Pocono Raceway, the unique triangular 2.5-mile track in eastern Pennsylvania, recently completed its first repaving since 1995. NASCAR Camping World Truck driver Matt Crafton, part of a group of seven NASCAR racers who participated in a Goodyear tire test at the track last week, pronounced the new surface interesting, fun and fast.
“They outdid themselves on the pavement. It's definitely one groove right now, but I'm sure, as you get more race cars on the track, they'll be running side by side, and it'll be interesting to see,” said Crafton, who says the track's unique configuration is especially appealing to him
“Everybody always talks about the tunnel turn, and you have no idea how tight that tunnel is. TV doesn't do it justice at all,” said Crafton. “I took my crew chief (Carl Joiner Jr.) around it in my truck, and I said, ‘Yeah, I think we'll be wide open through here.' He goes, ‘You're an idiot. There's no way.' I said, ‘I guarantee it.'”
By his third lap of testing, Crafton said he was up to 90 percent throttle.
“I love coming to the place," he added about Pocono. "It's like they always say – it's like a road course but kind of going in a circle – but it's a blast.”