NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Party in the Poconos 400

Track Classification: Superspeedway

Similar Tracks: Daytona International Raceway •  Auto Club Speedway (Fontana)  

Indianapolis Motor Speedway • Michigan International Speedway • Talladega Superspeedway

Distance: 2.5 Miles

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race

Jimmie Johnson - 5

All with 3 - Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth,  Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Juan Pablo Montoya

By Track

All with 6 - Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon

All with 4 - Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch

Recent Pole Winners:  

2012 Joey Logano

2011 Kurt Busch

The Likely Suspects: I expect to see some speed records broken this weekend, and think that one of these drivers will be leading the pack: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, or Matt Kenseth. I also wouldn't write off Kevin Harvick this weekend. He runs well at Pocono and has been having a great season so far.

My 2 Cents: The Tricky Triangle provides fast racing with an added twist with its unusual configuration. Traditionally this has been a Hendrick Motorsports and Chevy dominated track.

My no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. Though Clint Bowyer is very tempting, and Kasey Kahne isn't too shabby either. My next picks are Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano. I seriously considered Mark Martin as he is so good at Pocono, but I don't trust him to close the deal at the end. Carl Edwards, in my opinion, has a much better chance to finish up front, and I need to regain some points from last week's picks who blew engines. I will complete my team with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger.

 Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or email me at ssfantasyracing@skirtsandscuffs.com.