While there are some tracks where it is easy to focus on place differential points and have your FOX Fantasy Auto team score a lot, typically Pocono Raceway is not one of them. Yes, the “Tricky Triangle” can sometimes see strategy and fuel mileage come into play, but when you take those out of the equation, usually the cars that start up front also finish up front. When we raced here back in June, seven of the top 10 finishers also started there, and no driver that finished in the top 10 started worse than 14th. Looking at the recent trends here at Pocono, typically eight of the top 10 finishers start no worse than 15th. In other words, it could be difficult to have a high score this weekend. However, there are a few drivers that didn’t qualify so well on Friday.
Last week we had very good scores in leagues that award points based on place differential. In the FOX Fantasy Auto game, we scored 220 points at Indianapolis and our team now sits in 722nd place overall. In our private (and very competitive) league, we’re now in 3rd.
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Pocono Pennsylvania 400
Kevin Harvick ($13,400) – During Happy Hour on Saturday, many teams were pointing at the #4 Chevrolet as the best car in the garage area. Harvick not only posted the 3rd-fastest lap, but he also had the best five-lap average and 3rd-best ten-lap average as well. Yes, $13,400 is a pretty hefty price to pay for a driver in this FOX Fantasy Auto game, but when you consider the fact that Harv starts way back in 17th, he has the potential to score a whole bunch of points this weekend and make it all worth it. The #4 Chevrolet came home 9th here at Pocono in June and wound up 2nd in the 2015 June race as well as the 2014 August race. One item that’s going to be in the back of Fantasy NASCAR players’ minds this weekend is the fact that Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, is suspended this weekend. However, don’t forget that Kurt Busch won here at Pocono back in June under the same situation, as well as the fact that Childers isn’t that great at in-race strategy–which definitely comes into play at “The Tricky Triangle.” The #4 Chevrolet is fast enough to win this weekend, and as of this posting only about 27% of FOX Fantasy Auto teams had Harvick on their roster.
Jimmie Johnson ($9,600) – The six-time champion is pretty moderately priced this weekend, and when you combine that his 21st-place qualifying effort for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400, it’s hard to come up with a roster for FOX Fantasy Auto without Jimmie Johnson on it. This #48 team finally got a top 5 finish at Indianapolis last weekend–their first sign of life in months–and are looking to continue building momentum here at Pocono on Sunday. Overall, Johnson is pretty hit or miss at this track, but it’s a lot more hit than miss. He’s finished inside the top 15 in sixteen of the last eighteen races here and ran 6th in this event one year ago. Jimmie is a three-time winner at “The Tricky Triangle,” and while he doesn’t quite have a good enough car to win on Sunday, a top 10 is well within reach. The #48 Chevrolet was 10th-fastest in Happy Hour on Saturday.
Kyle Busch ($10,700) – It might be surprising to see Kyle Busch at this relatively low price after his dominating performance at Indianapolis last weekend, but there’s a good reason: he hasn’t been that great here at Pocono. This is one of those tracks that Rowdy hasn’t gone to victory lane at, and over his 23 career starts here, his average finish is right around 19th. For comparison, Kasey Kahne has a better average finish here (18.2). Still, you can never really count out Kyle Busch, and when he qualified 16th on Friday, that made him a pretty attractive option in this FOX Fantasy Auto game. Busch hasn’t had a top 5 finish here at Pocono since the 2011 season, and it’s nowhere near a lock that that changes here on Sunday. However, he does have decent speed in race trim this weekend–6th on the Happy Hour speed chart, 2nd in five-lap average–and should be a top 10 threat in Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400.
Jeff Gordon ($7,300) – Jeff Gordon’s salary went up by quite a bit from last week, but he’s still probably the best mid-to-low range option this weekend at Pocono. He’ll roll off the grid from 24th when we go green on Sunday, and we honestly think Jeff might be able to challenge for a top 15 finish one again like he did at Indianapolis. One reason for that is because this #88 Chevrolet has been so damn good here at “The Tricky Triangle” with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. behind the wheel; over the last seven races at Pocono, the #88 Chevrolet has posted six top 5 finishes and hasn’t came home worse than 11th. Looking at Gordon’s record here, he has four top 10s in the last five Pocono races. This weekend, it’s been obvious that Gordon is still getting used to the car, as he ranked 24th-fastest on the Happy Hour speed chart on Saturday.
Denny Hamlin ($9,000) – Hamlin qualified inside the top 5 this weekend, so his value in the FOX Fantasy Auto game is somewhat limited this weekend, but, as we said before, sometimes you have to focus on finish points at Pocono. Hamlin is a four-time winner here at “The Tricky Triangle” and during this weekend’s first practice session he said his car was the best it’s been in race trim that it has been in a while–so that’s saying something. During Saturday’s Happy Hour session, Denny wasn’t super impressive but they could have been experimenting or something (that’s what we’re going with anyway). The #11 Toyota came home 4th in last weekend’s race at Indianapolis, and we could definitely see a similar finish coming out of this team here at Pocono on Sunday (or Monday, if it rains). There’s no other driver in this price range that has top 5 potential.
Not feeling confident in Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin? Try these two instead:
Kurt Busch ($11,400) – Kurt Busch didn’t make it to the start/finish line in time during the second round of qualifying on Friday and because of that he is going to have to roll off the grid from 15th for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400. That blunder, however, is good for us fantasy players that are in leagues awarding points based on place differential, like FOX Fantasy Auto. As you probably remember, Kurt won here back in June–his third career victory at this track–and that is one of five finishes of 7th or better he has here at Pocono in the last seven races. As far as speed this weekend, Busch wasn’t too happy on Friday and thought they were lacking, but the car looked good in Happy Hour on Saturday, as the #41 Chevrolet was 4th on the overall speed chart and ran the most laps in the session. For what it’s worth, this is the same car that went to victory lane here in June. One thing to note is that picking Kurt Busch isn’t as much of a lock as it was a month or two ago. In the six races since his win at Pocono, Kurt has just one single-digit finish, but that definitely has a chance of changing this weekend. And with him starting back in 15th on Sunday, it’s hard for us to pass up those potential place differential points.
Joey Logano ($10,300) – By going with Kurt Busch instead of Kevin Harvick, you can afford many other drivers, but we pretty much narrowed it down to two: Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. Logano starts 10th while Hamlin starts 4th, so the potential place differential points definitely favors the former. When you do the math, if Logano can end up finishing 5th on Sunday, he’s going to earn 41 points in the FOX Fantasy Auto game. In order for Denny Hamlin to score that many points here on Sunday, he’s going to have to win or finish 2nd. And while the #11 Toyota is very good this weekend–it has enough speed to win–this is still Denny Hamlin we’re talking about and he’s nowhere near trustworthy from a fantasy perspective. Logano, on the other hand, has been running really well over the last couple of months and has finished inside the top 5 in three of the last four Pocono races. Don’t forget that the Penske cars also tend to get the best gas mileage, and that has come into play more than once here at “The Tricky Triangle.”
