From Long And Steep To Short And Flat
A view of the race action and crowd at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway today in Loudon, N.H.
Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
We are now at the half-way point of the season and only eight races away from the beginning of the Chase. Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski both have three wins, while Matt Kenseth continues to hold the points lead. What does the second-half have in store for us?
A.J. Allmendinger has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for failing a drug test this past week. He was replaced by Sam Hornish Jr. at Daytona on Saturday night. We will have to wait and see who will be given that ride for the next few races at least.
The diversity of tracks on the NASCAR schedule is glaringly obvious this week. Yet another reason doing well week-in-and-week-out is equally difficult for NASCAR drivers and fantasy NASCAR players. This week the series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for the running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. This is a flat track that is just over a mile in length.
Lenox Industrial Tools 301
Tony Stewart: Tony looks like the driver to beat at the moment. He won the race here last fall and finished second here last summer. He has led laps in his last nine starts here and is my pick to win once again this weekend.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has finished in the top-10 at Loudon in eight of his last 10 starts. He has three career wins at this track and likes to run on the flat tracks.
Jeff Gordon: It has been a long time since Jeff won a race at New Hampshire, but he has qualified in the top-3 in over 1/3 of his starts and finished in the top-10 in more than half of his 34 starts here.
Ryan Newman: Ryan won the pole here for both races last season and has finished in the top-10 in four of his last five starts. He came away with a great finish at Daytona last weekend and runs the same cars as Tony Stewart.
Clint Bowyer: Clint won the fall race here two years ago. He has finished almost every lap of every race he has run here which means that he is on the lead lap at the end of the race. That is outstanding for a short-track.
Denny Hamlin: Denny has three top-5 finishes in his last five starts at Loudon. He always seems to qualify in the middle of the pack, but has his car set up well for the longer runs. He also likes running on these flatter tracks.
Matt Kenseth: Matt got his first top-10 finish since 2007 in the fall race here last season. He has finished on the lead lap in almost all of those races, but at the back of the pack. He needs to have another good finish to keep his point lead.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale currently sits right behind Matt in the standings and he is another driver that has had his struggles here. This year is a whole different season for this team. His only real struggle of the season was at Sonoma, where he has struggled in the past.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin is another driver that has finished an unbelievable number of laps at Loudon. He had two top-5 finishes in 2010, but has only one win here throughout his career.
Greg Biffle: Greg is still hanging on to third place in the standings at the halfway point of the season. He qualified fourth and finished third here last fall. Maybe this team figured something out last year.
Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR Picks for New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Tony Stewart
- Jeff Gordon
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Ryan Newman
- Clint Bowyer
- Jeff Burton
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Brian Vickers
- Sam Hornish Jr.
My Top-5 For New Hampshire
- Tony Stewart
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Ryan Newman
- Denny Hamlin
Dark Horse: Jeff Burton
Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne
Howdy Jeff, Do you think Denny’s back will be a factor due to the fact that the Magic Mile is a flat track, and the G forces will be great. even thought they only go 80-90 or so miles an hour in the turns. I just don’t see Denny doing good this week. I wish him the best of luck and want to see him do well. I just don’t know about his back problems right now. And you say.
That is hard to say. We don’t know exactly how bad it really is. When you are strapped in the seat you don’t move around a lot except for the bouncing that the car does. He drove fairly well after knee surgery, so I think he should be okay, or they will let him start and then have a sub ready to replace him if he can’t continue, but I don’t see that happening.
Denny has had 2 weeks since Kentucky, and did drive last week. Your right it is hard to say. If he does do well this week, then maybe he’s ok for now. Myself I want to give him an other week. Denny has done very well at New Hampshire. The coin is in the air. I wish you good luck this week. PS I met Joey Logano today in Wallingford, Ct
Howdy Jeff, Thursday, Denny said his back feels fine and doesn’t expect any issues at this weeks race.
That’s kinda what I thought would happen.
Good call Jeff