Category: Driver Group Game

Kevin Harvick wins his seventh race of the season and takes the playoff points lead by winning both stages and the race at Michigan this past weekend. Harvick pretty much dominated the race once again as he led more than half of the laps in the race and didn’t really have anyone challenge him throughout. Kyle Busch finished third leading the third most laps and Martin Truex Jr. finished fourteenth after leading the second most laps. This just showed me the “Big Three” are still the drivers to beat if you want to win a championship this year.

Right now they are doing nothing other than trying to win stages and the races to bank as many playoff points as they can get. They are all going to be tough to knock out of any round with the playoff points they have already accumulated with Harvick having 40, Busch having 35, and Truex with 27. The next closest to these three is Clint Bowyer with only 10 playoff points. The last four in right now have a combined total of 1 playoff point between them. Hard for them to make up a lot of points in only three races in each round if the playoffs.

BASS PRO SHOPS NRA NIGHT RACE

Now there are only three races left before the playoffs start. This week the series heads back to the Bristol Motor Speedway for the running if the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. This week we are going to see why they call this the last great coliseum when they start racing under the lights on Saturday night. You are going to see some great paint schemes, and even better than that some great and fun racing to watch.

It is go time for the teams and drivers who are trying to win a race just to make it into the playoffs. Those who are just below and just above the cut line are going to be doing everything they can to finish as close to the front as they can, everyone is going to be trying to win the race to put themselves into the playoffs. Those already in are going to be racing for playoff points. Those who aren’t close to the top sixteen in points know they have to win to get in. There is going to be a lot of rumbling in Thunder Valley this weekend.

Kyle Busch: I am picking Kyle to match Kevin with his seventh win of the season this weekend at Bristol. Kyle has won the last two races here and in his last six starts he has led 721 laps. Nine of his last eleven starting positions were in the top ten also. This tells me that Kyle starts towards the front and stays towards the front to come away with these types of numbers.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has three top five and six top ten finishes in his last six starts here including a win in this race two years ago. It is hard to keep him off your roster any weekend, but I have to save some starts for him and therefore I will not have him on my roster this week despite how well he has run here in those last six races. He has also failed to qualify in the top four in those last six starts, so I am not expecting him to garner me any qualifying points this week.

Kyle Larson: Kyle finished second to Busch this spring and he has led 472 laps over his last three Bristol races and has finished in the top ten in all of those races. He seems to have hit a bit of a spell where he hasn’t been competing for wins lately and finished seventeenth at Michigan last weekend where he was expecting to challenge for the win. Tough call on whether or not I should put him on my roster this weekend.

Joey Logano: Joey won back to back fall races here during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He has also finished in the top ten in five of his last six fall races here. Then again he has finished in the top ten here in his last three spring races too. That gives me some confidence in him coming into this weekend. He hasn’t shown that he can compete on the larger tracks, but he is awfully good here.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has one win at this track and has finished third here in each of his last three fall races. This team sat on the pole the last two weeks, but couldn’t come away with a win, nor did they even really compete for a win in those races. He runs well here, but scares me with the pit road penalties he collects. Those will ruin your night at Bristol in a hurry.

Jimmie Johnson: Once again they didn’t show me anything last week on an intermediate track. This week I think things could be different. This is the type of track where Jimmie could break his winless streak. He has five top five finishes in his last eight starts here. Granted he only led laps in one of those races, but this is go time and he needs to pick up a win and some playoff points before the playoffs begin.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: For some reason, Ricky runs pretty well here. He has two runner-up finishes and six top ten finishes in his eleven career starts at Bristol. I think he can come away with another top ten finish here, but then I do have some concerns with him. He doesn’t have a lot of friends from the race at Daytona and they all remember that and won’t cut him any slack this weekend. If he is in the way he gets moved, so I’m not so sure about starting him this week.

Kurt Busch: Kurt won five of his first eleven starts at Bristol. His last win came back in the 2006 season. Since that time he has only finished in the top five five times and that covers twenty-four races. Then again, three of those top five finishes have come in his last eight races. It seems like this race is always feast or famine for Kurt. He has only finished on the lead lap here in four of his last eleven starts. He is another driver I don’t know if I should take a chance on this week.

