Category: Fantasy NASCAR

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Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bank of America 500

Kevin Harvick did what he needed to do to qualify for the second round of the Chase by winning the race at Dover this past weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did what he had to do and beat Jamie McMurray by one position and moved on the the next round while Jimmie Johnson had mechanical problems that knocked him out of the playoffs. The second round starts next week and it should only get more exciting as the season comes to a close and we crown the 2015 Sprint Cup Champion.

BANK OF AMERICA 500

The first race of the second round will be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the running of the Bank of America 500. Charlotte is another of the mile-and-a-half tracks that represent the majority of the races in the Chase. The points will also be reset this weekend for twelve drivers who have qualified for the second round the next three races will determine who will be in the final eight.

Kevin Harvick: I am going to pick Kevin to win his second race in a row and qualify for the third round of the Chase right away. Kevin has won two of the last five points races here including this race last year. He has also finished in the top ten in his last five points races at Charlotte and this team has been fast every week for the past two seasons. I’m sure none of the Chase drivers would have been disappointed if Kevin wouldn’t have made it to the second round because he is going to be hard to stop as he looks for back-to-back Sprint Cup championships.

Jimmie Johnson: Although I’m sure Jimmie is very disappointed by not making the second round, but he always runs well at Charlotte and has seven wins here to prove that point. His latest win here came last season during the Coca-Cola 600 and he has run well at the mile-and-a-half tracks this year once again.

Matt Kenseth: Matt always runs well at this track also. He has won two races here with the last of those coming in the fall of 2011. All of the Joe Gibbs teams are still running well and all four of them have made it to the second round of the Chase. The speed these guys have shown for the past few months shows that they are all capable of winning the championship this year and Matt’s poise makes him one of the drivers to keep your eye on.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is still looking for his first win at Charlotte, but he has finished in the top five in ten of his twenty-three starts here. Kyle has been using his head so far during the Chase and that is what it takes to win a championship under this format. Don’t take unnecessary chances and just make sure you get a good finish and you can move on to the next round in each of the first two rounds. After that the strategy will change a little bit.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff’s has kept his hopes of winning another championship in his final year alive. He has been very good at Charlotte during his career with five wins and twenty-four top ten finishes in only forty five starts. Even though he doesn’t have a win yet this year he is still running consistent enough to be a threat to win a race most any weekend and keep advancing.

Carl Edwards: Carl won the Coca-Cola 600 this year and has finished in the top ten here in fourteen of his twenty-one career starts. His car might not always be good throughout the race, but they never give up on their adjustments and it always seems that Carl is in the top ten towards the end of the race and has a chance to pickup another win if everything falls just right.

Denny Hamlin: Denny is another driver looking for his first win at this track during a points race. However, he did win the Sprint All-Star race this year and has finished in the top ten in twelve of his twenty starts at this track. Denny has been quietly going about his business and won the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway which gave him a free pass the last two weeks. This week they will be back on the top of their game.

Jamie McMurray: Even though Jamie didn’t qualify for the second round he is still very good at Charlotte. He has two wins here during his career and has ten top ten finishes in his twenty-six starts here. I think this team should be proud that they made the Chase for the first time and now they have something to look forward to improving on next season.

Joey Logano: Joey is another of the Chase drivers who is still seeking his first win at this track, but he has run very well here during his short career. He has finished in the top ten in seven of his thirteen starts and just needs to make one more correct call late in a race to come away with his first win here. I think this team will do well for the rest of the Chase because Joey is very good at this style of track.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has four wins at this track and has finished in the top ten in thirteen of his twenty-three starts here with nine of those finishes being in the top five. Even though they didn’t qualify for the Chase, this team will do everything they can to pick up a win before the end of the season so they have something to build on for next season.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kevin Harvick
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kasey Kahne
  • Carl Edwards
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Ryan Blaney
  • Danica Patrick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

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

Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray

Stay Away From: Ryan Newman

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 DOVER, AAA 400

With one race until the initial playoff cuts, there are some unexpected drivers facing elimination. As usual, the best strategy is to front-load your lineup with your top three drivers and round out your roster with budget options. I tried to find a balance between risky and conservative drivers in a week where anything goes for some of the top teams in the series.

