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New Hampshire DraftKings NASCAR Picks, Projections, & Strategy Breakdown

Denny Hamlin celebrating win at Pocono 2020
Photo Credit: Patrick Smith | Getty Images

Before we get a couple of weekends off for the Olympics, NASCAR is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 this weekend. Otherwise known as Loudon, New Hampshire is a 1.058-mile flat track and it’s usually pretty easy to determine who the top drivers will be on race day. We usually see many of the same faces up front at this track, as well as at shorter flat tracks in general.

Before we get to the meat and potatoes of this post, make sure you check out this week’s episode of Stacking Dennys, the new podcast that RotoDoc and I host. Click here for more information on that. Finally, make sure you read my FanDuel article for this race as well (click here), as there is often quite a bit of similarities between the two DFS sites. Now let’s goooo!!!!

LIVE STREAM INFORMATION: I will be joining Brandon Cruz on his YouTube channel on Sunday to break down this slate. We plan on going live at noon Eastern on Sunday. I will update this article and post the link to the stream on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Enjoy the FREE content that this site offers each week? Consider donating to support by clicking here. Also, be sure to check out the Algorithm Predicted Finishing Order for this race by clicking here!

Speed Report & Loop Data Driver Averages

William Byron Liberty University Paint Scheme 2021 Nashville Superspeedway
Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

We’re focusing on short flat tracks this weekend. That means in addition to looking at New Hampshire Motor Speedway data in general, we’re also looking at statistics from the Phoenix and Richmond race tracks. You can maybe throw in Martinsville and/or Nashville when looking at data, but they’re really not all that similar to Loudon, Phoenix, and Richmond. This is also a 750hp package race, so in addition to Loudon/Phoenix/Richmond data from 2020 and 2021, there is 750hp data from 2021 shown below as well. The following information is included:

  • Starts
  • Finish
  • ARP = average running position
  • DR = driver rating
  • FL = fastest laps (total)
  • LL = laps led (total)
  • T15 = laps ran inside top 15 (total)
  • Total Laps = laps completed (total)

2020-2021 Driver Averages At Short Flat Tracks

Driver
Starts
Finish
ARP
DR
FL
LL
T15
Total Laps
Joey Logano602.703.7124.118542220022041
Brad Keselowski605.505.0121.920051819752041
Chase Elliott606.508.8106.313725717332041
Denny Hamlin607.207.9109.723937716902040
Kevin Harvick608.507.6107.615611418672038
Martin Truex Jr608.807.7107.316218218072007
Aric Almirola608.810.992.026916892040
Kyle Larson309.714.389.15535391026
William Byron611.012.188.624015192039
Matt DiBenedetto611.212.288.521114852040
Alex Bowman611.312.685.5411013222040
Kurt Busch612.712.581.9361916042040
Kyle Busch615.210.686.046514711754
Christopher Bell616.214.581.460011032037
Austin Dillon616.315.175.3825910181853
Ryan Blaney617.212.082.9374111541788
Ricky Stenhouse Jr618.318.668.75425152036
Cole Custer618.817.271.23309012032
Ross Chastain319.017.867.2202601027
Tyler Reddick620.316.571.61909301984
Bubba Wallace620.822.259.81442422033
Chris Buescher621.523.953.711312033
Chase Briscoe222.021.361.60082710
Michael McDowell622.224.952.3100642033
Erik Jones622.519.463.51105602032
Ryan Preece623.824.653.2801572021
Daniel Suarez624.025.748.6501672028
Ryan Newman525.223.453.140791714
Corey LaJoie629.225.648.212121151898
Justin Haley230.528.134.8003313
BJ McLeod231.029.938.8007702
James Davison533.234.131.63031678
Quin Houff633.834.231.00011736
Anthony Alfredo234.032.534.6000482
Garrett Smithley534.434.230.02031426
Josh Bilicki335.736.227.4000938
Cody Ware236.035.630.5301486

