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We are at Pocono RaceWay this weekend. In my opinion, the most boring race on the schedule. The tire they have makes passing pretty tough! Which means two things: 1) Restarts will be little crazy. 2) Making a late race mistake will be costly. Pretty much like the past few seasons, so nothing new really.
The big storyline been the bumps. Several teams have complained about the bumps effecting their cars. Personally I am not real concerned about that. We may see a few flats, but nothing like Fontana last season. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. I would be more concerned about wrecks on the restarts and engine woes. Two things we usually see at Pocono. The cars to beat will be from the stable of Hendrick and Haas. They've shown the most muscle this weekend, but the Gibbs cars aren't terribly far behind though.
*The Overall Rankings aspect of this post isn't a finishing order measuring stick. Instead it determines the potential of a driver based on practice results, current momentum,qualifying effort, track history,etc
A:
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick doesn't have the best record here, but he have the car to beat. Will he win? I don't know. Harvick starts from 5th and should easily be in contention all day long. I don't think Harvick have a dominating car, but he had the best car in both sessions on Saturday. Thinking back to 2014, he probably should have sweep the top 3 at Pocono. So I am not real shocked how fast he been, not to mention he was my pick to win on Monday.
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin is a master of performance at Pocono. Not many drivers have the stats like Hamlin does. It helps that he have a fast car this weekend too! He qualified 8th and should be able to run inside the top 5 on Sunday. I think there a lot of risk of using Hamlin (especially with his inconsistency in 2015), but few offer more potential. I think his potential alone make him worth consideration. I also like that the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) cars have once again shown solid speed!
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr - Dale Jr been strong all weekend and should be a very popular pick. I don't blame you, if you jumped on the Junior bandwagon this week. He was able to back up the hype on the track. There definitely a lot to like about him, but I do think he is very beatable. I am sure he will have top 5 potential , but I am not sure if he will win though. However I wouldn't be shocked either. He sweep this racetrack in 2014 by the way!
My Overall Ranking: 3th
4. Jimmie Johnson - I am not super high on Johnson as I been in the past. I feel like he have lost his dominated touch since the repave. He was really strong in the first few races, but haven't shown he is the man here since. This weekend he been decent, but not exactly anything special compared to other races. Based on practice, I say he have an quality Top 10 car with potential upside to run top 5 on Sunday. His equipment give him the all-important horsepower advantage.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
5. Kyle Busch - My sleeper in this tier is Kyle Busch. He been a man on a mission since returning from injury. He had a car capable of finishing in the top 4 at Charlotte and Dover. Busch is no stranger to success at Pocono either. He will roll off from 10th and have shown solid speed out of his JGR Toyota since unloading. I don't think he will win, but don't be shocked to see him mixing it up for another solid run. I have across the line in 6th when the checkers wave!
My Overall Ranking: 6th
Other Options - Gordon (7th), Keselowski (11th) , Logano (13th) , Kenseth (14th) and Newman (15th)
B:
1. Kurt Busch - This overall could be a pretty competitive tier. Especially since several drivers have shown speed this weekend. Ultimately I went with Busch because he on the pole and have a very stout Pocono record. Almost every other driver in this grouping have been pretty hit or miss throughout their respected careers. I think Busch is pretty much the safe pick, but don't be surprise if he fade late in the race. Even though he have had a pretty fast car since unloading on Friday!
My Overall Ranking: 4th
2. Carl Edwards - I think Edwards have one of better cars in this tier of drivers, but unfortunately I don't really trust him to deliver. Last week I thought he turned a corner with his JGR team. I was wrong, but on the plus side the entire JGR organization have turned the corner. So not like Edwards gonna fade through the field immediately! Realistically I expect Edwards to run top 5 early on, but then he will probably fade into latter part of the top 10. He probably have a car capable of potentially finishing inside the top 5, if his crew keep up with adjustments.
My Overall Ranking: 8th
3. Kyle Larson - Larson looking real good this weekend! I wasn't overly impressed by him on Friday, but he struck back on Saturday. Posted two solid practices that looked as good as the top two driver in this tier. He starts from 15th, but I don't expect him to stay there though. The warm weather seems to agree with the young CGR driver! I have across the line overall 9th.
My Overall Ranking: 9th
4. Martin Truex Jr - Truex been good all weekend and should contend for another top 10 on Sunday. Didn't really watch him in practice, but had respectable practice results. I am not against using Truex, but I think there better tracks ahead for him. If I had the drivers listed above available, I would probably consider them first. Not because they're better, but because Truex have been so strong on the cookie cutters in 2015. Really depends on the format you play on though. In games such as Yahoo (starts limitation leagues), he probably could be left in the garage.
My Overall Ranking: 10th
5. Kasey Kahne - Honestly I am not as high on Kahne as most are. I am sure he will be fine, but I think he may find a way to disappoint at Pocono. He have a good car, but he always seems to have a good car here. Unfortunately his track in June at Pocono have been ugly since joining HMS. Personally I cannot get over that fact. Plus I think he will be more useful at upcoming tracks this summer. Of course since I am doubting him, he probably will go out and win on Sunday or something.
My Overall Ranking: 12th
Other Options - JMac (16th) , Menard (17th), Dillon (18th), Biffle (19th) and Almirola (20th)
C:
1. Danica Patrick - Patrick have been the best driver in this tier all weekend and I doubt that changes on Sunday. Honestly I wouldn't be shocked to see Danica finish +5 position ahead of everyone else. Then again it isn't saying much because of the equipment she have. This track is about horsepower and Danica have plenty of it under the hood.
My Overall Ranking: 21st
2. David Ragan - The MWR cars have sucked this weekend. I thought they would show up with a lot of speed, but instead they've looked lost. Ragan showed a little more than Clint, but I don't think either of them will finish any better than 20th. Realistically probably somewhere in the low to mid 20s.
My Overall Ranking: 24th
3. Ty Dillon - Dillon is probably the off-sequenced pick in this tier. He starting deeper in the field and looked pretty good in both practices on Saturday. Unfortunately he have never made a NSCS at Pocono. I would like him a lot more if he had more experience at this level. He should be good for least Top 25 in my opinion though.
My Overall Ranking: 25th
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