From a Fantasy NASCAR perspective, the results will be more unpredictable than average results at Dover. Drivers will take more risks than average behind the wheel, with their fuel strategies, and with their setups. Know if you want a conservative or risky approach this week and choose the drivers whose Chase standings match your strategy.

FRONT-LOAD YOUR LINEUP

As usual, the first spot of my lineup is dedicated to the driver who has earned 22 top-10 finishes in his first 25 races in 2015. Kevin Harvick has found success at the Monster Mile. With three top-10 finishes in his last five Dover races, Harvick has found consistency at the track. During the same time span, Harvick is second in fast laps and laps led so he has a good chance to take advantage of those numbers. In May’s race, Harvick led 91 laps on his way to a 2nd place finish. In five steep tracks in 2015, four have resulted in a top-5 finish. With the most laps led and fast laps in 2015, Harvick has a combination of track success, track type success and 2015. That translates to a high probability of success in this week’s race. Harvick needs to win to qualify for the next round of the playoffs. He will be taking risks to win the race. This can be helpful or detrimental to your lineup. If you want a conservative approach, I would suggest another driver like Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, or Brad Keselowski.

My next lineup recommendation is not due to 2015 success. Jimmie Johnson has 16 top-10 finishes in 2015 and a 12.2 average finish position, but has struggled in stretches. Anything short of a championship team is a disappointment for the #48 car. His track success is the reason that he gets my roster recommendation. Although he only led 23 laps during the race, Jimmie Johnson won the Dover race earlier this season. Over the last five races at the track, Johnson has earned three victories. He is first in laps led and fast laps by a wide margin during this time period. Johnson has an impressive 13 top-5 finishes at the since since 2005. Jimmie Johnson should be near the top when the checkered flag flies. With a solid run, Johnson will qualify for the next round so I can see Chad Knaus playing it safe with this team.

Kyle Busch had a forgettable race in Dover earlier this year. He was running 3rd with 25 laps left in the race when a collision with Brian Scott sent him to a 36th place finish. We are hoping for a better result this time around. Kyle Busch has earned three top-10 finishes in his last five Dover races. During these five races, Busch is 3rd in fast laps and laps led. He has seen long-term success at the track with the 2nd-most laps led at the track since 2005. In fourteen races in 2015, Kyle Busch has eight finishes inside the top-10. Unless someone changes my mind in qualifying, I will go with the 18 car for my 3rd team. Kyle Busch is at the cut line for the next round. Like Harvick, the Chase standings increase your risk, but Kyle Busch is not in the desperate situation that we see in the 4 team.

FILLING OUT THE BOTTOM

With a front-loaded lineup, there is little room for the remaining roster spots. David Ragan finished in 13th in the May race. He has a 24th place average finish position in 2015. He looks like he has the speed for most weeks, but cannot get the breaks to fall his way. Over the last five Dover races, he has a 25th place average. He provides upside as a budget option. Landon Cassill looks to be improving slightly as the season progresses. Cassill finished 23rd during the May race and has a 30th place average in 2015. Both drivers should provide value this week.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, finish position, and start-to-finish differential. In order to prevent us from starting the best drivers each week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula calculates the average fantasy live points earned by race by each driver over the last five Dover races. Next, we divide that number by the salary cap figure. The end result is a number that will dictate which drivers are expected to provide the most value this week. Brad Keselowski has earned three top-10 finishes over the last five races. He missed my lineup spot to Kyle Busch. As a consolation prize, we will use his numbers to further illustrate the formula.

