New Hampshire Mobil 1 301 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Christopher Bell
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – Christopher Bell is a super-elite shorter-flat track performer and at New Hampshire, the road to victory lane likely goes thru him. At “The Magic Mile” in the Next Gen, Bell’s won 2 of the 3 races, has the best Total Speed Ranking among drivers who competed in every race (2nd best overall), has the best average running position (6.4) and the best Driver Rating. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Bell won at Phoenix, has the 3rd best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and he’s fresh off a 7th at Gateway, where he left fired up thinking he had the best car, but his teams pit strategy cost him the race.
New Hampshire History – Christopher Bell has performed at a super-elite level at New Hampshire. Bell dominated the race last year and in 3 of the last 4 races, he’s finished in the top 2. Last year, Bell won Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, had the best average running position (2.8), earned the best Driver Rating, led 149 laps and raced his way to victory lane. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked 1st. In 2023, Bell had a hot rod but finished an asterisk mark 29th after having a laundry list of problems. In the race, Bell started on the pole, led the first lap (only lap he led) but then during the early AJ Allmendinger caution he had a slow pit stop that dropped him from 2nd to 10th. When Stage #1 ended, Bell finished 6th. Then during the Stage #1 caution, Bell pitted twice because of a loose wheel which dropped him to the back. When Stage #2 ended, Bell finished 10th. Then in the last Stage, Bell climbed as high as 5th on lap 268 but then to close out the race, Bell did a four-tire pit stop when others took two which dropped him back a little bit more. Then on lap 288 while running in 8th, Bell got into the wall hard which doomed him to his 29th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked 7th. In 2022, Bell smoked the field when it was closing time and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Bell finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2, had a 6.8 average running position and led 42 laps, which I’ll note were the final 42. In terms of speed stats, Bell had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked as the fastest driver late in a run. In 2021, Bell had a great performance and finished 2nd.

Ryan Blaney
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney is an elite performer at New Hampshire who’ll be a driver to be reckoned with. In the Next Gen, Blaney’s 3 for 3 at coming home with asterisk mark results but he hasn’t lacked when it comes to performance. In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings, Blaney ranks 7th, having ranked 2nd and 3rd over the last two. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Blaney’s been elite and over the combined races, Blaney has the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and over the last three races his average finish is a series best 3.7. On Sunday, look for Blaney to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
New Hampshire History – Ryan Blaney has run well at New Hampshire, but I’ll note the results column hasn’t been pretty recently and in 3 of the last 4 races he’s finished 18th or worse. Last year, Blaney was one of the best but finished an asterisk mark 25th. In the race, Blaney started 2nd, finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, had the 2nd best average running position (5.9) but then late in the race on lap 291 during a restart while running in 2nd, Michael McDowell got into him and spun out the #12. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Blaney ranked 2nd. In 2023, Blaney had a hot rod but finished an asterisk mark 22nd. In the race, Blaney finished 5th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2 but then during the Gragson caution with about 30 laps to go while running in 2nd, Blaney got a pit penalty for running over his air hose, dooming him to his 22nd. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Blaney ranked 3rd. In 2022, Blaney didn’t have an incident free race, and it was also kind of an “off-race” in terms of performance from the #12 team, and he finished 18th. In 2021, a strong case could be made that Blaney was the best. In the race, Blaney won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had a 3.8 average running position, earned the 2nd best driver rating, led the 2nd most laps (64) and then finished 5th overall. In terms of speed analytics, Blaney had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking and was the 5th Fastest Driver Late In A Run. Up until the final green flag pit cycle, Blaney was the race leader.

Denny Hamlin
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite shorter-flat track performer and at New Hampshire, the #11 will be fast and Hamlin will be tough to beat. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Hamlin’s been elite. He just won at Gateway, has the 4th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and his average finish minus Iowa is an impressive 4.3. On Sunday, look for Hamlin to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
New Hampshire History – New Hampshire ranks among Denny Hamlin’s best tracks. Hamlin’s a three-time winner who’s finished in the top five 35% of the time, in the top ten 61% of the time and his career average finish is 9.9, which ranks as the best in the series among drivers who’ve raced more than once. Over the last six races minus last year where he might’ve just been the best but faded back in the wet conditions, Hamlin has 2-runner-ups and a 5.4 average finish. Last year, Hamlin had a rocket but finished a misleading 24th. In the race, Hamlin started 14th, finished 7th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 43 laps but then faded back over the final Stage in the wet conditions. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 6th but take note his speed over the segments were 7th, 3rd, 1st and then 19th. I’ll also note, I would really stop with takeaways after Stage #2 which he won. In 2023, Hamlin ran well throughout. In the race, Hamlin started 20th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, had a 6.4 average running position and then finished 7th overall. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked 5th for Total Speed Rankings and 6th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Hamlin had a solid showing and finished 6th. I’ll note, the #11 team had multiple pit stops that were egregiously slow, so he was put back in traffic quite frequently just about every time he advanced over a run. In addition to finishing 6th, Hamlin had a 12.3 average running position, the 10th best Total Speed Ranking and then ranked 5th for speed late in a run.

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