Congratulations to Jeff Gordon who picked up his fifth career win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend during the running of the Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400. With the win, Jeff extended his points lead and picked up bonus points that will be applied when the Chase starts. Now there are only six races left until the start of the Chase and eleven drivers are virtually locked into the field with five more spots up for grabs.
GOBOWLING.COM 400
This week the series heads back to Long Pond, PA for the running of the GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. It was late June when Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up his second win of the season at Pocono and now we head back to the scene of the crime. I think the teams that ran well this past week at Indy will do very well once again this weekend at Pocono because of the flatter track configuration. There is still some work to be done though with the tunnel turn making things a little more difficult when setting up the race cars.
Jeff Gordon: With six career victories at this track and a win last weekend at Indy I have to pick Jeff to win once again this week. Jeff also has thirty top ten finishes in forty-three starts at this track and those are unbelievable numbers. Six victories here, two wins this season, and leading the point standings make me have to start Jeff once again this weekend.
Denny Hamlin: Denny has four wins at this track and looked good last week at the Brickyard. I think this team has a chance to pick up it’s second victory of the season this weekend if they can make the right adjustments on the car as the race progresses. One other thing about Pocono is that it rains there a lot and teams have to be prepared to run in all types of conditions throughout the weekend and that makes it a tough weekend for everyone involved.
Kasey Kahne: Kasey has two career wins at this track, looked very good last week at Indianapolis, and needs a win to guarantee himself a spot in the Chase. Picking up a win is critical to this teams chances of making the Chase as they are the first team currently on the outside looking in if the Chase started now. They can still move up in the standings and make the Chase without a win, but that is leaving your future in the competitions hands.
Tony Stewart: I thought Tony would run a little better last week at Pocono, but I think they learned some things that they can apply to their setup this weekend and come away with a better result. Tony has two victories at this track and always seems to run well on this type of track. If they can win a race and make the Chase I think they will be very happy after struggling early in the season and finding themselves in this position anyway.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has three career wins here and has finished in the top ten in seventeen of his twenty-five starts here. This team would like to get more consistent as we near the start of the Chase so they can concentrate on winning another championship. With the new Chase rules, consistency is going to be a major factor in the early Chase rounds.
Kevin Harvick: Once again, Kevin sat on the pole and had a car capable of visiting victory lane again this year. This team would like to finish what they start at the end of the weekend. Every victory means more points heading into the Chase and those bonus points could be the difference of making it to the next round, or being eliminated from the Chase before the next round begins.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale won the race here in June and has looked very good on this type of track all season long. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers in my opinion to be more consistent than Dale this year and like I said, consistency is what is going to win a championship this year. I look for Dale to have another great car again this weekend and having a shot to visit victory lane again.
Kurt Busch: Kurt always run better at Pocono than he does at Indy. He has won two races at this track and has finished in the top ten in seven of his last nine starts here. I think the reason for this is that Kurt can figure out how to get his car setup to run all of the different turns at Pocono. I think they would like to have some better finishes and move up a little in the standings as we near the Chase to make sure that their win this year is good enough for them to make the Chase.
Ryan Newman: Ryan had a great run at Indy last week and has finished in the top ten at Pocono in six of his last seven starts there. I think this team will make the Chase without a win, but I am sure they would rather win a race and get some momentum built up as we get ready to start the Chase in another month and a half. I think Ryan is another good starter this week in Yahoo.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR POCONO RACEWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Jeff Gordon
- Kevin Harvick
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Denny Hamlin
- Ryan Newman
- Tony Stewart
- Carl Edwards
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Kyle Larson
- Austin Dillon
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT POCONO RACEWAY
- Jeff Gordon
- Denny Hamlin
- Kevin Harvick
- Kasey Kahne
- Ryan Newman
Dark Horse: Kyle Larson
Stay Away From: Matt Kenseth
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