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Pocono Raceway - Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Track - 2.5 Mile Tri-Oval Superspeedway
Banking - 6°-14° Banking in the Turns
This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup series travels back to Pocono Raceway for the Pennsylvanie 400. It is the second of two races here this season so we have some data to use with the current rules package. Pocono is a very unique superspeedway in that it has three turns that all have different banking and shape. It is a race where a ton of emphasis goes on the crew chief fr trying to find a balanced setup that can perform in all corners. Qualifying will also be heavily weighted as four of the Top 5 and eight of the Top 10 finishers in the June race started inside the Top 10. When looking for our dominator this race we will want a guy starting close to the front who has been fast in practice. I will be updating the cheatsheet following qualifying on Friday and Final practice on Saturday. The schedule for the practice and qualifying sessions are listed below:
Are looking to get better as fantasy NASCAR but don't have the time to conduct all the research necessary? Check out my DFS NASCAR Cheatsheet which will give you the edge to cash more consistently on DraftKings. The cheatsheet includes driver salaries, current form(Last 5 races), Track History(Last 5 Years), Loop Data, weekly salary trends, and practice and qualifying ranks. I have also created a weighting system which changes weekly and takes in to account all of the things listed previously. I update the practice and qualifying as they happen which changes the overall rankings through the weekend. The cheatsheet will also be final shortly after the final practice. If you purchase the cheatsheet prior to final practice you will receive an email when the final lineup has been set.
If you have any questions about the cheatsheet throw me an email(jagerbombs99@gmail.com) or hit me up on Twitter(@jager_bombs9).
Kyle Busch
DraftKings - $10,600
First Practice - 3rd
Qualified - 16th
Final Practice -
Sorry haters! I just can't fade Kyle right now. I am getting this article out late this week so I had time to listen to qualifying and already have the resulted plugged into my cheatsheet. After a dominating weekend at Indianapolis Kyle comes to one of the two tracks remaining on the schedule that he hasn't recorded a win at. I love his chances this weekend. He is in the zone right now after a bad stretch in the middle of the season. While he most likely won't get many dominator points due to his team not finding the setup for qualifying(starting 16th), he had a fast car in first practice(3rd) and has a ceiling of 15 place differential points if he should finish first.....and I think he does. If not a Top 3-5 finish with 8-10 place differential points should be enough for him to make value this week.
Denny Hamlin
DraftKings - $9,100
First Practice - 2nd
Qualified -4th
Final Practice -
Hamlin is by far one of the top value plays of the week and could be in line for some dominator points on Sunday. He was 2nd fastest in the first practice and qualified 4th for the race. While his recent history here hasn't been spectacular(two Top 5's/five Top 10's) he has won four races here in his career. In his rookie season he did the near impossible leading 234 laps and winning sweeping both Pocono races. The Toyota's look to again be force to be reckoned with. At just $9,100, rostering Hamlin gives you a ton of flexibility and should be in contention in the final laps.
Joey Logano
DraftKings - $9,500
First Practice - 7th
Qualified - 10th
Final Practice -
Logano has once again reached his season low salary and is the top value play of the week. Over the last five years(10 races) he has picked up a win, four Top 5's, six Top 10's and leads all drivers with 237 laps lead. Looking at his current form gets me even more excited. Outside of the wreck at Kentucky, he has a win, five Top 5's and seven Top 10 finishes. He will be starting inside the Top 10 and will have a good chance to get to the front and pick ups some place differential and dominator points. He is safe in all formats.
Also Consider - Martin Truex Jr.
Kurt Busch
DraftKings - $8,900
First Practice - 14th
Qualified - 15th
Final Practice -
Another driver who is trending in the right direction when looking at salary. He has dipped below $9K for the first time since Kansas and will be a top value play this week. He won the race here in June after starting 9th and racing his way to the front to lead 32 laps. Over the past five years(10 races) he has picked that win to go with five Top 5's and six Top 10 finishes. After his incredible run of 10 straight Top 10's he has struggled a bit over the past month with just one. Look for the #41 team to get back on track as we get closer to the Chase.
Paul Menard
DraftKings - $7,100
First Practice - 1st
Qualified - 3rd
Final Practice -
At $7,100 this week , Paul Menard makes a terrific GPP play in any format. He came out lightning fast leading the field in practice #1 and then went on to qualify 3rd for the race on Sunday. The reason I don't trust him in cash games is if he is not perfect throughout the race he has a big downside with place differential points. His average finish is 21 for the season. I will definitely take a shot in tournaments as they will be giving it everything they got to get a win and a ticket into the Chase.
Also Consider - Ryan Newman
Regan Smith
DraftKings - $5,500
First Practice - 31st
Qualified - 30th
Final Practice -
He paid of his punt price of $5,400 last week with a 26th place finish and I am going back to the week at Pocono. He finished 22nd at the Pocono race back in June after a four year absence and had six straight Top 25 finishes before that. At $5,500, a Top 25 is about all we are asking from our punt play. It's more about how many studs we can fit in our lineups with the salary relief.
Also Consider - Danica Patrick
Qualifying Top 10
If you have any questions on lineups or drivers prior to lineup lock scroll down to the comment section and join the conversation.
Good Luck everyone!
Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for The Pennsylvania 400? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings and FantasyFeud Cash Games & Tournaments. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.
Pennsylvania 400
Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA, PGA, and of course NASCAR. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any NASCAR questions or how he copes with the winters up north.
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