It was only a matter of time.
Pocono Raceway, the three-turn track in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, has a fox mascot named “Tricky.”
Saturday morning, during the first round of Xfinity Series qualifying at the “Tricky Triangle,” a very real fox was found hanging out on the fronstretch next to the inside wall.
The creature put a halt to qualifying festivities as track workers prepared to try and capture it. But before they could take action, the fox darted inside the SAFER barrier, thwarting a large group of workers who milled about trying to coax the fox out.
Eventually, workers covered the openings in the SAFER barrier with a net and bags of oil absorbent to keep the fox in place until later.
Winning hearts everywhere.
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 10, 2017
Our friend the fox is adorable. 😍#NASCARonFS1 @poconoraceway pic.twitter.com/mFxJyAuLNh
Tricky the Fox has a pretty solid hiding place, but ... we're with @poconoraceway. Tweet #FreeTrickyFox! pic.twitter.com/zpXP7SNhjQ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 10, 2017
Of course, as a result of all this the Pocono Raceway Twitter account had to have some fun with the fortuitous incident.
"Hey, I live here. This is my home. I'm Pocono Raceway's mascot and ya'll woke me up. #FreeTrickyFox" 🦊#TrickyTweets https://t.co/AJ0dh1ilbN
— Pocono Raceway (@PoconoRaceway) June 10, 2017
"Winning number will be 333. #FreeTrickyFox #WhatTurn4" 🦊#TrickyTweets https://t.co/YzOjWiftMc
— Pocono Raceway (@PoconoRaceway) June 10, 2017
"@bigdalsky told me to come up with a clever marketing/advertising strategy. And now... #FreeTrickyFox" 🦊#TrickyTweets https://t.co/SROPinLRiI
— Pocono Raceway (@PoconoRaceway) June 10, 2017