2 months agoTodd Gilliland has been a DFS MVP since beginning of May. Over the 10 races during that span, Gilliland is averaging 39.7 FPTS per race on DraftKings, a huge score considering he is typically priced in the $6,000 range. This weekend at Pocono, Gilliland is priced at $6,800, and while that is a little high for him, he still has a great opportunity to continue his epic DFS run at Pocono. The No. 38 Ford will start from back in 33rd-place for this weekend's The Great American Getaway 400, meaning Gilliland has a lot of Place Differential potential yet again. Here at Pocono, Gilliland has made two career starts and has finished 25th and 15th in those events. In practice on Saturday, he was 26th-fastest on the speed chart, so at minimum, he should be able to improve on his starting position in the race.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Racing-Reference
2
months
agoRyan
Preece
will
start
36th
in
Sunday's
Great
American
Getaway
from
Pocono
Raceway.
Before
last
week's
chaotic
race
at
Chicago,
which
resulted
in
a
34th-place
finish
for
the
Stewart-Haas
star,
Preece
had
been
on
a
bit
of
a
hot
streak,
finishing
fourth
and
11th
in
the
two
prior
read more...
2 months agoMichael McDowell, who finished fifth last week at Chicago, will start 21st in Sunday's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Given his reputation on road courses and superspeedways, you would think that McDowell would be stronger at a Pocono than he has been throughout his career. With its length and unusual setup, it feels like a track the 17-year Cup veteran would excel at, but that has not been the case. In 21 starts, the 39-year-old has just two top-10s, an average finish of 25.9, and an unbelievable six consecutive DNFs (2010-2013) here. While he did finish sixth at this venue in 2022, the first race at this track in the Next Gen car, he followed it up by finishing 19th here last season, which shows he has yet to figure out the Tricky Triangle. Given his struggles at this venue, and his overall inconsistency this season, it is recommended that you limit your exposure (max 5%) to the No. 34 in DFS this weekend at Pocono.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2
months
agoCorey
Lajoie
will
start
30th
in
The
Great
American
Getaway
at
Pocono
Raceway.
To
say
that
Lajoie
has
struggled
at
this
track
is
an
understatement.
In
his
11
Cup
starts,
he
has
an
average
finish
of
27.5
and
more
DNFs
(2)
than
he
does
top-20s
(1).
In
addition
read more...
2 months agoKeep an eye on Erik Jones in The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Although the Legacy Motor Club driver is in the midst of a less-than-mediocre season, there is some hope for him at "The Tricky Triangle." First, Jones qualified 23rd for this weekend's event--his best qualifying effort since his 22nd-place start at Gateway back in the beginning of June. Additionally, Erik has a strong track record at Pocono. In addition to back-to-back top-10 finishes here in the Next Gen era, Jones also has finished inside that mark in eight of his 12 career starts at the track. It's likely going to take a good strategy call from the No. 43 team to be in contention for another top-10 finish on Sunday, but we've seen that work in their favor before. On DraftKings, Jones is a very risky play at $7,000, but if you believe that he can pull off a top-10 finish, he makes for a very sneaky tournament play on the DFS site.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
2 months agoCarson Hocevar will start from P15 in Sunday's Great American Getaway 400 from Pocono Raceway. Given that this will be Hocevar's first Cup start at the Tricky Triangle, we have limited data to go off of for the Spire Motorsports rookie. While he does have an average finish of 9.7 in three truck starts here, he only finished in the top 10 once and actually finished with a -7 in place differential here last season. If he was starting a little higher, there may be more of a case to be made for the 21-year-old. However, given that he is starting 15th, and that he is inexperienced at this track, it is recommended you fade the No. 77 in DFS this weekend.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoOn Saturday afternoon, Noah Gragson qualified 25th for The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Despite having an average finish of 23rd in his two Cup starts here, there is a lot to like about Gragson heading into this weekend. Not only does he have a victory and three top-10s in his four Xfinity starts here, but his four appearances in the DraftKings optimal lineup this season tie him for eighth most in the Cup Series in 2024. With a reasonable salary of $7,300 on DraftKings, at a starting position that offers tremendous place differential upside, be sure to include the No.10 in your lineup builds this weekend in DFS at the Tricky Triangle.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoFresh off his first victory since 2022, Alex Bowman will look to build off this momentum when he starts sixth in The Great American Getaway 400 from Pocono Raceway. Despite last week's performance, and while he does have a win at this track (2021), don't get too excited about the Hendrick Motorsports star this weekend in the Pennsylvania mountains. With just four top-10 finishes in 14 starts, and with an average overall finish of 18.4, the 10-year Cup veteran has been a bit underwhelming at this venue. While his low salary of just $7,800 on DraftKings keeps him from being a fade, his starting position offers little upside in terms of place differential. Because of this, and because he is unlikely to make up these points as a dominator given that he has led a combined total of 34 laps here, it is recommended that you limit your exposure to the No. 48 in DFS this weekend at the Tricky Triangle.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoChristopher Bell will start 13th in Sunday's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Coming off of finishes of 36th and 37th over the last two weeks, Bell is in need of a bounce-back performance this weekend in Pennsylvania. While he has been consistent in his two starts here in the Next Gen car, averaging fifth for his finish, he is only averaging 42.2 DraftKings points, which ranks 10th in the Cup Series over this timeframe. Although it seems likely that the Joe Gibbs Racing star will certainly finish better than what we saw at Nashville and Chicago, he will not likely perform well enough to cover his $10,500 DraftKings salary. While there may be some value to be had with Bell when it comes to sports betting, it is recommended that you limit your exposure to him in DFS this weekend.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Racing-Reference.info
