Top Prop Bets for the Pocono Organics 325, Part II
We’re closing in on the weekend and for fans of burning and turning on the asphalt, that puts us another day closer to racing on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. As it works out, this is a great weekend for NASCAR fans as the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, the Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup series all will run this weekend at the Tricky Triangle known as Pocono Raceway. The Cup series guys will be in action twice, racing Saturday for the Pocono Organics 325 and then again on Sunday for the Worry-Free Weather Guarantee 350, making for a hectic weekend on the track. We’ve given you a look at the history and success of drivers on the track. We already took a look at some of the top options for the drivers. Today, we look at some of the top prop bets out there for Saturday’s Pocono Organics 325. All odds are brought to you by DraftKings.
Ryan Blaney to Be Top Ford Car (+450): Blaney is actually the third-best option on the Ford list of vehicles, going off behind Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski in that order. The thing with Harvick is that he has yet to win at Pocono despite making 38 starts on the track in his career. Keselowski is a decent enough driver that is a safe option to finish in the top 10 but it’s hard to gauge what he might do on a week to week basis right now. Blaney is the hottest driver on the circuit right now and since we pegged him to finish in the top five, you have to give him serious consideration to be the top Ford here.
Toyota to Be Manufacturer of Winning Car (+150): When it comes to racing at the Tricky Triangle, it’s been a dominant stretch by Toyota. They’ve won the last five races at Pocono and six of the last nine dating back to the second Pocono race in 2015. While Chevrolet took six straight from the second race of 2012 to the first race of 2015, they’ve been able to take just one race in that nine-race stretch. Ford’s last win came with Blaney’s win in the first Pocono race in 2017 as the second of back to back wins here by the oval. Seeing that we’re backing Kyle Busch to win and he drives a Toyota, you have to lean that way for this winner.
Under 7.5 For Starting Position of Winning Driver (-125): The winning driver has started from a spot in the top 10 in 10 of the last 12 races at Pocono dating back to 2014. In the last 10 races, drivers running in spots one through seven have earned the checkered flag six times. That includes two of Kyle Busch’s wins as he started from the pole in the second Pocono race in 2017 and from the #2 spot in the first race last season here. Seeing how Blaney (second), Hamlin (third), Kyle Busch (fourth), Chase Elliott (fifth) and Kurt Busch (seventh) are all in spots that fall under that 7.5 mark, leaning toward the under here seems like the right call.
Erik Jones to Record Best Finish in Group C (+235): Jones has run well at Pocono, as we discussed in Part I of our prop bet review for Saturday. He nearly pulled out the win at Talladega Monday and is eager to deliver another stellar run on the Tricky Triangle. While Kurt Busch (+245) has been good here, winning three times while logging 14 top-five showings and 20 top-10 finishes at Pocono, he finished outside the top-10 in four of the last five runs here. Byron has been good of late on the track but he’s struggled most of the year. Alex Bowman (+250) has really struggled at Pocono, recording an average finish of 22.2 with only one top-10 showing in eight races here. Jones is the safest option in the group.
Aric Almirola to Record Best Finish in Group D (+240): Almirola had his struggles early on this season but he’s coming off a couple of solid runs. He finished fifth at Homestead and followed that up with a third-place showing at Talladega on Monday. While he’s recorded only two top-10 finishes in 15 runs at Pocono, he has three runs in the top 12 in the last four races here. The rest of the group is unproven or unsuccessful at the Tricky Triangle: Tyler Reddick (+200) is in his rookie season so this will be his first run at Pocono. Matt DiBenedetto (+265) has failed to finish four of his 10 races at Pocono and hasn’t finished better than 17th while Austin Dillon’s average finish here is 19.1 with no run better than a 12th-place finish. Back Almirola here.
The race takes place at 3:30 pm ET Saturday and will be televised on FOX. Kevin Harvick looks to maintain his narrow lead atop the NASCAR Cup points standings.