2021 Driver Averages Under 750hp Intermediate Package

Driver
Starts
Finish
ARP
DR
FL
LL
T15
Total Laps
William Byron605.007.6105.4643020542205
Kyle Larson605.808.5112.934252817182203
Joey Logano606.506.3108.99019821012204
Denny Hamlin607.004.1119.423152321262204
Chase Elliott607.008.999.4951318922205
Martin Truex Jr608.307.7111.124045518872203
Kevin Harvick609.308.498.6501019262202
Christopher Bell610.712.289.5441215662200
Alex Bowman613.512.190.411010815572087
Ross Chastain613.817.275.222148402202
Austin Dillon613.815.077.219113022203
Kyle Busch614.014.287.4602014212197
Ryan Blaney615.008.489.25819216771958
Ricky Stenhouse Jr615.016.775.56117582200
Tyler Reddick616.014.776.022212192200
Matt DiBenedetto617.216.770.72010612195
Kurt Busch617.514.874.749312872016
Daniel Suarez618.019.766.53706312087
Bubba Wallace618.518.965.718276062198
Brad Keselowski619.212.982.1594814382086
Aric Almirola619.215.571.11619821816
Chris Buescher619.818.265.61117501979
Ryan Newman620.721.059.3105912193
Erik Jones621.520.058.32003142100
Cole Custer624.822.258.82703261955
Chase Briscoe624.822.059.8055302055
Corey LaJoie624.824.950.80121202066
Michael McDowell625.024.949.8150872078
Anthony Alfredo627.727.742.170361955
Ryan Preece627.825.153.03901851975
James Davison530.433.730.81011855
BJ McLeod631.331.437.22072094
Quin Houff631.332.132.20011862
Josh Bilicki631.533.730.40002059
Garrett Smithley431.832.633.200151370
Justin Haley532.029.236.630391063
Cody Ware533.033.332.33151551

DraftKings Strategy & Dominators for Loudon

As I said before, Loudon is a shorter flat track, and we pretty much know which drivers are going to be the best here on Sunday. Here are some notes to remember:

  • More often than not, New Hampshire is a 2 dominator race. Sometimes we’ll see a potential third dominator creep up there, but you need to build lineups with two or three potential solid dominators on them.
  • Again, Loudon is a shorter flat track. We’re looking at Phoenix and Richmond as far as similar track data, and while Martinsville and Nashville are both shorter and flatter, I personally don’t think they compare that well.
  • There are 301 laps scheduled for Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, so there is a good amount of dominator points up for grabs tis weekend. For laps led, there will be 75.25 DraftKings FPTS available and then for fastest laps, there will be approximately 115-120 DraftKings FPTS, as I’m expecting around 260 green flag laps.
  • NOTE ADDED SATURDAY MORNING: NASCAR is deciding to forgo the PJ1 application for Loudon this weekend. This heightens the possibility of this being a one dominator race, but not significantly. It also slightly decreases passing opportunities. The pit crews are going to play a larger role in this race, as the fastest ones that can get their driver the track position–especially getting him out in the lead–add an advantage. I think this bumps up Kyle Busch’s playability a bit this weekend, but, again, not significantly.

Dominators

These are the potential dominators for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire, and are listed in the order of likelihood according to my projections:

  • Kyle Busch
  • Martin Truex, Jr.
  • Denny Hamlin
  • Kyle Larson
  • Joey Logano
  • Chase Elliott
  • Brad Keselowski

Some “surprise” dominators that could happen on Sunday include: Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Blaney.

Driver-by-Driver Breakdown Video

Now for the video breakdown! Be sure to go here and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already.

Optimal Lineup According to Jordan’s Projections

The optimal DraftKings lineup for New Hampshire according to my Projections is:

  • Denny Hamlin
  • Joey Logano
  • Martin Truex, Jr.
  • Christopher Bell
  • Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
  • Cole Custer

Confidence Rating = 8.5/10. I actually really like this lineup. As mentioned before, I think it’s going to be important to build lineups with two or three potential dominators in them. You have two solid dominator potentials here with Hamlin and Truex, and then outside dominators with Logano and Bell. If you’re looking for a lineup with pole sitter Kyle Busch in it, one of the top ones according to my projections is: Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex, Jr., Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Corey LaJoie.

GPP / Tournament Picks

Christopher Bell racing with Joey Logano at the Daytona Road Course race 2021
Photo Credit: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Denny Hamlin ($10,000) – As weird as it sounds, I think Denny Hamlin has the potential to go under-owned in DraftKings this weekend despite being a very good price point on the salary table. I think a lot of DFS players are going to be gravitating toward stuffing in Kyle Larson ($11,200) since he’s starting back in 10th and, well, it’s Kyle Larson, which will force them to skip over Hamlin for some of the mid-to-lower $9,000 drivers. But Denny Hamlin is a great DraftKings pick this weekend. Looking at fastest laps, he’s put up 17+ in each oft he last five races at shorter flat tracks, and 38+ in all but one of those five. He’s finished 4th or better in four of the last five short flat track Cup Series races and has ended up 2nd in the last two Loudon races as well.