Ryan Newman: The RCR teams both looked strong last week at Michigan and Ryan always seems to run well here. He has finished in the top ten in five of his last seven starts and has finished on the lead lap here in eight of his last nine races. You hardly ever here much about him during the races, but he quietly seems to get the job done when he has the right setup. I think he is well worth having on your team this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr.: The last of the “Big Three” to talk about this week. This is my stay away from driver this weekend. In twenty-five starts at this track, Martin only has three top ten finishes. He has only finished on the lead lap in two of his last ten starts at Bristol. I don’t know what it is about this track, but it is one of the few Martin hasn’t figured out yet. I’m sure he will continue to improve here during his career, but I’m not comfortable having him on my team this weekend.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Joey Logano

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Jamie McMurray
• Trevor Bayne
• Clint Bowyer

Driver Group Game Group C

• Alex Bowman
• Darrell Wallace Jr.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Joey Logano
4. Kyle Larson
5. Jimmie Johnson

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Martin Truex Jr.

Big 18: Jimmie Johnson

Congratulations to Chase Elliott, who won his first ever Cup race at Watkins Glen on Sunday afternoon. His father was up with the spotters to watch his son fight off Martin Truex Jr. to win the road course race easily when Truex ran out of gas on the final lap. I don’t think it would have mattered because Truex wasn’t going to catch Chase anyway. Chase made one mistake in the last thirty plus laps on the second to the last lap, but Truex couldn’t capitalize there either.

CONSUMERS ENERGY 400

The win gave Chevrolet their first non-restrictor plate victory of the season. The question now is, can the Chevrolet teams win on one of the intermediate tracks? Chase showed a lot of speed at Watkins Glen. Is it just the speed or are they still lacking aerodynamics on the intermediate tracks? If you want to win a championship you have to be able to win on this type of track because that is what most of the playoffs are based on and the final race of the year is on an intermediate track.

Some of those questions will be answered this week as the series heads back to the Michigan International Speedway for the running of the Consumers Energy 400. This is a two-mile D-shaped speedway that has long sweeping turns. Drivers need to carry a lot of speed through the corners, so they can carry that speed down the long straightaways at this track. That means your car needs speed, handling, and great aerodynamics if you want to have a chance to win here.

Kevin Harvick: I am going to go back to Kevin winning his seventh race of the season this weekend. He has been fast all season and has been stellar at this track over the past eleven races. In those races he has finished second six times including the race here in June. He also has two other top five finishes in that stretch. I’m still not convinced that the Chevy drivers will have the speed they need to win here this weekend, but Kevin will.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first career win at this track. He has led laps in four of his last five starts at this track and has finished second or third in three of his last seven starts here. He also won the race at the Auto Club Speedway earlier this year which is a track very similar to this one. He led laps in his last three starts at that track and all of that information on car handling will carry over to this track.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is a little bit of a different story at Michigan. His lone win came here back in the 2011 season and he finished fourth here in June. For some reason he doesn’t run as consistently well at this track as he does in California. He has three straight top ten finishes at Michigan, but he has finished in the top three in five of this last seven starts at Auto Club. Which type of handling and speed will he have this weekend.

Chase Elliott: So, Chase picked up his first Cup win and got that monkey off his back. He has been showing improvement on the intermediate tracks lately too. He has run five races at Michigan and has never finished outside the top ten. In fact he finished second in his first three starts here. He will come into this weekend with a lot of confidence now, but won’t be able to make any mistakes if he wants to go on a winning streak.

Kyle Larson: Let’s not forget about this Kyle at Michigan. His three race winning streak at this track was broke in a rain shortened race here in June. He has led laps in each of his last five starts at this track and has been the only other Chevy driver besides Chase to show any inkling that they might be able to win on an intermediate track. I look for his to run that high line once again this weekend and get a good run off the corners.

