Typically when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stops at a short track they run a whole bunch of laps that opens up the door for some big DraftKings scores. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1-mile flat race track but we’re set to run just 300 laps in Sunday afternoon’s Bad Boy Off Road 300. While that still gives us plenty of laps led and fastest laps FPTS, it’s not a terrible idea to target drivers that have place differential potential either.
High-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Loudon 2 (over $9,500)
Kevin Harvick ($10,700) – Thanks to NASCAR’s last-minute announcement of Kevin Harvick having to start in the rear last week at Chicagoland, a lot of DraftKings users were out of luck unless they were quick enough to make the change before rosters locked. This week, however, Harvick should be a very solid driver pick even if he has to start in the back (which we don’t see happening). The #4 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 19th when the Bad Boy Off Road 300 starts but should be near the front when it’s all said and done. Harvick has three top 5s in the last four Loudon races and had the field covered in this race one year ago but ran out of gas with three laps left and ended up finishing 21st. As usual, he’s a pricy pick here in DraftKings, but Harvick should be well worth it this weekend. He had the 2nd-best ten-lap average during Happy Hour on Saturday, and if he can get out front, that long-run speed will be a major advantage.
Martin Truex, Jr. ($10,400) – This #78 Toyota led 123 laps here at Loudon back in July but ended up finishing 16th thanks to a broken shifter. It seems like this team has gotten rid of that little bad luck bug that they had, though, and the car they have this weekend looks just as fast as on the one they brought here two months ago. Truex had top 6 speed in both practice sessions on Saturday and after posting the best ten-lap average in the morning session, he wound up 6th on that chart in Happy Hour. He starts 2nd in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300, but if Truex can get around pole sitter Carl Edwards early (that shouldn’t be a problem), he could very well lead a whole bunch of laps once again on Sunday. Truex has a car that can win once again this weekend, and although he hasn’t had a top 5 finish here at New Hampshire since the 2008 season, that’s probably going to change on Sunday.
Joey Logano ($9,600) – Logano’s ownership isn’t going to be extremely high this weekend because the #22 Ford has been mediocre at best since the team unloaded. However, that’s where you can really capitalize on your competition’s mistake. Joey Logano is an elite racer here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and don’t forget that this team is one of the best at making the car faster and faster as the race day goes on. In addition to having a relatively low salary this weekend, Logano starts back in 15th for this year’s Bad Boy Off Road 300, which gives us plenty of place differential FPTS potential. Currently, he is on a four-race streak of top 5 finishes here at Loudon, and we wouldn’t be surprised one bit if Joey wound up near the front when this thing is over on Sunday. Logano is nowhere near a guaranteed pick or someone you should build you DraftKings rosters around this weekend, but more likely than not he’s going to end up with 45+ FPTS on Sunday.
Mid-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Loudon 2 (between $7,500 and $9,500)
Kyle Larson ($9,100) – Another driver that has a relatively low price point this weekend is Kyle Larson, and in addition to being low in price, he also has a very fast race car. Now, Kyle will roll off the grid from 6th when this race gets going on Sunday (so his place differential potential is low as well), but that #42 Chevrolet was one of the best cars during the practice sessions on Saturday and should be a force to be reckoned with on Sunday. Larson hasn’t finished better than 17th in his last three starts here at Loudon but he did wind up 2nd and 3rd in his first two career starts at this race track. Additionally, this #42 team has been nailing the setups on their race cars for the last month or two and always have an outside chance of winning on race day. Larson should be at least a top 5 threat this weekend, if not a potential race winner, and if he fits into your lineup at $9,100, we wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Austin Dillon ($8,200) – Austin Dillon wrecked his primary car during Friday’s first practice session and because of that he had to go to a backup car and ended up qualifying 29th. That sound you hear is all the place differential FPTS he’s going to wrack up on Sunday. Grandpa Childress will be pulling out all the stops to get Austin in to the next round of the Chase, and with the middle-of-the-road speed the #3 Chevrolet on Saturday (19th in ten-lap average during Happy Hour) it’s possible that he gets another good finish here at Loudon; in five career Sprint Cup starts at this track, Austin Dillon has never finished worse than 22nd and has ended up 14th or better in four of them. Even just a 20th-place finish by him on Sunday would net you 33 FPTS.
Low-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Loudon 2 (under $7,500)
Greg Biffle ($7,200) – It’s hard to recommend Greg Biffle when he has looked so mediocre on the practice speed charts all weekend, but there are quite a few reasons you should definitely consider him as a driver to build your DraftKings roster around this weekend. To put it simply, the The Biff and the #16 team know how to stay out of trouble and can usually finish on the lead lap–and this season they’ve been at their best on the short tracks. In the early Martinsville and Bristol races this year, they ended up 12th, and then in last month’s race at Bristol Biffle came home 16th. Here at Loudon, he ran 5th back in July after starting 28th. We don’t expect that kind of result from The Biff this weekend, but at the same time it wouldn’t be surprising. He also finished 4th in this race one year ago and has ended up 16th or better in six of the last seven New Hampshire races. Considering he will start from 32nd here on Sunday, Biffle will be an excellent pick in DraftKings as long as he can keep his nose clean.
Clint Bowyer ($7,000) – If you can’t quite afford Greg Biffle on your roster, Clint Bowyer is another option, albeit a much riskier one. However, whenever you think of a short track, Bowyer has to be one driver that you immediately think of. He has the talent to get a good finish here on Sunday but his equipment is going to need to hold up for that to happen. With that being said, this #15 team has three straight 22nd-place finishes over the last three races and Clint wound up 24th here back in July. He starts way back in 37th on Sunday and if the Bad Boy Off Road 300 turns into an attrition race (and Clint can stay out of the wrecks), he could very well end up with a high-30s FPTS day.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($6,700) – Flat tracks are where Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. really excels and even though this #17 team is in a bit of a rough patch right now, there’s some hope for him in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300. Stenhouse wound up 21st when qualifying was over on Friday but he has the potential for another top 15 finish in this weekend’s race. Ricky ran 10th here back in July and was 13th in this race one year ago. Additionally, he has ended up 17th or better in four of the last five New Hampshire races, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this #17 team made it five of the last six here on Sunday. Stenhouse didn’t show a whole bunch of speed during the two practice sessions on Saturday but that’s pretty typical out of him.
Aric Almirola ($6,100) – With how we see this race playing out on Sunday, the best rosters are going to be very top heavy, which means the low-dollar drivers are the ones that will make up a good portion of your lineups. Therefore, we decided to add a fourth low-dollar driver to target this weekend. Aric Almirola usually doesn’t get mentioned a lot, but we came across one statistic that really stood out to us this weekend: Aric Almirola has finished 21st or better in 36 races on short, flat tracks with Richard Petty Motorsports and has fallen outside the top 26 only three times (credit RotoWorld). The #43 Ford will start from back in 26th here on Sunday, and if Almirola can make it up to 20th before this race is all said and done, we’re looking at a 30+ FPTS day from him–not too terrible at that $6,100 salary. Almirola showed top 20 speed during the Happy Hour practice session on Saturday and finished 19th here at Loudon back in July.
