We’re back at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend as another Chaser will be looking to guarantee their spot in the second round of the playoffs on Sunday. Martin Truex, Jr. accomplished that last weekend, and don’t be surprised if he has a chance to win here again on Sunday: the #78 Toyota led 123 of the 301 laps here back in July. Loudon is a 1-mile flat track that requires a good long run car, a fast pit crew, and no mistakes. Joe Gibbs Racing has won four of the last six races here while Penske Racing has won the other two.
Yahoo! A Group Picks and Ranking for Loudon 2
Denny Hamlin (7 starts remaining) – Momentum matters a lot during the Chase and no one has more of it than Denny Hamlin. When you pair that with the fact that he’s an elite driver on flat tracks, he has to be one of the favorites heading into this weekend’s Bad Boy Off Road 300. Hamlin is a two-time winner here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and owns a series-best career average finish of 10.2 in twenty-one starts at “The Magic Mile.” Denny wound up 2nd in this race one year ago and it wouldn’t surprise us if he finished up there once again this weekend. As of Wednesday, only 20% of Yahoo! teams have Hamlin on their roster, so he’s a nice differential pick as well.
Kevin Harvick (5 starts remaining) – The #4 team dug themselves into a little bit of a hole at Chicagoland last weekend, and unless they want to head to Dover next week in a near must-win situation (for the second year in a row), they’re going to need a strong showing here at “The Magic Mile” on Sunday. The good news is that they will definitely have a car good enough to accomplish that. Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Harvick has consistently had one of the best cars here at Loudon, and he dominated this race last year but ran out of gas with three laps to go and finished 21st. Harvick will be a contender in Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300 and will have a pretty high ownership, too.
There are a lot of good picks in the A Group this week, and we’re not yet sure whether we’re going to change our picks or not. Matt Kenseth has won the last two races here at Loudon (and three of the last six) but that #20 team hasn’t had a top 5 finish since the Indianapolis race in July. All of JGR should be good and that includes Kyle Busch, but he has just one top 5 in the last ten races at this track. Jimmie Johnson has found a bunch of speed as of late but can you trust him? He was on the pole here back in July but led just one lap and finished 12th. The Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano should both be top 5 good on Sunday, and we all know that they qualify very well.
Pre-Lockdown A Group Rankings: (1) Kevin Harvick, (2) Joey Logano, (3) Brad Keselowski, (4) Denny Hamlin, (5) Matt Kenseth, (6) Jimmie Johnson, (7) Kyle Busch, (8) Kurt Busch
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Ranking for Loudon 2
Ryan Newman (4 starts remaining) – “The Rocketman” came into the season as one of the most consistent finishers in the Sprint Cup garage but he has regressed quite a bit as this season has went on. Because of that, it’s the best strategic move to only use Ryan Newman at his best tracks until (or if) he turns things around. In four of the last five races here at Loudon, Newman has ended up 11th or better, and he’s a three-time winner at this race track. He has a 62.1% top 10 finishing percentage in twenty-nine career starts at this track along with a 13.3 average finish. Newman has just one top 15 finish in the last six Sprint Cup races overall but we think he’ll be a decent fantasy option on Sunday.
Jamie McMurray (5 starts remaining) – This #1 team continued their hot streak at Chicagoland by finishing 11th despite looking like an 18th-place car all weekend. As we’ve said before, momentum means a lot in the Chase and McMurray has more than most–he now has six straight top 15s, and is one of just five drivers to finish inside the top 20 in each of the last six races. Here at Loudon, Jamie Mac has wound up 16th or better in five of the last six events and that includes a 6th-place finish here in the July race. It wouldn’t surprise us at all if he posted another top 10 this weekend.
Kasey Kahne (6 starts remaining) – Here’s another driver that kept things rolling at Chicagoland, and the #5 team now has three straight top 10 finishes and six top 15s in the last seven Sprint Cup races overall. Getting that kind of production out of a guy like Kasey Kahne is something you need to capitalize on, so try and forget how much he has burned you in Fantasy NASCAR in the past. Kasey is actually a previous winner here at Loudon (back in 2012) and he has finished 11th or better in five of the last nine events at this track–including a 9th-place finish in this race one year ago. Kasey has the potential (and the equipment) to grab another top 10 at New Hampshire this weekend.
Austin Dillon (3 starts remaining) – Austin Dillon has been a solid Fantasy NASCAR pick here at Loudon ever since he started racing in the Sprint Cup Series and we don’t see that changing this weekend–especially since he’s in the Chase. You know Richard Childress Racing are doing everything they can to get that #3 team into the next round. In five career starts at this track, Austin has posted four top 15 finishes with a best result of 8th, which came in the 2015 July race. Momentum-wise, Dillon has wound up 16th or better in ten of the last eleven races and he should make it eleven of the last twelve here on Sunday.
With the potential for wrecks to happen here at Loudon, we plan on using this week to save our Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards start. Both the #78 and #19 Toyotas should be at least top 10 good on Sunday, and possibly even top 5. Truex led 123 laps here back in July. Another driver we’re saving is Kyle Larson, who does have 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes here at Loudon. We only have 2 starts left, though, so we’re just going to hope he doesn’t win on Sunday. Tony Stewart will be one driver to watch this weekend. He’s the most likely to gamble on fuel here, but usually it doesn’t pay off. He did finish 2nd here back in the July race, though. If you’re looking for a deep sleeper, A.J. Allmendinger has finished 13th or better in five of the last ten races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Also, don’t forget about Greg Biffle, who has ended up 5th and 4th in the last two Loudon races and has finished 16th or better in six of the last seven events here.
Pre-Lockdown B Group Rankings: (1) Martin Truex, Jr. (2) Carl Edwards, (3) Kyle Larson, (4) Jamie McMurray, (5) Austin Dillon, (6) Ryan Newman, (7) Kasey Kahne, (8) Tony Stewart, (9) A.J. Allmendinger, (10) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (11) Greg Biffle, (12) Trevor Bayne, (13) Danica Patrick, (14) Aric Almirola, (15) Paul Menard, (16) Casey Mears, (17) Clint Bowyer
Yahoo! C Group Picks and Ranking for Loudon 2
If you’re running low on Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney starts, your best bet this weekend is Alex Bowman, who is back in the #88 Chevrolet. Remember, back here in July he was running solidly inside the top 10 but wrecked with a handful of laps left. Bowman finally actually finished a race for this team last week at Chicagoland so that could be good news for those that have to take him this week. Our Fantasy Racing Online team isn’t running low on Elliott/Blaney starts (we have 8 left between the two) so we’re going to go with them this weekend. The #24 Chevrolet had top 10 potential here back in July but wrecked late in the race, and the #21 Ford came home 11th in that race.
Pre-Lockdown C Group Rankings: (1) Chase Elliott, (2) Ryan Blaney, (3) Alex Bowman, (4) Chris Buescher, (5) Landon Cassill, (6) David Ragan, (7) Regan Smith, (8) Brian Scott, the rest
