LONG POND — Few tracks embody the spirit of their title sponsorship like Pocono Raceway.

In May, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Administration broke new ground in the motorsports industry, serving as the race entitlement sponsor for the annual NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway this past weekend. The event was called The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA “to provide national and international exposure to the state and its new tourism brand through NASCAR’s wide audience and global broadcast platforms.”

Tourism is a key priority within the Governor’s economic development strategy, with Pennsylvania identified as a premier weekend getaway destination within close driving proximity to major hubs along the East Coast, including New York City, Baltimore, and Washington DC.

But a weekend at Pocono is more than just a getaway for fans.

“It’s a great race track and it’s a lot of fun, but the area, like you said, it’s nice,” said Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell. “I’ve always enjoyed coming here, and camping with the family here and normally we’ll try to do something (together).

“A couple years ago we went fishing in some streams here, yesterday we did the downhill roller coaster on the ski slope so there’s always something fun to do here, which is always nice. It’s usually 10 or 15 degrees cooler than it is back home. It’s a great area and we enjoy coming up here.”

The race weekend at Pocono featured all three of NASCAR’s national series, with the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) serving as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race for a third consecutive year Saturday and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series CRC Brakleen 175 on Friday.

“The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau continues to use the national reach of NASCAR to share the area’s vast attractions, events, activities, lodging and restaurants that are available to visitors throughout the four seasons,” said a release. “The Pocono Mountains footprint is spread across 2,400 square miles in northeast Pennsylvania’s Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties. The area is famous for its resorts, natural scenic beauty, 150-plus lakes including Lake Wallenpaupack, and quaint, historic towns with plenty to offer. It also has more than 350 hiking and bike trails, three dozen golf courses, boating, fishing, whitewater rafting, two national parks, nine state parks and several water park resorts.”

It’s no surprise then that Pocono Raceway earned the title of “Best NASCAR Track” in the recently released 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards by USA TODAY in May.

The unique 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” was nominated by an expert panel at USA TODAY in the “Best NASCAR Track” category and the fans voted over a four-week period throughout April to determine the winner.

“I enjoy the area, the weather has always seemed to be nice, at least when it’s dry,” Stewart-Haas Racing driver Josh Berry said with a smile. “But this is a really fun racetrack. It’s so unique in its shape, obviously, having three distinct different corners. It’s been a fun challenge. I think it’s just something so unique that it makes it a lot of fun coming here.”

Drivers and fans alike don’t have a hard time finding plenty to do during the weekend.

“I would say one of my favorite things, there’s this little go-kart track about 30 minutes from here, S&S (Speedways, in Stroudsburg) that all the guys are going to today and we’re all going to wreck the crap out of each other,” laughed Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe. “I love doing that. There’s a little lake about 10 minutes down the road I always go fishing at, too. So it’s always fun to come up here. And even HighPoint.com, our sponsor this weekend, they live about an hour-and-a-half away, so I always make a trip over to their house, and we went fishing all day there yesterday as well.

“I always enjoy coming up here, just to kind of get in the outdoors. I feel like that’s kind of what this area is all about.”

Pocono Raceway, which has hosted NASCAR events since 1974, enjoyed a highly successful race weekend last season that earned the track the “2023 Event of the Year” by the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. “The Tricky Triangle” sold out its main frontstretch grandstand and all premium seating and suites at the NASCAR Cup Series race for its largest race-day crowd since 2010. The raceway also sold out all of its infield camping inventory.

And that trend continued this season.

In addition to the grandstand seating, all premium seating, suites, infield camping and GEICO camping sold out for The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA. This marks the second consecutive year that Pocono Raceway has sold out its annual NASCAR Cup Series race.

This also marked the third consecutive year that the infield camping inventory has been sold out.

“It’s full of passionate fans that love racing here at Pocono,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell. “It’s turned into a can’t-miss event.”