Aric Almirola ($8,400) – I hate the price point of Aric Almirola on DraftKings but I love the upside, and if I hate the price point that usually means most of the general public playing DraftKings on Sunday is going to hate it even more. But there’s legitimate top 10 potential here from Almirola this weekend, as crazy as it is to say. Over the last three Loudon races, Aric has posted finishes of 7th, 11th, and 3rd, and over the last six shorter flat track races he has yet to end up worse than 13th. This season, Almirola ended up 11th at Phoenix and then 6th at Richmond. There’s a ton of upside here, and AA is a great tournament play in my book.

Christopher Bell ($7,700) – I’m going to be very heavy on Christopher Bell this weekend, and it’d kind of be hypocritical if I wasn’t considering I wrote him up in my algorithm article, my betting article, and my Slingshot article for this race. Bell has legitimate top 5 finishing potential on Sunday and could put up 15-20 fastest laps as well. Is it a guarantee? No. Could CBell help someone win a lot of money this weekend? Absolutely. It’s rare for me to like DraftKings drivers in this mid-$7,000 price range, but when you look at Christopher Bell’s record on shorter tracks this year–9th at Phoenix, 7th at Martinsville, 4th at Richmond, 9th at Nashville–and add in the fact that New Hampshire has been one of his best tracks since he’s came into NASCAR and there’s crazy good upside with him this weekend.

Cash Core Drivers

Martin Truex, Jr. Sirius XM Paint Scheme Martinsville 2019
Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Joey Logano ($9,500) – I also wrote up Joey Logano as a cash driver in my FanDuel article this week. He’s under-priced on both DFS sites this weekend. Here’s all you need to know about Logano for this race: he’s starting 15th and his last six finishes on this track type are 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, and 1st. On finishing position alone, JoLo is a great DFS play on Sunday, and then he’s typically good for about 15+ fastest laps at these shorter flat tracks as well. Here at Loudon specifically, Joey has five top 5s in his last ten starts and only one result worse than 11th.

Martin Truex, Jr. ($9,100) – I talked in the video (linked above) how I could see Martin Truex, Jr. being bad chalk this weekend and the opportunity to go underweight on him in tournaments, but when it comes to a cash lineup, there’s no reason to go against this guy. He’s never won here at Loudon but he’s led 744 laps in his career here, which is the 4th-most of all active drivers. Looking at similar tracks this season, MTJ won at Phoenix and finished 5th at Richmond, putting up 52 and 74 fastest laps (respectively) along the way. In terms of laps led, he had 64 and 107 in those two races (respectively).

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($7,100) – It kind of feels weird to say it but Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is a pretty solid racer on flat tracks, and he’s starting back in 29th here in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. He’s priced a little bit high in DraftKings at $7,100, but Stenhouse has legitimate top 15 potential, and has finished inside that mark in five of his last eight starts at that track. Looking at similar tracks this season, Stenhouse ended up 12th at Phoenix and 17th at Richmond. He’s a solid place differential play on Sunday.

New Hampshire Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 DraftKings Driver Projections

The following chart takes into account the very basics: the starting position and the projected finish of each driver. The projected finishes are averaged from six different ranking systems. Also factored in are projected laps led and fastest laps for each driver. You can click the headers below to sort the chart by that attribute. By default it is sorted by average projected FPTS.

