DraftKings Rankings: Pocono

RELATED: Full schedule for Pocono, Iowa Rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings’ NASCAR salaries for that day. The ordering is not based on highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by value of each driver. (fppk = average fantasy points per $1,000 of salary. The typical median fppk for a 2016 race was in the 3s. Plate tracks tend to be lower and short tracks tend to run higher due to the amount of laps.) 1. Kyle Busch ($10,700) – Terrible misfortune cannot be predicted, but maybe it can. A dark cloud follows the No. 18 car, but it has to be a fast cloud to keep up with Kyle Busch. He almost led every lap at the last Pocono race. (5.1 fppk) 2. Martin Truex Jr. ($10,500) – The No. 78 car started from the back and made it into the top 10 at Pocono in no time. That’s where the run ended. Last week, at a similar track, Truex started inside the top 10 and was in contention for the win until the late-race apocalypse at Indy. (6.2 fppk) 3. Kyle Larson ($10,100) – This isn’t really the track for the free-wheelin’ Kyle Larson. Pocono is a one-groove track. Even if you’ve got a good car, good luck passing. In the spring Pocono race, Larson started seventh and finished seventh. That’s about where he topped out last week at Indianapolis. (5.9 fppk) 4. Brad Keselowski ($9,100) – Although the No. 2 car has appeared to be a step behind the elite cars this summer, Keselowski’s Pocono results are undeniable. He has earned four straight top-five finishes at the Pennsylvania track. (4.2 fppk) 5. Joey Logano ($8,800) – Team Penske hasn’t shown the ability to lead the pack in recent months. They can sneak away with a win because they’re fast enough to run inside the top 10. If this race turns into “Apocalypse 2: Indy Redux,” then Team Penske is a strong play. (3.4 fppk) 6. Ryan Blaney ($8,700) – The spring Pocono winner was in contention to win at Indianapolis. There is something about these long, flat tracks that suits Blaney. Maybe it suits the Wood Brothers; their speed is undeniable. (2.8 fppk) 7. Kevin Harvick ($10,200) – Last week, Harvick started second. We never heard from him again fantasy-wise. Harvick is a top-10 driver, but he’s not setting the pace. Even when he last won the pole, he was not gobbling up the fast lap and laps led points. (4.2 fppk) 8. Chase Elliott ($9,500) – In the spring of 2016, Elliot nearly won this race. In the spring of 2017, Elliott didn’t win, but he scored the third-most fantasy points. (3.7 fppk) 9. Jamie McMurray ($8,100) – One of the worst wrecks in recent memory involved Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson at Pocono. Racers have short memories. Jamie Mac might be overlooked because DraftKings players may only look at his last Pocono finish. (3.5 fppk) 10. Jimmie Johnson ($9,600) – He wrecked at Pocono. He wrecked at Indianapolis. For any other driver, this would be an easy fade. We’re talking about Jimmie Johnson. Pocono is a strategy race, and few are better in a strategy race. (4.0 fppk) 11. Denny Hamlin ($9,700) – This might comes as a surprise, but Hamlin has the fifth-best average running position this season. He’s rarely out front, but he’s always creeping around the top five. Hamlin has balanced his performance this season and is racing well everywhere. (3.8 fppk) 12. Kurt Busch ($8,500) – The spring 2016 Pocono winner is very comfortable at this track. In the last 15 Pocono races, Kurt Busch has 11 top-10 finishes. Busch has a win in the bank, so look for him to at least snare a top-10 finish. (2.6 fppk) 13. Erik Jones ($8,300) – The long, flat tracks favor the big teams. More so, they favor the best teams. No team is as consistently fast as Furniture Row. Jones will show up with a fast car. If he keeps his nose clean, then he’ll be in contention for a top-five finish. (3.4 fppk) 14. Daniel Suarez ($7,200) – This isn’t Carl Edwards, but it’s Carl Edwards. If you took David Hasselhoff out of Knight Rider, it would still be Knight Rider. Suarez isn’t leading laps, but this JGR car is fast, and he hangs around the top 10 every week. (4.2 fppk) 15. Matt Kenseth ($9,200) – In four of the last five Pocono races, Kenseth has scored a top-10 finish. He’s not running like a lap leader, but lately, he’s turning out consistent top 10s. (3.4 fppk) 16. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($7,800) – Track history will buy Junior one more week in the rankings. This is a great track for Earnhardt Jr. (sweep in 2014). Before the shifting issue that ended his spring race, Junior reported that he was only giving 80% and was cruising in the the top 10. (2.3 fppk) 17. Clint Bowyer ($8,000) – Life just got tough. Bowyer should be a playoff car, but there have been 13 winners this season. Bowyer looks to be an all-or-nothing racer from here on out, but Pocono has not been his best track (three top-10s in the last 10 Pocono races). (3.8 fppk) 18. Austin Dillon ($6,900) – The price tag is alluring. More alluring is the fact that Dillon’s Charlotte win may not be enough to get him into the playoffs. He can no longer sit back. Dillon needs to consistently score top-15 finishes. (3.5 fppk) 19. Ty Dillon ($6,600) – Realists are often confused with pessimists. Ty Dillon knows he’s not going to win, but if he plays it safe and hangs around, then he can earn a top-20 finish. It’s not sexy, and you’re not going to see Ty in many commercials, but he’s a safe fantasy NASCAR pick. (4.6 fppk) 20. Ryan Newman ($7,600) – The good news is that Newman survived the Indy mayhem with a third-place finish. The bad news is that his average finish was 20th last month. It appears that Newman is playing it safe and cruising into the playoffs. (3.9 fppk)