Pocono Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Chase Elliott
Pocono Fantasy Spin – At Pocono, put Chase Elliott near the top of your fantasy NASCAR radar. Elliott’s never won at “The Tricky Triangle” and in 4 of the last 5 races he’s finished outside the top ten, but I think he’s poised to have a strong showing. Elliott’s not lacking when it comes to “Performance” here, and you have to love how strong the #9 team is right now. Over the last four races heading into the weekend, Elliott has results of 1st, 2nd, 1st and 2nd. At Pocono over his seven incident free races, Elliott has a 6.7 average finish. On Sunday, look for Elliott to finish in the top five and compete for the win.
Pocono Track History – At Pocono, Chase Elliott finished in the top ten in 6 of his first 7 starts, but over the last five he’s only finished in the top ten once. Last year in race #2, Elliott looked extremely strong and was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 27th. In the final Stage, the race completely unraveled for him. On lap 99 he was in 7th, but then on lap 101 he had a flat tire (contact with Bell on lap 98). Then on lap 107, Elliott had a flat tire again which further doomed him to his 27th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Elliott ranked 11th but that underrates him. In race #1 2021, Elliott damaged his car right at the start, so he never got to show his hand and he went on to finish 12th (14th best Total Speed Ranking). In 2020 #2, Elliott was solid. In the race he started deep in the field in 25th, finished 4th and had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking. In race #1 2020, Elliott was strong early, but finished an asterisk mark 25th. In the race, Elliott finished 5th in Stage #1, 10th in Stage #2 but around lap 70 he reported transmission issues in terms of shifting into 4th gear. Then during the Stage #2 caution, the #9 team had an uncontrolled tire which pretty much so doomed his afternoon with his transmission problem. In summer 2019, Elliott had his worst Pocono result and finished 38th after crashing on lap 84 while running in 6th. In his five Pocono races prior to that, Elliott had results of 4th, 7th, 10th, 10th and 8th.

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Kyle Larson
Pocono Fantasy Spin – Kyle Larson has never won at Pocono, but look for him to be a factor. The #5 came close to victory lane in both races last year, and overall Larson ranks among the best here in recent races. Another attribute you have to like about Larson is how well the #5 is running on a weekly basis. Since Bristol Dirt minus Darlington where he crashed like just about everybody else, his average finish is 7.8 (best in the series over that particular race stretch). On Sunday, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Pocono Track History – Kyle Larson has been strong at Pocono and over his last three races, Larson’s average finish is an impressive 5.3. If Larson didn’t have a flat tire while leading in 2021 #1, his average finish over that stretch would be 2.6. Last year in race #2, Larson started in the rear of the field, damaged his nose near the start in traffic, but he battled back and finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. Over the final Stage, Larson was at his best and then at the end he benefitted from having plenty of fuel. In race #1 2021, Larson had a flat tire in turn #3 on the last lap while leading, and that led to him finishing 9th after slamming into the wall. In the race, Larson ran the most fastest laps (23), led 15 laps, earned the 2nd best driver rating and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. In summer 2019 in his next most recent race, Larson finished 5th, was the 5th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had a 9.4 average running position. In spring 2019, Larson was strong but finished a misleading 26th. In the race he won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 35 laps but with 9 laps to go while he was running in the top five he got into the wall hard which led to an unexpected pit stop.

Ross Chastain
Pocono Fantasy Spin – Ross Chastain has a horrendous track record at Pocono, but don’t count him out from being a contender. The #1 team is a top five threat on a weekly basis, so by no means do I think the “Tricky Triangle” will trip him up. If anything, I’m just going to view Chastain as a driver without a track record since it’s literally that bad. Over the last six races heading into the weekend, Chastain has a series best 5.7 average finish. On Sunday, look for Chastain to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Pocono Track History – At Pocono, Ross Chastain is 5 for 5 at finishing 24th or worse and his average finish is 29.3. Last year in race #2, Chastain started in the rear of the field in a backup car, had the 18th best Total Speed Ranking, an 18th place average running position and then finished 26th. That said, Chastain’s race was anything but incident free. On lap 97 while battling Bell for 2nd, Chastain had contact with the #20 and cut a tire which led to an unexpected pit stop which doomed his afternoon. Then at the end, Chastain ran out of fuel. In race #1 2021, Chastain shown potential but crashed and finished 33rd. In the first two segments prior to his crash on lap 72, Chastain led 10 laps and had speed rankings of 8th and 7th. In his three Pocono starts prior to that when he piloted the #15, Chastain had results of 30th, 24th and 28th but for fantasy purposes, I wouldn’t even bother to read into those results.

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