Sleepers -
William Byron - Byron doesn't get the respect that he should, but he has been quietly having a pretty decent season. His numbers won't blow you away, but he been good over the last few months. In his last 9 races this season, he has finished six times in the top 14. He also finished in the top 10 at both Phoenix and Martinsville earlier this season. I would look at Phoenix more than Martinsville, though. In his rookie season at New Hampshire, he was able to finish 12th and 14th. Seems like this season he is never horrible, but not really good enough to be talked about consistently. 8th through 15th is typically his range. It is kinda what we are looking at again this weekend at New Hampshire. He won't win you a league, but he will be a solid addition.
Matt DiBenedetto - The driver of the No.21 car has succeed our expecatations and more, but I don't think we have seen the best of DiBenedetto yet. He has had some impressive showings this season over the past months. He hasn't gotten the finishes in the past few races, but man that 21 car has been really good. And I think places like New Hampshire will be where Matt and his team can really shine. And that is saying something, since he has been really good on the intermediate tracks. I thought heading into the year that tracks of 1-mile or less is where he could be his best on. And I still think that is true. Earlier in the season, he finished 13th at Phoenix. That was solid, but I don't think he had enough time to bulid any connections with his team. I think here at New Hampshire, he is good enough to be a top 10 contender. I truly believe that and he will likely make a few of my lineups this weekend.
Dark Horses -
Erik Jones - One of the biggest storylines this season has been about Erik Jones and all of his bad luck. Well, he has started to turn it around some. As he enters this weekend's race with two straight top 6 finishes. Now that means nothing, as you can have a bad day in blink of an eye. However, I have a good feeling about him this weekend at NHMS. This is a kind of track where these Gibbs cars seems to be strong and he has been good here in the past. In his last three races at New Hampshire, he has finished in the top 6 twice. Inlcuding a strong 3rd place finish in 2019 here. Overall, he has finishes of 3rd,16th and 6th. If Jones doesn't find any bad luck, I think it is very possible that he is a top 10 driver or more at the checkers!
Ryan Blaney - Blaney might be overlooked a little this weekend because we aren't at a intermediate track. But I think that is a big mistake. In his last three starts at New Hampshire, he has finished in the top 10 in all three starts. In his last 6 starts here, he has finished 12th or better in four of those races. Blaney is criminally underrated at these shorter flat tracks. Blaney has had top 5 speed a lot this season and that will be the case once again this weekend. If he isn't top 5 good, then you will likely be a strong top 10 contender. I love Blaney this weekend and I think he will be once again in the mix!
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
