Denny Hamlin is on to the second round and Kevin Harvick has some ground to make up. Kevin was the only Chase driver to have major trouble during the first race of the playoffs. At twenty-two points out of the twelfth spot, Kevin might need to win a race or have two really great finishes and hope some other contenders have trouble if he wants to move to the second round and continue to defend his championship.
SYLVANIA 300
This week the series heads back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the running of the Sylvania 300. NHMS is a one-mile oval track with limited banking in the corners. This race will be the second shortest race of the Chase with only 300 laps and 300-miles covered by the drivers. Pit road selection as always will be determined by qualifying and this is one of the tracks where you really need to qualify well to get your preferred spot on pit road which can win you the race.
Kyle Busch: I am picking Kyle to win this week’s race and qualify for the second round of the Chase. Kyle won the race here back in July of this year and has finished first or second in four of his last five starts here. That tells me this team has a great handle on how to setup their car for the beginning of the race and they know what adjustments they need to make as the race progresses.
Brad Keselowski: Brad is another driver who really knows how to get around this track in a hurry and he does it consistently as is evident by him finishing no worse than eleventh in his last eight starts here including a win last July. This team really seems to have a handle on the shorter tracks this year while they are struggling a little bit on the intermediate tracks. Another top ten finish will go a long way toward moving Brad on to the second round.
Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race two years ago and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five starts at New Hampshire. During this first segment of the Chase I think Matt will remain calm and focused on the long run and he should qualify for the next round with solid top ten finishes. He knows how to stay out of trouble which is all you really need to do during this round.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is still looking for his first win at NHMS as he has a best finish of third at this track. However, he has finished in the top ten here in his last four starts and all of the drivers know the same thing as Matt does. Stay out of trouble and you will make it to the second round. It takes a little away from the racing in the first round but the intensity really picks up as the Chase winds down and drivers are eliminated.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff is the series leader in laps led at New Hampshire with 1,373. He also has more top five, and top ten finishes than any other driver here and has completed more laps than any other driver at this track since it was opened in 1990. He came close to winning the race at Chicage where he led quite a few laps late in the race until the late race caution came out and he faded on the restart.
Denny Hamlin: Denny has won two races at this track and has finished in the top five in seven of his eighteen starts here. Now that he is qualified for the second round this team can take a few chances and try to win another race in this segment. They no longer have to worry about staying out of trouble and that goes a long way when you need to take a chance to win a race or you are just hoping to come away with a good finish and stay out of trouble.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin has one win here and finished third in the last two races he has run at this track. Kevin needs a win to secure a spot in the next round or at the very least a couple of top five finishes to have the chance to continue to defend his championship. He is another driver who might have to take a few more chances to try and win one of the next two races because if you don’t qualify for the next round you need to wait until next year to win another championship.
Ryan Newman: Ryan picked up where he left off last year during the Chase. He came away with a top five finish and now he heads to a track where he has been consistently good. With three wins and sixteen top ten finishes in twenty-seven starts this guy knows how to get the job done here. He might not have won any races the last two seasons but, he almost won a championship last year and he is in prime position to move to the next round once again this season.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie also has three wins here and he has finished in the top ten an astounding eighteen time in only twenty-seven starts. This team isn’t where they need to be in terms of finishes right now if they want to win another championship but, they are in a position to move to the next round with two more top ten finishes and maybe they can work out their kinks in the next round. They are historically good on the mile-and-a-half tracks which make up a good share of the Chase so, making it to the next round is the first step.
Kurt Busch: Kurt is usually very good on the short flat tracks and his three wins here in twenty-nine starts shows that this is one of the tracks he really likes to race on. If it weren’t for the late race caution at Chicagoland last weekend, Kurt probably would have won that race and guaranteed himself a spot in the second round. All he needs to do is stay out of trouble the next two weeks and he will move on.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Kyle Busch
- Brad Keselowski
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Kurt Busch
- Carl Edwards
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Larson
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Danica Patrick
- Justin Allgaier
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kyle Busch
- Brad Keselowski
- Kevin Harvick
- Kurt Busch
- Matt Kenseth
Dark Horse: Kyle Larson
Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne