Fuel mileage and other strategy plays often dictate the finishing order of the races here at Pocono Raceway, and because of that, it’s not uncommon to see drivers that start in the bottom half of the field end up finishing inside the top 10 when the checkered flag waves. Pocono is a huge, flat, 2.5-mile track that requires a strong engine package as well as a driver that is as comfortable as possible through the three completely different turns. Going for place differential fantasy points in the FOX Fantasy Auto game is how you score max points, but don’t be afraid to look at drivers solely for finish fantasy points here, either.
My team points last week (Dover): 143
Overall team standings: 99th percentile (it’s not showing a ranking)
Total team points for the season: 2,358
Top FOX Fantasy Auto Drivers for the 2017 Dover Race
Jimmie Johnson ($12,200) – Jimmie Johnson has been one of the best place differential pick this season, and because of that he has scored the 2nd-most points in FOX Fantasy Auto this season, right behind Kyle Larson. A salary of $12,200 is a big chunk to put down on one driver in this Fantasy NASCAR game, but there’s plenty of good sub-$10,000 options this week so it’s not that big of deal. Johnson qualified 19th for Sunday’s Pocono 400 but should be good for at least a top 10 finish before it’s all said and done. He’s a three-time winner at this race track and has finished inside the top 5 in over a third of his 30 career starts here. Over the last eight races here at Pocono, Johnson has finished 6th or better in four of them, and he ranked 8th on the practice speed chart here on Saturday.
Denny Hamlin ($9,600) – Denny Hamlin had one of his worst qualifying efforts of the season this weekend, and when you combine that with the fact that he is very well-priced in this FOX Fantasy Auto game, it makes him a great pick. Denny is a four-time winner here at Pocono Raceway and is usually in the running for a top 10 finish before it’s all said and done, as he has ended up inside that mark in 14 of his 22 career starts here (63.6%). What you really have to like about Hamlin this weekend, though, is how well the #11 team has been performing as of late; with his 8th-place finish at Dover last weekend, Denny now has five finishes of 11th or better in the last six Cup Series events. The #11 Toyota wasn’t blazing fast during the practice session on Saturday but don’t forget that that was the only ‘real’ practice of the weekend and that track conditions are going to be a lot hotter here on Sunday than they were on Saturday.
Chase Elliott ($9,400) – For the first time in over a month, Chase Elliott came home with a solid finish (5th) at Dover last weekend, and even though he qualified back in 25th for this weekend’s Pocono 400, he should have a good shot at coming home with another good result here at “The Tricky Triangle” on Sunday. Don’t forget that Chase Elliott led the most laps in this event one year ago and ended up finishing 4th. He was also running inside the top 10 in the August race here last season before getting caught up in a wreck. The #24 Chevrolet ranked 4th-fastest in Saturday’s practice session this weekend, which bodes well for Chase Elliott during the race on Sunday.
Kurt Busch ($8,400) – This is a very cheap price for a driver that could possibly win the race on Sunday. Kurt Busch is the defending winner of this event here at Pocono and has finished inside the top 5 every June race here since making the switch to Stewart-Haas Racing. He qualified 5th for this weekend’s race, so while the place differential potential is minimal, there’s still a good chance that Kurt could end up with 38+ fantasy points in this FOX Fantasy Auto game. Despite losing out on 15 minutes of practice for failing pre-qualifying inspection, Kurt ranked 6th-fastest in Saturday’s session and had the 2nd-best ten-lap average. This #41 team is very happy with their race car, and that’s not something you hear to often at a track like Pocono.
Other viable options: Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ty Dillon, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer
Stay away from…
EDIT: The #78 team decided to change the engine on Martin Truex, Jr.’s car overnight. He will start from the rear of the field but will be scored from 2nd in FOX Fantasy Auto. I would recommend staying away from him as well.
Jamie McMurray ($10,000) – Jamie Mac qualified 8th for this Sunday’s Pocono 400, and while that is yet another solid effort out of this #1 team, it severely limits the amount of fantasy points he gets in the FOX Fantasy Auto game. And now that McMurray has crossed into the $10,000 salary range in this game, that brings down his viability even more. The #1 Chevolet didn’t look great in Saturday’s practice session here at “The Tricky Triangle,” and while I don’t doubt that McMurray will be able to pull off a top 10 finish here on Sunday, it’s more likely that he winds up between 11th and 15th. There’s better ways to spend your salary cap money in this FOX Fantasy Auto game.
Kyle Busch ($10,300) – The pole sitter at any track get an easy “stay away from” designation with this FOX Fantasy Auto game, and that’s just because they have no way of gaining any place differential fantasy points at all. So even if Kyle Busch goes out and dominates this race here on Sunday, the maximum amount of fantasy points he can get in FOX is 45–an amount that someone like Chase Elliott would surpass with a 10th-place finish. And while, yes, it’s not a terrible idea to go after finish points as well this weekend, it doesn’t look like the #18 Toyota is good enough to dominate this race. Rowdy should still be good for a top 5 finish on Sunday, but that kind of result in this game isn’t good enough to warrant tying up $10,300 in cap space.
