Drivers need to tunnel their vision to master Pocono

Oh that Pocono. Those sharp turns. A long straightaway. An even longer straightaway. Then there's that tunnel. Oh that Pocono.

Those are the challenges that await the grid for Sunday's running of the Pocono 500, the first of six consecutive races broadcast by TNT as part of its Summer Series schedule. NASCAR on TNT begins its coverage at 12:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR on TNT Live!, followed by TNT Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Look of an oval, distinctions favorable of a road course. Pocono has a layout like no other on the circuit. (Check out NASCAR.COM's new track page for Pocono Raceway)

"Pocono has a lot of its own characteristics, to say the least," Kevin Harvick said. "It's a 2.5-mile tri-oval racetrack that has three pretty tricky turns. Turn 1 is really bumpy, the Tunnel Turn [2] has a pretty big curb and it is pretty easy to make a mistake there and Turn 3 is one of the flattest turns we deal with on the NASCAR circuit."

It's how well each drivers deal with the turns collectively that dictates their performance that day.

"It seems like you can always get your car good in two of the three corners, but the guys who are contending for the win are the guys who can get their car good for all three corners," said Tony Stewart, winner of the 2003 Pocono 500. "That's a very hard thing to do -- get your car good through all three sections of the racetrack."

Of the three turns, the Tunnel Turn is usually the one most drivers concentrate on the most.

"For me, the trickiest part of Pocono is the Tunnel Turn. You have to carry so much speed into that turn that there is not much room for error," Harvick said. "The Tunnel Turn is so much harder to get through now then it use to be. A couple of years ago there was a flat curb there and you could lean on it a little bit if you needed to.

"Now, there is a big curb there and if you hit it you're going to damage the skirting on the left-front. You will probably be forced up the racetrack as well and the chances of hitting the wall are pretty high."

It's also a combination of turns that is a concern. (Continued)