The Cup Series will try to figure out the “Tricky Triangle” this weekend when they go racing at Pocono Raceway. This race often becomes a fuel-mileage race and that brings drivers who do not have the fastest cars into play. It will be tough to fade the drivers with the best stats at Pocono, but you could get rewarded if you take a chance with a driver you have many allocations left with and all of the stars align for his team. It should be interested to see how it all plays out at Pocono. The Great American Gateway 400 can be seen Sunday at 2:30 pm ET on USA Network.
What a mess it was last week in Chicago. Shane van Gisbergen clearly had the most talent and he had a great chance to win until he was taken out by Chase Briscoe. Christopher Bell was coming like a freight train in the final laps, but he was taken out by Martin Truex Jr. Our luck ran out last week and the picks fell from No. 59 overall to No. 82. That still is not too bad out of 352K entries. I will try my best to get our points back this weekend.
CUP SERIES PRACTICE
The Cup Series had a 20-minute practice session Saturday to shake down their cars for Sunday’s race. Pocono is a large track, so it was tough for all of the teams to make a long run in practice. We can use the speeds from the single-lap and five-lap average speed charts for our picks this week. Track position should also be important, so the drivers who start up front with have some extra value Sunday.
Here are the practice speeds for the Great American Gateway 400…
FANTASY LIVE PICKS FOR POCONO
WILLIAM BYRON (3): Byron has cooled down since his hot start to the season, but a trip to Pocono should get him back on track. Byron won the pole, led the most laps (60), but finished 14th do to a bad pit call. The car had a lot of speed and it has a lot of speed this weekend too. Byron posted the second-fastest speed in practice and qualified second for the race. Byron has a good chance to finish in the top-five at Pocono.
DENNY HMLIN (1): Hamlin has been the best driver at Pocono and the switch to the Gen-7 car did not slow him down. Hamlin has seven wins at the Tricky Triangle and he took the checkered-flag in both races in the Gen-7 car. He was disqualified for having illegal tape on his car in 2022, but that doesn’t mean the No. 11 car couldn’t have been fast without the tape. Hamlin looks fast again this week. This is the best track for Hamlin, so it would be a good idea to use and allocation with the No. 11 car Sunday.
MARTIN TRUEX JR. (5): We are 20 races into the season and Truex is still looking for his first trip to Victory Lane. It could happen this week at Pocono. Truex has two wins at the Tricky Triangle on his resume. He finished seventh in the Gen-7 car in 2022 and third last year. The No. 19 car posted the third-fastest speed in practice and qualified third for the race. Truex is usually pretty good when he qualifies up front, so I will take a chance with the No. 19 car Sunday.
TYLER REDDICK (2): Reddick has been the second-best driver at Pocono in the Gen-7 car. Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in both races (but he was disqualified for failing post-race inspection in 2022). Reddick finished second in both races. The No. 45 car has a lot of speed again this weekend. Reddick posted the fastest speed in practice and qualified seventh for the race. The No. 45 car is just too fast to fade this weekend at Pocono.
TY GIBBS (6): Pocono has a habit of being the track where drivers get their first win. Denny Hamlin did it in 2006, Chris Buescher did it in 2016 and Ryan Blaney won his first race at the Tricky Triangle in 2017. I would not be surprised if Gibbs broke his maiden at Pocono. The No. 54 car posted the sixth-fastest speed in practice and he won the pole for the race. I will take a chance with Gibbs Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) ALEX BOWMAN (7): I am probably a week late with this pick, but I do believe in momentum. I also believe in Hendrick Motorsports at Pocono. Bowman won at Pocono in 2021 and he has an average finishing position of 10.4 in his last five races at the Tricky Triangle. Bowman posted the 15th-fastest speed in practice and qualified sixth for the race. The No. 48 team has their win in the bank, so they can gamble on fuel-mileage Sunday to try and steel another win in the Cup Series.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.