Following management changes at the facility, and after comprehensive safety improvements were completed at the track, the race was scheduled for Independence Day weekend.

[3] Despite financial issues, traffic woes, and seemingly constant weather problems, the "Indianapolis of the East" established itself as a popular race on the National Championship Trail, attracting crowds in excess of 100,000 spectators during most of the 1970s.

USAC opened up the entry list to Silver Crown cars in order to fill out the grid, and it was run as a two-class race.

[9][10] Once, after Scott Pruett punctured seven tires during practice, car owner Steve Horne walked the track and returned with a handful of nails and other junk he had retrieved.

During both 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, heavy crashes on the Long Pond Straight sent circuit management to call for significant safety improvements to the track.

SAFER barriers were added to inside walls, catch fencing was installed around the entire perimeter, paved runoff areas were built around the majority of the infield.

Drivers Sage Karam and Robert Wickens tweeted that the track was too dangerous for Indy cars, citing major crashes in 2018 and 2019.

In their press conference after the 2019 race, Scott Dixon, Will Power, and Simon Pagenaud defended the track's safety and expressed desire that IndyCar would return.

[17] local hero Mark Donohue, from the Philly suburb of Marcus Hook, won the pole position with a four-lap average speed of 172.393 mph.

[17][18] Raceday itself was marred by a massive traffic jam on the three mile stretch of single lane of PA-115 between the track and the I-80 Blakeslee exit, as it was the sole entry for fans arriving from both the Delaware Valley and NYC metro areas.

A mandatory four pit stop rule came into play, shuffling the field at times, but Donohue stayed within reach of the lead most of the afternoon.

It was also the last time a front engine roadster qualified for a Champ Car race, with Jim Hurtubise's #57 Miller High Life Special making the field.

[49][50] In response to the tragic 1973 Indianapolis 500 in May, emergency rule changes were put into place before the cars arrived at Pocono on June 18, to prepare for the then-named 1973 Schaefer 500.

An energy-absorbing material was to be placed in the spot formerly occupied by the right-side tank, and total fuel allotment for the 500 miles was reduced from 375 to 340 gallons.

[52] In the days leading up to the race, torrential rains pelted the area, flooding the grounds, and turned the infield into a sea of mud.

McCluskey made his final pit stop on lap 173, and the crew short-filled his tank, calculating what they thought was just enough fuel to make it to the finish.

[55][56][57][58][59] Johnny Rutherford, who won the Indianapolis 500 one month earlier, was victorious at Pocono, becoming the first driver to win two of the Indy car Triple Crown races in one season.

The leaders made their final pit stops around lap 181, with Unser not having any fuel remaining in his pitside tank except what was left in the hose.

[60][61][62] Defending race winner A. J. Foyt struggled during time trials, he first burned a piston, then broke a universal joint, before qualifying 29th.

Johnny Rutherford battled mechanical problems all day, and Bobby Unser dropped out at the halfway mark with a broken drive shaft.

Al Unser dropped out early with a manifold failure, and a broken oil pump put Jerry Grant nearly twenty laps down.

With storm clouds looming in the distance, Foyt cranked up his turbocharger boost sometime around the 130-lap mark, gambling that the rain would end the race early.

[72] Johnny Parsons drew the pole position, with Bill Vukovich II second, and Mario Andretti on the outside of the front row.

[74][75] After not qualifying at Indianapolis, Janet Guthrie started her first 500-mile Indy car race, placing 24th with a cracked transmission case after 89 laps.

[76] Three weeks after winning his record fourth Indianapolis 500, A. J. Foyt threatened to skip the Pocono 500 after getting into a dispute with USAC series sponsor Citicorp.

Foyt put secured the pole position (189.474 mph), bumping Johnny Rutherford from the top spot and prompted a chorus of boos from some fans in attendance.

The race shaped up as a duel between Indy 500 winner Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford, with Tom Sneva in close pursuit.

During practice, a controversy stirred, as several drivers, most outspokenly Pancho Carter, complained of bad bumps in the Tunnel Turn.

After noticeably struggling earlier in the year at Ontario and Indianapolis, Foyt turned the fastest single qualifying lap (185.874 mph), which led some to accuse him of cheating by over-boosting the engine or illegally using nitrous.

Tom Sneva, one of the few CART drivers who defied the boycott, won the pole and dominated the early stages but retired with a broken transmission.