DriverDraftKings SalaryAvg Proj FPTSProj OwnershipStarting PositionCeiling Proj FPTSAvg. Projected FinishDollar Per FPT
Martin Truex Jr$9,10070.2038.60%289.2003.5$130
Denny Hamlin$10,00068.9527.64%690.5503.0$145
Kyle Larson$11,20064.1735.17%10115.2005.0$175
Kyle Busch$10,90063.5530.89%1109.9506.7$172
Joey Logano$9,50062.3833.16%1581.1504.7$152
Brad Keselowski$9,30052.2820.57%1167.3506.3$178
Kevin Harvick$10,30051.7217.70%1264.8006.5$199
Chase Elliott$9,80046.5318.36%355.2505.8$211
Christopher Bell$7,70046.2520.50%974.5510.2$166
William Byron$10,60043.3215.08%1653.9010.0$245
Aric Almirola$8,40041.8518.11%2251.3512.8$201
Ryan Blaney$8,70041.0819.11%746.7507.3$212
Ricky Stenhouse Jr$7,10037.6235.60%2947.1517.8$189
Daniel Suarez$8,90037.5014.46%3158.7519.0$237
Kurt Busch$8,50034.5012.62%446.5009.8$246
Austin Dillon$7,40032.1214.41%1352.7515.2$230
Ross Chastain$7,00030.9018.76%2039.9017.0$227
Matt DiBenedetto$7,50030.0218.59%1440.2514.5$250
Cole Custer$6,30027.7822.16%2140.2519.0$227
Tyler Reddick$6,80027.429.50%845.7513.7$248
Alex Bowman$8,20026.8716.86%535.2012.2$305
Ryan Newman$7,20026.6724.05%2840.8522.3$270
Bubba Wallace$6,50025.8019.81%1843.5019.0$252
Erik Jones$6,70022.6717.24%2431.9021.8$296
Ryan Preece$7,80020.508.91%2536.4524.0$380
Chase Briscoe$6,00019.6713.95%1933.3521.5$305
Corey Lajoie$5,70016.5012.83%2632.3526.7$345
Michael McDowell$6,20012.5016.49%2320.1526.7$496
Chris Buescher$8,00012.174.57%1730.2523.2$658
Justin Haley$4,70011.836.93%3018.0030.2$397
Cody Ware$5,60010.671.41%3418.0032.7$525
Anthony Alfredo$5,90010.337.81%2715.4529.3$571
James Davison$5,40008.832.04%3714.0034.8$611
BJ McLeod$5,20008.831.13%3214.0032.3$589
Quin Houff$4,50008.502.82%3613.0034.5$529
Garrett Smithley$5,00006.830.87%3310.0033.7$732
Josh Bilicki$4,80004.331.30%3510.0035.7$1,108
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New Hampshire NASCAR Algorithm Predicted Finishing Order

Martin Truex, Jr. standing tall at Phoenix Raceway
Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Before getting a couple of weeks off for the Olympics, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. New Hampshire, which is also known simply as Loudon, is a 1.058-mile flat track that compares best to Phoenix and Richmond (where we have raced at earlier this year already). You can also add in Martinsville and possibly Nashville as other smaller flat tracks, but the best comp tracks to Loudon are Phoenix and Richmond. Last season, Brad Keselowski went to victory lane here and it was Kevin Harvick winning the previous two races at New Hampshire, so Ford is on a little streak at this track heading into this weekend’s event.

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How the algorithm works: There are quite a few statistics that go into the Power Index formula, including recent performance both overall and at this week’s track specifically, similar track performance, projected strength of the car, practice speeds (when applicable), starting position, and a few other variables.

Before We Get To The Algorithm Results…Thoughts On A Couple Drivers

Kyle Larson leading Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2021
Photo Credit: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Kyle Larson – Take this 7th-place predicted finish by the algorithm for Kyle Larson with a big grain of salt. Historically, shorter flat tracks haven’t been the venues where Larson excelled at when he was with Chip Ganassi Racing, and we only have two races this season while he was with Hendrick on this track type: Phoenix (finished 7th but had a great car) and Richmond (finished 18th). Larson has put up some great numbers in the 750hp package this year, and he has four top 3 finishes here at Loudon in ten career starts with Ganassi. He has race-winning potential even though the algorithm is a bit down on him this week.

Christopher Bell – Keep in mind that most of the loop data we have for Christopher Bell in the Cup Series was from when he was in that Leavine Family Racing #95 Toyota. This year on the shorter flat tracks and in the #20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Christopher Bell finished 9th at Phoenix and 4th at Richmond, and he has similar upside here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. Even with that Leavine car last year, Bell started back in 35th but was a top 5 contender before having two flat tires. Don’t sleep on CBell this weekend. He won both races he ran here at Loudon when in the Xfinity Series.

Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at Loudon Algorithm Predicted Finishing Order

RankDriverPower
Index
1.Truex, Jr., Martin41.61
2.Hamlin, Denny39.07
3.Logano, Joey39.06
4.Busch, Kyle37.74
5.Keselowski, Brad35.67
6.Harvick, Kevin33.89
7.Larson, Kyle33.83
8.Busch, Kurt29.61
9.Blaney, Ryan29.56
10.Elliott, Chase28.62
11.Bowman, Alex24.80
12.Byron, William22.63
13.Almirola, Aric21.66
14.Bell, Christopher20.92
15.DiBenedetto, Matt16.06
16.Reddick, Tyler15.82
17.Dillon, Austin08.33
18.Suarez, Daniel01.65
19.Chastain, Ross-03.83
20.Custer, Cole-04.17
21.Stenhouse, Jr., Ricky-07.62
22.Wallace, Bubba-09.38
23.Jones, Erik-10.20
24.Briscoe, Chase-15.71
25.Newman, Ryan-19.44
26.Buescher, Chris-20.18
27.Preece, Ryan-24.12
28.LaJoie, Corey-24.66
29.McDowell, Michael-25.72
30.Alfredo, Anthony-29.55
31.Ware, Cody-33.65
32.Haley, Justin-33.68
33.Bilicki, Josh-35.22
34.McLeod, BJ-36.75
35.Smithley, Garrett-38.50
36.Davison, James-39.90
37.Houff, Quin-40.08
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NASCAR Race Day Betting Card for New Hampshire (Foxwoods Resort Casino 301)

Kevin Harvick Busch Light Apple Car
Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the site of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race, as the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 is set to take place on Sunday afternoon. This will be the last race before we get two weekends off for the Olympics, and I don’t know whether it’s because of the upcoming break, or because the betting board looked so juicy this weekend, but I’ve already put in quite a few bets for this weekend’s race and it’s only Thursday as I’m typing this. So let’s get right to the card!

Loudon Race Day Betting Card

#JordanJinx

Denny Hamlin to Win (+850) – PointsBet was one of the first books to come out with betting odds this week, and they were a bit off from where they should’ve been, particularly with Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex, Jr.–both of which I grabbed. Hamlin was the first one bet on, though, so he’s the #JordanJinx for New Hampshire on Sunday. Dennis may not have any wins this season, but he’s going to be a contender here at Loudon on Sunday. Over the last five races at short, flat tracks, Hamlin has four finishes of 4th or better, including runner-up finishes here at Loudon last season as well as Richmond this season. This #11 team needs to win if they want to have a safety net of any type in the Playoffs this year. I think there’s a good shot that happens on Sunday.

Favorite Bet of the Week

Aric Almirola Top 20 Finish (-135) – This line isn’t even close to available anymore but I’ll just use this as a quick, shameless plug for you to follow me on Twitter if you’re not already. Any time I see a line like this I tweet it out immediately as a good bet. Not even 15 minutes after I tweeted this, the line for Almirola getting top 20 finish moved to -300. So, follow me if you don’t already. Anyway, my algorithm loves Almirola this week and he hasn’t finished worse than 13th at a shorter, flat track over the last year and a half. There’s still a tiny bit of value in betting him at -300, but I probably wouldn’t bet it again unless it went to -225 or longer. I also like betting the Aric Almirola over Ross Chastain (-110) head-to-head.

Rest of Jordan’s Card

Martin Truex, Jr. to Win (+850) – As I said with Hamlin earlier, I just couldn’t pass up these odds with Martin Truex, Jr. Both of these drivers are very solid short, flat track racers, and Truex has finished 5th or better in four of the last five Cup Series races at this track type, with the only exception being a 10th-place run at Phoenix last fall. My algorithm says Truex is the guy to beat on Sunday, and I’m going to roll with that prediction at +850 as well.

Kevin Harvick Top 10 Finish (-165) – My biggest bet as of now is the Almirola top 20 finish, but there’s a good chance that this Harvick top 10 finish bet will end up being my largest this weekend. Yes, Stewart-Haas Racing has struggled this season, but they haven’t struggled as much on the shorter flat tracks. Since the start of 2020, Harvick has finished 2nd, 7th, 5th, 7th, 6th, and 24th on this track type, with the only exception being at Richmond, although he was running 6th before he ran into issues. Here at Loudon, Harvick has finished 5th or better in eight of his last ten starts. There’s no such thing as a lock in betting but this is close.

Kevin Harvick over Alex Bowman (-110)The algorithm has Harvick solidly above Alex Bowman this weekend, and even though AB came home with a surprise win at Richmond this year, his previous best finish on this track type since the start of 2020 was a 9th in last year’s Richmond race. Other than that, Bowman is typically a mid-teens driver at the shorter flat tracks. Here at Loudon, he’s finished 15th, 14th, 11th, and 14th in his last four starts. Give me Harvick all day here.

