Fantasy Report: Pennsylvania 500

Pocono Raceway is a relatively flat, 2.5-mile triangular track in the scenic Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania. This is the second race there this year. The spring race saw Kasey Kahne cruise into Victory Lane. Does he have what it takes to make it 2 wins this year? This blogger says no, but it's often brutally obvious that the unexpected can be expected.

Our picks:

Brandon’s picks:
Jimmie Johnson✔, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin✔, Kasey Kahne✔, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Allmendinger✔ and David Reutimann.

Erik’s picks:
Denny Hamlin✔, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin✔, Dale Earnhardt Jr.✔, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Scott Riggs✔ and Brian Vickers.

Hints: There have been 21 pole winners in the last 25 races here so look for drivers up front to have a good run. Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (two each) are the only repeat pole winners there since 1995 and you can bet that these three will be the ones to watch. I would also add that Jimmie Johnson's team is really strong right now and I'm going to put him in unless Hamlin looks better in practice and qualifying. For some reason I'm reluctant to put Gordon in this week — just call it a gut feeling. Also, don't ever count Rousch Fenway out ... they're typically top teams at any track with Pocono being no different.

Be smart: Since the season is more than halfway over it's a good time to put some real thought into your picks. Since I'm almost 200 points out of first place I can't afford to gamble like I have the past few weeks. My angle, at least for the next handful of races, is to put in drivers that have proven themselves to be great at a certain track as well as ones that are having positive seasons. My reluctance to put Gordon in is a gamble of sorts since he's the highest-rated driver for this track, but then again he finished 14th at Pocono earlier this year. Johnson has a pretty good history at Pocono, as does Hamlin. Hamlin is more consistant at finishing well than Johnson here, but the #48 is really starting to get hot.

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It was originally reported by Sports Illustrated that the Obama camp was close to finalizing the deal but obviously it fell through.

Fantasy Report: Pocono 500

NASCAR makes its move from FOX to TNT this week for live coverage at Pocono.

Some of the race commentators for this stretch on TNT (before coverage moves again to ESPN) will be Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Wally Hallenbach, Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds. (Sorry no Boogity, boogity, boogity boys!) This should be a nice change to keep the season interesting.

Enough about coverage lets get to the picks:

Erik’s picks:

Denny Hamlin✔, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman✔, Martin Truex Jr.✔, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Travis Kvapil✔ and Scott Riggs.

Brandon’s picks:

Denny Hamlin✔, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin✔, Kyle Busch✔, Juan Pablo Montoya, Travis Kvapil✔ and David Reutimann.

HINT: Take a look at having a few Joe Gibbs drivers in this week (especially Denny Hamlin). JGR cars have had some great finishes at Pocono in the past. Kyle Busch has been hot lately and might also give you some extra qualifying points.

KEEP IN MIND: Don’t overuse a driver. Remember you only get to select them a certain number of times. Just remember to be patient and save some strong drivers for the end of the season. If you have a bad week or two don’t worry. I have had 4 bad weeks out of 5 and still remain in the top ten overall.