KYLE BUSCH AT DOVER

  • Average finish position last five Dover races: 11.6 equals 32.4 Fantasy Live points
  • Start-to-finish differential: Negative four equals (-4) Fantasy Live points)
  • Laps led: 109 laps led equals 10.9 Fantasy Live points
  • Fast laps: 109 fast laps equals 10.9 Fantasy Live points
  • Total Fantasy Live points earned by race: 50.2
  • Fantasy Live Salary cap figure: $27.25
  • Fantasy points per dollar: 50.2 divided by $27.25 equals 1.84 points per dollar

Below you will find the Fantasy Live points for all drivers entered in this week’s race. Good luck as you make a push to the top of your league standings.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Jimmie Johnson 5.50
  • Kevin Harvick 2.90
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2.03
  • Kyle Busch 1.84
  • Brad Keselowski 1.84
  • Joey Logano 1.47
  • Denny Hamlin 1.29
  • Matt Kenseth 1.28
  • Kurt Busch 1.06

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Jeff Gordon 2.88
  • Clint Bowyer 2.18
  • Martin Truex Jr. 2.08
  • Kasey Kahne 1.95
  • Kyle Larson 1.88
  • Aric Almirola 1.64
  • Paul Menard 1.62
  • Carl Edwards 0.99
  • Jamie McMurray 0.93
  • Ryan Newman 0.80

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Sam Hornish Jr. 2.00
  • Greg Biffle 1.10
  • Austin Dillon 0.67

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • Tony Stewart 3.40
  • Danica Patrick 2.23
  • Cole Whitt 1.81
  • AJ Allmendinger 1.64
  • Casey Mears 1.43
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1.17
  • Justin Allgaier 0.74
  • Trevor Bayne (-0.79)

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Jeb Burton 3.80
  • Brett Moffitt 3.21
  • Travis Kvapil 2.89*
  • Alex Kennedy 2.73*
  • JJ Yeley 2.55
  • David Ragan 2.39
  • Matt DiBenedetto 2.22
  • Alex Bowman 2.22
  • Timmy Hill 2.06
  • Travis Kvapil 1.93
  • Josh Wise 1.84
  • David Gilliland 1.75
  • Landon Cassill 1.75
  • Michael Annett 0.39

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Dover International Speedway, AAA 400

Congratulations to Matt Kenseth who punched his ticket to the second round of the Chase with his win at New Hampshire this past weekend. Kevin Harvick almost has to win the race at Dover this week if he wants to make it into the second round of the Chase and defend his championship after running out of gas with three laps left in this week’s race and ending up twenty-first after dominating the entire race.

AAA 400

This week the series heads to Dover International Speedway, also known as the Monster Mile, for the final race of the first round of the Chase. Dover is a one-mile high banked concrete oval track in Dover, Delaware. I like to think of this track as Bristol on steroids as the track is very similar to Bristol only twice as long.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won ten races at this track in twenty-seven starts including winning three of his last four starts here. Anyone who wins more than once in every three starts at any track is a no brainer to have on your fantasy team in any week. Look for Jimmie to compete for the win and if he doesn’t take the checkered flag he will still finish somewhere in the top five.

Matt Kenseth: Matt won’t have any pressure this week at Dover and can take a few chances if he needs to to pick up another win. Matt has won at this track twice in his career and has finished in the top ten in six of his last nine starts. He also has fifteen top ten finishes in thirty-three starts. I think he will be one of the drivers to give Jimmie a run for his money this weekend.

Kevin Harvick: Currently sitting fifteenth in the standings, Kevin needs to do everything he can to win this race. Even finishing second probably won’t be enough for him to move ahead of three other drivers and claim one of the top twelve spots in the standings. He is currently twenty-three points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. who holds the twelfth spot at this moment. In other words if Kevin doesn’t win this race he needs to have at least three drivers who are just ahead of him to have disasters on the track.

Kyle Busch: Kyle needs a good finish this week to climb back into the top twelve in points. He is currently in thirteenth place but, only one point behind Dale and two points behind Jamie McMurray. A top five finish will launch him into the second round and Kyle usually runs well here. He has two wins, thirteen top ten, and nine top five finishes in only twenty-one starts here. I think he runs well and moves into the second round this week.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won five races at Dover in his career and has finished in the top ten twenty-six times in forty-five starts, including four top five finishes in his last six starts. Jeff just needs to stay out of trouble early in the race to move on to the second round but once the race progresses if he has a car that he thinks can win the race he will go for the win.

