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<p>LONG POND &#8211; Pocono Raceway has always been known as one of the more unique tracks in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.</p><p>Three different corners form the triangular 2.5 miles. The front stretch is like a front a drag strip. Shifting takes place several times per lap.</p><p>Now there&#8217;s a new trick to the Tricky Triangle &#8211; stage racing when the green flag waves at about 3:20 p.m.</p><p>Introduced at the start of the season, every race is divided into three stages. The Axalta presents the Pocono 400 on Sunday will have its 160 laps broken up in stages ending on the 50th, 100th and 160th laps.</p><p>It could also mean fuel mileage, something that has won and lost races throughout Pocono&#8217;s history, could be an even bigger factor.</p><p>&#8220;It will and I don&#8217;t know how much. I don&#8217;t know when,&#8221; said Ryan Newman, who will start 10th in the No. 31 Chevrolet owned by Richard Childress Racing. &#8220;Whether it will be the first stage, the second stage, the third stage or all three. I think the bigger the race track the more risk you are at not making it back to pit road.</p><p>&#8220;We have this stretch in the summer between the two Poconos, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Sonoma where we have big race tracks, a lot of distance where fuel mileage is talked about quite a bit. With the stages, that changes. It changes quite a bit.&#8221;</p><p>Pit strategy also changes.</p><p>&#8220;The pros and the cons of stages are you get those guaranteed restarts, guaranteed bunch-ups and therefore guaranteed yellows, which I don&#8217;t particularly care for,&#8221; Newman said. &#8220;But I do like stage racing and I do like how it mixes up the strategy.&#8221;</p><p>Weather could also play a factor. Although there is just a 10 percent chance of rain, the temperatures are expected to be in the mid-80s, about 10 degrees warmer than during Friday&#8217;s qualifying. Drivers get more grip on the track under cooler conditions.</p><p>&#8220;This place is really temperature sensitive because of the amount of grip you carry into the corner,&#8221; said Kyle Busch, who will start his No. 18 Toyota on the pole. &#8220;If there is shade in the corner and you can go through that corner and roll that corner faster you carry so much more speed down the straightaway.</p><p>&#8220;The more you can take the valleys out of your speed drops, the faster the lap time is going to be. So that&#8217;s where it&#8217;s at.&#8221;</p><p>The facility is so huge that it could be shady in one corner and sunny in the other. Past races have had rain falling in one section but not the others.</p><p>&#8220;Turn one might be really, really slow and turn three might not be,&#8221; Busch said. &#8220;It might be the same speed it&#8217;s been all weekend long. That changes the handling characteristics all the time, so you have to be mindful of that.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s something that maybe I haven&#8217;t quite figured out through an entire race here that we haven&#8217;t been in victory lane here.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Ryan Newman will start 10th in the No. 31 Chevrolet the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_NASCAR-Pocono-Newman.jpg</photo0><caption0>Ryan Newman will start 10th in the No. 31 Chevrolet the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Matt Slocum | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>ON TV</strong></p><p>Pocono 400</p><p>3 p.m. Sunday, FS1</p><p><strong>Weather forecast:</strong> Highs in the mid-80s with a 10-percent chance of rain</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Stage racing adds wrinkle to Pocono Raceway