Pocono Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Practice Predictions
On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Pocono! The “Tricky Triangle” is a gigantic 2.5-mile flat triangle that I view as a unique track. Pocono races are always heavy on strategy, and like road courses they are often run backwards, pit strategy wise so teams make as few pit stops as possible to position themselves to be up front at the end.
On Saturday, NASCAR practice was held for Pocono. Teams only had 20 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agenda’s (some want to focus on long runs, some just want to feel out their car etc.). Make sure you check out our Pocono Practice Notes, Pocono Practice Speeds and Pocono 5,10 and 15 Lap average Speed Cheat Sheet.
Here’s the Pocono Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup.
Pocono Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Chase Elliott
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 3rd / 10 Lap Average – 1st
Pocono Breakdown – At Pocono, there’s no question Chase Elliott will be a contender. Momentum is a magical force in fantasy racing, and nobody is hotter than Chase Elliott. Over the last four races heading into the weekend, Elliott has 2 wins, 2 runner-up’s and the best Total Speed Ranking. Elliott’s recent Pocono track record is nothing to get excited about, but over his seven incident free races at “The Tricky Triangle” his average finish is 6.7. Last year at Pocono in race #2, Elliott looked extremely strong and was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 27th. In the final Stage, Elliott’s afternoon went south thanks to two flat tires. On lap 99 he was in 7th, but then on lap 101 he had his first flat tire (contact with Bell on lap 98). Then on lap 107, Elliott had a flat tire again which further doomed him. In 2021 #1, Elliott damaged his car early, so it’s hard to say just how good the #9 was and he finished 12th. In race #2 2020, Elliott was strong. In that race he started way back in 25th but raced his way to a 4th place finish. 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. It’s more than clear, the #9 team has hit on something with the Next Gen, so look for the good times to continue at Pocono!
DraftKings $10,100 / FanDuel $13,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +800
2) Denny Hamlin
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – NA
Pocono Breakdown – Polesitter, Denny Hamlin is a “Tricky Triangle” master who’s 6-wins are tied with Jeff Gordon for the most all-time! Bad luck haunts Hamlin on a weekly basis, but if he can avoid it, I think he has an extremely high fantasy ceiling and can potentially compete for the win. Since 2019 at Pocono, Hamlin has 2 wins, a series best 4.7 average finish, a series best 7.2 average running position and he has the best driver rating. Last year in race #2, Hamlin was strong but finished 14th. In the race, Hamlin finished 2nd in Stage #2, was running in 2nd with 4 laps to go but then with 2 to go he had to duck down pit road for fuel. In 2021 Race #1, Hamlin finished 4th, was the 4th fastest driver late in a run and had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2020 #2, Hamlin raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Hamlin led 49 laps, ranked as the 3rd Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the last three segments his speed rankings were 3rd, 3rd and 1st. In race #1 2020, Hamlin finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, ranked as the 2nd Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2019, Hamlin’s results were 1st and 6th. Following his pole win, Denny Hamlin sounded very confident with his car. A confident Hamlin at Pocono will definitely be a driver to be reckoned with.
DraftKings $10,400 / FanDuel $12,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +800
Further Recommended Reading: Pocono Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Pocono Playability Value Chart, FanDuel Pocono Playability Value Chart
3) Kyle Larson
Start 4th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – NA
Pocono Breakdown – At Pocono, look for Kyle Larson to be a factor. Larson has never won at “The Tricky Triangle”, but he’s certainly one of the best and over the last three races his average finish is 5.3. If Larson didn’t have a flat tire while leading in 2021 #1 at the end, his average finish over that stretch would be 2.6. “Performance Wise”, Larson has been a top five contender over his last four Pocono races. Last year in race #2, Larson started in the back, damaged his nose early in traffic, but he battled back and finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. 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 earned the 2nd best driver rating, had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking and led 15 laps. In summer 2019 in his next most recent race, Larson finished 5th. In spring 2019, Larson was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 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.
DraftKings $9,800 / FanDuel $13,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +800
