What makes Pocono Raceway, a track nestled in the mountains, NASCAR’s best? Everyone seems to have a similar answer.

LONG POND, Pa. — Almost 20 years ago, when NASCAR driver Michael McDowell was coming through the racing ranks as a young driver, he first encountered Pocono Raceway as part of the ARCA Series.

The race, which he won by passing Jeremy Clements with about a half-mile left in the 2½-mile track, helped grow McDowell’s recognition as a young driver and made him an early fan favorite when, a year later in 2008, he returned to the track as part of NASCAR’s Cup eries.

“For whatever reason — as the new guy, no one really knows who you are — but here I had sort of like a following, and I had fans, and it was my first experience having real fans, because I remember walking out for qualifying, you walk that fence line as you’re going out to the grid, and I must have stopped for like 15 or 20 minutes signing autographs,” McDowell told The Inquirer in his car hauler at Pocono on Saturday. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool.’

» READ MORE: Not your grandpa’s NASCAR: How Michael Jordan, Carson Hocevar, Rajah Caruth, and more are changing the sport

“Most of the time people don’t know who you are that first year, especially because I was really a newcomer, and [one] that nobody saw — I didn’t run the [formerly named] Xfinity series or truck series. I’ve always had a really solid fan base here, which is really interesting, because other than that ARCA win, I don’t know what would have caused that. … Pocono is one of one of the best ones for me, as far as fan interaction.”

Every year since 1974, NASCAR has descended on the “Tricky Triangle” tucked away in the Pocono Mountains, and though it’s no longer a biannual racetrack, fans still come in droves.

Denny Hamlin, who won the poll for the Great American Gateway 400 race during qualifying on Saturday, won his third consecutive race and eighth overall at Pocono, extending his record at the track during Sunday’s Cup Series race.

For the fourth straight year, Pocono Raceway was sold out, with a record-setting 115,000 people coming through the racetrack across the three-day weekend, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday. Drivers, fans, and the sport’s leadership executives laud the “family atmosphere” of the track and its grounds, which features over 1,000 acres of land. It’s part of the reason why Pocono has been voted No. 1 by NASCAR fans for three years running, according to USA Today.

“We want everybody to feel like family, want everybody to feel welcome. We want nobody to go hungry. We want everybody to have a good time,” Pocono CEO Nick Igdalsky told The Inquirer recently said. “We know people are spending hard-earned money to come here. This may be their only vacation or trip of the year.”

Pete Lanzilotta, a man affectionately known around the racetrack as “Pocono Pete,” has made the trip to Long Pond annually since 1999. For the last 25 years, excluding the fan-less 2020 Pocono races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pocono Pete and his group of friends have camped out on the track’s infield.

Each of them has a specific role they play during the trip — from entertainment to food to a communication director — and they’ve returned the same camping spot, located between turns 2 and 3 on track.

“It’s a party,” Pocono Pete said. “It’s the cars, it’s the racing. These are true NASCAR fans. People that do [camping like] this are dedicated … you ask somebody [on the] infield about one of the cars, and this or that, they’re going to know everything, especially about their favorite drivers, favorite teams.

“Nobody leaves here Sunday because they’re drinking. Everybody leaves Monday. That’s always been a rule.”

» READ MORE: Kyle Larson and the Urban Youth Racing School are teaching Philly students STEM

Pocono Pete, in the early 2000s, would make the trip from Long Island. He now lives in North Carolina, and flew up this weekend to meet his friend, Scott. The pair have traveled to other racetracks, like Martinsville Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Dover Motor Speedway, and others — but at Pocono, “it’s very rare to see everybody doesn’t get along.”

“As much as we don’t know these people all year long, you become part of their family for that weekend, one big family for the weekend. They share food around here,” said Mike, the group of friends’ entertainment director who did not wish to share his last name.

Added Pocono Pete: “We’ve always had so much fun here. We look forward to it every year. Every year gets bigger and better, and we all believe that [Pocono Raceway president] Ben May and the whole team are doing a great job.”

Part of Pocono’s charm may be rooted in its motto, which Igdalsky says they treat like a mission statement. It includes words like “exciting experiences,” “lifelong memories,” and, perhaps most notably, “beautiful and sustainable.” And it’s for the whole family.

Since fans were welcomed back post-pandemic, the racetrack has expanded to add 1,000 camping spots, which puts the total to about 3,400. It’s also added grandstands on the infield, and amenities like a dog park and a playground for kids.

» READ MORE: How NASCAR driver Natalie Decker is balancing motherhood and racing after NICU scare

All of that comes with access to NASCAR drivers that “you wouldn’t be able to do at other places.”

“[We] highly encourage families to try Pocono for the first time with the kids free program — two adults can bring 6 to 8 kids for under 100 bucks,” said Igdalsky. “You’re not going to find that in any professional sports venue in the country. … [You have] the experiences you have at Pocono with the kids’ zones, with the autograph sessions, with getting able to get on track and sign the track and walk the track."

And although it’s about 100 miles away from the city, you might just get an authentic Philly fan experience.

NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell has some personal experience there. Early in his career, when he worked in marketing for the sport in the late 1990s, he handed out hats to the winning driver in victory lane.

O’Donnell, a New Jersey native, remembers one year in particular where fans at Pocono Raceway took exception to Jeff Gordon winning yet another race at the track. Gordon won at least one of the two yearly races from 1996-98.

“I remember there was maybe two or three floors above you. A couple die-hard fans, who maybe weren’t Jeff Gordon fans at the time, poured beer down on Jeff, wanting to see a new winner. But it just shows the passion of the fans. They were into it,” O’Donnell recalled. “It was probably the hardest victory lane I ever worked, just because it was packed, just the passion of the fans. Everyone wanted to be in there and be near the car, so I just love the track … It’s one big family atmosphere at the racetrack with people just having a ton of fun with a lot of different things you can do.”

For drivers like McDowell, who has five kids with his wife, Jami, the racetrack’s amenities, the nearby water parks and the lodging location relative to the racetrack creates a “fun experience” for his family.

“Early on in my career, I drove the motorhome to a lot of the races with my wife and I, and our son at the time, and we kind of went from track to track, and this was always a great place to come up to, and we’d make a trip out of it, and go sightseeing or hiking or fishing, and kind of make the trek around this area,” said McDowell, who finished 19th on Sunday. “ … [We have] lot of great memories here and it’s just a super nice area, lots to do, whether it’s water parks or just getting out of the south heat is always nice.”