Carl Edwards: Carl has one win and twelve top ten finishes in twenty-two starts at this track. Carl is pretty safe when it comes to qualifying for the next round so he should be able to race as hard as he wants this weekend without having to worry about the point standings. This team has seemed to have gotten better lately so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Carl doing a back flip after this race.

Clint Bowyer: Clint is in a must win situation unless his twenty-five point penalty handed down by NASCAR last week for a rules violation. I don’t think the penalty will be overturned which means if Clint wants a chance at winning a championship this year he needs to win this race. Sorry Clint but that isn’t going to happen either. Although he runs well at Dover this team just hasn’t had the speed or consistently to win races this year. Hopefully he can find a good ride for next season.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is sitting comfortably in the standings right now and runs well at Dover. He has one win and four top five finishes in only eleven starts here. He fought his way back to a twelfth place finish at New Hampshire last week after getting penalized for jumping a restart late in the race. He survived that penalty but needs to eliminate all penalties if he wants to win another championship.

Ryan Newman: Ryan has three wins at Dover but none since the 2004 season. Yet, Ryan is doing just what he did last year in the Chase and that is staying out of trouble on the track and getting finishes which are good enough to qualify him for the next round. It might not be exciting and you might not hear much about him during the races but his strategy has proved to work so far.

Joey Logano: Joey is still looking for his first win at this track but he has finished in the top ten in eight of his thirteen starts here. Joey is another driver who is sitting comfortable in the standings and can just go out and race his race. The pressure comes in the future rounds where there are less drivers and you have some type of hiccup during one of the early races in that round that puts you behind the eight ball.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Jimmie Johnson
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kasey Kahne
  • Kyle Larson
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Aric Almirola

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Justin Allgaier
  • Danica Patrick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

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

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 NEW HAMPSHIRE, SYLVANIA 300

After one week in the Chase, teams are taking more risks to win. The risks make the races more exciting, but can be nerve-wracking for Fantasy NASCAR lineups. I am still trying to figure out how Hamlin won in Chicago, but the win came down to making the right risk at the right time. With only two races left in this round of the playoffs, the pressure is mounting to post a solid finish and advance for 15 Chase-eligible drivers.

FRONT-LOAD YOUR LINEUP

Although there is some value available in the middle-price range drivers, my recommendation is to front-load your lineup and try to capture the laps led and fast laps statistics. Pick wisely and you are sure to move up in the standings this week and hope you find the driver who runs like Kenseth at Richmond two weeks ago. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski are three drivers who I like this week.

As per usual, my first recommendation for your Fantasy Live lineup is the Kevin Harvick. Sometimes in fantasy sports, the key to success to to avoid being cute and simply choose the favorites. This strategy has helped my team with Harvick this season, and Chicago was a rare regret for me last week. Harvick has three top-10 finishes in his last five New Hampshire starts and has an average finish position of 12.6 during this stretch. He has the 3rd-most laps led and 2nd most fast laps in these races as well. Earlier this summer, Harvick led 59 laps on his way to a 3rd place finish. On similar configured tracks in 2015, Harvick has enjoyed five top-5 finishes in seven races. With 24 top-10 finishes in 2015, Harvick shows a combination of season success, track-type success, and track success. When a driver is proficient in all three areas, there is a high probability for success. With an accident sending him to the bottom of the Chase standings, Harvick will be under high pressure to finish near the top of the field. This makes him a riskier selection than most weeks, but I am going to stick with the driver who has helped me to success in 2015.

CONSIDER RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS LOUDON RACE

One of the benefits of fantasy racing at this point in the season is that you have a frame of reference from the race earlier in the season. Using this frame of reference provides the choice for the 2nd roster spot on my team. Kyle Busch led 96 laps on his way to a victory in New Hampshire in July. Over the past five races at Loudon, Busch has finished in the top-10 each time. His average finish position of 3rd over this stretch makes his the most successful driver at the race. Although he has only driven on four flat tracks this season, two have resulted in the winner’s circle. In 2015, Kyle Busch is in the top-5 in laps led through 28 races despite the fact that he missed 11 races. With one of the best cars in the field last week, I like Kyle Busch’s chances for a successful race this week.