Kevin Harvick over William Byron (-110) – Similar story for this head-to-head as the one with Bowman. When it comes to the shorter flat tracks, William Byron hasn’t quite shown the top 5 potential that he typically has at other race tracks on the schedule. With that being said, Willy B has improved with each new time has came to Loudon–he finished 14th in 2018, then 12th in 2019, and then 11th last year–and he’s ended up 8th and 7th in the two shorter flat track races this year. My bet for this head-to-head isn’t as large as the Harvick/Bowman one, but I still like this.

Christopher Bell Top 10 Finish (-110) – Oh, yes. I wouldn’t even mind sprinkling some on Christopher Bell for a top 5 finish this weekend, and I will note that I put a tiny bit on him to win at +3400 as well. But the top 10 prop is a really good bet here. Bell was a solid top 5 car here at Loudon last season when he was driving for Leavine Family Racing, and he dominated New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series. This year, now that he’s finally is really good equipment, Bell has finished 9th at 4th at the two shorter flat tracks. He starts 9th on Sunday and unless he has some kind of issue during the race, should be good for a top 10.

Joey Logano over Chase Elliott (+100) – Again, I’m trusting the algorithm here. Joey Logano is ranked 3rd by the algorithm this weekend with a Power Index of 39.06, while Chase Elliott is ranked 10th with a Power Index of 28.62. So obviously getting Logano at even-money odds in this head-to-head seems to be of great value. Chase has one top 5 finish here at Loudon in seven career starts while Logano has two wins and has been as solid as they come at shorter flat tracks over the last two seasons.

Other Bets Added

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New Hampshire Slingshot NASCAR Fantasy Picks

Matt DiBenedetto 21 Ford sitting on pit road at Atlanta Motor Speedway 2020
Photo Credit: Chris Graythen | Getty Images

The NASCAR Cup Series is in Loudon, New Hampshire this weekend for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile flat track, so when looking at similar loop data, it’s best to focus on Phoenix and Richmond as comp tracks. You could also throw in Martinsville and maybe Nashville in there, but they really don’t race like the other shorter flat tracks do, so it’s probably best to mainly look in to New Hampshire, Phoenix, and Richmond specifically. We’ve already had races at both Phoenix and Richmond earlier this year.

Be sure you check out the Algorithm Predicted Finishing Order for this race (click here), and also this week’s episode of Stacking Dennys, the podcast RotoDoc and I started. You can listen to that by clicking here.

Kyle Busch is on the pole for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire, and his teammate, Martin Truex, Jr. will be starting 2nd. Joe Gibbs Racing has been strong here at Loudon over the years so it wouldn’t be surprising to see those two up front for most of the day on Sunday as well. You can click here to see the starting lineup for this weekend’s race to see where everyone else will line up. Now let’s get to the picks!

*Please note: the picks and suggestions below are my opinions and strategy for the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest. These are not meant to sway your thinking in any way, but rather give you insight into the drivers I am most likely to pick on race day.*

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Jordan’s Strategy Breakdown Video

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Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest Picks for Loudon (Foxwoods Resort Casino 301)

The Safe

Denny Hamlin ($12,200) – When most people think of flat tracks, they think of Denny Hamlin, and for good reason: he’s as solid as they get at this track type. Here at Loudon, Hamlin is one of only five active drivers with three of more victories, and he has the best average finish of any active driver (9.6) that has more than one start here. In 27 career starts at this track, Hamlin has posted 16 top 10s and only three results worse than 20th. The #11 Toyota will start from 6th here on Sunday at New Hampshire, so there’s a little bit of place differential upside there, and Hamlin should be able to contend for the win. He’s finished 1st or 2nd in three of the last five races at this track.

Joey Logano ($11,300) – There is zero percent change that I’m not picking Joey Logano this weekend. The guy is an absolute stud on the shorter flat tracks, and has a ridiculous average finish of 2.7 on them since the start of the 2020 season. This year, Logano finished 2nd at Phoenix and 3rd at Richmond, and his worst result on a shorter flat track over the last six races has been 4th. Just ridiculous. Just to give him even more upside, though, Logano starts back in 15th on Sunday, so he has great place differential potential as well.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($7,700) – The word “safe” and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. rarely go together in Fantasy NASCAR, but flat tracks are definitely the type where Stenhouse is pretty solid at finishing at. Obviously we could always have a situation like last week at Atlanta where Cody Ware takes out Stenhouse and Suarez again, but you can’t predict wrecks when it comes to fantasy picks. Anyway, Stenhouse starts back in 29th on Sunday but has legitimate top 15 potential. This year on the shorter flat tracks, he’s finished 12th at Phoenix and 17th at Richmond, and if you add in Martinsville (15th) and Nashville (6th), it’s an even more solid resumé. Here at New Hampshire specifically, Stenhouse has finished 15th or better in five of his last eight starts.

