Unique in its design, the three-turn, paved 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway will host the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend for the HighPoint.com 400 on Sunday, July 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90), the 21st event of the 26-race regular season.
Originally named Pocono International Raceway, the facility opened as a three-quarter-mile track in 1968. Located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway, as what it is known as today, is operated by the family-owned Mattco Inc., started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.
Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile track in 1971 and the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was on August 4, 1974. The first Cup Series Pocono event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty driving the family-owned Dodge (115.593 mph).
There have been 89 NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, one race from 1974 through 1981, and two races per year from 1982-2021. The 2012 season marked the first year the NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles.
Prior to 2012, all of the NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono were scheduled for 500 miles in length. The 2020-2021 seasons were the first time the NASCAR Cup Series held doubleheader weekends at Pocono Raceway with the races running at 325 miles and 350 miles in length.
This season will be the 90th-time the NASCAR Cup Series has visited Pocono Raceway. The prior 89 Cup races have produced 46 different pole winners and 40 different race winners.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott (1984, 1985 sweep, 1995 and 2002) and Ken Schrader (1989, 1992, 1993 sweep and 1995) lead the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Pocono Raceway with five each.
This weekend, 10 of the 46 Pocono Raceway Cup Series pole winners (21.7%) are active this weekend, led by Kyle Busch with four Pocono poles (Spring 2010, Fall 2015, 2017 sweep).
