Making picks for the FOX Fantasy Auto game is a little tricky when we stop at short tracks, and Loudon is no exception. Track position is king when it comes to the short tracks, and drivers starting mid-pack or worse don’t have a whole lot of time to get to the front. Considering this game is based a lot off of place differential points, that can make it difficult to score a lot of points. We always have to consider trying to take the finish points with some drivers as opposed to focusing solely on the place differential points at a track like Loudon.
We scored 148 points at Kentucky last weekend, which is a little below average. Still, this season is only half over and we like where we are sitting in this game right now: 1,492nd place overall and 5th in our private league. This is a marathon, not a sprint. By the way, if you would like to play our new Fantasy NASCAR games, we have 2nd half contests that start this weekend at Loudon. Click the banner below for more information!
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Loudon New Hampshire 301
Carl Edwards ($10,900) – The #19 team was pretty pissed off at getting bumped out of the final round of qualifying at the last minute, but we couldn’t be happier. Edwards will roll off the grid from 13th for Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 and that means there’s plenty of room for him to get some place differential points for our FOX Fantasy Auto team. The Joe Gibbs Racing teams are typically the ones to beat here at Loudon, and with his move to this organization last season, Cousin Carl posted his first top 5 finish here since the 2008 season (in the fall race). He finished 7th in this race one year ago, and was on the pole for both of those events. In Practice #2 on Saturday morning, the #19 Toyota was fastest and in Happy Hour 8th-best. He had some of the best ten-lap averages in both sessions as well. At the other shorter, flatter tracks this season, Edwards finished 2nd (Phoenix), 6th (Martinsville), 1st (Bristol), and 1st (Richmond). We like his chances this weekend, and most of the garage was pointing toward this #19 Toyota after the morning practice on Saturday.
Matt Kenseth ($10,600) – We’re staying with Joe Gibbs Racing for our second pick this weekend. Kenseth is probably the best value pick of the weekend due to the fact that he qualified 18th on Friday. He’s no stranger to coming up through the pack, though, so we’re not too worried about it. In the six races ran here since joining JGR, Kenseth has five finishes of 9th or better and he started outside of the top 10 in three of those races. The #20 Toyota has won two of the last three fall races here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Kenseth should be at least a top 10 threat here on Sunday. In practice this weekend, Kenseth laid down top 5 laps in both sessions on Saturday and ranked 3rd in ten-lap average during Happy Hour. He has a good car and as long as he can keep his fender clean on Sunday he should be a solid top 5 threat.
Kyle Larson ($9,000) – Picking Kyle Larson is never a sure thing, but his upside is so high, you almost have to put him on your FOX Fantasy Auto roster when he starts mid-pack and shows some speed during practice. This weekend, the #42 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 17th when the New Hampshire 301 goes green on Sunday, and during Saturday’s practices, Larson looked quite a bit better than that. The #42 Chevrolet was 10th on the speed chart in Practice #2 and 11th-best in Happy Hour. He had top ten speed in both ten-lap average charts as well. In the two races ran here at Loudon last season, the #42 team wasn’t that great–finishing 31st and 17th–but where were they great at, really? In Larson’s rookie year, he finished 3rd and 2nd in his two Loudon starts, and while he doesn’t have the car to get there this weekend, you really never know how these races will play out or how adjustments will work during the race.
Ryan Newman ($10,700) – This is a hefty price to pay for Ryan Newman, but considering the fact that he starts 25th for Sunday’s New Hampshire 301, it’s probably going to be worth it. Even if Ryan Newman only makes it up to 15th on Sunday, that will give us 36 points for our FOX Fantasy Auto team and we’re perfectly okay with that–considering it wouldn’t be out of this world to see “The Rocketman” get up inside the top 10 before it’s all said and done. Newman is a three-time winner here at Loudon and owns a career average finish of 13.5 here. In the two races ran here last season, the #31 Chevrolet came home 11th and 10th and Newman has finished inside the top 11 in nine of the last thirteen races here.
Denny Hamlin ($8,700) – Our fifth and final FOX Fantasy Auto roster spot at Loudon comes down to two guys: Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle. The former will start 5th on Sunday and owns the best average finish among active drivers at this track (10.3). Hamlin has also won here twice and showed nice speed during the practice sessions on Saturday, posting top 5 laps in both sessions and showing nice speed on the ten-lap average charts as well. The latter has been improving a lot as of late and has been our sleeper pick for this whole week. Biffle finished 4th in the fall race here last season and has been a pretty solid mid-teens finisher here at Loudon over the last five or six years. And if he’s able to get up around there here on Sunday, he’s going to score quite a bit of points in this game considering the #16 Ford was 28th in qualifying on Friday. As they say, though, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. If you’re choosing between Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle this weekend, you’re essentially choosing between finish points and place differential points. Right now we’re leaning toward Hamlin, but we might make the switch to The Biff before the green flag on Sunday.
EDIT: We switched Newman and Hamlin for McMurray and Biffle.