The Risky

Kyle Busch ($11,900) – Taking the pole sitter in the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest is always risky, simply because a bad race can absolutely kill your lineup due to the potential for negative points with lost place differential. Additionally, Kyle Busch has been anything but consistent at shorter flat tracks recently, with just one top 5 and three top 10s in the six shorter flat track races since the start of 2020. Now, obviously, this #18 team really struggled last season, but Rowdy wasn’t overly impressive at Phoenix or Richmond this year, either. Still, Kyle Busch is running better now than he has in quite a long time, and he’s a three-time winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Seeing him dominate this race on Sunday wouldn’t be a big surprise either.

Christopher Bell ($9,300) – The $9,300 salary is tough to fit into a great lineup, as well as the 9th-place starting spot, but Christopher Bell has very solid potential here on Sunday. He was absolutely dominant at this race track in the Xfinity Series and had top 5 potential in the Leavine Family Racing car here last season before he had a couple of tire issues during the race. This season on the shorter flat tracks, Bell has finished 9th at Phoenix and 4th at Richmond. Honestly, I’d consider CBell a sleeper for the win…

Matt DiBenedetto ($8,500) – It’ll be interesting to see when the “out the door” performance downturn occurs with Matt DiBenedetto since news just broke today that he doesn’t have a ride for the 2022 season, but not taking that into account, Matty D is a great sleeper pick at New Hampshire on Sunday. Penske overall is very strong at shorter flat tracks, and that extends to Wood Brothers Racing as well. This season, DiBenedetto came home 14th at Phoenix and then 9th at Richmond, and he also posted finishes of 8th in the second Phoenix race last year and 6th here at Loudon. DiBenedetto ran 5th here at Loudon in 2019 when he was with Leavine Family Racing.

The Winner

“Race Winner” Pick = Denny HamlinMy algorithm thinks it’s going to be Martin Truex, Jr. in victory lane on Sunday, but I have a feeling we will finally see Denny Hamlin get a win in 2021 this weekend. He’s finished 4th or better in four of the last five races at shorter flat tracks and has also led 205 laps (combined) here at Loudon over the last two years. If Dennis is going to really contend for the Championship this season, he needs a win or two before the Playoffs start. I just have a gut feeling that it comes on Sunday, although I will note that Hamlin has the #JordanJinx this weekend…

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FanDuel NASCAR Driver Projections & Picks for New Hampshire

Aric Almirola leading at Pocono over Logano, Blaney, Truex, Elliott, DiBenedetto
Photo Credit: Patrick Smith | Getty Images

The Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 is this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which is more commonly referred to, simply, as “Loudon.” This is a 1.058-mile race track, and it’s flat, which means we know which drivers should be good here: the same ones who are good at Phoenix and Richmond. Lately that has been Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex, Jr. and there is no reason to think that will change on Sunday.

The Fantasy Racing Online algorithm predicts that Martin Truex, Jr. is going to win on Sunday and that Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano will be right there with him. You can check out the full predicted finishing order for this weekend’s race by clicking here. Now let’s get to the FanDuel projections!

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Optimal Lineup According to Jordan’s Projections

The optimal FanDuel lineup for New Hampshire according to my Projections is:

  • Martin Truex, Jr.
  • Denny Hamlin
  • Joey Logano
  • Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
  • Daniel Suarez

Confidence Rating = 7.0/10. This lineup is really banking on Martin Truex, Jr. and Denny Hamlin being the main dominators on Sunday. There’s no doubt that this has the possibility of happening, but you also have to consider pole sitter Kyle Busch as a dominator, as well as possibly Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. The 2nd-best lineup according to my projections is: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. I think I like that one a little bit better, with the possibility to switch to Suarez instead of Stenhouse as well.

FanDuel “Safe” DFS Picks for Loudon (Cash Lineups)

Joey Logano Charlotte Garage Fantasy NASCAR
Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Joey Logano ($10,800) – Just a criminal under-pricing here by FanDuel when it comes to Joey Logano. The short flat tracks are where Penske excels, and Joey Logano does as well. Over the last six races at Loudon/Richmond/Phoenix, Logano hasn’t finished worse than 4th and in only one of those six races did he lead less than 45 laps. Historically, New Hampshire Motor Speedway hasn’t been a place where Logano dominates (he only has 105 career laps led here) but he’s a solid finisher, with five top 5s in his last ten starts here. Put it this way, even if I were making 1,000 lineups this weekend, Logano would be on every single one of them.

