Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Michigan International Speedway, Pure Michigan 400

Joey Logano picks up his second win of the season and Kyle Busch moves into the top thirty in points and is now eligible for the Chase with four races left to go before it starts. Right now we have eleven different winners and that means there are five spots open for people to qualify on points. Of those five drivers there is a fifty point cushion from the sixteenth spot to the seventeenth spot. The real problem comes if we get a new race winner in the next four races. If we do that will knock out another of those trying to get in on points and there is only twenty-three points separating all five of those drivers. One bad race could knock out any of them.

PURE MICHIGAN 400

This week the series heads back to Michigan International Speedway. Kurt Busch won the rain shortened race here in July when he took the lead on lap 133 and three laps later the rains came and the caution came out. Two laps after that the red flag was shown and the race was eventually called with Busch in the lead.

This two-mile track is very similar to California Speedway in its configuration and is not much different from the mile-and-a-half tracks that the series runs on quite regularly. It seems that the teams that can find a little more speed on the straightaways have the advantage at this track and right now that means the Joe Gibbs and Stewart-Haas teams are the teams to beat.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin didn’t win the race in June but, he was the dominant car, leading almost half of the laps run. If he wouldn’t have had to pit for fuel just before the rains came he would have been out in front like he was for most of the rest of the race. I think he is going to come back to this track with a great setup and will come away with another victory as we get closer to the Chase. He has also finished in the top five in four of his last five starts here.

Joey Logano: Joey picked up a win here two years ago and has finished in the top ten in his last five starts here. After his second win of the season last week at Watkins Glen, this team has a lot of confidence and momentum on their side. If they can qualify in the top ten and make the correct adjustments to their car this week during the race they might just win back-to-back races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has won two races at this track and finished third here in June this year. He has also finished in the top ten in his last three starts at this track and seems to be running very well consistently on this type of track this season. I look for this team to run well here once again this weekend as they gear up for the Chase and try to make sure they are doing what they need to do to keep up with changing track conditions.

Carl Edwards: Carl has been hit and miss this year with his new team on a weekly basis but, the way the Joe Gibbs teams are running right now this could be the week Carl picks up another win. He has two career wins at Michigan and has finished in the top ten in two-thirds of his twenty-two starts at this track. That is an outstanding stat and I think this team could come away with another great finish this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: Matt also has two wins at this track and runs for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also has some very impressive stats finishing in the top ten in nineteen of his thirty-two starts at this track and his numbers are equally impressive at California where he has fifteen top ten finishes in twenty-three starts. These are two of Matt’s best tracks to run on and this weekend should be no different.

Kyle Busch: Now that Kyle has made it to the top thirty in points he just needs to stay there over the next four weeks to make the Chase. Michigan hasn’t been one of his better tracks to run on as he has only six top ten finishes in twenty-one starts. This team can try to continue to win races and run well but, they really need to look at the big picture and make sure they don’t take any chances that could knock them back out of the top thirty in points.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won three times at this track during his career and has finished in the top ten in twenty-seven of his forty-one starts here. Right now he can make the Chase on points but, I don’t think anyone wants to take the chance we get another new winner this season and they have a bad race and get knocked out of the Chase and a chance to win a championship.
Ryan Newman: Ryan has won two races at this track during his career but, he has only finished in the top ten in seven of his twenty-eight starts. Ryan is currently in the Chase on points and hasn’t won a race in the past two seasons. However, that didn’t keep him from coming close to winning his first championship last season when he finished second to Kevin Harvick at Miami in the last race of the season with the championship on the line.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has yet to win a race at this track in his home state. However, he hasn’t finished worse than thirteenth in his last eight starts at this track and will do everything he can to win a race here. If his teammate, Joey Logano, always runs well here there is no reason to think Brad can’t do the same thing. I think he might be pressing a little too hard to win at this track and just needs to try and relax a little bit this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kevin Harvick
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kasey Kahne
  • Carl Edwards
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Paul Menard

