Martin Truex Jr. is one of the few drivers with multiple wins at the Pocono Raceway. The three-turn Oval is one of the toughest tracks to navigate but the veteran knows what it takes to master it. He has won two races at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ (2015, 2018), finished seven times in the top five and 15 times in the top-10. The Joe Gibbs Racing star has also led 257 laps in 34 Cup Series starts and boasts an average finish of 14.1 at the venue.
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But that doesn’t give him any outright advantage over the competition. There are a lot of factors that need to fall into place for one to be successful at Pocono. Firstly, the car has to be set up in the most optimum way. The track’s three turns all have different banking angles, making it quite tricky for the drivers to race through them at high speeds.
On this day in 2015, Martin Truex Jr won at Pocono! pic.twitter.com/dxn8CGLuFw
— Nascarpixtures (@Nascarpixtures) June 7, 2024
“You’ve got to make your car work in all three corners and each one is so different, it’s a challenge. The setup has to be spot on because all three corners are unique. It’s really hard to make your car work around there,” Truex told Speedway Digest.
Another aspect that has to be spot on is the track position. Passing in the Next-Gen car on a track like this will be a menace. The JGR star believes that staying high up the pack will be crucial for any driver who wants to taste victory on Sunday.
Martin Truex Jr. explains how Pocono can be a ‘tough day’
That means qualifying is going to be key. Last season, Truex qualified for P2 and finished P3 in the event. The year before, he qualified P8 and finished P7. The two times he won the event, the JGR star had qualified inside the top five. He will be hoping to do the same this time around in his final full-time Cup Series season.
“Track position is key, so you have to qualify well and you have to have a fast car, but you have to have the right strategy, too, because if you get off strategy and lose track position, it’s going to be a tough day,” he said.
It will be interesting to see how the 2017 Cup Series champion runs at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ this weekend. He is yet to register a win so far this season. Pocono would be a good place to prove his doubters wrong.
