Gas-N-Go: NASCAR DFS Picks for the Pocono Organics CBD 325 at Pocono Speedway on DraftKings + FanDuel

The field is set for Saturday’s race at Pocono with Kyle Larson and William Byron on the front row at Pocono Speedway. With the help of Awesemo’s expert NASCAR fantasy point projections and ownership rankings, let’s dive into Saturday’s top NASCAR DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel for the Pocono Organics CBD 325.

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NASCAR DFS Picks: Pocono Organics CBD 325

Kyle Larson, 1st ($14,500 FanDuel, $12,500 DraftKings)

Eventually, there will be a race to consider fading or at least going under the field on Larson. Saturday’s race is not the time to do so. Starting first, Larson gets the benefit of clean air and the starting position that has led the most laps on average at Pocono since 2018. Oddly enough, this will only be Larson’s second pole of 2021 with the field set by the proprietary formula. The other race was Sonoma, wherein Larson led the most laps and won as well.

Saturday’s race will utilize the 550-horsepower package, the package that has seen Larson win twice in leading 167.2 laps per race in the process. So much of Saturday’s performance will boil down to where drivers start plus their overall speed. Besides starting first, with the preferred lane, Larson has been the fastest car in the low horsepower package averaging 63 fastest laps per race. For perspective, the next closest driver in terms of fastest laps is William Byron with 27.4 fastest laps per race. That’s more than twice as many fastest laps.

Whether DraftKings or FanDuel, Larson is the capstone of all NASCAR fantasy lineups on Saturday.

William Byron, 2nd ($11,500 FanDuel, $9,000 DraftKings)

If anyone is going to challenge Larson for the lead, and consequently the victory, it’s going to have to come from his teammate starting alongside Larson. Whatever Hendrick has figured out about this package is paying dividends for all four teams, especially for Larson considering this streak the No. 5 team is on. However, Byron is reaping those same fruits, with continual top-10 finishes and speed mirroring that of Larson’s.

Since 2018 the driver starting second has had similar dominator points results of the pole sitter with 28.8 laps led and 16.5 fastest laps. All it takes is for Larson to mess up going into turn 1 or for Byron’s team to be quicker on pit road. Should Byron find his way past Larson, he can use that same Hendrick power to keep Larson at bay and become a low-owned pivot in tournaments as people will focus on Larson and not give credence to Byron.

Austin Dillon, 12th ($8,000 FanDuel, $7,700 DraftKings)

The question for the past month has been, can Dillon keep running this consistently? Dillon has more than answered that call with three straight top-10 finishes in the 550-horsepower package. In fact, his worst finish year to date in this race set up was 12th at both Homestead and Las Vegas.

Dillon continues to utilize starting position, with improved Childress power, to hold his place on the grid and advance forward week after week. Over the past five years at Pocono, Dillon has consistently run and finished at or near the top-15. With this streamlined version of Dillon, anything but another top-15 would be a disappointment.

Daniel Suarez, 14th ($5,800 FanDuel, $6,500 DraftKings)

Leveraging starting position is going to be key in tournaments on Saturday. Suarez offers that at a cheaper salary compared to drivers like Dillon or even Alex Bowman. It goes without saying, both Dillon and Bowman have higher ceilings due to their ability to finish at or near fifth place. However, Suarez offers top-10 upside at a cheaper salary and an ownership discount. For the 2021 season, Suarez has just one finish outside of the top 20 in the low horsepower package.

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Chris Buescher, 25th ($7,000 FanDuel, $8,000 DraftKings)

Buescher was off the radar last week in Nashville due to his splits in the 750-horsepower package, and that fade worked since his brakes did not. That said, the bandwagon needs to make room because DFS players should be all in on Buescher for Saturday. Despite spending numerous seasons in sub-par equipment, Pocono was a track where Buescher has found favor, with multiple top-20 finishes and a win back in the fog-shortened race of 2016.

Yet what matters more is what Buescher has been doing thus far in the 550-horsepower package. Buescher has yet to finish any worse than 19th in 2021, and that also includes three straight top-10 finishes. With salary considered, Buescher is one of the top values on the board for either DraftKings or FanDuel.

Ryan Blaney, 27th ($10,300 FanDuel, $10,200 DraftKings)

Chase Elliott, 29th ($11,000 FanDuel, $11,000 DraftKings)

Thanks to Blaney’s brakes and Elliott’s lugnuts at Nashville, both of these drivers start deep in the field and become preferred options over a secondary dominator. There isn’t much explanation needed for either Blaney or Elliott. Both drivers have the two key factors needed for DFS, place differential and finishing position upside.

Before finishing 22nd in last year’s second Pocono race, Blaney had finished top-12 in five straight races here. Furthermore, Pocono is the sight of Blaney’s first career Cup victory when he beat Kyle Busch in the Wood Brothers 21. Elliott has seen more peaks and valleys at Pocono though. Elliott has four top-ten finishes in his past six Pocono races. However, in back-to-back races, Elliott finished worse than 25th including 38th in the second Pocono race of 2019.

If deciding between the two, the nod goes to Elliott based on recent performance in this package as well as showing more upside in the recent past here at Pocono. This upside is also reflected in their betting odds as Elliott opened at +1000 on DraftKings Sportsbook while Blaney was at +1400. Since those odds opened, Elliott has gone to +800 while Blaney has fallen back to +1500. However, for cash games, the nod goes to Blaney for the savings he offers on both sites.

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Author

Phillip Bennetzen

Phill Bennetzen is the creator of the RaceSheets; all-inclusive stats and data NASCAR DFS spreadsheets for the Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup Series. Phill and the RaceSheets can be found at racesheetsdfs.substack.com