Ken Schrader: Pocono 500 preview

The thoughts of Schwan's Home Service Dodge driver Ken Schrader heading into Pocono:

"'Unique' is really an understatement when talking about Pocono. It's the only triangle we go to. You've got only three turns but each of the turns are different from the others. You've got a super long frontstretch in which you get up around 200 mph. Forget 'superspeedway that drives like a road-course' - how about 'triangle you can't drive upside down?' We found that out the hard way last year.

"Pocono has provided some exciting moments during our career. We've won a handful of poles and had some great runs there. Last year during this race our brakes went out going down the front straightaway and you don't really know your brakes have gone away until you get down into Turn One and, by then, you're going close to 200 mph. Needless to say, that one wasn't pretty.

"Just something else bizarre at a track where bizarre seems to be the norm. This is a place where we've had animals, even fans run across the track. So, anything that happens mechanically with the car is really not that surprising.

"Pocono is a nice stop on the Nextel Cup series. It's one of the nicest, most preserved areas the series stops at... great for motorcycle riding. No, it's not one of the nation's top-20 markets and it's not one of the best television ratings we'll have. It's not a 180,000 seat, state-of-the-art facility, but it's a pretty neat, challenging race track in a nice area of the country... it's a fun place to race.

"We've enjoyed some success at Pocono in the past and we're looking to grab some more of that success back this weekend. We're improving our consistency and hoping to continue that improvement at Pocono. The Schwan's Home Service team is looking to turn the corner and start bringing home the consistency we need to take it to the next level."