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View Full Version : Keeping Track - Plenty Ahead for 2010 Season at Pocono Raceway



LongIslandJam
02-11-2010, 07:04 PM
By Dino Oberto

The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season begins in earnest with the running of the Daytona 500 and while all eyes of the motorsport world will be focused on “The Great American Race” fans here in Northeast Pennsylvania can look forward to those same stars making their bi-annual trip to Pocono Raceway later this year.

Although the 2.5-mile Tricky Triangle in Long Pond may be buried in snow right now, that doesn’t mean the folks at Pocono have been sitting around waiting for better weather and their turn to host NASCAR.

Preparations for 2010 began almost immediately after the checkered flag flew on last year’s Pennsylvania 500. There have been numerous off-season trade show appearances that the track has participated in as well as meetings with NASCAR brass and sponsors and every other detail that goes into making Pocono the state’s third most populous area come race weekend.

“2009 was a good year for Pocono Raceway. Tony Stewart added a lot of intrigue and excitement to our June Pocono 500 by wrecking his primary car on Saturday and then had to start in the back of the field and went on to win the race,” said Bob Pleban, Vice President of Administrations. “Denny Hamlin had a challenging race in our Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Even though we rained out on that Sunday we still had a huge crowd on Monday and that shows the loyalty of Pocono Raceway fans and race fans in general.”

NASCAR, which staged its first 500-mile stock car race at Pocono in 1974, will be on track the weekends of June 4-6 with the Pocono 500 and July 30 – August 1 for the Pennsylvania 500. There have been 64 NASCAR 500 mile races run at Pocono.

As has become a custom since 1983, the ARCA Racing Series presented by REMAX and Menards will be the Saturday lead-in features.

The big news is the first ever appearance of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that will be run on July 31. The inaugural Pocono Mountains 125 will be run prior to the ARCA race.

“2010 is going to be a very exciting year at Pocono Raceway both on and off the track. On the track we have our two Cup races, June 6 the Pocono 500 and August 1 the Pennsylvania 500. Both start times have been moved to 1:00 pm which is not the standardized time with all NASCAR tracks for this year,” said Pleban. “Saturday of both race weekends we will again have the ARCA Racing Series presented by REMAX and Menards as our support races.

“We are proud to announce the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event which will be run in conjunction with the ARCA event on July 31. This will be a doubleheader. The ARCA race will start immediately after the Camping World Truck Series race which is scheduled to go off at 1:00 pm,” he continued. “We’re also proud to announce that because of this doubleheader we have not raised ticket prices. It’s going to be an added value for race fans. They are able to see two entirely different types of series but both do put on good races and we really think that the Camping World event is going to be phenomenal.

“In past years the late Bobby Hamilton, Sr., had come up with his truck team and tested at Pocono. The way that those trucks just grip that track and they don’t have the aero push as the stock cars do I think it will make for an exceptional race.”

The NASCAR Trucks are not new to eastern Pennsylvania race fans as they competed on six occasions at the defunct Nazareth Speedway between 1996 and 2001.

Off the track Pocono Raceway is becoming and innovator with the recent announcement of going green. Planning is underway to install a three megawatt solar farm, which will power all the track’s energy needs and support the local energy grid.

“We are converting 25 acres of parking into a three mega watt solar farm that will not only provide all the needs of electricity to the raceway for years to come but the extra energy will be used and will be able to power up to 1000 homes through an electrical grid,” explained Pleban. “There will be over 40,000 solar panels. The installation is going to be so unique too. It is going to be the only sports facility in the world to generate clean, renewable energy on site which will more than offset its annual energy consumption. That will make Pocono the truly first green sports facility in the world.”

Keeping in tune with the energy theme, Pocono is encouraging race fans to park their cars and ride in on special buses. By participating in this program, fans can reduce the effect of their presence on local roadways and enjoy a safer travel option.

The buses are available to all fans, local residents and visitors alike. A quick arrival at the track is ensured by specially-designated bus lanes and the help of Sheriff’s department escorts. As a special treat for using this service, the arrival concludes with a lap around track. Fans can park and ride from one of the following locations: Wilkes-Barre, Montage Mountain, Downtown Scranton, Delaware Water Gap, Mount Pocono, Tannersville, Milford, Greentown/Hawley, Hazleton and White Haven. Seats are available at $29.99 per rider locally, and $69.99 from New York City.

Tickets for all Pocono Raceway events can be purchased online at www.poconoraceway.com or by calling 1-800-RACEWAY.