Last time we were at Pocono, we heard a lot about the bumps in turn two. Fortunately, those have been fixed so we can focus on some of the great racing that this track has to offer. With that being said, races here have a tendency to come down to fuel mileage, so it’s not uncommon for the best car to not be in victory lane at the end of the day. What that does, though, is open up the door for sleeper picks to pay major dividends for fantasy owners.
Fantasy Sleepers for Pocono 2
Tony Stewart – Unfortunately it’s come down to this. I’m really starting to think that Tony Stewart’s career in NASCAR is over, but that’s a whole another topic. “Smoke” now resides in the “sleeper” picks of fantasy racing because of how terrible he is. Seriously, when guys like Sam Hornish, Jr. have scored more points than you this season, you know you’re running terribly. And it makes no sense because the Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolets have plenty of speed. After last weekend, though, I’m starting to think it might be the crew chief. Chad Johnston made some bonehead calls atop the #14 pit box at Indianapolis and basically screwed Tony out of a good finish. Now, with that being said, they had to have a good car in order to be in the position to screw up, which is exactly why “Smoke” is one of my top sleeper picks this week. The #14 Chevrolet showed more speed at The Brickyard than we’ve seen all season long, so maybe this team is starting to turn a corner. It’s going to take a while but I’m still holding out a small sliver of hope for Stewart. Looking at Pocono, he has ended up 21st and 36th in the last two events at this track but before that six straight races without finishing worse than 13th. That would be quite an improvement over Tony Stewart’s 25th-place average finish thus far in 2015.
Sam Hornish, Jr. – Yeah, I’m digging pretty deep into the sleeper bag this week. Believe it or not, Sam Hornish, Jr. and this #9 team hasn’t been running that badly as of late. Maybe it just seems that was because we got so used to him finishing in the mid-30s earlier this year. Anyway, after posting a top 10 finish at Sonoma in June, Hornish followed that up with a decent 22nd-place result at Kentucky and then with a 17th at Indianapolis last week. For a driver like him, that’s pretty good. Also, Sam’s history here at Pocono is decent, so you might want to keep an eye on him this weekend (just don’t blame me when “Slammin’ Sammy” slams the wall). In nine career starts at “The Tricky Triangle,” Hornish has finished 11th or better on four separate occasions, and he most recently ended up 19th here in 2012 while driving for Penske. Again, this is Hornish we’re talking about. If this #9 team can find a way to qualify up front for Sunday’s Windows 10 400, it might be worth a shot (in some leagues) to try out Hornish on your roster this weekend.
Casey Mears – In some leagues this season, Casey Mears has been a fantasy gold mine. Seriously. He can pretty much be counted on for a top 25 finish week in and week out and sometimes comes away with a top 15. Obviously this isn’t a grand slam you need to win fantasy leagues but getting those kind of results out of a driver in the tier of Casey Mears is pretty good. Pocono Raceway requires a good driver and a strong car. We can debate the talent of Mears all you want but the strength of the #13 Chevrolet’s is certain. Let’s just look at some of the recent races that have required more horsepower: Michigan, where Mears finished 13th, Daytona, where he ended up 11th, and Indianapolis last week, where the #13 car came home 20th. Like I said, not too bad. Additionally, when we were here at Pocono in June, Casey ended up with a solid 16th-place finish. He has just one top 10 finish in 2015–which came in the season-opening Daytona 500–and I doubt he grabs a second here in the Windows 10 400 on Sunday, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see the #13 Chevrolet come home with a top 15 finish this weekend.