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Danica Patrick
  • Justin Allgaier

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

  1. Kevin Harvick
  2. Matt Kenseth
  3. Joey Logano
  4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  5. Jeff Gordon

Dark Horse: Clint Bowyer

Stay Away From: Greg Biffle

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 WATKINS GLEN, CHEEZ-IT 355 AT THE GLEN

The last three laps of the Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway made significant changes to our NASCAR standings as we waited to see who would have enough gas to finish the race. My lineup followed the path of Kevin Harvick, as a rare misfortune buried me in the standings. Matt Kenseth’s team found a way to victory much to Logano, Busch, and Truex’s misfortune.

Congratulations to the Pavement Pounders out of the Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet league, who is now up to second overall in the Fantasy Live standings.

NASCAR stays in the north this week for the second road course of the season. You should not expect to earn many points from laps led and fast laps. Your best chance is to earn your points through average finish position and start-to-finish differential. There are some drivers who over-achieve and should provide value for your roster. If you look at the points per dollar numbers below, the results clearly point to leaning toward middle-tier drivers. As a result, I would recommend balancing your lineup with some of these overachieving drivers instead of the usual front-loading strategy. This may be the last chance for several teams to make the Chase, and I expect the closing laps to be as competitive as last season’s race.

My last Fantasy Live recommendations at a road course turned out to be a disaster, and we are rolling with a similar team this week. My first recommendation for your lineup is AJ Allmendinger. Allmendinger had a top-car in Sonoma before a mechanical issue shot him to the back of the field. He has a moderate price tag, and his 2014 victory at Watkins Glen qualified him to make the Chase. Over the last five Watkins Glen races, Allmendinger has an average finish position of 5.8 and 81% of his laps in the top-15. Over his career, AJ has four top-10 finishes in six races. He only has an average finish position of 23rd place in 2015, and that is keeping his salary cap low. He should provide great value this week in New York. Let us hope the results are more prosperous than the last time he was recommended.

Kyle Busch has had an amazing recovery from a broken leg. At the time of Sonoma, I held him out of my lineup due to the risk with his leg. After winning Sonoma and three other races, the worry over his leg has subsided. Kyle Busch has the most laps led at Watkins Glen over the last five races. He has four top-10 finishes in his last five races and an average finish position of 11.8. Historically, he has eight top-10 finishes in 10 races since 2005. Kyle Busch has collected three wins in his first eight races since returning. His lap-to-lap performance is good for fourth-best in the series. His recent string of finishes gives him great potential this week.

After watching Keselowski drive in Watkins Glen last year, I was surprised to see that he has not yet won at the track. He seems to be near the top when the race comes to a close, as evidenced by his three top-5 finishes in his last five races. Although he has not been as successful in the summer months, Keselowski has earned 11 top-10 finishes through the first 19 races in 2015. He is sixth in laps led this season. Keselowski is due to break his slump, and Watkins Glen is a great track for him to find his groove.

Casey Mears is another driver who was a disappointing Sonoma recommendations. He drove a little too hard, resulting in his entire brake assembly ripping off his car at the end of the race. He is back in my recommendations at Sonoma due to an average finish position of 15.8 over the last five Watkins Glen races. Mears has four straight top-20 finishes at Watkins Glen. Traditionally, Mears has worked his way through the field. On many tracks, I tend to ignore this number. At a track like Watkins Glen, you want someone who has proven the ability to pass. He only has an average finish position of 21.6 in 2015, which should translate to a valuable option this week.

With a few moderately-priced drivers in my lineup, I had more budget than usual for the final roster spot. My choice came down to Austin Dillon or Danica Patrick. In the end, I went with Austin Dillon because he is improving in the standings throughout the summer. He only has one run at the track, finishing 16th. He also passed 15 cars in the race, and he has shown the ability to pass in a limited sample. His average finish position in 2015 is a modest 21.3 and should be a value this week.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, finish position, and start-to-finish differential. In order to keep us from starting the top five drivers every week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula calculates the average number of Fantasy Live points earned by each driver over the last five Watkins Glen races. Next, we divide that number by the salary cap number to determine how much value each driver is expected to provide for your lineup. Danica Patrick missed out on the fifth spot of my lineup, and we will use her Watkins Glen numbers to further illustrate the formula.

