Pocono GoBowling.com 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Kurt Busch – Kurt Busch is a driver who should be on your fantasy NASCAR radar for the Pocono GoBowling.com 400. Pocono has historically been a good track for him. He’s a two-time winner who’s finished in the top ten 58% percent of the time. The bottom line about him is that as long as he avoids trouble he’s going to finish well. Kurt Busch looked great at Pocono in June. His team came together and ran a good race with the Hendrick ponies under his hood. In the race he started in 2nd, finished 3rd, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 5 laps. If it wasn’t for portions of the race where pit strategy dropped him in the running order he likely would’ve run in the top 5 the entire race. Him performing well was by no means a surprise because since Pocono was repaved Stewart-Haas Racing has arguably been the best team. Last August at Pocono Kurt Busch had a great race. He finished 3rd, earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and led 9 laps. Last spring he started back in 20th but that wasn’t a problem. In the first 10 laps of the race he had already driven up to 11th. In that race he finished 7th and earned the 4th best driver rating. If he started closer towards the front he probably would’ve finished in the top five. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kyle Busch – At Pocono Kyle Busch has good fantasy NASCAR potential but results wise he’s either a hero or a zero. At Pocono he has 10 top twelves but 8 results of 22nd or worse. Recently at Pocono he’s been one of the strongest drivers. Since 2010 he’s finished in the top twelve in 6 of the 9 races. Kyle Busch had an up and down day at Pocono this June. He started in 6th and ran solid for about the first 55 laps. Then after that pit strategy caused him to have an up and down day in the running order. Towards the end of the race he didn’t make any friends. With 18 laps to go while he was trying to make the pass on Kasey Kahne he got into the 5 car and it pounded the wall hard multiple times. Carl Edwards also got collected in the carnage. At the time of the incident he was trying to pass Kasey Kahne for 12th. When the checkered flag waved he finished 12th, had a 15th place average running position and earned the 11th best driver rating. Last August at Pocono he had a good all-around performance. He started in 2nd, finished 8th, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 7th best driver rating. In the race nothing notable happened to him. In June 2013 he had a great performance. In that event his strength was being good over long runs. He started in 8th, had a 7th place average running position and finished 6th. His driver rating from that event ranked as the 3rd best. In 2012 Kyle Busch was good in both races but never had the chance to show it. In June 2012 he had top ten potential but his engine only lasted 78 laps. In August 2012 he was running in 10th but on lap #19 he had problems and pounded the wall. In three of the four Pocono races prior to 2012 Busch had results in the top three. One attribute you have to like about Kyle Busch is his momentum. In three of the last four races he’s finished 2nd. (Yahoo A Driver)

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

Matt Kenseth – It’s hard to know how good Matt Kenseth was in June at Pocono. Around lap 36 he ran into the back of Jamie McMurray and it caused serious damage to the nose of his car. While it was damaged under green he was probably at least a second off the pace. Once he got his nose fixed he never really advanced in the running order. At the time of the incident he was running in 19th. In the race he started in 26th, had a 26th place average running position and finished 25th. His driver rating ranked as the 31st best. Matt Kenseth had an eventful season at the “Tricky Triangle” in 2013. In August 2013 his race got off to a rocky start. He started in 24th and in turn #1 of lap #1 he was involved in a multi-car wreck. The damage he got from the wreck was very minimal and it didn’t appear to impact his competitiveness. Then later in the race on lap 46 during green flag pit stops he got caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass through penalty. As a result of that he dropped one lap down back to 30th. Then at the end he spun on lap 156 and brought out the Green-White-Checker. At the time of that incident he was running outside the top twenty. When the checkered flag waved he finished 22nd and had a 22nd place average running position. In June 2013 Matt Kenseth had a misleading 25th place finish. He had about a 5th to 7th place car but with 28 laps to go following a restart him and Montoya got together and they both spun. That led to his 25th place finish. In the race Kenseth had a good long run car. Short runs were a weakness and that’s why he was vulnerable during the restart he spun. Also in that event it should be noted that his engine was detuned because of the spring 2013 Toyota engine durability scare.  In August 2012 at Pocono Kenseth was running in second but during a last restart him and Jimmie Johnson had contact and he spun into an accident. June 2012 was his last incident free race here. In that event he finished 7th, had a 7th place average running position, led 11 laps and earned the third best driver rating. (Yahoo A Driver)

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