New Hampshire Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Austin Cindric
New Hampshire Fantasy Spin –At New Hampshire, I think Austin Cindric is a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who might just sneak in a top ten. The #2 team is running well and clicking off good results, and at Gateway, the most recent shorter-flat track visited, he finished 11th (5th best Total Speed Ranking). That’s encouraging, and some say Gateway is the most similar track to New Hampshire. At the other two shorter-flat tracks visited this year he finished in the 20’s, but those races were before the #2 team started to run well. Heading into the weekend, Cindric has 4 straight top tens and in 6 of the last 7 races he’s finished in the top 11.
New Hampshire Track History – At New Hampshire in the Xfinity series, Austin Cindric has finished better in each new race, so that’s an encouraging trend. Last year he finished 4th, and then in his two starts prior to that he had finishes of 12th and 17th.

William Byron
New Hampshire Fantasy Spin – At New Hampshire, look for William Byron to be a risky top ten contender. I say risky because Byron’s only finished in the top ten once over the last 11 races, and that was a 9th! At New Hampshire, Byron’s been solid but not spectacular. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Byron finished 3rd at Richmond, had a misleading result at Phoenix (top five contender before his afternoon unraveled) and at Gateway he missed the setup and finished 19th. At the venues minus Gateway, Byron had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking at both Phoenix and Richmond, and in terms of speed late in a run he ranked 10th at Phoenix and then 11th at Richmond.
 New Hampshire Track History – William Byron had a dud performance last year at New Hampshire, but in his three races prior to that he was 3 for 3 at finishing between 11th to 14th. Last year at “The Magic Mile”, Byron finished just outside the top ten in Stage #1, around the mid-teens in Stage #2 but finished 22nd when the checkered flag waved. Before the final pit cycle ensued (about 50 to go), Byron was running in 17th. In the race, Byron had a 14.8 average running position and the 20th best Total Speed Ranking. To further break down his Total Speed Ranking, Byron’s speed over the segments were 17th, 16th, 17th and 25th. In his three starts prior to that, Byron had a 12.3 average finish. In 2020, Byron was solid. In the race he finished 5th in Stage #2, 11th overall, had a 9.8 average running position, had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking and was the 12th Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In 2019, Byron started in the rear of the field, finished 12th, had a 16.1 average running position and ranked as the 15th Fastest Driver Late In A Run.

Kurt Busch
New Hampshire Fantasy Spin – Kurt Busch is a strong performer at New Hampshire. His recent New Hampshire results haven’t been the best, but he’s more than capable of running well. At Gateway, the most recent shorter-flat track visited he finished 3rd and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. At Phoenix, another shorter-flat track visited he finished 5th (wasn’t as good as his result). At Richmond, Busch had problems under his hood early so there’s no real takeaways for that race.
New Hampshire Track History – Kurt Busch is a 3-time winner at New Hampshire, but times haven’t been so great recently and in 4 of the last 5 races he’s finished 16th or worse. Last year, Busch had an 11.2 average running position, finished 10th in Stage #2 and then 16th when the checkered flag waved. Over the final Stage, he kind of just faded back to his result. His Total Speed Ranking was the 16th best, and his speed over the segments were 14th, 12th, 12th and 18th. In 2020, Busch started 10th, didn’t place in any Stage, had a 13.7 average running position, finished 17th overall and had the 18th best Total Speed Ranking. “Performance Wise”, I think his average running position is more reflective of how he performed then his result (faded a little late). In 2019, Busch was top ten good, but finished a misleading 18th. With 39 laps to go he was in 6th, but then a few laps later a caution came out and he took two tires which put him at a tire disadvantage with a lot of drivers behind him with 4 which led to him fading. From the race I’ll note he had a 7.7 average running position. In 2018, Busch had a great performance. He led the most laps (94), earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and finished 8th. Additionally, he finished 4th in Stage #1 and 2nd in Stage #2. In fall 2017, Busch was about 10th to 15th place good, but crashed. In the two races prior to that he had results of 5th and 8th.

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