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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2011 Pocono 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

June 9, 2011 6:12 pm UTC No Comments

Oh, god, Pocono. 500 miles of it. This weekend’s Sprint Cup race is going to feel like an even longer event than the Coca-Cola 600, and that’s saying something. A big, fast track, plus the scorching summer heat, should make Pocono one of the greatest tests of endurance on this year’s schedule, as it usually is.

More importantly, though, Pocono signals the start of the second half of the Sprint Cup “regular season,” where the top drivers will jostle for Chase positions. A solid performance is more important now than ever, as currently struggling teams look to establish momentum for the Race to the Chase and sneak in by virtue of race wins or even the lower part of the top 10 in points.

So, with that in mind, who looks good this weekend?

Denny Hamlin: Look, I may be feeling some of the heat stroke from Pocono already, but I’m not an idiot. Not only is Hamlin the sport’s best Pocono driver, he also fits that label of “struggling” (well, somewhat; they’ve begun to pick it up recently) and will probably need some race wins to guarantee himself a Chase spot. With all that in mind, there’s no better place for him to do it than Pocono, and probably no better driver to pick for the same reasons.

Tony Stewart: Smoke has always been pretty good at Pocono, but four finishes of third or better in his past five starts at the track may very well cement him as its elite driver as of late. One of those was a win in this same race, from the pole, two years ago. And with Stewart only up 11 points on teammate Ryan Newman for the final Chase spot, he, too, could use some good runs to give him breathing room.

Brian Vickers: Here’s an interesting pick. Vickers will either give you a fantastic finish (twice a runner-up at Pocono, four top five finishes in 12 starts) or a bum-out (four of his past six finishes were 21st or worse, although all four saw him stay on the lead lap). Adding to the drama is the fact that it’s been more than a year since he’s competed at the track, owing to last year’s blood clots keeping him out of the car. Regardless, while Vickers is a high-risk pick, he leaves open the potential for high reward as well.

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Denny Hamlin, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming, Pocono Raceway, Tony Stewart 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

June 3, 2010 2:07 pm UTC No Comments

This weekend marks one of change in the Sprint Cup Series; not only does the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 begin the second half of the series’ regular season and usher in the start of TNT’s summer series, it is also the first time that Pocono, not Dover, will host the race immediately after the Coca-Cola 600.

Those of you who have read this column for a long time are surely aware that its existence has always been facilitated by the OnPitRow.com One and Done Fantasy Racing game. Well, folks, this weekend is one of renewal for that game too. Pocono starts the second of three seasons-within-a-season for One and Done, and if you pick well over the next 13 races, you could have some fantastic prizes coming your way. The game is simple – pick a different driver each week for the next 13 weeks, and see how well you do.

As usual, here are the five drivers who are your best fantasy bets for this weekend’s race:

My personal number one pick is Denny Hamlin, because there is almost no logical, feasible reason not to pick him if the rules of your game allow it. Denny’s been on fire as of late on the Sprint Cup circuit, having completed every lap since Texas and accruing two wins and four top-5s in that span. Hamlin also has three wins at Pocono in eight starts, putting him behind only Jeff Gordon for most of full-time drivers, and far and away giving him the best winning percentage.

My dark horse for the weekend is Kasey Kahne. Despite languishing in 21st in points this season, the past two years have been fairly successful for Kahne at Pocono, with a win and three top-10s. A handful of poor Pocono showings earlier in his career skew his average finish, but it’s clear that Kahne has made huge strides at the track; in the last Pocono race, the only driver to top him in driver ratings was Hamlin, widely recognized as the king of Pocono.

Three more for the long and winding road:

Hey, did you know that Mark Martin guy has six runner-up finishes and 32 top-10s in 46 Pocono starts, but has never won a race? Those six bridesmaid spots tie Bobby Allison at Martinsville for most runner-up placings at a track with zero wins. You can bet that’s a goose egg the No. 5 team will be striving to eradicate come Sunday.

Tony Stewart has a pretty solid history at Pocono, with two wins and 16 top-10s in 22 starts. Last year’s victory in this race was his first as an owner-driver. Now 16th in points, he has to be hungry to climb into the Chase, and a characteristically strong Pocono run will surely help his cause.

Finally, if you want a real shot in the dark, Kevin Harvick has managed an average finish of 15.7 at Pocono in 18 starts despite only two top-5s, four top-10s, and never leading a single lap. But Happy’s been strong all year, and it may be time for him to surprise. Want to potentially look like the smartest player in your game? Take a gamble on Harvick and see what happens.

