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DOVER, Del. — The “Tricky Triangle” does things a bit differently.
Family owned Pocono Raceway has brought a unique spin to motorsports since its inception in 1971. Just look at the track itself – its three turns and bizarre shape has led to the phrase, “What Turn 4?” and brings fans out in droves to its twice-annual summer races.
With its upcoming race weekend starting Friday, things are about to get even more interesting.
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The track is kicking things off with “Free Can Friday,” in which fans can bring an empty can of Monster Energy to turn in and recycle for entry to Friday’s at-track activity.
“Literally, it’s as simple as go to a local store, buy a can of Monster, drink your can of Monster, bring your empty can of Monster to Pocono Raceway,” Pocono Raceway President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky told NASCAR.com on Sunday at Dover International Speedway. “When you come to our ticket booth, there will be some folks there collecting the cans, putting them in some recycling bins and handing you a ticket on the way in. It’s that simple. It seems too easy.”
It does seem too easy. But it works.
“It’s a great program and Monster has had success at other sports events when they’ve tried it,” Igdalsky continued, “so we saw it and said ‘hey, let’s give it a try at Pocono and see what happens.’ The response so far from both fans and industry has been great.”
The Long Pond, Pennsylvania, venue has a sterling reputation as being at the forefront of the sustainability movement that goes hand-in-hand with the sanctioning body’s own NASCAR Green initiative.
You’d better believe all aluminum is being recycled and eventually put to good use, with Igdalsky leading the charge and setting the gold green standard for the rest of the sporting world.
“We’re going to continue doing what we’ve been doing,” said Igdalsky. “All of our power is made on site at our solar farm. We’ve ramped up our recycling efforts the last couple of years and we’ve got more recycling bins this year. This year we’ve ramped up our composting.
“Our goal by the end of next season is to be 75 percent waste diversion and we’re well on our way to that, with the ultimate goal that in three-to-five years you won’t see a trash can at Pocono Raceway. Everything coming in will be compostable or recyclable of the stuff that we can control.”
And this isn’t some initiative that looks good on paper but isn’t really enacted. Igdalsky says the fans have come to “really embrace it,” and are filling up multiple recycling bags provided by the track per party throughout the course of the weekend, separating their recyclables from waste on their own.
On top of the sustainability the track is aiming toward, it’s also looking to spice things up in typical Pocono-quirky ways. The independence of the track, which Igdalsky mentioned allows he and his team to “think out of the box and do crazy little things,” will be on full display this weekend in a novel way — for fans watching from home.
Saturday’s Pocono Green 250 XFINITY Series race (coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX) will see a first-of-its-kind, all-driver broadcast, led by booth commentators and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competitors Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Igdalsky said. “When FOX came to us with the idea, I thought it was a great concept. … It’s going to be a complete disaster, knowing the drivers … but I think it’s going to be a disaster in a fun way. I think it’s going to be the kind of things that fans love to see. It’s going to come off the rails at some point, but in a really fun way.
“And they have the right crew of drivers that they brought on board to do this; the right personalities to butt heads and have fun and be a little silly. You’re going to see their personalities really coming out.”
Harvick, Logano and Bowyer will be joined by Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as pit road reporters, and Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin host the coverage from the Hollywood Hotel mobile studio.
And for the fans who come out to Pocono Raceway to catch the racing action live and in person?
“I still want all the fans to come out to the track, of course,” Igdalsky said. “DVR it and watch it on Monday, but come out to the track and then you can actually watch what happened with the drivers afterward.”