Clean air is going to mean a lot for this weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway, so you should expect the winner to come from the top 10. In fact, in over 70% of the races ran here at “The Tricky Triangle,” the winner has started 10th or better. With that being said, that doesn’t mean that starting position absolutely determines your finishing spot. In fact, with all of the strategy that comes into play at this track, we should see a lot of movers on Sunday (or Monday–there’s rain in the forecast). That also means there’s going to be drivers that fall, and those are the ones you need to avoid on your DraftKings team.
DraftKings Drivers to Avoid for the Axalta 400 at Pocono
Carl Edwards ($9,500) – We don’t like to go against Joe Gibbs Racing team, but it’s time for Fantasy NASCAR players to keep Carl Edwards on the bench for a race. This is especially true with the DraftKings games. First let’s start with the fact that this #19 team is in a pretty big slump right now. Ever since Carl Edwards moved his teammate for the win at Richmond back in April, he hasn’t been able to crack the top 10 in any of the last four Sprint Cup races. Call it karma or whatever you would like, we call it a Fantasy NASCAR disappointment. And then there’s the fact that Carl simply isn’t very good here at Pocono Raceway. Not many have considered him a contender at this track over the last five or so years, and Edwards’ 10th-place finish in the fall race here last season has been his best result since 2012. The #19 Toyota will roll off the grid from 5th whenever the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 goes green, but it’s almost certainly going to finish worse than that.
Chris Buescher ($5,300) – Okay, this kid has qualifying down, but this is still the same #34 team we’re talking about. Buescher will start the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 from 18th, but we’re honestly going to be surprised if he’s even close to the lead lap once this thing ends. He started 22nd in last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 and ended up finishing 37th, and the last time Buescher qualified in the teens (16th at Fontana) he came home 33rd. Pocono isn’t very kind to young drivers that aren’t very good from an overall perspective, and Chris Buescher fits that description. If you were thinking about putting him on your roster because he’s cheap, just don’t do it.
Matt Kenseth ($9,800) – Sorry, Joe Gibbs Racing fans, but we’re going to add Matt Kenseth on our list of drivers to avoid in DraftKings at Pocono. The fact of the matter is that Kenseth has really only had one good season at this track. Now, that was last year, when he came home 6th and 1st, but that’s still just one out of the last four. Over the last seven Sprint Cup races here at “The Tricky Triangle,” Kenseth only has two finishes better than 22nd–and we just mentioned which two those were. The main killer for the #20 Toyota this weekend is that they qualified 3rd. Kenseth probably has a top 10 car heading into the race, but you’re throwing away points right off the bat because he’s going to lose positions. And we don’t see Kenseth leading that many laps to make up for it.
Clint Bowyer ($6,900) – This #15 has actually turned things around quite a bit here as of late, which has been a nice surprise. In the last six Sprint Cup races, Bowyer has came home 23rd or better in five of them. If you would have told us back in March that they would be accomplishing that in two or three, we would have called you crazy. But here we are. Pocono has been a very nice race track for Clint Bowyer, as he has posted finishes of 15th or better in seven of the last eight races here. But you’re dreaming if you think this #15 Chevrolet can do that this weekend. This race still poses a strong test on the engines, and Bowyer will start 23rd for the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400. We’d be surprised if he cracked the top 20 at the checkered flag.
Kasey Kahne ($8,100) – Not only is Kasey Kahne more often a disappoint to fantasy owners than he’s not, but he qualified 11th for this weekend’s race at Pocono. That’s honestly about the ceiling for him in terms of finish as well. Now, if Kasey can have a mistake-free race (far from a guarantee), he might be able to score you about 30 or so points, but we feel like that is much too low of a point total to get out of a driver in this price range. Austin Dillon costs just $100 more and starts back in 19th with the possibility of moving up a four or five spots, and Jamie McMurray is priced at $7,700 this week with a starting place of 26th. He’s finished 16th or better in each of the last six Pocono races. All we’re saying is there’s options in this price range, and Kasey Kahne is the worst of them.
