New Hampshire Sylvania 300 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win the New Hampshire Sylvania 300. This year he’s unquestionably been the strongest driver on shorter flat tracks. At New Hampshire in July he clearly had the best car and raced his way to victory lane. In the race his car was strong over long runs, but where he really excelled was being good in the center of the corner. Being good in that portion of the track allowed him to get tremendous runs down the straightaway. In the race he started 7th, had a 3rd place average running position, earned the best driver rating and led 138 laps. Also in July he won in the Nationwide Series to pull off the weekend sweep. Last fall at New Hampshire he finished 11th. In the race he performed slightly better than that but late in the race with 40 laps to go somebody got into the back of him and it slid him from 10th back to 16th. In July 2013 at the Magic Mile Brad Keselowski had a good performance. He started on the pole, led 14 laps, earned the second best driver rating and finished 4th. His strength in the race was long runs. Over the course of a long run his car was just as fast as anybody. That strength was also a notable attribute of his in 2012 when he finished 5th and 6th. In the last six New Hampshire races Keselowski has been the best driver in the series. Over this stretch of races he has a 4.8 average finish (best for in series excluding Larson), 4 top fives and is the only driver with 5 top tens. Also over this span of races he has an 8.7 average running position and has led 162 laps. Richmond is a similar track and a few weeks ago at that venue he went to victory lane and led 383 laps. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon will be a contender for the win in the New Hampshire Sylvania 300. He’s far past due for another Magic Mile victory. He’s won here three times but his most recent win was in 1998. The attribute you have to like about him this week is the safety that picking him provides. He has an 11.0 average finish and has had a result in the top fifteen 79% percent of the time. Since 2006 he ranks #1 in the series in many important loop data statistical categories. Since then he has the best average finish (8.8, excluding Kyle Larson), best average running position (7.8) and the best driver rating. In July he didn’t have an incident free race and finished 26th. What’s notable about that result is that it marks his first finish outside the top fifteen since 2005. In the race he started in 11th and on lap 41 he started falling back in the running order because unknown to him at the time he had a tire that was going flat slowly. By lap 99 he was all the way back in 26th one lap down. On lap 113 under caution he took the wave around and got back on the lead lap. From that point on he started to rally towards the front. On lap 240 he said his car was fast and not far off. At that time he drove into the top five. One of the turning points in the race for him was when a caution came out with 51 laps to go. He elected not to pit and as a result he inherited the lead and led 19 laps. His race then took on a fuel mileage saving aspect and he drove conservatively for the remaining laps. If the event would’ve gone the advertised distance he probably would’ve been OK, but since it went to overtime for a Green-White-Checker he ran out with 3 laps to go and as a result he finished 26th. Last September his car was fast but he cost himself a shot at the win. During a caution on lap 202 he was leading but when he came in for his pit stop he slid through his box and then had to back up. That was a costly mistake because in addition to falling back to 22nd he also only took two tires. When the checkered flag waved he finished 15th. Prior to his issue he looked like a lock to finish in the top five. Also in the race he started in 3rd and led 36 laps. In July 2013 he performed well. He qualified 5th, had a 9th place average running position and finished 10th. In that event he was in serious jeopardy of not finishing well. Late in the race he got shuffled back because of pit strategy and while he was in traffic on lap 259 Paul Menard spun him. At the time of the incident he was running in 22nd. In September 2012 he started on the pole, finished 3rd, and earned the second best driver rating. In July 2012 he finished 6th and had a 6th place average running position. In fall 2011 Jeff Gordon was very strong. In that race he earned the best driver rating, led 78 laps and finished 3rd. This season on similar tracks he’s performed well. On shorter flat tracks he’s scored the 5^th most points and has an 8.8 average finish. (Yahoo A Driver)

Recommended Reading – Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Fantasy NASCAR Preview, New Hampshire Scouting Report, Who will win at New Hampshire

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick for the New Hampshire Sylvania 300. Chase time is “Jimmie Johnson time” and this team will be bringing their “A game”. At New Hampshire Jimmie Johnson has been very strong over the years. He’s a three-time champion and since 2007 he’s finished in the top ten 80% percent of the time. In July he had one of his finishes outside the top ten and walked away with a 42nd place finish after only completing 11 laps. His race was both short and eventful. He had a flat tire on lap 8 and came in for an unexpected pit stop. Only 3 laps later he blew out his tire again and totaled his car. I’m sure this team was trying something on the edge and whatever the issue was I wouldn’t expect a repeat of what happened. Also in July he qualified 2nd and at the time of his first problem he was running in 2nd. Prior to the race earlier this season Johnson had four consecutive Loudon top tens. Last September he had a very solid race. He started in 11th, had a 6th place average running position, finished 4th and earned the 3rd best driver rating. Over the final 100 laps he was a driver who consistently ran in the top 4. The strength of his car in the race was being good over long runs. Qualifying is extremely important at New Hampshire and in July 2013 he started in a deep hole. His qualifying time was disallowed and as a result he started in 43rd. It didn’t seem to be too much of an issue for him. In just the first 15 laps he had already driven up to the mid-twenties. Shortly after the midpoint he cracked the top ten that’s where he ran for the rest of the race. When the checkered flag waved he finished 6th. I think if he started closer to the front he would’ve been a contender for the win. In fall 2012 at Loudon Johnson started mid pack (20th), had a 5th place average running position, earned the third best driver rating and finished 2nd. The strength of his car in that race was that it maintained speed over long runs. In July 2012 he started in 7th and finished 7th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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