Pocono Saturday Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings/ Driver Breakdowns

1) Denny Hamlin (Starting 3rd) Denny Hamlin is the most recent winner at Pocono and this weekend he’s poised to be a favorite. Over the last three combined races at the “Tricky Triangle”, Hamlin has a 5.7 average finish and his driver rating ranks as the 2nd best. Last summer at Pocono, Hamlin had a great car and raced his way to victory lane for the first time since 2010. In addition to finishing 1st he earned the best driver rating, had the best average running position (3.3), led 32 laps, finished 4th in Stage #1 and 5th in Stage #2. In terms of speed analytics, Hamlin ranked as the 2nd “Fastest Driver Late In A Run.” Last spring, Hamlin had a solid showing. He finished 6th, earned the 5th best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. In summer 2018 he finished 10th, had a 7th place average running position and earned the 6th best driver rating. In spring 2018, Hamlin had a solid car and was around 10th place good, but finished a misleading 35th after wrecking with 14 laps to go while battling Alex Bowman for 11th. Additionally, he had an 11th place average running position, finished 5th in Stage #1 and finished just outside the top ten in Stage #2. In the three races prior to that he had results of 4th, 12th and 7th. One attribute I really like about Hamlin is how well he’s run since NASCAR returned. Since it’s return minus short tracks and Charlotte #1, Hamlin’s finished in the top five every race, won twice and has a 3rd place average finish. (DraftKings $8,800 / FanDuel $13,000 )

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2) Chase Elliott (Starting 5th) Chase Elliott will be a contender at Pocono. At “The Tricky Triangle” he’s finished in the top ten 75% of the time, and only in races where he had trouble has he finished outside of that range. In his six top ten finishes, Elliott has a 7.2 average finish, a 7.7 average running position and all of his results are between 4th to 10th. Last summer at Pocono, Elliott had his worst result at “The Tricky Triangle” and finished 38th. In that race he was in the midst of a horrific slump and trouble struck on lap 84 when he had a flat tire while running in 6th which led to him colliding into the wall ending his afternoon. If his race would’ve been incident free, then I think he was clearly top ten good. In spring 2019, Elliott ran well. He finished 4th, earned the 7th best driver rating and had a 10th place average running position. In summer 2018, Elliott had a strong showing. He earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and finished 7th. Additionally, he won Stage #1 and finished 2nd in Stage #2. In spring 2018, Elliott had a good performance. He finished 10th, earned the 6th best driver rating, had an 8th place average running position, finished 6th in Stage #1 and 5th in Stage #2. In 2017, Elliott had results of 8th and 10th. (DraftKings $10,700 / FanDuel $12,200 )

3) Kyle Busch (Starting 4th) Kyle Busch is a super-elite performer at Pocono who’ll be tough to beat. At Pocono, Busch has thrived like no other and there’s no question he’ll be the favorite. At Pocono, Busch has won 3 of the last 5 races and currently has 7 straight top tens. Over the last five combined Pocono races, Busch has a 3.0 average finish, a 4.9 average running position, the best driver rating by a wide margin and he’s averaged leading 54.8 laps per race. Last summer at Pocono, Busch had a great car and finished 9th. That said, “Performance Wise” I thought he was the driver to beat, but pit strategy was his downfall. In the race he won Stage #1, led 56 laps, ranked as the “Fastest Driver Late In A Run” and had the 2nd best “Green Flag Average Speed.” Right near the end of Stage #2 while leading, Busch pitted during a caution which put him back in the field and he just never recovered from that. In spring 2019, Busch had the field covered and easily raced his way to victory lane. In addition to winning he earned the best driver rating, had the best average running position (4.0) and led the most laps (79). In summer 2018, Busch had a great car and raced his way to victory lane from the 28th place starting position. In the race he earned the best driver rating, led the most laps (52) and had a 7th place average running position. When you consider he started 28th, that’s impressive. In spring 2018, Busch was a consistent front runner and was a serious threat to win. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 3rd, had a 3rd place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 13 laps. Additionally, he finished 3rd in Stage #1 and 2nd in Stage #2. In summer 2017, Busch led 74 laps and raced his way to victory lane. (DraftKings $9,300 / FanDuel $13,500 )