NASCAR HighPoint.com 400 DFS Preview
Photo Credit: NASCAR.com
DraftKings Preview
AustYnWe are keeping it in the northeastern United States with the next NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway for the HighPoint.com 400. Last week, Martin Truex Jr. dominated at Loudon by winning all stages and the checkered flag. The race meant a lot to Martin as he had never won at the “home” track that many experts call it…even though Martin is from New Jersey. Anyways, there wasn’t a car in the field that could keep up with the 19 team. We did have him as our selection last week, so let’s keep the iron hot by selecting another winner today! In other news in the NASCAR world…Justin Haley and Rick Ware Racing announced their partnership for a multi-year contract and Justin will be in one of their cup cars next season. While it does seem like a step back for Haley, it could be possible that Rick Ware’s equipment is developing under the partnership with RFK. This is totally a random opinion of mine and I have no facts to back this up…but could it be possible that Gene Haas is looking to partner with Rick Ware? Stewart-Haas has been…in other words pathetic this season let’s be honest…without Kevin Harvick, this team is not good. Leadership is lacking as they have been hit with massive penalties, and all they seem to do is blame everyone else for their issues. Meanwhile, Cole Custer is in the Xfinity series racing under the Haas banner…he is related to Gene Haas and Custer has been starting for Rick Ware in the Cup series as of late…Rick Ware also has other motorsports ties as in Indy car and such…Gene Haas is in F1…seems like a great partnership. Tony Stewart really needs to right this ship, or I could easily see this Rick Ware team having Cole Custer and Justin Haley in the Cup series soon with Haas backing. Plus, if Kaulig thinks Chandler Smith is their future…they better re-evaluate that one, Haley has been driving their junk solidly in the past couple years and he’s arguable the best superspeedway racer in NASCAR.
On to Pocono…”The Tricky Triangle” as it is known as, is a very distinct, flat 2.5-mile triangular track that has different corners. I have heard that the track was modeled after Indianapolis, Trenton Speedway (now defunct) and the Milwaukee Mile. William Byron will be on the pole for this one. Track position is not as major of a factor as it would be at some of the other tracks we race at, you can make passes here, especially by setting up passes on the straightaways and entrance to the corners. Also, the track is so large, that sometimes you can afford to mess a corner up and not lose too much, although that is not the case as much with the new cars. My research includes practice speeds, especially long runs (even though we don’t have much data for that) and most importantly price point. There is plenty of value in DK this week, that frankly has me puzzled.
Top Pick: Kyle Busch ($10,500) Starting 25th
(Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rowdy is the driver to beat at Pocono…with 4 career wins and with his last 3 finishes being 2nd, 2nd, and 1st…I really like him starting in the 25th spot. There will only be 160 laps completed today, so laps led won’t be a determining factor for picking your top choice. Kyle also ran the 2nd fastest lap and won the truck race, so Pocono should be kind to Kyle Busch today.
Supporting Cast: Alex Bowman ($7,900) Starting 20th & Chris Buescher ($7,500) Starting 18th
What on earth is DK thinking giving us Alex Bowman at a sub $8k price?!?!? I mean, I know Bowman has been slumping to say the least as of late, but this is one of his best tracks. He has a victory here and has gotten a top-15 in his last 4 races here. He was 10th quick in practice and a top-10 would be solid for us today. Chris Buescher has been consistent this year and just like Bowman, he has won here (albeit rain shortened) but again…you get a top-15 driver at $7.5k and one who hasn’t finished outside of the top-20 since April of this year at Richmond. His 6th place practice time helps a little too, but don’t be shocked to see Buescher flirting with a top-10 today.
FanDuel Preview
YacsToday’s race is at the Tricky Triangle and things are going to be a little trick in DFS today. Pocono is one of those tracks that doesn’t really do a lot for me. Sure, it is unique and sure, the way they drive it is different, but it has always been one of the more boring tracks due to the length of the track. It is 2.5 miles. The big thing with this track though was the shifting in turns. While There are ovals out there where you have to shift at now with the latest car, Pocono was the first on the circuit for NASCAR. Last week, Martin Truex Jr. picked up the win and he has been on a roll this season. Truex dominated at New Hampshire and he finally grabbed that win he was looking for at Loudon.
This week will surely be a different pace and a different style of racing and it should be interesting, but our strategy today is going to be simple. Pick drivers that do well here. I also want to look at practice speeds, because they’re beneficially to seeing how fast the drivers are, especially at a big track where equipment matters. Fords were slow in practice, so I’m going to not go Ford-heavy in my lineup. There isn’t one make that was better than the rest though, so there are a lot of options to choose from. That isn’t a great thing though. Well, let’s see what we have rolled out this week on FanDuel.
AP
Former Teammates: Denny Hamlin ($13,500) Starting 8th; Kyle Busch ($12,000) Starting 25th
The former JGR teammates are the first off of the board in my lineup. These two are the best of the best at Pocono. These two also had their good finishes taken away last year at the track due to post-race inspection failures. Hopefully they don’t get those finishes taken away this time around. Denny Hamlin has 6 wins at the track and he also has 14 Top 5s and 21 Top 10s. if he stays out of trouble, a Top 10 is all but a guarantee.
The same goes for Kyle Busch. The winner in yesterday’s Truck Series race is looking to make it a double this weekend and while he won’t have an easy path to get to the top, he should be strong today. Busch’s starting spot will give him passing opportunity and history has proven that he can get the job done at Pocono. He has 4 career Cup Series wins at the track. He also put down the 2nd fastest lap in practice, so as long as there isn’t mechanical failure and he stays clear of obstacles, look for Busch to climb up and get him a solid finish.
Getty
Value Picks: Brad Keselowski ($7,800) Starting 13th; Erik Jones ($6,000) Starting 24th
We had good luck with Brad K last week and I think we are going to ride the momentum this week. He has a good history at this track. He is the 2nd best active driver at Pocono. He has 11 Top 5s, 15 Top 10s, and 1 win. That win was all the way back in 2011, but that was the start of his string of good runs. I expect him to be pretty strong today, despite Fords not being too fast in practice.
Erik Jones didn’t particularly do well in practice or qualifying, but I like his history at the track. He is one of the better drivers here and even in Legacy equipment, I think he could do well today. I feel like you can’t count him out and this is one of those instances where you just have to believe he can do well rather than go off of the performance that you see in practice and qualifying. Jones has 7 Top 10s in 11 starts at Pocono and I don’t know if he will get a Top 10, but if he can flirt with it, I think he is a great value pick.
Getty
Final Pick: Chase Elliott ($10,500) Starting 35th
Chase is starting towards the back of the pack and he has no choice but to be aggressive in this stretch leading up to the playoffs. He will be picked a lot due to his starting spot and price, but I think that you have to have him in your lineup. Chase has a win here, in fact, he was the last winner at the track in 2022. The win was in all reality a 3rd place finish prior to Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch failed post-race inspections. The win was awarded instead of earned, but nevertheless, I wouldn’t scoff at a 3rd place finish. This isn’t one of his best tracks, but he is pretty much good anywhere, so I wouldn’t worry too much. He was pretty fast in practice and I think he will make the climb today. I wouldn't be surprised if he fights his way to a Top 5 today.