With a 5th place average finish position in the last five Loudon races and four top-10 finishes during this stretch, Brad Keselowski is a solid option for your lineup this week. The Penske team led 100 laps on their way to a 2nd place finish in July. Keselowski has led the most laps and accumulated the most fast laps over the last five New Hampshire races. With five top-10 finishes in seven flat tracks this season, this team should be running near the top. Keselowski has been one of the top drivers this season, and is in the top-5 drivers for laps led in 2015. Keselowski needs to break out from running 8th or 9th to really help your fantasy lineup, and this track provides a good chance for him to lead some laps.

FILLING OUT THE BOTTOM

After front-loading the lineup with three high-priced favorites, there is not much room to fill out the bottom two roster spots. Based on the salary cap, I had to choose between David Ragan and David Gilliland for the fourth roster spot. In the end, I went with Ragan because I feel he offers more upside than the 38 car. Ragan qualified 3rd and finished 18th in the race earlier this season. Ragan has performed adequately on similarly configured tracks and has finished inside the top-20 three times on flat tracks. Michael Annett, with a 32nd place average finish position in New Hampshire, rounds out my roster. He finished 36th earlier this year and averages of 32nd place finish in 2015 races. Your expectations should be low for his team, and this roster spot may change after qualifying.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, finish position, and start-to-finish differential. In order to prevent us from simply starting the top drivers each week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula first calculates the average number of Fantasy Live points earned by each driver over the last five New Hampshire races. Next, we divide this number by the salary cap figure. The end result is a number that shows where to expect value from each driver entered in the race. Joey Logano finished 4th in the July race, but failed to make my roster this week. As a consolation prize to one of the best drivers this year, we will use Logano’s numbers at Loudon to further illustrate the formula.

JOEY LOGANO AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

  • Average finish position last five New Hampshire races: 19.8 equals 24.2 Fantasy Live points
  • Start-to-finish differential: Negative 10.6 equals (-10.6) points per race
  • Laps led: 89 equals 8.9 points per race
  • Fast laps: 56 equals 5.6 points per race
  • Total Fantasy Live points earned per race: 28.1
  • Fantasy Live salary cap figure: $28.75
  • Fantasy Live points per dollar: 28.1 divided by $28.75 equals 0.98 points per dollar

Below you will see the points per Fantasy Live dollar for all drivers entered in this week’s race. We are set for another exciting round of the playoffs and should be some great racing in New Hampshire.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Brad Keselowski 3.62
  • Kyle Busch 2.70
  • Matt Kenseth 2.33
  • Kevin Harvick 2.01
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1.79
  • Jimmie Johnson 1.10
  • Joey Logano 0.98
  • Kurt Busch 0.96
  • Denny Hamlin 0.87

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Martin Truex Jr. 2.05
  • Aric Almirola 1.80
  • Kyle Larson 1.73
  • Carl Edwards 1.64
  • Jamie McMurray 1.35
  • Clint Bowyer 1.35
  • Jeff Gordon 1.33
  • Ryan Newman 1.05
  • Kasey Kahne 1.04
  • Paul Menard 1.03

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Austin Dillon 3.01
  • Greg Biffle 1.78

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • AJ Allmendinger 2.65
  • Tony Stewart 2.40
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1.77
  • Danica Patrick 1.37
  • Casey Mears 1.28
  • Cole Whitt 1.23
  • Sam Hornish Jr. 0.88
  • Trevor Bayne 0.80

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Michael Annett 3.40
  • Josh Wise 3.28
  • Travis Kvapil 2.59
  • David Gilliland 2.56
  • Timmy Hill 2.42
  • Alex Bowman 2.11
  • Travis Kvapil 2.10
  • Brett Moffitt 2.00
  • Landon Cassill 1.33
  • David Ragan 1.22
  • Matt DiBenedetto 1.20
  • Justin Allgaier 0.57
  • Jeb Burton (-0.42)

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sylvania 300

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

  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Brad Keselowski
  3. Kevin Harvick
  4. Kurt Busch
  5. Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne