The year was 1974, a time in which the Vietnam War was coming to its final stages and the Energy Crisis was felt heavily across the country as well in NASCAR.

Race distances were cut by 10%, which meant the inaugural race at the Pocono Raceway was a 480-miler - which to some fans, would be a slight respite in today's world in terms of the length and time.

Still, this unique 2.5-mile superspeedway is a historical stop on the Sprint Cup circuit, partly because of its vast configuration and the competitive nature of this track.

Known as "The Tricky Triangle," Pocono has three distinct corners which mirror some of the finest racing venues around the world.

Turn one is modeled after Trenton Speedway, whereas the infamous "Tunnel Turn" aka turn two is similar to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Some similarities to The Milwaukee Mile are prevalent with turn three, which is one of the circuit's longest and most sweeping corners in the Cup series.

Pocono's hosted 66 Cup races, in which 60 of them have produced winners who have started 20th or better. To say the least, qualifying towards the front is an absolute must in order to contend for the win, especially with this Sunday's 5-hour Energy 500 (Live on TNT at 1 PM ET and NASCAR.com via Race Buddy).

While Pocono is a very long and atypical speedway, it is still a very fast track which doesn't take any prisoners.

Just ask racers like Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon or Elliott Sadler about their harrowing crashes at this track in 1996, '06, and '10 respectively. They'd probably tell you it was one of their most painful wrecks in their racing careers.

This track doesn't discriminate manufacturers so it tends to be a wide-open racing affair, which is one lasting appeal with this speedway.

With that in mind, you're probably wondering which top racers you should pick for Sunday's race?

You've come to the right place. Now click the right arrow button and read on with this week's edition of "Going Green!"