LONG POND, Pa. -- In 46 previous trips to Pocono Raceway in NASCAR's premier series since 1982, Mark Martin has 32 top-10s, 19 top-fives and six runner-up finishes. But he's never found the key to open the gates to Victory Lane. And for Martin to finally overcome whatever jinx the clothes hanger-shaped oval has on him, he'll need to have a perfect race in Sunday's Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500.

"Track position plays a huge role, of course," Martin said. "Then you add in fuel mileage, pit stops, the timing of cautions. So many elements have to go right to win a race. I just haven't been able to put the whole package together there."

That's where crew chief Alan Gustafson comes in. Pit strategy at Pocono is a unique animal, compared to almost any other oval on the circuit.

"The lap times at Pocono are so long that you can look at strategy a little different than anywhere else," Gustafson said. "You race Pocono like a road course, that's a common saying, pit strategy-wise. The thing that makes it that way is that the lap times are so long. Pitting under green isn't that big of an issue because you don't get lapped."

So like Sonoma or Watkins Glen, Gustafson said pitting under green may wind up being a significant advantage.

"You can pit early or off sequence, have a clean track that makes you run faster and when the sequence cycles around, you've actually made up time," Gustafson said. "I actually think Pocono is a little easier on track strategy than other tracks, because the negative side isn't as bad. If you make a bad call or take a gamble, either way, if you stay on the lead lap, the repercussions aren't a big deal. You have more cushion."

In addition, an average Pocono race traditionally includes long green-flag runs. And many times, a fuel-mileage finish. Consider this race last year, when Tony Stewart pulled off what might have been considered an upset victory by outlasting Carl Edwards.

"Pit strategy can have a big impact on the race at Pocono," Gustafson said. "It's a little easier to find a sweet spot or an advantage in pit strategy there. With that in mind, this is also a big fuel-mileage track. You can short pit and gain time on the track if your fuel mileage is good enough. Fuel mileage will always play into the pit strategy."

Martin admitted fuel mileage is something that's almost completely out of the driver's hands.

"The best way to get great fuel mileage is in the garage," Martin said. "The driver can maybe make a half a lap difference, or a lap difference if he has such a great race car that he can slow down. If you don't have a great race car, you can't slow down and therefore you can only make a very minor difference in fuel mileage.

"... The bottom line is that if you have a rocket ship of a race car, then you are going to be in a position to back off and not use as much fuel. And if you don't have a good car, then you are going to be painted into a box and that box is pretty much whatever mileage your engine package and tune-up package will give you, and that is all you can do."

And because Pocono's two races come only eight weeks apart, Gustafson said putting together the right set-up package is a matter of making educated guesses.

"We don't race at Pocono for so long," Gustafson said. "The two races are so close together that it's almost like we race there once. We come to Pocono, and it's been almost a year, and so much changes in a year. There's no other track that we can use as a reference for Pocono. You are kind of going off of instinct instead of past experience.

"So much has evolved since the last time we raced there, you have to just put all that together and take your best guess at what works. There's no good reference point."

Which, according to Gustafson, makes Saturday's final tune-up that much more critical.

"All of that makes practice very important and practice at Pocono is really difficult," Gustafson said. "The lap times are so long, and getting in and out of the garage is lengthy there, too. Getting up to speed takes a long time. Very few teams make long runs there, if you make a 15-lap run, you're looking at 20 minutes with getting in and out of the garage. So that's a huge time out of your practice session."