Ice Picks New Hampshire Motor Speedway — Fantasy Insider
Sep 14, 2014; Joliet, IL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (42) during the MYAFIBSTORY.COM 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a carpenter’s dream — flat as a board and easy to nail. The Magic Mile has 12 degrees of banking in the turns and two degrees on the straightaways, making this track test your equipment, especially the brakes.
Brad Keselowski sent Team Hendrick a message loud and clear by taking the pole for Sunday’s Sylvania 300. Brad dominated the first race at New Hampshire leading 138 and putting us all to sleep before he took the checkers. Brad is looking awfully good after splitting Kevin Harvick and Bulls-Eye(Kyle Larson) late in the race to win the first race of the Chase last week at Chicagoland. Chase drivers who have won at Chicagoland have an average finish of 1 at the end of the Chase. I can’t see why he shouldn’t be on your fantasy team after the season Team Penske has had.
Jeff Gordon ranks second out of all the active drivers with one pole, three top fives and six top 10s the past five years, but hasn’t won at New Hampshire since the last century. Jeff won earlier at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track that resembles the magic mile in its banking. Look for Gordon to make a statement after starting 13th on Sunday.
Matt Kenseth did win the Chase race last year at the Magic Mile and starts 16th on Sunday. You could never count the wise veteran out of this race, as his crew chief usually makes the right adjustments during the race to put themselves in a position to win.
Jimmie Johnson should not be ignored for New Hampshire with the second best stats the past five years with one win, four top fives and six top 10s. Even though he was involved in an accident and finished 42nd in the first New Hampshire race, he will be starting sixth, looking to get back in the Chase fight.
Ryan Newman had a hiccup last week but did finish a respectable 15th to keep him in the fight for his first championship. Newman started mid-pack in the first New Hampshire race, but rebounded taking advantage of race cautions, propelling himself to a fifth place finish. This team has a lot fight in them and I look for similar performance come Sunday.
Kyle Busch needs to win this race to make a statement. He started on the pole and finished second back in July, leading 62 laps. He starts fifth and if his crew chief can’t give him the performance he had at the first race, it’s over for Kyle Busch and Dave Rogers as a team for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Joey Logano survived last week at Chicagoland with a fourth place finish and looks to improve at the Magic Mile. He was involved in an accident back in July, so we never really got to see his hand at the first New Hampshire race. Logano was sixth fastest when he unloaded for first practice; this equals to an adjustment away from contending for a win. He starts seventh on Sunday, looking to lead some laps and scoring a possible win.
Denny Hamlin is a must-have, as he starts fourth and excels on flat tracks. His 16 career wins have come on tracks similar to the Magic Mile. Crew chief Darrian Grubb won the Chase with Stewart a few years ago, so he knows what it takes to hoist the Sprint Cup. Hamlin will continue to fly under the radar.
The pole position at the Magic Mile has produced the most wins. Ryan Newman was the last to win from the pole in 2011.
Eight drivers have won from the front row and seven winners from starting in the second position. This is huge, because this race is only 300 miles and track position is everything at New Hampshire.
Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in wins with 18, followed by Ford with 12 and Toyota has four wins.
Team Hendrick leads all active teams in wins at the Magic Mile with nine, followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven.
Goodyear is using tire code D 4564 for the left side and D 4566 for the right. This tire code has only been used at New Hampshire in 2014.
Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers with three wins each at NHMS
Kyle Larson finished third at the first New Hampshire race and could get his first Cup win of his career as four different drivers have recorded their first Cup win at New Hampshire.
Only three of 39 races at New Hampshire have ended in green white checkers.
Here are my Ice Picks for New Hampshire.
A List
Kevin Harvick
Kurt Busch
Jeff Gordon
B List
Brad Keselowski
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Newman
C List
Kyle Larson
My groupings are based on last year’s final points standings. Start time for Sunday’s race is 2:15 PM Eastern time, check your local listings. Like us on Facebook and follow Stock Car Spin on Twitter. Bookmark this page and download the phone app to get you up to speed on all your NASCAR news. Thanks for stopping in.