Kyle Larson was dominant once again at Nashville in the first Cup Race held there. He has been the best of the field pretty much every week lately. Martin Truex Jr. had a run earlier in the year where he was dominant, but has since relinquished that spot to Kyle
RACE ONE AND TWO
This week the series heads to the Pocono Raceway for the running of 2 separate races. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. This is difficult for the drivers and teams along with all of us fantasy players. Another tough thing about this weekend is the unpredictable weather in the Pocono Mountains. These races could get rained out very easily and then the schedule has to be altered to make sure all of the races get run somehow.
Kyle Larson: Kyle is the hottest driver on the track and though he didn’t run here last year and this will be his first time at Pocono with Hendrick Motorsports, I have to give him the nod for the win on Saturday. I just think this team is hitting on all cylinders right now and it’s tough to go against them. That doesn’t mean he’ll sweep the weekend though. All of the other teams will have a full race to try a figure it out for Sunday’s race.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin finished first and second in the two races run here last season. Besides that, in his last ten Pocono races he has one win, three second place finishes and seven top five finishes. This might be the week for this team to break back into the win column and get qualified for the playoffs.
Denny Hamlin: Denny leads all active drivers with six wins at this track. That includes winning the second race here the last two years. In between those two races he finished second to Harvick once last year. This is someone who has always run well at this track and this weekend should be no different.
Kyle Busch: This team has been getting better all the time. He has won three of his last seven starts at Pocono and will be someone to reckon with this weekend. He has finished in the top ten in eight of his last nine starts here also and has won multiple stages during that stretch.
William Byron: William has run very well this year and though he has only run six races at Pocono he has a pretty good idea on what to relay to his crew chief for the adjustments he needs to have made to his car during the race. With four top ten finishes in those six starts this is another team that won’t surprise if they come away with another top five finish this weekend.
Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has two career wins at this track and has finished in the top ten in six of his last eight starts here. Though they haven’t been as fast lately as they were earlier in the season, this is the type of track where Martin really excels. A bit flatter in the corners and with three corners that need different handling he knows how to get around here.
Brad Keselowski: Brad’s only win here came way back in the 2011 season. That’s not to say he hasn’t run well here though. In fact, Brad has finished in the top ten in nine of his last eleven starts at Pocono with seven of those finishes being top fives. This team can come out and win on any given week and we know Brad is going to do whatever he can to get back to victory lane.
Erik Jones: We looked for Erik to run well at Sonoma which he did coming away with a eleventh place finish. Well, he runs very well at this track also and because of the handling needed here I’m going to have him as my dark horse this week. I’m not sure if he’ll have the speed he needs to the long straightaway, but I’m pretty sure he’ll handle well in the corners. If he can get off the corners good he’ll have a good run. He has four top five finishes in his last five starts and that tells me a lot about his ability here.
Chase Elliott: This is another track where I expect to see Chase compete with the leaders for the most part. He’s still learning some things and once he can figure out what he needs to run well in all three corners he’s going to win some races here. In his ten career starts he has finished in the top ten seven times with three of those finishes being fourth place finishes. That means he’s close to having everything figured out.
Not many changes for race 2. I put Daniel Suarez in for my C driver and am taking Alex Bowman for the Big 18. Otherwise all of my picks are the same as they were for Saturday’s race.
DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR POCONO RACEWAY
Driver Group Game Group A
- Denny Hamlin
Driver Group Game Group B
- Kyle Larson
- William Byron
Driver Group Game Group C
- Daniel Suarez
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT POCONO RACEWAY
- Kyle Larson
- Denny Hamlin
- Kevin Harvick
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr.
Dark Horse: Erik Jones
Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace
Big 18: Alex Bowman
35 replies on “2021 Pocono Raceway, NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono-1 and 2”
1) thoughts on Almirola? He’s run strong at pocono in the past few races. I know he’s been subpar this year, but from a B driver conservation standpoint- is he worth taking a shot on?
