RADIO
The NASCAR Cup Series is in Pocono this weekend for The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com. That's a mouthful, isn't it?
Last week, the Cup Series raced on the streets of Chicago, with Alex Bowman winning for the first time since 2022. He's now the 12th driver to win a Cup Series race in 2024, leaving just four playoff spots open for non-winners. Will a new name win on Sunday to shrink that number even more?
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 7/14/2024 at 2:33 p.m. EDT. If you have any questions or want to talk about NASCAR, you can find me on Twitter at @juscarts.
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Denny Hamlin
Starts Fourth - DK: $11.0K, FD: $14.0K
Denny Hamlin looks to be the favorite this weekend and there's a good reason for that, as the driver of the No. 11 car has won here seven times, including winning this race last year. The last time he didn't lead at least one lap here was the June 2018 race. This is arguably Hamlin's best track.
Seven-time Pocono winner @dennyhamlin reporting for duty.
Cup practice starts at noon. pic.twitter.com/efug4bWOHI
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) July 13, 2024
He's had some issues getting results in 2024 with top 10s in just 40% of the races, but he's also found victory lane three times already. Hamlin is definitely someone who'll be in contention for the victory on Sunday.
William Byron
Starts Second - DK: $10.0K, FD: $12.0K
If it hadn't been for the timing of a caution, William Byron might have won Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Pocono. As it was, Byron still managed to finish third in the race behind Cole Custer and Justin Allgaier.
Byron, who has won three times already this season, has run well here lately, though the finishes haven't always reflected that. He led 60 laps in the 2023 race but ended up finishing 14th. Still, in 14 starts here across NASCAR's top three series and ARCA, Byron's worst finish is 18th with eight top 10s. He won the 2016 Truck Series race here.
Ty Gibbs
Starts First - DK: $9.0K, FD: $11.0K
One of these days, Ty Gibbs is going to break through and get the first win of his Cup Series career. Sure, I've said that several times and it hasn't happened yet this season, but with Gibbs on the pole Sunday, we're back on "could this be the week" watch.
Gibbs has run really well here. He was 16th in his first Cup race at the track back in 2022, but his other five starts here across all series have resulted in top fives. He's never finished lower than second here in a feeder series and was fifth in last year's Cup race, leading four laps. If I had to list the places where a first Gibbs win was most likely, Pocono would be right near the top of that list.
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Great day today thanks for some extra help from @RotoBaller @FanRacingOnline @JoeNicely pic.twitter.com/mAIMTaEYWc
— brent buckner (@tenndolly2) August 7, 2023
Noah Gragson
Starts 25th - DK: $7.3K, FD: $7.2K
Earlier in the week, Front Row Motorsports announced that Noah Gragson would be joining the team in 2025, giving him a home with the impending shutdown of his current team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
Grateful to be able to continue my journey. @Team_FRM @FordPerformance pic.twitter.com/nh0GkJAdbB
— Noah Gragson (@NoahGragson) July 11, 2024
Gragson has been impressive this season, recording six top 10s and an average finish of 18.3, which is 9.9 spots higher than his average finish in 2023. He enters this race with top 20 finishes in three of the last four races.
In his career at Pocono, Gragson has an Xfinity Series victory as well as another top-five in that series. He was 22nd here last year in Cup, which is solid considering how poorly he usually ran in that No. 42 car.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Starts 31st - DK: $6.5K, FD: $5.2K
It hasn't been a great year for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but this JTG-Daugherty Racing team has finally found a little something, posting three top 10s in the last four races. In two of those, Stenhouse started outside the top 30. And hey, he starts outside the top 30 again on Sunday, so maybe we have another strong place differential performance from the 47?
Stenhouse has a relatively poor track record at Pocono. He won the first time he ever came here in an ARCA car but has just one top 10 in the Cup Series. However, the fact that the top 10 came last year and that he was a respectable 18th here in 2022 suggests that this new generation car has helped Stenhouse figure some things out about the Tricky Triangle.
Ryan Preece
Starts 36th - DK: $6.1K, FD: $5.0K
While Ryan Preece has been the weak link at Stewart-Haas Racing this season and looks likely to not be in the Cup next year, he's still a good enough driver to be worth an instant play when he starts 36th.
Cup lineup for Sunday at Pocono: pic.twitter.com/qrKICYarMO
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 13, 2024
Of course, that doesn't mean I'm super confident in him. He was really slow in qualifying, running a lap at 164.603 miles per hour. No other driver was under 166. When your car is slower than Cody Ware, that's not good. Still, if Preece can keep the car clean and the team can make some good adjustments, he can get around a +10 in place differential.
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