Erik Jones: Erik has been very hot lately. He won at Daytona and finished fifth at Watkins Glen this past weekend. This team has a lot of confidence right now and is showing they can compete on all types of tracks. He has only run three races at Michigan, but has never finished worse than fifteenth and he finished third in this race last season. Plus he has finished in the top twelve in both of his starts in California.

Jamie McMurray: This might come as a surprise to you, but Jamie is the only driver other than Chase Elliott to finish in the top ten here in each of his last five starts. Combine that with top ten finishes in two of his last three California races and that tells me this team has something figured out at these tracks. I don’t know if he’ll be in contention for a win this weekend, but another top ten is definitely within reach.

Brad Keselowski: This is the track Brad wants to win at more than any other track on the circuit. Brad is from Michigan and considers this his home track and he has been very good here during his career even though he is still looking for that elusive win. He sat on the front row his last two races here and has finished in the top ten in seven of his last nine starts here. I think he has another good showing this week.

Joey Logano: Joey has been even more consistent than his teammate, Brad Keselowski, has been. He has finished in the top ten in ten of his last eleven starts here including both of his wins at this track. Couple that with five top seven finishes in his last six starts at California and you have the recipe for a team capable of winning the race here this weekend.

Kurt Busch: Kurt got his last win here in June of 2015. He has finished in the top twelve in six of his last seven starts since that time. He could come away with another top ten finish here this weekend because we know how much speed the Stewart-Haas drivers have had all season. If everything goes right he could be looking at getting his first win of the year.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Chase Elliott
• Erik Jones
• Jamie McMurray
• Aric Almirola

Driver Group Game Group C

• William Byron
• Darrell Wallace Jr.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Joey Logano
4. Chase Elliott
5. Kyle Larson

Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray

Stay Away From: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Big 18: Joey Logano

Congratulations to Kyle Busch on winning his sixth race of the season tying Kevin Harvick for the series lead. Kyle has the most playoff points right now, followed by Harvick and then Martin Truex Jr. That make sixteen wins in twenty-one races for these three drivers. I don’t remember a time when three drivers were this dominant this far into the season. There are only five more races left before the start of the playoffs and it looks like there are going to be a lot of drivers looking to make it into those playoffs on points.

GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN

This weekend the series heads to the second road course on the schedule as they head to Watkins Glen International for the running of the Go Bowling at The Glen race. This is an eleven turn raceway with a bus stop chicane on it. The race is schedules for ninety laps, so there isn’t much time to get the job done here if you want to win. This is one of those races that can really shake up the playoffs by having someone not in the top sixteen in points win and take a spot away from that sixteenth place driver.

They will also be running rain or shine this weekend. So, no having to worry about qualifying or the race to be delayed or postponed. Right now there is a 40% chance of rain on Sunday afternoon. I know the weather forecast can change a lot during the week, but it has been a long time since I’ve seen NASCAR run in the rain.

A.J. Allmendinger: I am going to go out on a limb and pick AJ to win another race here. I know I picked him to win out at Sonoma earlier this year and then he missed a shift and blew his engine there. It’s just that he has the best finishing average of all active drivers who have made more than one start here. In his nine starts he has the one win, three top five and six top ten finishes. The worst he has ever finished here is twenty-fourth and that was when there were forty-three cars on the track.

Kyle Busch: Kyle leads all active drivers with two wins here and he has been on a roll along with the other two drivers in the ‘Big Three’ all season. He also has eleven top ten finishes in his thirteen starts at this track. Those are amazing stats for a track that is tough on equipment and that can knock you to the back of the field with every little mistake you make on the track or in the pits.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is looking for his first win of the season and his first win at The Glen in his career. He finished second here three times in a row in the 2011-2013 seasons and has five top ten finishes in his eight starts. Not a lot has gone right for Brad this year, but I think he is looking forward to coming here and trying to get his first win of the season and punch his ticket to the playoffs.

Denny Hamlin: Denny started out his career with four straight top ten finishes at this track and then he followed that up with six races in a row where he only finished in the top twenty once. Then he won this race two years ago and followed that up with a fourth place finish last season. I am going to go on the side that Denny is on a roll here now because of his last two finishes here coupled with three straight top ten finishes at Sonoma.

