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Editor’s Note: If you've never played Daily Fantasy before, our partner DraftKings is hosting a Fantasy NASCAR tournament this weekend for the Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway.
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This week NASCAR heads back to Pocono Raceway for the Windows 10 400. It's called the tricky triangle and it presents quite a challenge for crew chiefs and teams. Each one of the three corners is unique and banked anywhere from 6 to 14 degrees. Teams will try to set the cars up to be balanced in all corners which can become an ongoing thing throughout the race. Track position will be key once again at Pocono as passing is difficult on this track. In the June race there was no driver who started outside the top 15 who finished inside the top 10 and only three drivers starting outside the top 20 finished inside the top 20 at the end of the race. Pay attention to practice times throughout the weekend and especially qualifying order this week.
Going into this race for fantasy, DraftKings has made some adjustments to their NASCAR game. If you have been playing frequently on DraftKings since they introduced the NASCAR game, you would have noticed a ton of overlapping lineups each week, especially in GPP formats. We knew going in that this could be an issue with a roster constructed of five drivers out of a field of 43 drivers. They have now added a sixth driver to the rosters which should provide a bit of separation between similar lineups. DraftKings has also eliminated the Pass Differential bonus points from the scoring system as well. Hopefully these changes create separation in the tournament fields each week and attract more NASCAR fantasy enthusiasts to the game. We can only wait and see on Sunday.
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings Picks
Jimmie Johnson - $10,400
With Kevin Harvick as the highest priced option this week and Kyle Busch scorching hot, Jimmie Johnson becomes a nice pivot as the 3rd highest in salary this week. He is coming off back to back finishes of 15th or worse and will be looking to get back in the win column. In his previous five races at Pocono Jimmie has posted a Win, two top 5's and three top 10 finishes. It is getting close to the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which is usually the time of year the #48 team turns it up a notch and gets locked in to chase another championship.
Kurt Busch - $10,100
If you are looking for a staple in your cash games this week with some upside for GPP play then look no further. Kurt Busch is coming back to Pocono with a 6.2 average finish in his previous five races here with three top 5's and four top 10 finishes in that time. The #41 team has shown lots of speed all season and has been extremely consistent as of late posting seven straight top 10 finishes.
Denny Hamlin - $9,300
He has been trending in the right direction as of late posting three top 5 finishes in his previous five races. He holds a 14.8 average finish at Pocono in his last five races here with a top 5 and 4 top 10 finishes including a 10th place finish in June. As the 8th most expensive driver this week he makes a nice cash game play and also has the upside to grab another top 5 finish here.
Kyle Larson - $8,300
This is more of a GPP play this week as the $42 team has posted three finishes outside the top 30 in the previous five races. Form is not there at the moment which should bring his ownership level down and present an opportunity for some value. He has raced here at Pocono in the Sprint Cup Series three times and posted one top 5 and two top 10 finishes. Watch practice closely to see if the #42 team can produce top 5 speeds this weekend.
Ryan Newman - $7,600
If not for a late race altercation with AJ Allmendinger, Newman would have posted his 5th top 10 finish here in his previous five races. In that time he has two top 5 finishes as well. He was running top 15 for most of the race and always seems to find speed at the superspeedways so look for him to again have a fast car and score a top 10 finish. The only thing that might throw a wrench into things would be if Newman decides to get revenge on the #47 car.
Casey Mears - $6,500
This pick comes from the lower end of the salaries and fits nicely into a stars & scrubs lineup this week. In five of his previous five races here at Pocono Casey has recorded a 19.4 average finish. Look for him to qualify outside the top 20 to squeeze the most value out of him. In his five most recent races, he has recorded three top 20 finishes and a 21.6 average finish.
The Pocono race weekend schedule has first practice early Friday afternoon followed by Coors Lite Pole Qualifying Friday afternoon. I will update the article later on this afternoon with qualifying order and my final thoughts and what to look for going into the final two practices Saturday. I will also be live chatting on Satuday afternoon for anyone with questions about the race on Sunday.
Post Qualifying Update
Qualifying Top 10
- #18 Kyle Busch
- #4 Kevin Harvick
- #22 Joey Logano
- #3 Austin Dillon
- #14 Tony Stewart
- #41 Kurt Busch
- #20 Matt Kenseth
- #19 Carl Edwards
- #2 Brad Keselowski
- #24 Jeff Gordon
Definitely monitor practice closely Saturday as there could be some value to be had. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is starting in the 15th position and he owns this track so if he shows top 5 speed in the final two practices, get him in your lineups. Jimmie Johnson(Starting 12th) and Martin Truex Jr.(Starting 13th) could also provide nice value if they show speed on Saturday. On the lower end of the salaries monitor Kyle Larson's practice speeds closely as he will be starting back in 27th and could easily score a top 20 and will have top 10 upside at this track.
Final Practice Update
Final Practice Top 10
- #18 Kyle Busch
- #41 Kurt Busch
- #19 Carl Edwards
- #4 Kevin Harvick
- #48 Jimmie Johnson
- #2 Brad Keselowski
- #11 Denny Hamlin
- #20 Matt Kenseth
- #78 Martin Truex Jr.
- #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kyle Busch finishes final practice with the fastest time on only three laps due to contact with the wall early on. Kurt Busch finished final practice as the second fastest car to brother Kyle. He also had the fastest consecutive 10 lap average in final practice. Harvick showed the speed he has had here at Pocono over the past five races and was second in consecutive 10 lap average in final practice. The Joe Gibbs Racing team finished top 4 in combined practice so be sure to get exposure to the #18, #20, #19, and #11 tomorrow. Kyle Larson presents some value starting 27th in the race tomorrow. He ended up as the 13th fastest in combined practice average.
If you have any questions going in to the race tomorrow be sure to send me a tweet @jager_bombs9 and have a drink for me tonight!
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