2 months agoDespite Daniel Suárez's heroic win at Atlanta, he has had a lowkey subpar season since then. His speed percentile of 39.16 is 30 percentage points slower than his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain's 69.51; this is the second-largest speed differential between two full-time Cup Series teammates behind only Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon. However, Pocono may be one of Suárez's best opportunities to turn things around. His 2018 race at Pocono when he won the pole and led 29 laps en route to finishing second was one of his best-ever drives and he had his fourth-best career driver rating in that race. Additionally, he has scored three more top-10s at Pocono, including a recent third in 2022 despite crashing in last year's event. Trackhouse's speed remains a liability at a track where horsepower is paramount, but if Suárez wants to turn his season around, this could be the place.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoKaulig Racing has badly struggled in the NASCAR Cup Series this year, as Daniel Hemric drives the Next Gen car full-time for the first time in the Cup Series with several drivers rotating the second car. Hemric currently is the second-slowest full-timer in the Cup Series with a speed percentile of 24.11, only ahead of rookie Zane Smith. Pocono is one of Hemric's better tracks, as he finished seventh as a rookie in 2019, earning his first top 10, best finish on a non-drafting oval, and second-best driver rating in that race. However, that came with a Richard Childress Racing No. 8 car that was considerably faster than his current Kaulig car. Hemric has done a nice job staying out of trouble this season, but starting 27th with his lack of speed, he'll likely need a major strategic boost to obtain a good finish this afternoon.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoJustin Haley has been one of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season's quietest revelations. He and new crew chief, Chris Lawson, have taken a once-disreputable Rick Ware Racing and turned them into regular contenders for lead lap finishes, even giving the team its first top-10 on non-drafting ovals at Darlington and Gateway. They've also had several other recent races where they were in the top 10 at some point along with six top-20s in the last nine races, heretofore unheard of for the fledgling operation. Although Haley has never finished better than 21st at Pocono in the NASCAR Cup Series, he and Lawson have been running well at almost every track and he recently had his best career finishes at Gateway, Iowa, and Kansas, which means it would be fairly reasonable to expect him to do the same at Pocono this weekend.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoIn one sense, Ross Chastain has markedly improved, as he is causing fewer wrecks than he used to and is beating his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suárez, substantially worse in both speed and finishes than he ever has before. However, it's easy to argue that Chastain is underachieving because he sits 12th in points despite ranking eighth in speed, his best finish is fourth, he's failed to win (unlike Suárez), and he's been the last driver passed for the lead four times. His record at Pocono is also odd as he has no top-10s but he led twice in 2021 and 2022 before crashing in both races. On a track where raw speed is so essential in a year where Trackhouse has lacked it, Chastain will probably have a mediocre run this weekend, especially starting from 19th, but since he's gained consistency, he will probably finish just outside the top top--as usual.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoWhile Harrison Burton got an improbable eighth-place finish in last year's NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono, considerably ahead of all three of his Team Penske quasi-teammates, don't expect him to repeat the feat in this weekend's race. Burton did not run nearly as well as his finish implied last year, as his average running position was only 20th. He was largely fortunate that he made his final pit stop under green immediately before a caution when many others pitted. That was one of only two top-10s he had last year and he hasn't had one on a non-drafting track since. Although the Wood Brothers have thrice won at Pocono, Ryan Blaney's win in 2017 was their only win there in the last 43 years. Furthermore, the Fords continue to have hit-and-miss speed on non-drafting superspeedways and Burton is only starting 22nd on Sunday, so another mid-pack run is likely.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoAlthough Ryan Blaney scored his first win at Pocono Raceway in 2017, it hasn't typically been one of his best tracks, as he's only led 51 laps in his careeer there. Amongst the tracks where Blaney has 10 or more NASCAR Cup Series starts, he has only led fewer laps at Darlington. Additionally, he has never finished better than fifth at Pocono in an official Team Penske car,as his first win came for the Wood Brothers. However, Blaney has had a slight uptick in speed this year compared to 2023, he has four top-10s in his last five starts, including his most dominant win at Iowa and a near-miss at Gateway immediately before that. He starts eighth in this weekend's race. Although Blaney is not likely one of the favorites to win, his recent momentum indicates he should have a better performance than he has the past few years.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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