Martin Truex Jr.: Now let’s not forget Martin. He won the race here last year and followed it up with a win at Sonoma earlier this year. He has also started in the top five in five of his last six road course races. That tells me that Martin has this road course racing figured out and gives ‘The Big Three’ more chances to keep on winning.

Kevin Harvick: We might as well talk about Kevin right away and make sure that everyone knows that one of these three drivers can win once again this weekend. Kevin’s lone win here came back during the 2006 season and he really hasn’t been that consistent here. Still he has finished in the top ten in almost half of the seventeen races he has run here and the way he is going right now he could get that second win here this weekend.

Clint Bowyer: Clint is the one driver besides the big three to win a race at a non-restrictor plate track this season. He is also very good at these road course tracks. He finished fifth here last year and finished second and third in his last two races at Sonoma. I think he just loves this kind of racing and comes in looking forward to the weekend and with a lot of confidence.

Joey Logano: Joey won this race three years ago and then came back and finished second the year after that. Joey picked up a win at Talladega earlier this season and is qualified for the playoffs, so he could do something different this weekend to gain track position and put himself in contention for the win and a chance to gain some valuable playoff points.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver who is looking for his first win of the season and first at The Glen. However, in his last ten starts at the two road course tracks he hasn’t finished worse than twelfth. Those are all races he has run with Stewart-Haas Racing and that tells me this team has a handle on how to get around both of these tracks and if everything falls into place, Kurt could get that long sought after victory here.

Matt Kenseth: Matt will be behind the wheel of the #6 car once again this weekend. He has had some okay races since he has been back, but is still looking for a really good race. Getting a car setup for a driver here is hard to do, but if they can give Matt something he can work with he could have that great race. He finished second here last year with Joe Gibbs Racing and has only finished outside the top twenty once in his last ten starts at this track with both Gibbs and Roush.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

Driver Group Game Group A

• Martin Truex Jr.
• Denny Hamlin

Driver Group Game Group B

• A.J. Allmendinger
• Kurt Busch
• Clint Bowyer
• Matt Kenseth

Driver Group Game Group C

• Michael McDowell
• Chris Buescher

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

1. A.J. Allmendinger
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Kyle Busch
5. Kurt Busch

Dark Horse: Matt Kenseth

Stay Away From: Aric Almirola

Big 18: A.J. Allmendinger

And the beat goes on. Kevin Harvick won his sixth race of the season beating Kyle Busch in a close contest in a rain delayed race at New Hampshire this past weekend. With only a few laps left in the race and Harvick putting a lot of pressure on Busch he finally used the bumper to move Kyle out of the groove and pass him as he headed to the checkered flag. Kyle held on to easily finish second while the last of the big three, Martin Truex Jr., finished fourth.

That leaves the big three with fifteen wins in the twenty races run so far this season with Clint Bowyer the only other driver to win a non-restrictor plate race. If you are the fan of a Chevrolet driver you might be in for a long rest of the season. Chase Elliott led for a little while during this race, but it is clear there really is no one who can compete with the big three on a weekly basis and Chevrolet is still looking for their first win of the season on a track that isn’t a restrictor plate track.

GANDER OUTDOORS 400

Now there are only six more races left before the playoffs and points mean everything to make it into the playoffs. I think it is going to be hard to knock any of the top three drivers out of any round of the playoffs and they will probably all head to Homestead-Miami with a shot at this year’s championship. The question is who will join them and can anyone improve enough to knock one or more of them out of contention?

This week the series heads back to the Pocono Raceway for the running of the Gander Outdoors 400. Martin Truex Jr. won the race here in June with Busch and Harvick finishing third and fourth respectively in that race. This big two and a half mile track should favor the faster cars once again this weekend and I would expect similar results to the June race. Handling is at a premium with three differently shaped corners and drivers and crew chiefs have to figure out how to setup their cars to be at their best in all of those corners if they want to compete for the win.