DANICA PATRICK AT WATKINS GLEN

  • Average finish position last five Watkins Glen races: 20.5 equals 22.5 Fantasy Live points
  • Start-to-finish differential: Plus 18.5 equals 18.5 Fantasy Live Points per race
  • Laps Led: 0
  • Fast Led: 0
  • Fantasy Live points per race: 41
  • Fantasy Live salary cap figure: $12.50
  • Fantasy Live points per dollar: 41 divided by $12.50 equals 3.28 points per race

Below you will find the Fantasy Live points per dollar for each driver this week. Recommended picks are in bold. We will use the 2015 history for rookie drivers with no history at the track.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Kyle Busch 1.63
  • Martin Truex Jr. 1.58
  • Brad Keselowski 1.50
  • Kevin Harvick 1.45
  • Matt Kenseth 1.37
  • Kurt Busch 0.95
  • Joey Logano 0.83
  • Jimmie Johnson 0.81
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 0.80
  • Jamie McMurray 0.72
  • Jeff Gordon 0.71
  • Denny Hamlin 0.24

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Kyle Larson 2.60
  • Carl Edwards 1.85
  • Clint Bowyer 1.22
  • Kasey Kahne 1.19
  • Aric Almirola 1.19
  • Paul Menard 0.92
  • Ryan Newman 0.72

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Casey Mears 2.86
  • Austin Dillon 2.80
  • AJ Allmendinger 2.68
  • Greg Biffle 1.46
  • Tony Stewart 0.91

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • Danica Patrick 3.28
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2.84
  • Sam Hornish Jr. 2.75
  • David Gilliland 2.66
  • David Ragan 2.39
  • Cole Whitt (-2.27)

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Chris Buescher 4.00 *
  • Michael Annett 3.83
  • Alex Kennedy 3.36
  • Landon Cassill 3.09
  • Matt DiBenedetto 2.67 *
  • Justin Allgaier 2.46
  • Timmy Hill 2.20 *
  • Jeb Burton 1.40 *
  • Boris Said 1.30 (Currently not listed in Fantasy Live, based on $10 cap)
  • Alex Bowman 0.90
  • JJ Yeley (-1.10)
  • Michael McDowell (-1.87)

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Watkins Glen International, Cheez-It 355 at The Glen

Kyle Busch took a chance at making history and suffering a chance at not making the Chase when he went for his fourth straight win and ran out of gas on the last lap. However, it doesn’t look like that strategy hurt his chances of making the Chase as he is now just thirteen points out of the top thirty with five more races to go. If he finishes the next five races on the track, he should make the Chase easily.

CHEEZ-IT 355 AT THE GLEN

Five races left until the start of the Chase and this week the series heads to Watkins Glen International, which will be the second and final road-course race of the season. This race could potentially find a new winner that wouldn’t make the Chase without finishing with the checkered flag. That also means that someone could win this race and take away another spot from those trying to get in on points.

Kyle Busch: The win streak might have been snapped at Pocono but, I believe it restarts right away this week at Watkins Glen. Kyle won the race at Sonoma earlier this season and has won twice at ‘The Glen’ during his career. Besides that he has finished in the top ten in eight of his ten starts at this track. It would be foolish not to have him on your team this week.

Tony Stewart: Tony leads all active drivers with five wins on this track and he know he needs a win to make the Chase. This team has run very well the past two races and Tony has the mentality to know how to win races here and he also knows he needs to win one of the next five races to make the Chase.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff trails Tony in wins by one. He has won four races at this track and even after his third place finish at Pocono last week he knows a win will give him a guaranteed spot in the Chase. He also knows he had a little good luck thrown his way when some of the drivers ahead of him ran out of gas and gave him the spot he got last weekend at Pocono. I guarantee you he will do whatever he can to get a win this week without knocking himself out of contention for the Chase.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has won a race at this track and has seven top ten finishes in fourteen starts here. This team has nothing to learn here for the Chase and will do everything they can to win this race and improve their spot in the Chase. They see how well Kyle is running now and they know they will have to step up their game to repeat as champions.

