Typically with the races here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the best Fantasy NASCAR picks are the drivers that start toward the front. This is a flat, short, 1-mile race track so those starting mid-pack or worse could easily find themselves a lap down soon after the green flag waves on Sunday. However, the name of the game with FOX Fantasy Auto is capitalizing on those place differential points (in addition to finish points), and luckily for us there are quite a few good cars that didn’t qualify too well on Friday.
Last week at Chicagoland, we changed our roster last minute and decided to go avoid Martin Truex, Jr. and Chase Elliott. Not the best decision. We ended up with 165 points in that race and now sit in 691st place overall.
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Loudon 2 Bad Boy Off Road 300
Kyle Busch ($10,800) – We have Rowdy Busch projected at 43 points in FOX Fantasy Auto this weekend, which is 4th-highest among all of the drivers. He’s going to start back in 12th when the Bad Boy Off Road 300 goes green on Sunday, but the #18 Toyota should be a top 5 car before the checkered flag waves. In six of the last seven races here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch has finished 8th or better, and four of those results have been either 1st or 2nd. Rowdy is a two-time winner at this race track and finishes inside the top 5 in just over one-third of his starts here. He ranked inside the top 5 on both ten-lap average charts on Saturday, so things are looking good for the 2015 champion heading into race day.
Kevin Harvick ($12,800) – We’re taking a big chunk of the cap by picking Kevin Harvick this weekend, but when you have a driver that starts 19th and could potentially win this race, you have to roll the dice. Harvick had the field covered in this race one year ago and would have went to victory lane if he had a little bit more fuel. And even with that 21st-place finish here last season he still has three top 5s in the last four Loudon races. We’re not sure what happened to Harvick in qualifying but during the practice sessions on Saturday he showed plenty of speed. In Practice #2, the #4 Chevrolet was 9th on the overall speed chart, and then in Happy Hour it ranked 2nd in ten-lap average. Harvick is probably going to score more points than the winner in FOX Fantasy Auto this weekend, unless of course he is the winner.
Joey Logano ($10,700) – Despite having quite possibly the ugliest paint scheme of the weekend, Joey Logano could be a very nice option in FOX Fantasy Auto considering he qualified back in 15th for Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300. And to be honest, both Penske cars have been searching for speed all weekend, but we’re not very concerned about their ability to find their usual speed on Sunday. Joey Logano has been one of the best Fantasy NASCAR picks here at Loudon over the last couple of years and is currently on a four-race streak of top 5 finishes at this track. The #22 team’s mantra in this first round of the Chase is “do not make mistakes,” and if they can accomplish that on Sunday, we’re looking at at least 36 fantasy points out of him in this FOX game. The #22 Ford was 14th-best in ten-lap average during Happy Hour on Saturday, but we’re confident this car will at least be top 10 good once it’s all over on Sunday.
Alex Bowman ($5,000) – The races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway can easily turn into attrition events, and when that happens it’s sometimes worth it to take a shot on a guy like Alex Bowman. He’s in elite equipment, that’s for sure, and he showed us last week at Chicagoland that he’s actually capable of finishing a race at the Sprint Cup level. If you remember back to the July race here at Loudon, Bowman was running solidly inside the top 10 late in the race but got into a wreck and ended up finishing 26th. If he can keep his nose clean here on Sunday, though, it really wouldn’t surprise us if he was challenging for a top 10 again. Bowman will start back in 18th when the Bad Boy Off Road 300 goes green on Sunday, but he had solid speed in both practice sessions on Saturday and even ranked inside the top 10 in ten-lap average in each. In this price range, Bowman is definitely your best option, although if you don’t want to take the risk, Aric Almirola is a solid flat track driver and costs $6,100.
Greg Biffle ($8,500) – At this price point, Greg Biffle is actually pretty expensive, but he should get us a bunch of points this weekend. The thing about this #16 team is that they usually don’t qualify very well, and usually don’t show a whole bunch of speed in practice, but once the race rolls around they find a way to be a little better than everyone expected. Here at Loudon, it’s usually a lot better than everyone expected. Biffle ended up 5th when we ran here back in July and that makes it two straight top 5 finishes at this 1-mile track. He’s also finished 16th or better in eight of the last ten. And if he can make it nine of the last eleven, we’re looking at a big fantasy day out of The Biff in FOX Fantasy Auto. Biffle will start from way back in 32nd on Sunday, and if he can get up to 15th before the Bad Boy Off Road 300 is complete, that’ll be at least 43 points in this game. The #16 Ford was 10th-fastest in Practice #2 and ranked 24th on the overall Happy Hour speed chart. In terms of ten-lap average, Biffle was just 29th-best in that final session, but he knows how to make the most of his speed. We’re stickin’ with The Biff.
Note: there’s enough cap space leftover with the top four drivers on this list to go with Austin Dillon instead of Greg Biffle. Austin starts back in 29th on Sunday and has finished 14th or better in four of his five career starts here at Loudon. We consider both of them pretty equal and have them projected at similar fantasy point levels.