2) it looks like the group game hasn’t updated Chase Elliott’s DQ at Nashville. Do they typically redo the scoring with DQ’s or are they credited with the final finish in these circumstances?
Almirola finally ran well this past weekend. He might be worth taking a shot on. You could see how he runs on Saturday and if he does well take him on Sunday. That would eliminate some of the guess work.
I’ll have to talk to Darren about the DQ scoring.
Interested in this as well.
Sorry – just saw this comment thread. I agree – his points should be removed! Cheers boys.
Yeah interested as well. I had a 10 point lead, but I’m now down 20. The person in first place ran chase Elliot and is getting credit for his 13th place finish.
It’s a must win…. lol No saving drivers this week. Chris Buescher is in my “C” group, would you use him above McDowell or Stenhouse? Didn’t work last week. (Last week was brutal on me!)
You can take a shot at him on Saturday and see how he does and then decide if you want to use him again on Sunday or go with someone else. There really aren’t a lot of great options in the C group.
Filled out the Contact us page… but why is Chase Elliot’s score being kept from last week at Nashville? He was DQ’d by NASCAR… I think his points should be removed if we are scoring based upon the final results of NASCAR.
Thanks, Mike.
I guess you didn’t have him on your team eh?
He wasnt on my team either so they should take his points away lol. I need all the help I can get lmao.
Last year I ran Jimmy at Charlotte when his second place finish got DQ’ed and I lost his points. I’m just curious what the difference is?
I don’t run the game. I’ll have to talk to the game administrator to see what the rules are for this year.
9-5-11-18-4- I have next 2 picks
19 and 2.
Who are the sleeper drivers in this race besides Eric Jones? Can you list about 5 drivers by number or name. It’s for fantasy live on the Nascar website.
Byron, Bowman, Buescher, DiBenedetto, Bell.
At this point of the year, I’d respectfully argue that 11 and 4 are sleeper picks as compared to 24 and 48. Past results are key for sure, but I don’t think either 11 or 4 have either 550 or 750 package figured out. 11 was close in April and May… the 4 really hasn’t hit any sort of stride. Conversely, the HMS camp has it figured out. Good luck! 2 for 1 weekend, can’t wait!
Jeff, I’m not involved in Fantasy but have a large group in a Big 18 pool.
I know you picked Keselowski. Is that your pick for both races or do you have another driver you would take. If so, what day would you take each driver.
I was going to wait and see how Brad ran on Saturday and then make my pick for Sunday.
Cool. I’ll keep an eye out for the Sunday pick. We have some ground to make up but it’s not over. Leader in our pool sitting with 166 points.
Jeff who do I run between mcdowell, stenhouse, or suarez. Three starts left with stenhouse and plenty of starts with the other two. Thanks
I was looking at Suarez myself and after he had a pretty good run last week I would maybe take a chance on him this week.
5-11-18-4- my pick
19
12 or 22?
22
Thank you, brother.
Larson or Harvick? I have one of each of these drivers left. I really would love to save Larson for a race down the line…and Harvick did have a good race last week. Your thoughts please sir?
I say go with the driver who is the hottest. You don’t know if they’ll stay hot all year. Larson.
After seeing today’s race, do your picks change? Is Truex a good play since he’s starting up front?
The only things I changed was using Suarez in the C group and running Bowman and Byron in B instead of Larson just to save a start for him.
Who is your top 6 drivers for tomorrow’s race? Does anything change because of wrecks or anything!?
The only things I changed was using Suarez in the C group and running Bowman and Byron in B instead of Larson just to save a start for him.
Thoughts on Buescher? Considering conserving some B drivers and thought maybe The 17 could have a decent run. Starting on the pole, maybe leads a few laps and gives me a top 15? Or do you think there’s someone else out there that would be better if someone was looking to conserve Byron/Bowman/Larson?
Might be okay, you could also go with Almirola. He’s run pretty well the last 2 races now.