Carl Edwards: Carl is still looking for his first career win at this track but, he has finished in the top five in half of his ten starts here. Joe Gibbs racing hasn run extremely well over the past two months with Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth winning races during that stretch and showing a lot of speed. Carl is already qualified for the Chase and I think this team will do nothing but go for the win this weekend.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has only run five races at this track and he has finished second three times. He is always a threat in these types of races and he has nothing to lose as he is already qualified for the Chase. I look for Brad and Kyle Busch to fight it out for the win once again this week if neither of them get into to trouble early in the race.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is solidly in the Chase and I think this team has been doing a lot of experimenting over the past couple of months. I also think they learned not to wait too long to get back to doing what they do best like they did last season and I think they will come out looking to just win another race this weekend. The thing to remember is that teams that are already qualified for the Chase will take gambles on fuel mileage etc. to win another race right now.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is the last of the consistent drivers on this course. In nine career starts here, he has finished in the top ten five times. This team is already in the Chase but, they know they will need every point and advantage they can get to win a championship without another team in their stable. Martin will do what he can to pick up another win this weekend.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver without a win but the mentality and equipment to make it to victory lane. Kurt has six top ten finishes in fourteen starts at this track and could have won multiple races here if not for mechanical issues or bad luck and timing on their pit stops. One of these times everything will fall into place for Kurt and that could be this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kyle Busch
  • Brad Keselowski

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Tony Stewart
  • AJ Allmendinger
  • Carl Edwards
  • Kurt Busch

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Landon Cassill
  • Boris Said

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Brad Keselowski
  3. Tony Stewart
  4. Jeff Gordon
  5. Kurt Busch

Dark Horse: AJ Allmendinger

Stay Away From: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 POCONO, WINDOWS 10 400

As we begin the month of August, the summer months are beginning to end and kids are getting ready to go back to school. In the NASCAR series, this means that drivers are running out of opportunities to qualify for the Chase.

We are back at Pocono Raceway this week, and all of the top drivers at the track are likely to make the Chase. There will probably not be any surprises. Since the Pocono race in June was not too long ago, I like to see the results from the June race as the best indicator for results this week. You will not get a ton of points out of laps led or fast laps this week, but I would still recommend front-loading your lineup with your three top choices and rounding out your lineup with budget options.

For those of you who read my article on a weekly basis, you already have a good idea who the first choice for my lineup will be. Kevin Harvick led 39 laps en route to a second place finish earlier this summer at Pocono. He has three top-10 finishes in his last five races at the track and an average finish position of 8.8. His 86 fast laps over the same time span is second among racers. Harvick’s 2015 numbers continue to be strong. He has 12 top-5 finishes and 16 top-10 finishes through 18 races. He has the most laps led and the most fast laps of any driver this season. With 91% of his laps within the top-15, he shows a consistency on a lap-to-lap basis. Harvick will continue to stay in my lineup as long as he continues to run near the top.

While leading 97 laps, Martin Truex Jr. won the June race at Pocono. Since the race dates are, the previous race results have a good chance to be duplicated. The only reason to avoid Truex is that his historical track numbers only show an average finish position of 15.1 and only seven top-10 finishes since 2005. Despite his track numbers, Truex has 14 top-10 finishes and an average finish position of 11.7 in 2015. His 486 Laps Led is third in the Series, and he has run 83% of his laps in the top-15. The #78 Furniture Row team has cooled down a bit as the summer months have progressed, but this appears to be more due to bad luck than a slow car. Expect a strong effort from Martin Truex Jr. this week.