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Pocono Raceway, Tony Stewart 

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Watkins Glen Fantasy Racing Live Chat: Thursday at 7 PM ET

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by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

August 6, 2009 8:38 am UTC No Comments

Join Eric McClung – fresh from Pocono -  for this weeks live blog/chat session centered on the road course at Watkins Glen. Eric writes a great weekly preview for Fantasy Racing players here at OnPitRow.com. Join Eric and a bunch of other fantasy NASCAR geeks for live, real-time fantasy advice and discussion every Thursday. Click here to chat.

Filed under: NASCAR, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming 

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Just a Thought: Pocono

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

August 2, 2009 12:42 pm UTC 7 Comments

This week’s race at Pocono marks the second week of ESPN/ABC‘s Sprint Cup coverage for the year. ESPN is probably the most criticized of NASCAR’s broadcasting partners, with Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty, and Tim Brewer often taking a lot of heat.

There are also calls to put Allen Bestwick back in the commentary booth and move Dr. Jerry Punch back down to pit road, “where he belongs.” (That’s in no way a sleight against Dr. Punch; many simply feel that he was one of the best pit reporters in the business, and that he ought to return to the job that made him one of the most well-respected NASCAR broadcasters of the 1990s.)

But I’ve got a different gripe with ESPN’s coverage of the sport.

Here is ESPN’s schedule page for the Sprint Cup Series. Notice that the races go by their actual names in only a few instances. Instead, they often go by “NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at (insert track here) presented by (insert sponsor here).” The Nationwide Series page is the same way.

The Camping World Truck Series page, however, is quite different. In all instances, the races are listed with their official names and presenting sponsors.

Why the discrepancy? ESPN and ABC show Sprint Cup and Nationwide races, but not Camping World races. They don’t care about presenting the names of truck races in a factual manner… but with the other two major series, somebody obviously saw a money-grubbing opportunity to sell more advertising space on the telecast while circumventing the official race sponsors – unless they pony up to ESPN as well.

Robbing the race title sponsors of TV time – one of the most important factors in a company’s decision to pay millions of dollars to sponsor a race – is not just only an instance of questionable ethics on ESPN’s part, it’s also factually incorrect reporting. As a news site, and occasionally a news channel, ESPN has an obligation to present the facts about sporting events, and that includes the name of an event. In ESPN’s eyes, Tony Stewart wouldn’t have won the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, as presented above – he’d have won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Daytona presented by Pennzoil or something. That’s revisionist history, and that’s a problem.

It’d be like calling the Super Bowl broadcast “NFL Football presented by GoDaddy.com,” and preceding to only refer to the event as such on their website. Something sound wrong about that to you?

It’ll also be interesting to see if one of the final 17 races of the Sprint Cup season becomes sponsored by a company that wants to change the race length (e.g. the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas or the Lenox Tools 301 at New Hampshire). How will ESPN handle the lap change – will they reference it in passing on the broadcast without explaining it, or will they entice the race sponsor to pay extra to see its name on TV?

Either way, ESPN’s policy of holding out from race presenting sponsors needs to come to an end. I’m sure that if I paid millions of dollars to become title sponsor of a race, I’d be fuming. Have a little integrity, ESPN. Just a thought.

Enjoy today’s Sunoco Red Cross 500 at Pennsylvania – I mean, today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono presented by Old Spice.

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One and Done: Sunoco Red Cross 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

July 30, 2009 1:32 am UTC No Comments

After an improved racing experience at Indianapolis last week, the Sprint Cup Series moves on to its second event at Pocono Raceway this year. With only six races between this and the first race, Pocono features the shortest gap between races on the Sprint Cup schedule.

It’s interesting to note that Pocono and Indianapolis are of the same length and have similar banking in the corners to one another (Indianapolis’ turns are just over 9 degrees; Pocono’s three corners average just over 9 degrees as well). In fact, turn two, the oft-maligned “tunnel turn,” was originally modeled after the corners at Indy.

Many of the best drivers at Pocono either run Chevrolets or Toyotas this year. The two exceptions are Kurt Busch, currently in a Dodge, and Carl Edwards, currently the best Ford driver. Since 2003, seven of Pocono’s 13 races have been won by Chevrolets; Ford and Dodge have split the other six evenly. Toyota, despite a driver lineup that has been strong here in the past, has not won a Pocono race yet.

With that in mind, who looks good this weekend?

Marcos Ambrose: This week’s surprise pick, if only because he currently possesses the best average finish of all drivers at Pocono (conveniently ignoring the fact that he’s made one start here). Ambrose has been generally solid all year, and the relatively flat Pocono track is reminiscent of some tracks in the V8 Supercar Series Ambrose once dominated, with its combination of long straights and tight turns.

Juan Montoya: I’m going against history here, as Montoya’s 24.4 average finish at Pocono is weak at best. But he did finish 8th here earlier this season, and his performance last week at Indianapolis shows that his team is now a force to be reckoned with in the Sprint Cup Series.

