Pocono Pennsylvania 400 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Martin Truex Jr. (Starting – 1st) (Odds To Win – 7/1)
Pocono Fantasy Spin – Martin Truex Jr. will be one of the drivers to beat at Pocono. He has a great car and in an interview following his pole win he said his car this weekend is even better than the one that won at Pocono in spring 2015. That’s quite a statement because he was dominant in that race. The chassis he’s using on Sunday dominated the Coca Cola 600 in historic fashion. In Happy Hour Truex Jr. had the quickest overall lap and the best ten lap average. One aspect you have to like about Martin Truex Jr. is how well this team is performing right now on a week to week basis.
Pocono Track History – Pocono is a pretty good track for Martin Truex Jr. Performance wise since 2014 he’s been one of the better performers in the series. This spring he had a few problems in the race but managed to finish 19th. In that race he got nailed on pit road by DiBendetto and then later had a flat tire under caution while leading (used pit strategy to get there). Last August he also finished 19th but that result deserves an asterisk mark. Performance wise he was 3rd place good but he ran out of fuel with 2 laps to go while running in 2nd. In June 2015 he was dominant. In that race he earned the best driver rating and led 97 laps. Over long runs nobody had anything for him. In August 2014 Truex Jr. was collected in “The Big One.” In the 8 Pocono races prior to that he had 4 top tens, 5 top fifteens and a 12.6 average finish.
Yahoo B Driver / DraftKings $10,200

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2) Brad Keselowski (Starting – 7th) (Odds To Win – 10/1)
Pocono Fantasy Spin – Brad Keselowski will be a factor at Pocono. I expect him to run very well on Sunday. This spring at Pocono he had a great car and at times had the fastest car on the track. On Sunday Keselowski is starting in 7th. That’s right around the range where this race has been won recently. 4 of the last 5 Pocono races have been won from a starting position between 7th and 9th. In Happy Hour he had the 2nd quickest overall lap and the 5th best ten lap average.
Pocono Track History – Pocono is a great track for Keselowski. He’s a former winner and in 3 of the last 5 races he’s finished in the top 3. Historically at Pocono Keselowski has either finished really well, or between the high-teens and low-twenties. In his career at Pocono he has 6 top 6 results, and 7 results between 16th and 23rd. On Sunday I would look for him to finish within his “good finish range.” This spring at Pocono he had a great car and finished 3rd despite having to overcome a devastating setback when he got black flagged under green and had to serve a pass through penalty. Last August Keselowski finished 2nd and earned the 4th best driver rating. Performance wise I thought he was really about 6th place good but he was aided by when the competition ran out of gas. In June 2015 he had a good car but walked away with an asterisk mark 17th place finish. Late in that race with 32 laps to go while running in 10th he ran into the back of Brett Moffitt and damaged his car. Performance wise he was really top five good.
Yahoo A Driver / DraftKings $9,300

Further Recommended Reading – Happy Hour Notes, Happy Hour Speeds, Practice #1 Notes, Practice #1 Speeds, Speed Cheat Sheet, Starting Lineup, PROS Rankings, Asterisk Mark Report, DraftKings Start Page, Yahoo Start Page

3) Kevin Harvick (Starting – 17th) (Odds To Win – 6/1)
Pocono Fantasy Spin – Kevin Harvick has a great car this weekend. The #19 team said it was “bad to the bone.” The #4 car was also consistent over long runs and Harvick liked the way it drove. On the stopwatch he was a standout. In Happy Hour he had the 3rd best overall lap and the 3rd best ten lap average. Since Harvick has been in the #4 car at Pocono he’s been one of the stronger performers in the series. This week Kevin Harvick will be without his crew chief but I don’t think that will slow him down. Remember that earlier this year at Pocono Kurt Busch was without his crew chief and he raced his way to victory lane.
Pocono Track History – Pocono is a good track for Kevin Harvick and since he’s been in the 4 car he’s been one of the strongest performers. This spring he had a fast car finishing 9th and leading 9 laps. I will note he was better than his result because his race wasn’t incident free. In the race he got a speeding penalty and was burned by a caution that came out during a pit cycle. Performance wise he might’ve been top five good. Last August he had a great car but while he was leading on lap 20 his engine blew up. In the two Pocono races prior to that he finished runner-up. In spring 2015 he was the only driver who could give Martin Truex Jr. a run for his money. In addition to finishing 2nd he also earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 39 laps.
Yahoo A Driver / DraftKings $10,400