Loudon 2 Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions – Sylvania 300

Roll With The Favorites

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a race track in which the cream rises to the top. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if all 16 Chase drivers finished inside the top 20 on Sunday. Therefore, I highly recommend that you load up on the favorites this week, as we shouldn’t see many surprises (although you never know with a short track race). This weekend was similar to last in that the first practice on Saturday morning could be considered somewhat worthless because it was so cold. It’s just that time of year. Either way, you can see the results of each session here: Practice #2 — Happy Hour. Be sure to check out our super-informative notes for the practices, too: Practice #2 — Happy Hour. Brad Keselowski won the pole for this year’s Sylvania 300 and he’s also the most recent winner at this race track. That team has also won the last two Cup races (Richmond and Chicago). You know where I’m going with this.

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Final Top 15 Ranking For The Sylvania 300:

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11. Denny Hamlin – Starts 4th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 10th (change: -1)
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

I like to find weird trends and point them out. They typically mean nothing, but it’s still something to speak about. Currently, Denny Hamlin is alternating between top 10 finishes and results outside of the top 20–and he’s been doing so for nearly two months. These have been the results for the #11 Toyota in the last seven Sprint Cup races: Pocono (9th), Watkins Glen (24th), Michigan (7th), Bristol (40th), Atlanta (3rd), Richmond (21st), and Chicago (6th). So, if that trend continues, expect a disappointing finish out of Hamlin on Sunday. However, I just don’t see that happening. Loudon is one of Denny’s best tracks on the circuit and his 8.9 career average finish here is best in the series. He has visited victory lane twice here in New Hampshire and ran 8th here back in July after starting 3rd. He qualified 4th for this Sunday’s Sylvania 300 and should be a solid top 10 car all day long. The #11 was 7th in ten-lap average during Practice #2 on Saturday morning and ranked 12th on that chart in Happy Hour.

12. Kyle Larson – Starts 10th – Yahoo! C Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 9th (change: -3)
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

With Jamie McMurray’s success here as of late, the other Ganassi driver (and rookie phenom) is kind of being overshadowed. But let’s not forget that Kyle Larson finished 3rd at Chicago last weekend–after starting in the rear!–and has just one finish worse than 12th since Daytona in the beginning of July. Here at Loudon earlier this year, Larson surprised everyone with a 3rd-place finish, although that can be partially attributed to strategy. Still, a finish is a finish and Larson has done nothing this weekend to show me that he doesn’t have sleeper potential once again for the Sylvania 300. Kyle qualified 10th on Friday and ended up in that same spot on the ten-lap average chart in Practice #2 as well. In Happy Hour, the #42 Chevrolet was just 17th-fastest on the overall speed chart and had the 20th-best ten-lap average (although it was ran really early in the session). I had Larson ranked inside the top 10 in my Pre-Practice Rankings and I still believe that he has the potential to reward fantasy owners with a solid top 10 on Sunday.

13. Kurt Busch – Starts 15th – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 15th (change: +2)
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Kurt Busch hasn’t been great here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway but he has momentum coming into the Sylvania 300 this weekend and has shown decent speed. With his 8th-place run at Chicago last Sunday, Kurt now has back-to-back top 10s in Sprint Cup action and hasn’t finished worse than 13th since Michigan in mid-August. Now, shifting focus back to Loudon, Busch hasn’t posted a top 10 here since the 2011 season when he was running with Penske. That being said, he had a solid 13th-place run here in this event last year (while with Furniture Row) and was 17th here in the July race–at a time when the team was struggling a bit. The #41 Chevrolet ranked 14th on the ten-lap average chart in Happy Hour on Saturday and will roll off the grid in 15th once the Sylvania 300 goes green. Sounds like a solid top 15 day for this team, but I don’t think they’ll be able to get much more. Then again, this is a Chase team, so the “Chase Effect” might come into play…

14. Clint Bowyer – Starts 2nd – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 11th (change: -3)
**Risk Factor: High Risk**

Yeah, Clint Bowyer is a high risk pick this week, and for one reason: he’s on baby watch. His wife could give birth at any moment and Matt Crafton is on standby for this #15 team. That’s a situation I do not want to be a part of whatsoever. Bowyer is really racing for nothing at this point, and although he’s a two-time winner here at Loudon and finished 6th here back in July, you still won’t find him on any of my rosters this weekend. The #15 Toyota is decent in terms of speed. Clint qualified 14th on Friday and had the 21st-best ten-lap average in Happy Hour. He was 23rd on the overall speed chart, and while I don’t think Bowyer will be that bad on Sunday, a top 15 is really the best that this team can hope for heading into the Sylvania 300. As I said before, I’d avoid–although I can’t imagine too many people are even considering Bowyer at this point in the season.

15. Brian Vickers – Starts 12th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 17th (change: +2)
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

I really wanted to like Brian Vickers a lot coming into this race. He’s finished 15th or better in five of his last six starts here at Loudon, four of which were also top 10s as well as a win in the July race last season. However, Vickers has been nothing but disappointing as of late. This #55 team hasn’t had a top 10 since Watkins Glen back in the early part of August, and Brian was the ultimate disappointing fantasy pick at Chicago last weekend. For me, at least. I had high hopes. The short tracks are where Brian really excels in the Cup series, though, so I’m not giving up yet. He finished 21st here back in July and brought the same chassis to the track this weekend. Thankfully, he qualified a little better this time around (12th compared to 17th), and he looks to have a little more speed. Vickers had the best ten-lap average in Practice #2 on Saturday morning and ranked 15th on that chart in Happy Hour. The #55 might be a decent pick this weekend but don’t expect much. There are better sleeper options and honestly I think right around 12th is the limit for Vickers on Sunday.

The Next Ten:

16. Kasey Kahne
17. Carl Edwards
18. A.J. Allmendinger
19. Tony Stewart
20. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
21. Austin Dillon
22. Aric Almirola
23. Marcos Ambrose
24. Danica Patrick
25. Paul Menard

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