Pocono Raceway Can Be an Intimidating Track for a NASCAR Driver & Here’s Why

When a driver who finished as the runner-up in an Xfinity Series season transitions up to the Cup Series, great things are expected of him. Great things were expected of Cole Custer, too. But the 27-year-old has largely been a disappointment behind the wheel of the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It was only in Mexico City last Sunday that he secured his first top-10 finish of the year.

His next challenge will be at the Pocono Raceway, and he has spoken to the press about his outlook on the intimidating race track. Rather than a traditional four-turn oval, Pocono features just three turns — each modeled after a different iconic racetrack.

Custer addressed the challenge of navigating this track: “You have to have everything working. You have to have a good strategy, good pit stops, and a great car that can work in all three corners.

“The driver has to be on their game because it’s a tough place to get around with how fast it is and how flat it is, so you just have to really be 100 percent in every single area.”

Fortunately, Custer might have a slight edge on Sunday. He has already raced at Pocono and feels like he can perform quite well on it. He remembered the first time he took it on as a youngster and mentioned how scared he had been at the speed that the surface facilitated. No driver can really leave Pocono feeling like they did a perfect job. Custer hasn’t either.

“I’ve won a couple Xfinity races there and an ARCA race, but I feel like it’s always a place that challenges you that you can always do better. You don’t ever feel like you leave that place and did an absolutely perfect job because it’s so hard to really hit perfect laps around that place every single time,” he said.

Custer has made multiple Cup starts at Pocono over the years. His best finish there is 16th place, which he secured back in 2020. After all these years, he admits that he is now quite comfortable with taking on the track. He stressed that he needs to be aggressive going into Turn 2 and hopes to use the practice sessions in the days leading up to the race to ready himself.