The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season marches on with the Pocono 400 this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Nicknamed “The Tricky Triangle,” Pocono is probably the most unique race track on the circuit, as it’s a huge 2.5-mile venue with three distinct turns. Typically, the cars with the strongest engines are the ones that contend for the wins at this track, but with the new rules package, you could see that advantage go away a bit this weekend. One thing is for sure, though: track position is going to be huge, and teams will be willing to gamble with pit road strategy to get it.
There are quite a few statistics that go into the Power Index formula, including recent performance both overall and at Pocono specifically, similar track performance, projected strength of the car, practice speeds, starting position, and a few other variables.
Here’s a quick overview of the Power Index number: essentially, zero (0) is considered average; the more negative a number is in the Power Index, the stronger that driver is considered in the Fantasy NASCAR world. The opposite holds true as well: the more above zero a driver is, the worse he is considered for Fantasy NASCAR that week.
Pocono 400 Fantasy NASCAR Power Index Rankings
Rank | Driver | Power Index |
1. | Harvick, Kevin | -39.4 |
2. | Busch, Kyle | -37.0 |
3. | Keselowski, Brad | -32.3 |
4. | Elliott, Chase | -30.2 |
5. | Busch, Kurt | -28.1 |
6. | Truex, Jr., Martin | -23.3 |
7. | Jones, Erik | -23.2 |
8. | Byron, William | -23.0 |
9. | Logano, Joey | -20.7 |
10. | Blaney, Ryan | -19.5 |
11. | Hamlin, Denny | -19.3 |
12. | Bowman, Alex | -19.0 |
13. | Bowyer, Clint | -16.4 |
14. | Larson, Kyle | -13.2 |
15. | Newman, Ryan | -12.7 |
16. | Suarez, Daniel | -11.1 |
17. | Stenhouse, Jr., Ricky | -3.7 |
18. | Dillon, Austin | -3.0 |
19. | Johnson, Jimmie | 2.1 |
20. | Menard, Paul | 2.8 |
21. | Almirola, Aric | 8.7 |
22. | Hemric, Daniel | 8.8 |
23. | Buescher, Chris | 11.5 |
24. | Dillon, Ty | 14.4 |
25. | Preece, Ryan | 20.0 |
26. | Ragan, David | 24.7 |
27. | McDowell, Michael | 27.1 |
28. | LaJoie, Corey | 40.7 |
29. | Tifft, Matt | 41.7 |
30. | Wallace, Bubba | 43.4 |
31. | DiBenedetto, Matt | 44.5 |
32. | Chastain, Ross | 63.0 |
33. | Cassill, Landon | 67.1 |
34. | Currey, Bayley | 74.6 |
35. | Houff, Quin | 77.9 |
36. | Sorenson, Reed | 80.2 |
37. | Yeley, JJ | 88.6 |