Aric Almirola ($7,500) – With Almirola starting 22nd and only being $7,500 on FanDuel, this is a great value play for a potential top 10 finish. Yes, I said potential top 10 finish. The shorter flat tracks are where Almirola has done really well (even this season), and here at Loudon, he’s finished 7th, 11th, and 3rd in his last three starts here. This season on other shorter flat tracks, AA finished 11th at Phoenix and 6th at Richmond, and last year he came home 8th, 8th, 7th, and 13th in the four races at this track type.

FanDuel “Risky” DFS Picks for Loudon (Tournament Lineups)

Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick racing at Darlington May 2020
Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Brad Keselowski ($11,500) – Brad Keselowski being priced at $11,500 this weekend, as well as the fact that he starts further up than the drivers priced directly below him, will likely shift some ownership away from one of the better flat track racers in the series. Here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Keselowski is the most recent race winner and he has finished 10th or better in five of the last six races at this track (including three top 5s). Looking at the last five shorter, flat track races, BK has finished 4th or better in all but one of them: Richmond this season. Another aspect you have to like about Keselowski this week is that he gets to the front at this track type: since the start of 2020, BK has led in every single shorter flat track race for at least 16 laps each, including 184 in his win here at Loudon last season.

Bubba Wallace ($5,300) – Joe Gibbs Racing runs really well at shorter flat tracks. Bubba Wallace is basically running a fifth Joe Gibbs Racing car this season. Add in the fact that this #23 team is running really well right now (comparatively speaking), as well as the fact that Bubba did better-than-average on this track type with Richard Petty Motorsports last season–19th and 15th at Phoenix in 2020–and I’m loving him more and more as a FanDuel tournament play at this price. The cherry on top is all of the chalk in this price range, specifically Stenhouse, Suarez, and Newman. I love being overweight on Bubba Wallace on Sunday.

FanDuel Driver Projections for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire

The following chart takes into account the very basics: the starting position and the projected finish of each driver. The projected finishes are averaged from six different ranking systems. Also factored in are projected laps led for each driver. You can click the headers below to sort the chart by that attribute. By default it is sorted by average projected FPTS.

DriverFanDuel SalaryAvg Proj PtsStarting PositionCeiling Proj PtsDollar Per Pt
Denny Hamlin$13,00075.03683.00$173
Martin Truex Jr.$13,50074.92281.70$180
Joey Logano$10,80074.601585.00$145
Kyle Larson$14,00071.871088.40$195
Kyle Busch$12,50069.80188.10$179
Brad Keselowski$11,50069.271177.90$166
Kevin Harvick$11,30067.851275.10$167
Chase Elliott$12,00064.25369.00$187
Ryan Blaney$10,50064.20769.20$164
William Byron$11,00064.101671.90$172
Aric Almirola$7,50062.852270.10$119
Christopher Bell$9,00062.35979.60$144
Kurt Busch$9,50059.15467.90$161
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.$6,00058.852964.60$102
Daniel Suarez$5,70058.103171.60$98
Matt DiBenedetto$8,00056.351463.10$142
Ross Chastain$7,00055.602063.10$126
Alex Bowman$10,00055.35560.70$181
Austin Dillon$7,30054.851365.60$133
Tyler Reddick$8,50054.60865.00$156
Cole Custer$6,20053.102162.10$117
Bubba Wallace$5,30051.601863.60$103
Ryan Newman$5,50051.502859.60$107
Erik Jones$5,00050.252456.10$100
Chase Briscoe$5,80048.251958.10$120
Ryan Preece$4,00047.502559.60$84
Chris Buescher$6,50044.751755.60$145
Corey LaJoie$3,50043.902655.60$80
Michael McDowell$4,50042.402348.10$106
Justin Haley$2,00040.453045.60$49
Anthony Alfredo$3,50040.302744.10$87
Cody Ware$3,00038.603444.60$78
B.J. McLeod$2,50038.103242.10$66
James Davison$2,00036.653741.60$55
Quin Houff$2,50036.653641.10$68
Garrett Smithley$2,00036.503339.60$55
Josh Bilicki$3,00034.303539.10$87
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