if the same driver wrecks someone for the win. Denny killing the enjoyment of pocono is enough for us to not want pocono on the schedule

To be honest the stages NEED TO GO AWAY!!! They just seem to be more of an issue. One drawback is a really good car can run away at half the track Nascar goes to but the stages really never did anything in my opinion other than take strategy out as a skill set for crews

Don't let nascar media/owners/drivers fool you narrow groove tracks are where it's at... it's Where it's always been at they just hate the tool it takes on there checkbooks that's why they preach multi spaced out racing is great! Smhhh

Flat track that has only one groove, washboard straightaways, and a configuration that makes it impossible to nail a setup... Honestly, it sucks. Boring for the people at home, and enraging for the teams. Most drivers don't like it, even the ones who are good at it. The location is what brings fans to it and the fact that they decided only once a year is enough has gone into the slight increase in numbers. Really, all it would take is one race of Goodyear messing up on the tire compound for it to go away entirely.

Pocono needs high banked turns. Make it a SuperSpeedway

Can they add an a better entrance

One 400 mile race compared to two 500 milers helps. The racing still leaves a lot to be desired. There's not much passing and the leader has such an aero advantage that you already know who will win if there's no "help." The Indy oval will look like this unfortunately. I've never loved Pocono. It's on the low side of average.

I like Pocono more and Denny Hamlin less 😂

NASCAR should make Pocono the regular season finale instead of Daytona.

Kyle Larson said it best after the race. "Its a long boring race." Which is true. Ever since stage racing it really took the race from the track. No fuel mileage, no gutsy calls from the pit. I think they should do something in the back stretch, like a s curve. something.

Just like Dover, an overwhelming majority of people have to drive a minimum of three hours to get to these tracks. One race is not worth it not at all. Also you didn't take into account the multi-year ticket use that was allowed for the new weather guarantee from 2021. So 40,000, or a little under 40% of those tickets used in 2023 were from previous races, but hey who's counting right? The ticket office at two. My girlfriend works in the ticket office and was specifically responsible her and 18 others for counting the weather guarantee tickets and it was overwhelming to say the least.

The cup series was a sham, ended under caution when it should havee went into overtime. The yellow should’v been waved right away.

NASCAR still has many problems though. First off why do all the cars look the same I mean come on stop it with the stupid same cars we always get. Second NASCAR is more expensive than ever many people used to make a living in NASCAR while now its mainly for the rich. Third NASCAR has horrible marking and no video games or toys which is huge in this day and age. Fourth the tracks are ehhh like why the heck is Texas on the schedule come on. Fifth why does everyone change teams, manufactures, and car numbers every year there is a reason why guys like Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliot, Brad K, Joey Logano, Martian Truex jr, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch are so popular cause they don't change teams every year and sponsors every race for the most part. Along with all of that NASCAR just doesn't fell like NASCAR no personalities nothing its bland which is really hurting it. Also WHY ARE STAGES STILL A THING NASCAR ISN'T THE NFL GET RID OF THE STAGES AND THE STUPID POINT SYSTEM AND BRING BACK THE OLD SYSTEM AND 80% OF MY COMPLAINTS WOULD BE GONE!!!!!!!!!

I think going to 1 race a year has done wonders for Pocono, New Hampshire, and Dover. I think Richmond should be next track to follow suit. I'm also hoping Indycar will go back to Pocono.