NASCAR

NASCAR Daily Fantasy Helper: Foxwoods Resort Casino 301

Martin Truex Jr. should continue his hot streak at New Hampshire. Who else should you target on FanDuel?

After utter domination by Martin Truex Jr. at Kentucky, we move to New Hampshire on what looks to be a very rainy Sunday afternoon. Officials have already moved the race up an hour to 1 pm EST from 2 pm EST previously.

We'll assume for now that the race will run in its entirety for the purposes of this article; however, there is a chance that this becomes another Michigan situation where they only run two-thirds of the race. In that case, strategy might change to where you need to prioritize place differential more than usual and cut down your candidates for laps led.

Here at numberFire, we've always got you covered for everything NASCAR DFS. Our track preview gives you more information about this track, our driver preview helps bring you up to speed on drivers' recent history here and elsewhere, and our Heat Check Podcast with Jim Sannes gives you insight how he is approaching this weekend's slate.

High-Priced Drivers

Martin Truex Jr. ($12,700): No driver is coming into this race hotter than Martin Truex Jr. His only finish outside the top four in his last nine races came at the rain-shortened Michigan race -- with three wins along the way. The current form is very much there with Truex, and so is his season form at similar track types to New Hampshire. The closest comparable tracks that we have for New Hampshire are Phoenix and Martinsville. While these races are now four months in the rear-view mirror, we can still look at them as gauges for how well these drivers perform at similar tracks. Truex had the third-best average running position of all drivers at Phoenix and Martinsville running in sixth. His practice speeds would also rank him in third. Starting in second, Truex is a candidate to pass Kurt Busch early enough in this race that he'll be able to accumulate laps led whether or not this becomes a rain-shortened affair.

Kyle Busch ($12,500): Busch is in a spot where he can sing to Truex "Anything you can do, I can do better." Outside of a few wrecks at Dover and Daytona, the younger Busch has been an extremely dominant driver this year, finishing second at both Phoenix and Martinsville, with an average running position of third, which is the best of any driver on the circuit. Of course, the practice numbers are there as well. While I do prefer Truex as the guy who I would rather pay for in the highest pricing range, you can only fit one of these two in, and I can't fault you for picking either driver. They are both two of the three most dominant drivers in NASCAR, and it's not even close.

Consider Larson and Harvick, as well, starting in 20th and 14th, respectively, where they have place differential ability (more so Larson than Harvick) but maybe not lap-leading ability.

Mid-Priced Drivers

Clint Bowyer ($10,400): If you are looking for the best place differential option to pair with some lap leaders, look no further than Bowyer. Starting in 15th, there is certainly room for him to move up the field. The practice numbers have not been elite, but they are better than the 15 spot where he qualified. At the comparable tracks this season, Bowyer has had an average running position of 6.5, which included a win at Martinsville (albeit in a race where drivers wanted to get the heck out of there, keep their cars clean, and get to Texas where it wasn't 30 some odd degrees and snowing). Bowyer also has strong current form with top-10 finishes in his last four races excluding Daytona. Look for Bowyer to be a fine place differential option at New Hampshire.

Jimmie Johnson ($9,200): Starting in 21st, there is definitely a way for Johnson to drive up the field, even with some of the struggles that he has had this season. At Phoenix and Martinsville, Johnson has an average finish of 14.5, and an average running position of 13.5. Not impressive by any means, but good enough that he will be able to advance his track position. His current form will tell you the same story. An average finish of 13th in his last five races excluding Daytona and an average running position of 15th. His upside is higher if rain does not become an issue, but Johnson is fine either way.

You can consider Matt Kenseth in this range because of great track history and starting 31st. But also realize that was in much better equipment. Be careful here.

Low-Priced Drivers

Kasey Kahne ($7,400): The value down here is not great, but there is a chance we can salvage something down here to find guys who might sneak their way into the optimal lineup. Kahne is one of those guys. He's not in the best current form but showed us in second practice that he at least has some speed here. He finished 24th at both Phoenix and Martinsville with an average running position of 23.5. Kahne is starting in 26th, but maybe with some interesting pit strategy and variance going his way, there could be a chance of Kahne being a solid tournament play.

David Ragan ($6,000): We're clearly not targeting Ragan for his laps led upside, and we are not targeting him for massive place differential upside as if someone such as Kevin Harvick were starting all the way back in 30th. However, Ragan and his equipment are better than 30th. Though his current practice times might say otherwise. Ragan finished 22nd and 25th at Phoenix and Martinsville, respectively, with an average running position of 25.5. As long as he does not get involved in an crazy accidents or pit issues, Ragan should be a cheap way to get at least some decent place differential into your lineups.


Evan Cheney is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Evan Cheney also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Theman90210. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.