New Hampshire 301 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jamie McMurray – Dark horse /sleeper alert! Jamie McMurray shouldn’t be overlooked at New Hampshire. In the last four races at the Magic Mile he has a 9.3 average finish, 11.5 average running position and the 9th best driver rating. Last fall he was very competitive and was a consistent front runner. In the race he started 2nd, finished 4th, had a 7th place average running position and earned the 5th best driver rating. In July 2014 McMurray also ran well. He finished 16th but it’s important to note he performed better than his result. In the race he started 5th, had a 9th place average running position and earned the 8th best driver rating. The reason for his lack luster result can be traced to a caution with 51 laps to go. That dropped him from 4th all the way back to the high-teens. While he was back in traffic he only advanced a few spots in the running order. In fall 2013 McMurray’s race got off to a rough start. He started in 23rd and on lap 38 Montoya got into the back of him and as a result he got into the wall. That wasn’t the end of his day. He rebounded from that issue and drove home to a 5th place finish. In July 2013 he had a solid race. He started in 11th, had a 15th place average running position and finished 12th. Last year on shorter flat tracks McMurray scored the 7th most points. This season on this sub-track type he’s scored the 3rd most points and has results of 2nd and 4th. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin had a good car last September at New Hampshire but walked away with a 37th place finish. He started in 4th and following the competition caution he took two tires and got the lead. While he was out front he paced the field for 32 laps. Then on lap 96 he pitted all by himself because he had some sort of issue where his team couldn’t fill his car up with gas. Then on lap 105 a debris caution came out and his team lost 4 laps while trying to fix the problem. Later in the race on lap 180 Denny Hamlin was involved in a multi-car accident that ended his afternoon. In July 2014 he had a strong performance and finished 8th. In the race he performed better than his result and was running in 2nd when the final caution came out. Since he was short on fuel because of a fuel mileage gamble, he was forced to pit. In the race performance wise he clearly had a top three car. It was good over long runs, rotated well in the corners and had good drive off. In the race Hamlin started in 3rd, earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 20 laps. In fall 2013 he started in 14th, had a 12th place average running position and earned the 12th best driver rating. When the checkered flag waved he finished 12th. His July 2013 race was eventful. He started in 7th and ran in 7th at the time of his first pit stop. Then during his stop he had a missing lug nut and got penalized. Shortly after that on lap 122 while he was racing for the “Lucky Dog” he blew out his right front tire. Later in the race after he got his lap back by pit strategy he once again climbed into the top ten. He then later faded back to his 21st place finish. In 2012 at New Hampshire Denny Hamlin was dominant. Before the race in September 2012 he said he would win and he lived up to his word. In that race he started in 32nd because of air pressure mistakes in qualifying but he quickly worked his way up through traffic. He cracked the top ten in the first 50 laps and then took the lead on lap 94. His car was unchallenged in that race leading 193 laps and earning a near perfect driver rating. In July 2012 he once again had the best car but late in the race his crew chief made the call for four tires during a caution and nearly everyone else took two. That shuffled him back to 13th but he was able to advance up to second during the final run. This year at shorter flat tracks Hamlin has not been strong and has finished 22nd and 23rd. (Yahoo A Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – New Hampshire Top Tier Elite Picks, New Hampshire Mid Pack Predictions, New Hampshire Scouting Report, Who will win at New Hampshire?

Kasey Kahne – Kasey Kahne is a former winner at New Hampshire and he’s run well recently. Last September he finished 23rd, but his car was better than his result. In the event his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 188 Kenseth got loose which slowed down Kyle Busch and then Kasey Kahne ran into the back of the #18. Kahne got fairly heavy nose damage and his car was never the same after that. At the time of the incident Kahne was running around 10th. Last July he had a solid afternoon. He started in 10th, had a 9th place average running position, earned the 9th best driver rating and finished 11th. In fall 2013 he had a good car but his race wasn’t incident free. With 48 laps to go while running in 8th he crashed hard into the inside wall. Also in that race he qualified 2nd and led 31 laps. Prior to crashing he probably had about a 4th place average running position. In July 2013 he started in 8th, had a 9th place average running position and finished 11th. I thought his car was better than his result. On lap #235 while he was running in 5th his car got out of line and he lost lots of track position. In summer 2012 he went to victory lane after holding off a dominant Denny Hamlin. That victory can largely be chalked up to Hamlin’s poor pit strategy. In that race Kahne led 66 laps and earned the second best driver rating. In September 2012 he backed up his win by finishing 5th. This season at shorter flat tracks he has results of 4th and 6th. (Yahoo B Driver)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our New Hampshire 301 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

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