NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: New Hampshire 301

Track Classification: Intermediate

Similar Tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway • Charlotte Motorspeedway • Chicagoland Speedway   Darlington Raceway • Homestead-Miami Speedway • Kansas Speedway •  Kentucky Speedway 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway  • Texas Motor Speedway

Distance: 1.058 Miles

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race

Brad Keselowski - 4
All with 3 -Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson  

By Track

Both with 6 -Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson
All with 5 - Matt Kenneth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch
All with 4 - Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano

Recent Pole Winners:  

2015 Carl Edwards
2014 Kyle Busch

Last Year's Race Winner: Kyle Busch

The Likely Suspects:  Think flat track masters and you'll do well this week. I include these drivers on my elite list: Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenneth, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kyle Larson. I like to refine my New Hampshire picks by not only looking at performance during practice and qualifying, but also by looking at who also runs well at Phoenix International Raceway, which I think is New Hampshire's twin.

My 2 Cents:  As if it's not weird enough that New Hampshire is classified as an intermediate track when it is basically a short, flat track, the most proficient position for this race is a tie between the pole position and the 13th starting position. Huh? No, seriously. Both positions have produced five winners each. In other words, shoot for the lucky number 13 or the pole position when picking this week.

My no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. My next picks are Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and Tony Stewart. I will complete my team with Ryan Blaney and David Ragan.

My Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and David Ragan.

Points to Ponder:

• Nine active drivers have multiple wins at NHMS: Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart each have three; Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano each have two.
• Four active drivers have multiple poles at New Hampshire: Ryan Newman (seven), Brad Keselowski (three), Kyle Busch (two) and Carl Edwards (two).
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at New Hampshire in the Sprint Cup Series with nine, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing (eight), Roush Fenway Racing (seven), Team Penske (six) and Richard Childress Racing (four).
• The Coors Light pole and the 13th starting position are the two most proficient starting positions in the field, producing more winners -- five each -- than any other starting positions at New Hampshire. 
• Denny Hamlin leads the Cup Series in average finishing position at New Hampshire with a 10.250.

Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or follow me on Twitter @purplecatpr.