Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA 2026

The history of Pocono Raceway begins in the mid-1960s, when the Mattioli family searched through more than 30 properties in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania to find the ideal location for a new race track. On July 8, 1965, the official groundbreaking took place, initially under the name Pocono Mountains International Raceway. The first construction phase was completed in October 1968, allowing the facility in Blakeslee to begin regular operations the following year.

To this day, the track is owned by the Mattioli family, who built Pocono Raceway together with the Igdalsky family and continued to develop it over the decades. Since its opening, various series have called it home, from the NASCAR Cup Series to the IndyCar Series to the IMSA GT Championship, earning the facility a reputation over the years as a true motorsports institution in the northeastern United States.

Characteristic of the 4.023-kilometer-long tri-oval are its just three turns, each with a different radius and banking angle. This unique feature earned the track its nickname the Tricky Triangle, because no section is like the other, and drivers must constantly adjust their setup. For crew chiefs, this means a complex equation of fuel consumption, tire management, and precise pit stop execution, as every strategic mistake on this track layout is punished mercilessly.

In the NASCAR Cup Series victory history, Denny Hamlin stands out in particular, holding the all-time record for races at Pocono that went the full distance or even into overtime. The year 2020 also garnered attention when Hamlin and Kevin Harvick swapped their finishing positions from the first race to the second race during a double-header weekend. Most recently, Chase Briscoe prevailed on the Tricky Triangle in 2025 and joined the long list of notable winners of this historic track.