Monday, September 15, 2014

Fantasy Nascar Preview (NHMS)

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We are at New Hampshire (Yes I will be at the race and Dover next weekend as well.) New Hampshire is fairly short with only 300 miles. Not only this is a short race , but track position is huge. The cars who are fast on the long run will be the cars to beat. Keselowski put a serious whipping on the field the first time around. This an flat -short track , which is typically a good place to plug in underrated options (keep that in mind).

1-Jamie Mac: There isn't a non-chaser hotter then Jamie-O-Mac! Got some nice points last week out of JMac. He been very consistent. He been a top 15 machine. Ever since the first New Hampshire. He still underrated. Over the past 5 races , JMac have compiled 15.8 average finish , 1 Top 5 , 2 Top 10s , 4 Top 20s , 0 laps led and 80.2 driver rating.

2-Brad Keselowski: Keselowski dominated last time around at New Hampshire. The thing that stood out was how dominate he was in practice. Everyone knew he was gonna win (Despite a slightly poor starting position.) Do I think he gonna win again? No. Mainly because he already locked into Round 2. If anything he gonna toy with his competitors. Over the past 5 races here , BK have compiled 5.4 average finish , 1 win , 3 Top 5 , 4 Top 10s , 5 Top 20s , 161 laps led and 113.8 driver rating.

3-Austin Dillon: Dillon finished 14th the first time around. Which is very respectable finish from a rookie. Does he repeat such finish? No I don't think so. Its becoming more clear he perform better on larger tracks. He should be an top 20 option though.

4-Kevin Harvick: Folks even with a championship pit crew , Issues continues to plague Kevin Harvick. It really just insane. New Hampshire been a bit rocky lately. Over the past 5 here , KH have compiled 15.2 average finish , 2 Top 10s , 4 Top 20s , 0 laps led and 89.0 driver rating. Over the past two races here , KH have an 25.0 average finish though. Including an 30th earlier this season (after running out of gas.)

5-Kasey Kahne: Kahne stumbled at Chicago which means he pretty gonna be knocked out Round 1 (unless few other competitors struggle on Sunday and at Dover.) I am not very high on him though. Over the past 5 races here , KK have compiled 13.0 average finish , 1 win, 2 Top 5 , 2 Top 10s , 4 Top 20s , 98 laps led , and 107.2 driver rating.

10-Danica Patrick: Danica isn't the sexiest option..that didn't sound right. Anyhow New Hampshire haven't been very kind to Danica. She have only 3 career starts with an 28.6 average finish. With the best off 22nd. She did test here , so maybe she could be a useable option.

11-Denny Hamlin: DH have one of the best records at NHMS. Hamlin was really good here earlier this season. He was running top 5 , before going into saving fuel mode. Eventually finished 8th. He was running around 3rd before the final caution. Over the past 5 races here , DH have compiled 8.9 average finish , 1 win , 2 Top 5s , 3 Top 10s , 4 Top 20s , 363 laps led and 116.3 driver rating. In 17 Career , DH holds 8.9 average finish , 2 wins (11%) , 7 Top 5s (41%) , 11 Top 10s (65%) , 15 Top 20s (88%) , and 437 laps led.

14-Tony Stewart: I said weeks ago , Smoke should be avoided with all costs. With no surprise he been a liability all year. Smoke haven't been right all season. Even before that tragic accident. NHMS have been a good track in the past , but I wouldn't recommend him this week or reminder of the season.

16-Greg Biffle: The Biff and RFR sucked it up at RIR and then did the same at Chicago. Is there any hope for them? Doubtful. I am just done messing with the Biff and RFR. They're just unpredictable and inconsistent. Over the past 5 races here , The Biff have compiled 12.0 average finish , 1 Top 5 , 2 Top 10s , 5 Top 20s , 0 laps led and 83.5 driver rating.

18-Kyle Busch: The biggest shocker of Chicago may have been Kyle Busch finishing 7th. This I didn't see coming. Now he goes to New Hampshire. Not many people realize how going he been here. Only Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin have recorded better driver rating. He have three straight 2nd place finishes here. No other driver have recorded even 3 Top 3. Let alone 3 straight top 2s. Over the past 5 races here , KB have compiled 10.0 average finish , 3 Top 5s , 3 Top 10s , 4 Top 10s , 235 laps led and 111.9 driver rating. Along with 2 poles (including earlier this season.)

