Pocono Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson will be one of the drivers to beat at Pocono. He’s won here three-times and has finished in the top ten 68% percent of the time. In 93% percent of his starts he’s finished in the top fifteen. Last year at the Tricky Triangle he scored the most points, and was one of just two drivers who finished in the top ten both races. Last August the race was full of pit strategy. When that race reached its conclusion he earned the 3rd best driver rating and finished 6th. In spring 2015 he was impressive even though his race wasn’t incident free. He finished 3rd and earned the 4th best driver rating. On lap 87 he had a cut tire which caused a caution and that dropped him back to the mid-twenties. In August 2014 he had a flat tire on lap 10 which dropped him off the lead lap. On lap 113 after he bounced back and was running in 5th he got into the wall hard and as a result he immediately went to the garage. When the checkered flag waved he finished 39th. In spring 2014 he finished 6th even though his cars toe was knocked out because of a pit road incident. In August 2013 he likely had the best car while he was leading on lap 76 he had a tire go down and got into the wall hard. In that race he finished 13th and led 43 laps. In June 2013 Johnson was dominant. He started on the pole, finished first, had a first place average running position, earned a near perfect driver rating and led 80% percent of the laps. In August 2012 he would’ve reached victory lane except late in the race during the final restart while he was leading him and Kenseth had contact which spun the 48. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick has never won at Pocono but that doesn’t make him a bad fantasy option. Recently he’s ranked as one of the strongest performers here. Last August he had a great car but finished 42nd after his engine blew up while he was racing for the lead on lap 20. After that he was done for the day. In the two Pocono races prior to that he finished 2nd. Last June he had a great car and was the only driver who had anything for Truex Jr. In addition to finishing runner-up he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 39 laps. In August 2014 he was also very competitive. He finished 2nd, earned the 4th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In June 2014 he was fast but his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 116 while he was running in 2nd he had a tire go down and he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop. The flat tire dropped him all the way back to 32nd, one lap down. After Danica Patrick spun on lap 137 he finally got the “Lucky Dog” and over the closing laps he rallied to a 14th place finish. (Yahoo A Driver)

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. had a great year at Pocono in 2015 and between the combined events he was arguably the best performer. Between the two races he had the best driver rating, best average running position (6.0), led the most laps and had a misleading 10.0 average finish. Last August he was clearly top 3 strong but finished 19th after running out of fuel while running in 2nd with 2 laps to go. Last June there’s no dispute he had the best car. He dominated the race and won with a 1.3 second margin of victory. In the race he earned a near perfect driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position and led 97 laps. His car was extremely fast in clean air and it maneuvered well in traffic. One very notable strength of his car is that he was fast over long runs. In August 2014 when he had a an “off-year he was collected in the “Big One.” In the 8 Pocono races prior to that he had moderate success. In that stretch he had 4 top tens, 5 top fifteens and a 12.6 average finish. (Yahoo B Driver)

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