Hard Turn

A NASCAR BLOG BY Jeff Owens

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Fantasy Week 21: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

Jul 31

Pocono Raceway has one of the oddest schedules on the Sprint Cup circuit, typically hosting two Cup races a little more than a month apart.

Though this year’s Pocono races are spread out a bit more than usual – June 8 and Aug. 3 – they are still closer together than any other track that hosts two races a year.

That means that very little changes from race to race there. The drivers who do well in June typically run well again when the series returns in late July or August.

Expect that to be the case again this year, with June winner Kasey Kahne, runnerup Brian Vickers and Denny Hamlin all returning to Pocono as favorites.

Group A

No one from this group even cracked the top five in June, leaving the pick here somewhat of a crapshoot.

Or is it?

Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards finished sixth through ninth, respectively, making them all viable choices.

Johnson, though, is the driver to watch. After his dominating win last week at Indy, his Hendrick Motorsports team has clearly turned things around and seems to be hitting its stride.

Johnson finished sixth in June and has two Pocono wins. Don’t be surprised if he has the car to beat again this week.

Kenseth, Busch and Edwards are also worth a look. And, of course, don’t forget about Kyle Busch. He wrecked and finished last at Pocono in June, but could come storming backing this weekend.

Group B

Kahne, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr. and Burton all finished in the top five at Pocono in June and are worthy choices.

Kahne seems like the most obvious choice since he won there, but his team seems to have lost a bit of its momentum since its June victory.

The most consistent threat at Pocono is Hamlin, who swept both races there in 2006 and runs well there every single time. After his third-place run in June, he seems like the safest pick on the board.

Group C

Bobby Labonte (11th) and David Gilliland (16th) both had respectable finishes at Pocono in June, but keep an eye on Elliott Sadler.

He has four top-10 finishes in his last nine races, including an impressive fourth-place run at Indy. His Gillett Evernham team is showing vast improvement and Sadler could be in the hunt at Pocono.

Group D

Vickers nearly won the June race, finishing second to Kahne. After slipping to 17th in points after a blown engine at Indy last week, he desperately needs a strong run to get back into Chase contention. This has always been a strong track for him, so expect another solid performance.

Group E

Like Vickers, this has turned into a good track for Red Bull teammate AJ Allmendinger as well. He finished 12th in June and scored his first career top-10 finish (10th) last week at Indy. He could be a huge surprise at Pocono.