Pocono 2 Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions

We’re in Pocono for the second time, and of course rain is in the forecast this weekend because that’s just what happens at Pocono. When we raced here back in June, the race was postponed until Monday due to rain, and then we saw a pretty good race with Chase Elliott looking like he could grab his first Sprint Cup win. Kurt Busch ended up holding off Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for the win, though. Looking at this weekend, there was a practice before qualifying on Friday, and then Martin Truex, Jr. grabbed the pole for Sunday’s (maybe) Pennsylvania 400. Click here for the full starting lineup. Here are the practice speeds from the weekend: Practice #1 — Happy Hour and don’t forget to check out our notes for each as well: Practice #1 — Happy Hour.

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Final Top 15 Ranking For Pocono 2

1. Martin Truex, Jr. – Starts 1st – DraftKings Price: $10,200 – Yahoo! B Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

The #78 team won the pole on Friday and that should have the rest of the garage worried. This is Truex’s third pole of the season, and in the previous two (Kansas and Charlotte) he led 172 and 392 laps, respectively. And, yes, it was announced on Friday that this #78 team brought that same dominant car from Charlotte to Pocono this weekend. That’s the other reason that the rest of the garage should be worried. This car was so dominant at Charlotte that I’m still not sure how there wasn’t something illegal on the car, and while that track isn’t really comparable to Pocono, it’s obvious that this car has plenty of speed in it as well. During Saturday’s Happy Hour practice session, Truex had the best lap time and the best ten-lap average as well. Historically, Martin runs his best here at Pocono when he starts up front, and we’ve seen track position usually mean a lot here over the past few years as well. It’s hard not to consider Truex one of the favorites for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400, and he should definitely be a contender for most laps led as well. Hopefully his pit crew can make it through a whole race without a mistake.

2. Kevin Harvick – Starts 17th – DraftKings Price: $10,400 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Harvick is without crew chief Rodney Childers this weekend, which actually isn’t that bad, in my opinion. Remember, his teammate Kurt Busch went to victory lane here back in June with a replacement crew chief. Also, no offense to Rodney, but he’s not the best crew chief when it comes to in-race strategy, and unfortunately that usually comes into play here at “The Tricky Triangle.” Speed-wise, Harvick has looked good this weekend, and he ranked 3rd in Happy Hour in both lap time and ten-lap average. Still, the #4 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 17th when the green flag waves on Sunday, so that means the team has some work to do to get Harvick up front. That’s the case for him during a lot of race weekends, though, so it’s nothing new. Surprisingly, Kevin has never won here at Pocono Raceway and owns just seven top 5 finishes in his thirty-one career starts here. With that being said, he has finished 9th or better in three of the last four Pocono races and that includes two runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015. There’s no reason to think that Harvick doesn’t have top 5 potential this weekend, but I’m sticking to my guns and saying he doesn’t win another race until there’s changes made with the pit crew.

3. Brad Keselowski – Starts 7th – DraftKings Price: $9,300 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**

After that scary hit at the Watkins Glen test a few days ago, it’s hard to know how much that is going to affect Brad Keselowski. The last time this happened he went out and won the Pocono race with a broken foot, so for those focusing on past similarities, that brake failure might end up being a good thing. This weekend at Pocono, the Blue Deuce has had some good speed, ending up 7th in the final round of qualifying and 2nd-best on the Happy Hour speed chart. He also had the 5th-fastest ten-lap average in that session. Even better news for Keselowski fans (and fantasy owners) is the fact that he has finished 3rd and 2nd in the last two Sprint Cup races here. He does have one win here at Pocono (back in 2009) but Keselowski tends to be pretty hit or miss here; in thirteen career starts at “The Tricky Triangle,” BK has posted six finishes of 6th or better compared to seven finishes outside of the top 15. Keselowski should have a car good enough to finish around the top 5 this weekend, but you know how much this team likes to gamble on strategy–especially with four wins in the bag already. That can either be a good or bad thing for fantasy owners, and I personally don’t like having to worry about it that much.