NASCAR: Fantasy Racing Picks for Pocono

It’s time to get your fantasy racing lineups set as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for their second trip of the season to the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle.”

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After a wild finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR‘s top drivers head to Pocono Raceway to get back on track at a place where fuel mileage can make any race unpredictable.

It was just a year ago when Chris Buescher used impending weather to his advantage and decided not to pit before the rain came and the race was called. Buescher would use the win to earn his spot in the playoffs, an unlikely scenario for the rookie driver and underdog team.

This will be the second race at Pocono in the past eight races, making the race results from June a good place to start building your fantasy racing team.

Choose your dominator

Kyle Busch ($10,700) led 100 laps at Pocono earlier this season and finished 9th. Busch has yet to win this season and is a risky play. He led a ton of laps last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before tangling with Martin Truex Jr. and crashing out. Busch has yet to win this season, but is a proven contender at Pocono.

Martin Truex Jr. ($10,500) is another proven winner at Pocono Raceway and also ran well at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has many similarities to Pocono. Truex Jr. finished 6th in June and if you have the room, is worth a spot in case he dominates by leading a bunch of laps again.

Young Guns

Ryan Blaney ($8,700) won the race at Pocono in June, scoring his first win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Blaney led just 10 laps in that race after starting from the 4th position, but with Pocono being such a unique track for car setup, choosing him as the winner is a safe option.

Erik Jones ($8,300) finished 3rd at Pocono in June and has six finishes inside the top 15 in his last nine starts. Jones led for 20 laps in the last race at Pocono, started from the 15th position and is priced reasonably well.

Two lower priced options

Ty Dillon ($6,600) finished 18th at Pocono earlier this year after starting 27th. Dillon’s team has taken chances earlier this year (Dover) to stay out in front and try to lead some laps and earn a good finish. The history of strategy used by teams at Pocono could play into the favor of the No. 13 team for a good finish.

Next: NASCAR: Reliving Mayfield vs. Earnhardt, 2000 Pocono 500

David Ragan ($5,100) didn’t finish great in the June race at Pocono, 25th, but at this price it is hard to find an option with consistent reliability. Pocono is a large, 2.5-mile oval that is hard on race equipment, something that other drivers priced in this range haven’t had the best luck with. Let’s also not forget Ragan is driving the same car Buescher did last August when he scored that unlikely victory.