Three's a crowd at Pocono with unique, hard turns

LONG POND, Pa. -- Three is a magic number, especially when it comes to Pocono Raceway. Three straightaways, three turns, all unique and challenging.

But it's the third turn, the one leading onto Pocono's front straight -- which is nearly three-quarters of a mile long -- that could be the key to winning Sunday's Pocono 500.

Jimmie Johnson said getting a car to handle in Turn 3 is critical to carrying maximum speed to the start/finish line.

"I think Turn 3 is probably the most important corner," Johnson said. "To get that corner right, you have to sacrifice some things in the other turns. The corner leading to the longer straightaway is the biggest priority and Turn 3 is very flat, it's rough and tough to get through there.

"If your car will perform through there, I think that gives you an advantage."

For Kasey Kahne, Turn 3 can spell the difference between a good or bad day.

"[Turn 3] is the hardest corner for me and it leads down a long straightaway, so you need to get off of it pretty good," Kahne said. "If you don't, you get eaten up down the straightaway."

Elliott Sadler said you have to be willing to compromise on a setup at Pocono.

"You're not going to have a perfect racecar in all three corners," Sadler said. "Usually you're a little tight in Turn 1, good in the tunnel and a little free in Turn 3. It's just the kind of scenario this track gives you."

With the mandated gear ratios, Kevin Harvick misses the ability to shift that made Pocono interesting.

"You've got to get off Turn 3 to make time down the front straightaway," Harvick said. "And Turn 1 is really bumpy. So it has different challenges, but it's just not quite as challenging as it used to be."

Pocono can still be a challenge for drivers making their first visit. Just ask David Gilliland.

"I keep saying 1 and 2 [for Turn 1] and 3 and 4 [for Turn 2], you know what I mean?" Gilliland explained. "And [crew chief Todd Parrott] says 'Do you think this track has six corners?' Just little things like that you don't think of.

"You know, you race every week on tracks that have four corners and this one has three and it makes it kind of tough, the communication thing. But we're working on it."

Some drivers have likened Pocono to a road course with three left-hand turns, but rookie A.J. Allmendinger doesn't agree.

"This place is crazy," Allmendinger said. "I have no clue what I'm doing around here. It's bumpy, it's awkward.

"You know, they told me it's like a road course. It's a lie. It's not like a road course."

How important is the No. 3 at Pocono? In 2000, Jeremy Mayfield bumped his way past the leader in Turn 3 on the final lap to win. The car he passed was Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 Chevrolet.