The MENCS will compete at Pocono Raceway Sunday in the Gander Outdoors 400. This will be the second race at the Tricky Triangle in the last seven weeks. The drivers who ran well in the first race should have good cars again this week. The race can be seen Sunday at 2:30 PM ET on NBC Sports Network.
Qualifying was a mess. 13 cars failed post-qualifying inspection and they will start from the back and be scored from the back. You must make your selections this week from the list of driers who went to the back: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Aric Almirola, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Kasey Kahne.
Slingshot Fantasy Auto Racing Contest awards 20 bonus points if you have the winning driver and this is the perfect week to chase these bonus points. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick andMartin Truex Jr. have won 15 of the 20 races and there is a good chance one of the “Big Three” will win again Sunday. Last week I successfully chased the 20 bonus points with Truex Jr. and Harvick and it worked when the No. 4 car went to Victory Lane. I will use the same strategy this week. Although Busch and Harvick start in the back they should still have a great chance to win the race Sunday.
I will pair Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch this week with Aric Almirola and Paul Menard. The Fords have had the most speed this year and Almirola and Menard have acceded expectations. I expect both of these drivers to move into the top 15 before the end of the race.
My last driver will be Kasey Kahne. He starts dead last so there is nowhere to go but forward. His car ran laps between 20th-24th in practice. I will be thrilled if Kahne can move up 20 spots in the Gander Outdoors 400.
Here are the rest of my picks for the Pocono….
Kevin Harvick ($12,200) (Starts 29th)
Kyle Busch ($11,900) (Starts 28th)
Aric Almirola ($10,000) (Starts 34th)
Paul Menard ($9,000) (Starts 36th)
Kasey Kahne ($6,700) (Starts 40th)
Good luck this week!
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