Kevin Harvick: I am going to go with Harvick to win his seventh race of the year. He has finished in the top five in his last four starts here with two of those finishes being runner-up finishes. I think he takes the next step and moves back to victory lane this time and adds to his playoff point lead for the moment. All he needs to do is try and stay far enough away from Kyle at the end of the race so he doesn’t receive payback.

Brad Keselowski: Brad could be a driver you might want to use to save starts for the big three or use him to make a move in your league. Not to be outdone by Kevin at Pocono lately, Brad has finished in the top five there in his last six starts. Once again he didn’t win any of those races, but that doesn’t mean he can’t win one now. He will need to have the same handling he had in those races and I think he will be a contender this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr.: Seeing he won the race here in June he has to be considered one of those to beat this weekend again. His consistency hasn’t been quite as good as the two mentioned above, but he has finished in the top six in his last three starts and has led laps in six of his last seven starts at Pocono. He has also started on the front row in three of his last four starts there.

Kyle Busch: Kyle won this race last year and has three straight top ten finishes here. He has also sat on the pole in three of his last six starts and led laps in all of those races. Pocono is notorious for having rain and there is a better than average chance that qualifying might be rained out and that would mean the big three would all start towards the front of the field and get to choose their pit stall that way.

Chase Elliott: Chase gave a valiant effort once again last weekend as he tries to score his first Cup win. He has run very well at Pocono in his five races that he has run there finishing in the top ten in four of those starts. I just don’t feel this team has quite the speed it will take to get that first win right now unless everything goes exactly right for them. They need to be flawless on pit road as well as on the track to have any chance at a win, but a top ten finish is a definite possibility once again this weekend.

Kurt Busch: Kurt was really strong last weekend at Loudon and was looking like he might get his first win of the season when on his last pit stop as he was trying to get into his pit, Ryan Blaney who was in the stall right behind him was ready to exit his box. They both stopped and waited for just a second or two, but that was enough to send Kurt out well behind some of the other drivers and he never recovered. He has run very well at Pocono in his career with three wins here and nineteen top ten finishes in thirty-four starts. He is worth having on your team this weekend.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan picked up his first ever Cup win in the June race last season. In his five starts here he has finished in the top eleven four times. He started on the pole in the June race this year and has started in the top five in his last three starts at Pocono. This team seems to be fast on the short runs, but when it comes to longer runs they seem to fade. They need to figure out how to build both short and long run speed into the car to compete with the big three.

Kyle Larson: Kyle finished second here in June and has probably been the closest of all the Chevrolet drivers to being able to compete with the big three on a more consistent basis this year. In nine career starts at Pocono he has only finished outside the top twelve once. That is pretty amazing for this track. He could compete for a win here once again as this is his type of track with three different types of corners to negotiate.

Matt Kenseth: Matt will once again get behind the wheel of the number 6 car this weekend at Pocono. He hasn’t done much in practice or qualifying in the races he has run so far this year, but his finishes are getting better. He ran the June race here and finished thirteenth and finished fifteen at New Hampshire this past weekend. He could be another driver you could have on your roster to take a chance on this weekend as he has finished in the top ten here in five of his last seven starts.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR POCONO RACEWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Brad Keselowski

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kurt Busch
• Chase Elliott
• Ryan Blaney
• Matt Kenseth

Driver Group Game Group C

• Chris Buescher
• William Byron

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT POCONO RACEWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Kyle Busch
5. Kurt Busch

Dark Horse: Chase Elliott

Stay Away From: Joey Logano

Big 18: Brad Keselowski

The big three just keep on winning without much of a scare from any of the other teams. Larson, Blaney, and Keselowski were the only drivers that had any type of chance of beating Martin Truex Jr. but they kept fading away as the runs got longer. So, we still only have four drivers who have won on a non-restrictor plate track in sixteen tries. There are only seven races left until the playoffs start, so a lot of these drivers will be fighting to get in on points. At the same time, the big three are racking up playoff points and are going to be hard to knock out of any rounds leading up to the championship race.

FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO 301

This week the drivers head to Loudon and a bit of a different track than they have run on lately. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a slightly longer than one-mile oval speedway that is fairly flat. This is going to be a bit different for the drivers as they haven’t run on a similar track since they ran at Richmond back in April.