I cannot have a recommended driver list from Pocono without including Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior finished 11th in the last Pocono race, but won both races in 2014. His numbers at the track over the last five races is impressive. Dale Jr. has four top-5 finishes, an average finish position of 4.2, and 91% of his laps in the top-15. In 2015, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s average finish position is 10.6, good for fifth in the series. He is also top-10 in laps led and fast laps.

With limited salary cap resources available, the bottom two drivers will not be as successful. Justin Allgaier finished in 20th place earlier this season and has a 21st place average finish position at the track. I have been expecting the #51 car to exceed his budget salary cap number for a few weeks. His team is always risky, but he has upside for his low salary cap number. In 2015, Allgaier has two top-20 finishes and an average finish position of 27.1. Michael Annett disappointed me earlier this season with a 34th place finish at Pocono. Over three races, he has a 25th place average finish position. Considering his low salary cap number, Michael Annett is a great budget option for your team. There are other budget options who provide incredible value this week. I am half-tempted to roster Brendan Gaughan at $4.50 to provide more versatility to my other roster spots for the rest of the season.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, finish position, and start-to-finish differential. In order to prevent us from simply starting the five best drivers each week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula calculates the average number of Fantasy Live points earned over the last five Pocono races. Next, we divide that number by the salary cap figure to determine which drivers provide the most salary cap value. Jimmie Johnson finished 3rd earlier in 2015, but narrowly missed my lineup recommendations. To make it up to him, we will use his numbers from the last five Pocono races to further illustrate the formula.

JIMMIE JOHNSON AT POCONO

  • Average finish position last five Pocono races: 12.4 equals 30.6 Fantasy Live points per race
  • Start-to-finish differential: Negative 2.8 equals negative 2.8 points per race
  • Laps Led: 176 laps led equals 17.6 points per race
  • Fast Laps: 52 fast laps equals 5.2 points per race
  • Fantasy Live points per race: 50.6
  • Fantasy Live salary cap figure: $27.50
  • Fantasy Live points per dollar: 50.6 divided by 27.50 equals 1.84 points per dollar

Below you will see the Fantasy Live points per dollar for all the drivers in the series. Highlighted picks are in bold. Because we already ran at Pocono two months ago, all drivers in the race have a track history this week.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2.05
  • Jeff Gordon 1.91
  • Jimmie Johnson 1.84
  • Martin Truex Jr. 1.65
  • Kurt Busch 1.61
  • Brad Keselowski 1.60
  • Kevin Harvick 1.56
  • Jamie McMurray 1.44
  • Joey Logano 1.13
  • Denny Hamlin 0.91
  • Kyle Busch 0.74
  • Matt Kenseth 0.63

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Kyle Larson 1.71
  • Ryan Newman 1.57
  • Kasey Kahne 1.54
  • Clint Bowyer 1.36
  • Carl Edwards 0.46
  • Aric Almirola 0.30
  • Paul Menard 0.09

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Greg Biffle 2.30
  • Tony Stewart 2.09
  • Austin Dillon 1.32
  • AJ Allmendinger (-0.01)

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • David Ragan 2.47
  • David Gilliland 2.27
  • Casey Mears 2.14
  • Trevor Bayne 2.11
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 0.82
  • Danica Patrick (-0.14)
  • Sam Hornish Jr. (-1.05)

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Michael Annett 4.23
  • Jeb Burton 3.58
  • Matt DiBenedetto 3.08
  • Justin Allgaier 2.91
  • Brett Moffitt 2.53
  • Alex Bowman 2.40
  • Josh Wise 2.27
  • Alex Kennedy 2.16
  • JJ Yeley 2.10
  • Brendan Gaughan 1.33
  • Landon Cassill 1.18
Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Pocono Raceway, Windows 10 400

Kyle Busch is on a mission right now. He picked up his third straight win and fourth in his last five starts and moved closer to the top thirty in points. With six more races to go before the Chase starts, all he needs to do is stay out of trouble and he should have a shot at winning his first Sprint Cup Championship. Right now he would be the odds on favorite to win that title too.

