That's why more than a few fans and crew members - and maybe even a handful of drivers - held their breath as the 34-car field completed a blazing initial run down the 3,740-foot front straightaway and barreled into the first turn.
The worries proved unfounded, and pole-winner Brennan Poole went on to dominate a fairly clean race that featured three cautions, the worst a three-car pileup on Lap 22.
Piloting the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota powered by a Joe Gibbs Racing engine, Poole broke Kyle Busch's nine-year-old ARCA track qualifying mark on Friday with an average lap speed of 173.554 m.p.h. On Saturday, the 21-year-old Texan padded his points lead with his second consecutive victory, leading 77 of 80 laps at an average speed of 127.434 m.p.h., and crossing the finish line 5.164 seconds ahead of runner-up Chad Hackenbracht.
"The car was great all weekend and the guys gave me awesome pit stops," Poole said. "The track was really awesome and had a ton of grip."
Tom Hessert III, a 26-year-old Cherry Hill native, had climbed to second in the standings with three straight top-five finishes heading into his ninth Pocono start. But an 11th-place finish in the No. 52 Ken Schrader Racing Chevy dropped Hessert to fourth in the standings.
The 20-race ARCA schedule continues Friday at Michigan International Speedway, with a stop at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville on July 1, and a return to Pocono on Aug. 4.