20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth actually been very good at New Hampshire. He been even better since joining JGR. In 29 career races , he holds an 13.03 average finish , 1 win , 7 Top 5s , 15 Top 10s , 24 Top 20s , and 240 laps led. Over the past 5 races here (3 starts with JGR) , MK have compiled 8.2 average finish , 1 win , 2 Top 5s , 3 Top 10s , 5 Top 20s , 152 laps led and 108.3 driver rating.

22-Joey Logano: Not many realize how average Joey been lately at NHMS since his rain shortened win (2009). Fortunately he been strong with Penske. His overall record will overshadowed that though. Over the past 5 races here , JoLo have compiled 23.2 average finish , 1 Top 10 , 3 Top 20s , 4 laps led and 77.7 driver rating. I expect Penske to try to get Joey locked in this week.

24-Jeff Gordon: There only a few drivers who have such record as Gordon at New Hampshire. He finish 26th earlier this season. But he was much better. In fact , he was on pace to finish around 5th before a late caution. Unfortunately he then ran out of gas. Lightning rarely strikes twice in the same spot. So it unlikely for Gordon to finish outside top 10 again. Over the past 5 races here , JG have compiled 12.0 average , 1 Top 5 , 3 Top 10s , 4 Top 20s , 67 laps led and 103.9 driver rating. In 39 career starts , Gordon holds 10.37 average finish , 3 wins (.07%) , 16 Top 5s (41%) , 22 Top 10s (56%) , 32 Top 20s (82%) , and 1371laps (35 laps led per race). Also have 4 poles.

27-Paul Menard: Menard was a primary example of a non-chaser being a dangerous pick. He started 9th and finished 21th. Short tracks have been a big weakness for him in 2014 overall. Only 1 Top 10 (Martinsville). Also over the past 5 races here , Paul have compiled 17.4 average finish with 4 Top 20s. There are better options.

31-Ryan Newman: Things were going great at Chicago , until a tire went down. Ended up finishing 15th. New Hampshire is a pretty good track for Newman. Earlier this season , Newman finished 5th. But he wasn't that good. He struggled in the teens for majority of the game. Gain track position late. Over the past 5 races here , RN have compiled 16.0 average finish , 1 Top 5 , 3 Top 10s , 4 Top 20s , 2 laps led and 84.6 driver rating.

42-Kyle Larson: Larson finished 3rd earlier this season. Led 14 laps and had a fantastic 99.1 driver rating. A lot of people wonder why he excells at certain tracks. Like last week at Chicago. The only logic answer is he seems to performance better at older surfaces. Even though I believe there isn't a track out there he cannot master. I think his odds of winning are at old surfaces. My money on Texas.

48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was looking good at Chicago , but then dropped like a rock. Not sure what happened. As I missed the final 10 laps. Nevertheless from a career standpoint , Johnson been very good here. Only Hamlin have better average finish (Including all drivers with least 10 starts.) He struggled earlier this season with tire issues. But was running 2nd before the initial tire blew out. Over the past 5 races here , JJ have compiled 12.2 average finish , 2 Top 5s , 4 Top 10s , 5 laps led and 95.1 driver rating.

55-Brain Vickers: Vickers just been too inconsistent this season. Not only at his worst tracks , but his best tracks as well. Vickers cannot be trusted if you're running for a fantasy championship. His last top 10 seems to be in forever (actually was in late July.) Which just strengthen my point of Vickers being inconsistent.

88-Dale Jr: Like I said last week , Dale Jr may stumbled to start the chase (before regaining mojo) and I was correct. I think here on out he will slowly gain stream. New Hampshire isn't a bad place for him. Over the past 5 races here , Dale Jr have compiled 9.4 average finish ,1 Top 5, 3 Top 10s , 5 Top 20s , 17 laps led and 99.1 driver rating.

99-Carl Edwards: Edwards looked lost at Chicago. He started 3rd and then you didn't hear about him until he blew a tire late in the race. RFR may escape Round 1 ,but after that its looks very bleak. Over the past 5 races here , Edwards have compiled 13.4 average finish , 2 Top 10s , 5 Top 10s , 0 laps led and 80.9 driver rating.

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***All stats from http://www.driveraverages.com/

Twitter - @JeffNathans