The big question is whether one of these other drivers can make something happen this weekend and pick up a win and some playoff points and guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs. Can someone like Daniel Suarez or Ryan Newman win this race and propel themselves from being out of the playoffs to a guaranteed spot? Or, are the big three going to continue to dominate the series. They all finished in the top five once again last week.

Martin Truex Jr.: In the last four races run here, Martin has led the most laps of all drivers, but is still looking for his first win in twenty-four starts. I think this might be the weekend he knocks New Hampshire off his list, keeps the big three rolling, and picks up enough playoff points to put him ahead of the other two drivers in the playoff standings.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is second in laps led over the last four races here and won the fall race last year. He has three total wins and three second place finishes at this track in his twenty-six starts. Once again the big three have shown that they have been the best at this track over the last two years with their consistency and that will continue this weekend with these three battling for the win.

Kevin Harvick: In thirty-four starts at Loudon, Kevin has racked up two wins, ten top five finishes, eighteen top ten finishes and has led over seven-hundred laps while racing in the Cup Series. His second win came in the fall race two years ago. He has also finished in the top five in five of his last seven starts here. This tells me Kevin has a pretty good feel for racing here and will give the two drivers mentioned above a run for their money this weekend.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has half the starts that Harvick has with seventeen in the books for him. He looked pretty strong last weekend at Kentucky and I think this team is starting to get a better handle on what they need to do to catch the big three. In those seventeen starts he has won one race, had seven top five finishes and eleven top ten finishes. He hasn’t finished worse than fifteenth here in his last thirteen starts which is another amazing stat. He might be worth having on your roster and taking a chance on this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: Denny hasn’t been very consistent this year and you never know if he is going to have a good run or not from week to week. However, he won this race last year, one of his three wins at New Hampshire. He has also finished second here four times and has started in the top ten in nine of he last ten races at this track. He is another option for those of you trying to save some starts for other drivers this weekend.

Kyle Larson: Kyle is one of the drivers who is ever so close to competing with the top three drivers on a weekly basis. He always seems to have some problem that puts him back in the field one or more times every week that takes him right out of contention. This week might be different. In his eight starts here, Kyle has second three times including both of the races last year. He has a great handle on this track and it might be his week to break into the win column this year.

Jimmie Johnson: I thought this team was making headway, but they disappointed me again this past weekend. Jimmie never showed the speed and handling he needed to move up in the field and be a contender yet. He has been good at Loudon with three wins here, but his last win here came way back in the 2010 season and he has only led 323-laps in his thirty-two starts. I still don’t think he is worth taking a chance on for your fantasy teams.

Ryan Newman: Ryan is another driver with three win here and his last one came back in the 2011 season. Another thing is that he has sat on the pole here seven times in his thirty-two starts, but never with Richard Childress Racing. Ryan is another driver who can be good or bad each week and we don’t know which one of those drivers is going to show up or whether or not he has a car that can run in the top ten.

Clint Bowyer: Clint is going to be a driver to watch this weekend. He finished seventh in both races here last year in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing and is running even better this year for them. He has won twice here at this track and in both of those races he dominated the whole thing. If his car comes off the truck fast this weekend and they can get it dialed in during the practice sessions, Clint will be a contender to win his third race of the season and move closer to the top three in the playoff standings.

Daniel Suarez: Daniel is my dark horse this weekend. He finished in the top ten in both of his starts at this track which both came last season. Daniel had a great car last weekend early in the race and his pit crew did an outstanding job gaining a lot of positions for him on pit road, but the handling went away on him and he faded through the pack. I think this is the type of track where Daniel is at his best and he will have another good run this weekend.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Martin Truex Jr.
• Kyle Busch

Driver Group Game Group B

• Clint Bowyer
• Daniel Suarez
• Ryan Newman
• Kurt Busch

Driver Group Game Group C

• William Byron
• Darrell Wallace Jr.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Brad Keselowski

Dark Horse: Daniel Suarez

Stay Away From: Paul Menard

Big 18: Clint Bowyer