NASCAR Fantasy Picks: Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway

This week’s NASCAR fantasy picks for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.   

Last Week’s NASCAR Fantasy Picks: Recap from the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway   

Brilliant NASCAR fantasy picks:

• Kevin Harvick – WINNER
• Denny Hamlin – finished 2^nd
• Kyle Busch – finished 8^th

Bold NASCAR fantasy picks:

• Martin Truex Jr. – finished 6^th
• Clint Bowyer – finished 20^th
• Kurt Busch – finished 18^th

Bonkers NASCAR fantasy picks:

• Ryan Newman – finished 7^th
• Ryan Blaney – finished 4^th
• Paul Menard – finished 13^th

And now, here are this week’s Brilliant, Bold, and Bonkers NASCAR Fantasy picks for the Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway:

Brilliant NASCAR fantasy picks

Denny Hamlin

• Wins: 4
• Top 5 finishes: 10
• Top 10 finishes: 16

Hamlin is back on a hot streak, and he almost took the victory away from Harvick last week at New Hampshire. I expect to see something great come from this 11 team in the Poconos as long as they keep it clean on pit road stops, execute well, and stay out of trouble.

Martin Truex Jr.

• Wins: 2
• Top 5 finishes: 5
• Top 10 finishes: 10

After 2 lousy finishes, Truex rebounded with a 6^th place finish in New Hampshire–but it wasn’t an easy road to get there. Perseverance and persistence always gets the 19 team where it needs to go, and this week I predict an easier path that could lead him to his 5^th win of the season. As long as he can hold off the other JGR drivers who are heading for the same goal.

Brad Keselowski

• Wins: 1
• Top 5 finishes: 9
• Top 10 finishes: 10

September is chock full of tracks where Keselowski dominates, but this is the last track until then to see him shine. His last 5 races at Pocono have been hot, with a second-place finish in June, so I expect him to bring it on Sunday. If he can stay out of trouble, he’ll have a great shot at victory lane.

Bold NASCAR fantasy picks

Erik Jones

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 2
• Top 10 finishes: 3

This 20 team is H-O-T right now, with two 3^rd place finishes in two weeks. I fully expect that heat to burn a fire under Jones’ butt and propel him into victory lane at long last. Right now he’s too close to the bubble for comfort, and a win would shoot him into the comfort zone of being in the chase.   

William Byron

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 0
• Top 10 finishes: 1

You know what? Byron has led some laps here, won a pole, and has a high finish of 6^th place. There’s no reason to think that he can’t get his first win on this track. After all, his crew chief has won here 3 times and is no stranger to calling the shots at the tricky triangle. It’s time for the rook to step up to the asphalt and grab a victory.

Ryan Blaney

• Wins: 1
• Top 5 finishes: 1
• Top 10 finishes: 3

This is the last track where Blaney has an opportunity to win until we reach the playoffs. His season has been a heartbreaker, but last week he showed some promise by coming in 4^th. Let’s hope that carries over this week to make something magical happen.

Bonkers NASCAR fantasy picks

Joey Logano

• Wins: 1
• Top 5 finishes: 4
• Top 10 finishes: 7

Yep. I said it. It’s not that Logano hasn’t been good, it’s just that he hasn’t been great enough to make me believe that he’s going to break out with a win at one of his least successful tracks. He has one win here, but it hasn’t come in the last 5 races. Nor has he reached the top 5 in his last 5 races here. I suspect a top 15 finish for the 22 on Sunday.

Aric Almirola

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 0
• Top 10 finishes: 1

Double-A showed a bit of promise last week, running well with an 11^th place finish. But I don’t see that transferring to the tricky triangle. He’s been up and down this season, but I think that better days are coming. Just not yet.

Clint Bowyer

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 2
• Top 10 finishes: 10

Clint has driven me nuts this season with his “almost-got-its” that ended in “nope, not today.”  A couple of good finishes are no match for the lousy ones. He has 5 DNFs this season and teeters on the cutoff line for the playoffs. Sure he finished 5^th here in June, but Pocono is no place for the 14 to come out of nowhere and shine. More impressive tracks are sure to come as we head into September.