Denny Hamlin: Sweeping Pocono in his rookie year bought Hamlin at least three years of being considered a solid fantasy pick at Pocono. Adding three more top-10 finishes bought him another couple of years. Simply put, not even Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon started their Pocono careers as well as Hamlin. The only comparable driver is Hamlin’s former teammate, Tony Stewart, who had seven top-10s in his first eight starts here, but didn’t win until the ninth.

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s 9.6 average finish is the best of all active drivers with multiple starts at Pocono. He has two wins here, and with the momentum from last week’s win, could easily scoop up a third. Plus, as I often say when his name pops up, he’s Jimmie Johnson. He’s good everywhere (except Bristol). He’s an easy pick.

Tony Stewart: Smoke won his first points race as an owner-driver here a couple of months ago, and that makes him one of the favorites to win this weekend. Tony’s running a special Old Spice Swagger scheme this weekend, and the product name is apt for Stewart’s attitude about this track: Stewart has 15 top-10s in 21 career starts here. The only reason his average finish is lower than Johnson’s or Jeff Gordon’s is because his average finish in those other six races is 31.5.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

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One and Done: Pocono 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

June 3, 2009 8:49 pm UTC 6 Comments

The Sprint Cup Series travels to the northeast this weekend for the first of Pocono’s 500 milers this season. These weekends often frustrate drivers due to the sheer length of the races, with many wishing that they’d be shortened to 400 miles. Regardless, Pocono races are so interesting because of how difficult it is to set up a car for its three different and dissimilar turns.

Kasey Kahne, this race’s defending winner, is coming off of two straight top-10s, as is Carl Edwards, the defending winner of the August race. Jimmie Johnson, last week’s winner, is one of only two active drivers with an average finish of better than 10.0 here. But it’s not my job to make easy picks, is it? It’s my job to make interesting picks. (For the record, I was hoping that Jeremy Mayfield was going to get an injunction to be able to race this weekend, so I could make him my sleeper. Two wins, a chip on his shoulder… It could’ve been quite the story.)

Bobby Labonte: For the sake of making an interesting pick, how about the likeable Texan? He had four top-20s in six starts with Petty Enterprises here. In this race last year, he qualified 37th, but gained 26 spots to place 11th.

Brian Vickers: Remember that Vickers nearly won his first Cup race at this event in 2005, leading 121 laps and finishing second. He never finished worse than 14th here while with Hendrick. He’s fared considerably less well with Red Bull, but did place second in this event again last year. The Red Bull team is still improving, and at a track where Vickers usually fares decently (and has only qualified outside the top 10 twice), they stand a chance at their first win if they play their cards right.

Denny Hamlin: This one is obvious if you’ve watched Pocono races for the past three years. Sweeping at Pocono as a rookie means that you’re tough there, and you always will be. Hamlin’s also dying for a win after watching Kyle Busch and Joey Logano hold the spotlight at Gibbs all season, and not quite getting it done in multiple opportunities.

Kurt Busch: He won the August race here in 2007 to help propel his team into the Chase. Don’t expect him to use this weekend to merely propel him into playoff contention if he wins, though – he’s already taken care of that. The Blue Deuce is strong every week once again, and Busch has three top-two finishes at Pocono since joining Penske. They’ll be strong.

Tony Stewart: Sure, he hasn’t won here since 2003, but six of his past seven Pocono starts have resulted in finishes of 7th place or better, including a second the last time the series raced here. Stewart-Haas is knocking on the door of its first win, and with the Prelude to the Dream rained out, you can bet that Tony’s fixing to put up a good showing for the troops who were to benefit from the event. (For the record, the Prelude’s been postponed to September 9th. Mark it in your calendars.)

—

A reminder, as we start the second leg of One and Done, on the drivers within the game who are not running complete schedules:

Two drivers in the game are no longer racing in Sprint Cup. Aric Almirola’s team lasted seven races before folding due to lack of sponsorship; it may return later in the year. In the meantime, he’s racing a truck at Texas for Billy Ballew this weekend. Travis Kvapil’s team only lasted five; it won’t return, and Kvapil is searching for other opportunities. He was last spotted at Talladega as a standby driver for Sam Hornish Jr., who had the flu that weekend.

Two other drivers are running limited schedules. Brad Keselowski is splitting time between Hendrick Motorsports and Phoenix Racing in Cup. He only has four races with Phoenix before November (the first race at Loudon, Daytona, Bristol, and Richmond), and after failing to qualify for last week’s race with Hendrick, does not return to that car until Chicago in July. Regan Smith is running a limited schedule with Furniture Row Racing, and despite missing six races thus far, has that car 38th in owners’ points. He finished 22nd last week at Dover, will attempt to qualify this weekend at Pocono, and will take the rest of the month off before returning in July to run Daytona and Indianapolis.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Pocono Raceway 

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