WINDOWS 10 400

This week the series heads back to Pocono Raceway for the running of the Windows 10 400. Once again, Pocono is a long two-and-a-half mile track without a lot of banking. It consists of three different types of corners and the trick is to get your car setup to be as fast as it can be all the way around the track. This is where a good crew-chief and good information from the driver really comes into play. You might make an adjustment to make your car better in one corner but, that adjustment might slow you down in the other two. Balance is the key to this race.

Denny Hamlin: I am going to say that Denny Hamlin finds himself back in victory lane at this track this weekend. The Joe Gibbs teams have been spectacular over the past six weeks and this weekend should be no different. Denny has won four races at this track and has nine top five finishes in his nineteen starts here. I think Kyle Busch is going to have to step out of the spotlight this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has won two of the last three races at Pocono and his worse finish in the last five races is an eleventh place finish. After another disappointing finish last week due to more mechanical problems on pit road, this team will be looking forward to getting back to the track and running well throughout a race. I think Dale will run up front most of the day and be in a position to go for another win late in this race.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff is another driver who will be looking for a little redemption this week after a disappointing finish last week also. Jeff got caught up in an accident that started in front of him and it ruined his day. Not the thing a team that doesn’t have a win and is trying to make the Chase on points wants to happen. With six wins at this track, Jeff leads all active drivers in that category and would love to make it seven and guarantee his spot in the Chase.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin won the race here in June and ran well once again last weekend at Indy. This team seems to have a really good handle on these flat tracks and they have shown that they have the speed to win races. Martin will be looking for the Pocono sweep this weekend as we close in on the Chase. He had the dominant car in the June race as he lead ninety-seven laps in that race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has always run well at this track and has three wins to back up that statement. He also has finished in the top ten in eighteen of his twenty-seven starts at this track. Now that Kyle Busch has the same number of wins as Jimmie and looks like he will make the Chase, this team would love to pick up another win themselves to obtain all of the bonus points they can when the Chase starts.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has two wins at this track and has always run well here himself. He has finished in the top ten in sixteen of his twenty-eight career starts at Pocono which is very good. Kurt has been fast all season and I think this team just needs a little better communication between driver and crew-chief. I know Kurt gives good information but, that doesn’t mean he and his crew-chief interpret that information to mean the same thing all of the time.

Kyle Busch: Let’s not rule Kyle out here. Any team that can win three straight races and four of five is some to be reckoned with. He has won on all types of tracks during this stretch and everything seems to be falling into place for this team right now. The biggest thing for this team right now is to remember they don’t have to win every race, they just need to finish them on the lead lap and they will make the Chase.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is still looking for his first career win at this track. However, he has finished second here in his last two starts, which means he has a pretty good idea on how to get around this track. This team is solidly in the Chase and would like to get at least one more win before the start of the Chase. They have been consistent for the last two seasons and that is how they won the championship last year.

Tony Stewart: Tony had a real good car last week at Indy but, things just didn’t work out well for him late in the race. He got caught behind cars that had bad restarts and then got pinballed out of contention. This is another week where Tony can come out and win a race and qualify himself for the Chase. Tony has finished in the top ten in twenty-two of his thirty-three starts here with two wins to show. After last week I think this team can win this week’s race.

Joey Logano: Joey has one win at Pocono and has finished in the top ten in five of his last seven starts there. He had a fast car that handled well last week at Indy and he had himself in position to pick up a win on the last restart but, Kyle Busch just got too good of a restart and Joey couldn’t get around him during the Green-White-Checkered finish. This week could be a different story.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR POCONO RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Denny Hamlin
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kurt Busch
  • Tony Stewart
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Justin Allgaier
  • Landon Cassill

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT POCONO RACEWAY

  1. Denny Hamlin
  2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  3. Jimmie Johnson
  4. Joey Logano
  5. Tony Stewart

Dark Horse: Tony Stewart

Stay Away From: Jamie McMurray