“I really like going to Pennsylvania to race. There are a ton of race fans up there. The track is very unique since it only has three turns and they are all totally different. It’s a wide track and people block there a lot, so the restarts can be especially tricky going into Turn 1.”
Kasey Kahne on racing at Pocono
“Just corner exit. The straightaways are so long, a little mistake on corner exit lasts for such a long time, especially off (Turn) 3 and out of (Turn) 1. I think just really making sure you have some good forward drive in your car and you are able to maximize the straightaways. Just a little bit can go a long way because it carries you down the long straightaway.”
Chase Elliott on the keys to success at Pocono
“Pocono is such a unique place. We’re always stuck in an engineering kind of mindset of is it better to be faster on the straightaways or through the corners or how you set the car’s ride heights, the drag or downforce you might put in the car due to the ride heights. And I know from crew chief Chad Knaus’ standpoint, it’s a track he’s always enjoyed because he has options and you can set the car up differently. From a driver’s standpoint, it’s frustrating because a small loss of time through the center of the corner after you have almost a mile-long front straightaway, you can look at a stopwatch and be five, six, or seven-tenths off and think, 'Wow, we’re really out of it.' But, honestly, it was just a small little thing that happened in the center of Turn 3 that compounded down the front. So, it is a very challenging track. It’s unique unto itself. And there are some awesome roads to go cycling on, so I’ll have fun.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Pocono
“Pocono is a good track for us. I like both Pocono and Michigan, so we have some solid tracks coming up for the No. 88 gang. We were in the simulator this week working on Pocono. We’ve been working really, really hard the last three weeks. It’s been going great – the cars have gotten better in practice and we’re seeing some good improvements, so we’re going to keep grinding. We’re going in the right direction.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Pocono