New Hampshire Sylvania 300: Fantasy NASCAR “Front Runner

Tony Stewart – Tony Stewart looked lost in July. He got lapped on lap #175 and had a 15th place average running position. He ended up finishing 12th and not at any point in the race did he look competitive. Last year Tony Stewart was very good at New Hampshire. He won last September when Clint Bowyer ran out of gas and in July (2011) he finished 2nd to teammate Ryan Newman. From a career perspective New Hampshire has been a great track for Stewart. He’s won here three times and has a 11.6 average finish and a 11.6 average start. Make sure you read ifantasyrace.com weekend content to know if you should use him. (Yahoo! A Driver)

Ryan Newman – New Hampshire has been one of Ryan Newman’s best tracks. He has three wins here with his most recent being in July 2011. In that race he started on the pole and led 119 laps. Last year in the New Hampshire Chase race Newman won the pole and led the first 62 laps. He ended up finishing 25th because his fuel mileage strategy was wrong (Yahoo! Race Chart). In the visit to Loudon earlier this year Newman finished 10th and had a 10th place average running position. I think he’ll finish around that range again. Stewart-Haas Racing as company just wasn’t as good this year as they were in 2011. (Yahoo! B Driver)

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Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick finished in 8th in July. That’s pretty reflective of how good he was (8th place average running position, 9th place PROS Rankings). He was OK but not great. He had nothing for the Hendrick cars or Denny Hamlin. Now that Gil Martin is back and the performance level of the #29 is higher I think he could potentially challenge for a top five. Last year the #29 wasn’t very good here but in 2010 they finished 5th in both races. In 2006 when New Hampshire was the Chase opening race Harvick started first and finished 1st.  Harvick has been good on similar tracks this season. He finished 2nd at Phoenix and a few weeks ago at Richmond he finished 10th.  (Yahoo! A Driver)

Martin  Truex Jr. – New Hampshire ranks as one of Martin Truex Jr.’s best tracks. He’s raced here 13 times and has six top 11 finishes. In July Truex started in 4th, had an average running position of 10th and finished 11th. Last July Truex finished 8th. Early in his career when he was good at DEI (Chase contention years) he had four straight top seven finishes. Performance wise I think he’ll be good for a finish between 8th and 15th. (Yahoo! B Driver)

Greg Biffle – In 2008 when New Hampshire was the first race of the Chase Biffle passed Johnson for the win. Since his win he’s only finished in the top five once. One positive fantasy aspect about Biffle is that he has back to back top ten finishes at Loudon. In July he finished 9th and last September he finished 3rd. I’ll pencil Biffle in for a 7th to 14th place finish. Biffle’s PRO Rankings in July was the 10th best. (Yahoo! B Driver)

Matt Kenseth – If Matt Kenseth escapes from this race with a top ten it’s as good as a win for him. New Hampshire in the last half decade hasn’t been a good venue for him. In July he finished 13th and had a 14th place average running position. That’s a pretty good finish for him. Last year in the Chase he finished 6th. Before that you need to look all the way back to 2007 to find his next top fifteen finish. (Yahoo! A Driver)

Sam Hornish Jr. – Sam Hornish Jr. has potential to finish in the top ten at New Hampshire. He has two top tens here and he’s fresh off an 11th place finish at Richmond (similar track). Hornish Jr. raced here earlier this year but for all intents and purposes it was his first week with the #22 team. In that race he started in 24th and finished 22nd. I expect a lot more out of him this time around. In the last three races this season Hornish has three consecutive 11th place finishes. (Yahoo! C Driver)

Brian Vickers – Brian Vickers had a good car in July so don’t be fooled by his 15th place result. For much of the race he ran in the teens but before the final pit stop he ran around fifth. Last year in the Loudon Chase race Vickers had an impressive performance. He started 3rd, led 4 laps and finished 5th. Richmond is a similar track and a few weeks ago the #55 team finished third. (Yahoo! C Driver)

Carl Edwards – New Hampshire is one of the last tracks you should pick Carl Edwards at. His 14.2 average finish isn’t skewed. It truly reflects what you should expect. He’s raced here sixteen times and has only finished in the top ten in three of them. In July Carl Edwards claimed to have a good car but he finished 18th and had an average running position of 17th. One problem for this team in July was their pit strategy. Every pit stop for them was 4 tires. Teams simply can’t do four tire pit stops here and expect to be anywhere near the front of the field. (Yahoo! A Driver)

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