Pocono GoBowling.com 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon is a good fantasy NASCAR pick at Pocono for the GoBowling.com 400. He’s won at Pocono six times and nobody has been to victory lane more than him. Earlier this year he had a great car. He started 5th, finished 8th, had a 7th place average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. In the race I thought his car was better than his result. A few drivers beat him on pit strategy and he also had problems on restarts. On the lap 66 restart alone he lost four positions. If pit strategy didn’t come into play he likely would’ve finished in the top five. The strength of his car in the race was being good over long runs. Last August he finished runner-up and came close to getting his 7th Pocono win but he lost the lead during the Green-White-Checker. It’s important to point out that he would’ve never been in contention to win if a late caution with 12 laps to go didn’t erase Kahne’s 7.6 second lead. Also in that event last year he started in 22nd, had a 7th place average running position, led 7 laps, and earned the 2nd best driver rating. Last June he had an OK performance that was mediocre by his standards. He finished 12th and had a 14th place average running position. In the race he started in 11th and when the green flag waved he fell back to 19th in the first 30 laps. In the middle segment of the race I would estimate his average running position was 15th. Late in the race he used pit strategy and climbed into the top ten for the first time but over the last run he faded back to his 12th place finish. In August 2012 Gordon got his most recent Pocono win. In that race he didn’t have the best car and was the beneficiary of Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth getting together and spinning. At the time of the incident he was running in 5th but because of how it worked out he shot right into the lead. Then under that caution it started raining and the race never went back to green. In June 2012 he was very good. He started in 12th and in just 40 laps he drove up to second. Shortly after that he was a driver who got caught speeding on pit road. That put him in a box but he was able to drive up into the top ten again later in the race. Then late in the event he was one of a few drivers who elected to pit for more gas which was the nail in the coffin for him because he suddenly struggled in traffic. In that race when the checkered flag waved he finished 19th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win the Pocono GoBowling.com 400. At the “Tricky Triangle” Johnson is a perennial favorite. Earlier this year he ran a solid race. He started in 20th but in 40 laps he raced his way into the top ten. His car was at it’s best in turns 1 and 2. He described it in those sections of the track as “awesome”. His race wasn’t incident free though. On lap 67 under caution while he was running in 5th he was spun by Marcos Ambrose on pit road. It wasn’t minor contact, it damaged his right front and knocked out the toe. Luckily Pocono is a big track so it allowed his team plenty of time to work on his car. After it was fixed his car wasn’t as good and Johnson said it was very tight. The 48 team can never be counted out and when the checkered flag waved he finished 6th. That result came with a fair amount of pit strategy but it’s an important element of any race. In the three Pocono races prior to that event Johnson was ranked #1 in the PROS Rankings every race. In August 2013 Johnson had a great car and if he avoided problems he could’ve gone to victory lane. In that race Johnson started on the pole, led 43 laps, earned the 9th best driver rating and finished 13th. Him being able to finish that high is amazing because on lap 76 while he was leading he had a tire go down on exit of a turn and he slapped the wall very hard. With 10 laps to go Johnson was in the low twenties but he made a late rally up to his 13th place finish. In June 2013 there’s no debate Johnson had the best car. In that race 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 came close to going to victory lane but he was denied at the end. What happened to him is that during a late restart while he was leading he had contact with Kenseth and spun. Right after he spun it started raining and it sealed his fate to a 14th place finish. In that event he started in 10th, had a 5th place average running position and led 45% percent of the laps. In the first race on the repaved surface he had a great car. He started in 24th but in just 40 laps he raced his way into the top five. Then during an early round of pit stops he was a driver who got busted for speeding on pit road. He bounced back from that and when the checkered flag waved he finished 4th. In both 2011 races he also finished 4th. In 25 races at Pocono Johnson has 3 wins, 10 top fives and 17 top tens. His Pocono average finish is 8.7. One attribute you have to like about Johnson is the safety that picking him affords. Only once in his career has he finished outside the top 15. (Yahoo A Driver)

Recommended Reading – Pocono Front Runner Rankings, Pocono Mid Pack Predictions, Pocono Yahoo C List Preview, Pocono Scouting Report (Recap of June’s race), Who will win the Pocono GoBowling.com 400?

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski was a serious contender for the win at Pocono in the GoBowling.com 400. In June late in the race while he was leading he had debris on his grille and his engine started getting hot. Then he tried to get it off by ducking behind Danica Patrick but that killed his momentum and it allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to get around him for the win. In the race his car was extremely strong. He didn’t have as much horsepower as the Hendrick cars but he was faster than them in the turns. In the race Keselowski started in 3rd and by the end of the first turn he was already in the lead. Also in the race he earned the best driver rating, finished 2nd, led 95 laps and had a 4th place average running position. In August of 2013 he had a strong performance. He started in 11th, had an 8th place average running position, led 14 laps, finished 6th and earned the 4th best driver rating. In June 2013 he had a great performance but walked away with a misleading finish. In the race he had top five potential but with 24 laps to go him and Tony Stewart got loose together and Keselowski lost a ton of track position. Shortly after that he did a pit stop that dropped him back into the mid-twenties but in the last short run he rallied up to a 16th place finish. In 2012 Brad Keselowski qualified poorly both races (31st) and as a result he had to play the fuel strategy game. In August 2012 it worked out better for him and he finished 4th. In June 2012 it didn’t work out as well and he finished 18th. In August 2011 Brad Keselowski cemented his legacy as being a tough racer. In that race he led 19 laps and held off Kyle Busch for the win with a broken ankle. (Yahoo B Driver)

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