Pocono International Raceway (Long Pond)

Informal talk about this raceway began in the mid-1950s, and Racing Incorporated formed in 1957 to plan it. By 1965 the plans for the 1,025-acre site were firm and public, with hopes of racing that fall, but construction problems and bad weather pushed that back, along with the eleven drag races planned for 1965. The strip was to be 3,740 feet long and sixty feet wide, lit for night racing, with a return road alongside. Drag racing finally became possible in 1969, on the main straight of the 2.5-mile tri-oval, and nine events were scheduled. The 3/4-mile oval and 1.8-mile road course were finished that year too. Research found drag races in 1969 only, or at least reports of scheduled ones. At the season’s second race on May 25, Nick Nash in a C/SR beat Ed Hildebrandt to win the UDRA pro gasser meet. Hot Rod listed Pocono as an NHRA strip in June 1969.

An IHRA Winston All American Spring Nationals set for May 18-20, 1979, was rained out Friday and Saturday, and a try at running all three days on Sunday was washed out too. According to one account, it was rescheduled and rained out again, and it never ran. The Street Drag Nationals ran on the main straight along with the 1984 Van Scoy 500. The Camel Cycle Jam held quarter-mile drags for street-legal bikes on the main straight on June 23, 1984, and truck drags ran with the Dana Bobtail 500 for modified trucks on September 1, 1984. In 1985 eighth-mile motorcycle drags were held in the parkside area, and the Drag Bike Pocono Cycle Jam, held June 21-23, became a yearly event for at least four years.