Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

July 16, 2011 @ 12:55:08

For the first time in several weeks, fantasy owners have the luxury of a traditional practice format before making their picks for Sunday's race at New Hampshire. Rain didn't wash out any sessions, and every driver was in race trim Saturday because both practices were held following qualifying. More importantly, the practice conditions and temperatures are expected to be nearly identical those the teams will face Sunday afternoon. In other words, drivers that were fast in practice should be fast on race day as well.

Topping the charts in the first practice of the afternoon was two-time New Hampshire winner Tony Stewart. "Smoke" is one of the top flat track drivers in the series, and he finished second at NHMS last summer and was leading on the final lap of the fall event before running out of fuel. Starting on the front row, Stewart should be high on the list of every fantasy owner this weekend.

Clint Bowyer ranked second on the charts, and he is a two-time winner at the track as well. Bowyer won the fall event one year ago and has finished in the top 10 in his last three starts at the track. Bowyer and Stewart combined to lead 277 of the 300 last fall, and it appears the two could be heading for a repeat performance this weekend.

The red hot Brad Keselowski posted the third-fastest time in the opening session, followed by Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr. Keselowski has to be considered one of the top sleeper picks at this point, and owners could be witnessing the rise of NASCAR's next young star. Meanwhile, Gordon is perhaps the most consistent option in the field this weekend, and he has already won at two flat tracks in 2011. Truex Jr. is the biggest risk of the bunch. Despite some past success at New Hampshire, he could just as easily finish outside the top 20 Sunday.

In terms of 10-lap average speeds, Bowyer and Stewart again claimed the top two spots, solidifying their status as two of the top options. Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon ranked third and fourth, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five. Hamlin is definitely a driver worth targeting in fantasy circles. He has the best average finish of any driver at New Hamsphire, and he has never finished outside the top 15 at the track. More importantly, he is a former winner and has finished second in two of his last three starts.

In Happy Hour, a familiar face jumped to the top of the leaderboard as five-time champ and three-time NHMS winner Jimmie Johnson paced the field. Johnson is the defending winner of this weekend's event, and he and Chad Knaus are due to kick things into high gear at any moment. As the last five years have shown, the No. 48 bunch only gets better the longer the year goes on.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman ranked second and third, while Burton and Keselowski rounded out the top five. As a two-time winner and one of the most consistent drivers at NHMS, Newman should make an excellent add to any fantasy roster. The fact that he won the pole for Sunday's race only sweetens the pot. Meanwhile, Montoya and Burton both make intriguing boom or bust plays. Both drivers have had success at NHMS, especially Burton, but both are struggling in 2011. Based solely on performance in 2011, Montoya is probably more worth the risk than Burton.

Johnson also topped the charts in terms of 10-lap average speed. Burton ranked second in the category, followed by former NHMS winner Joey Logano. Gordon and Montoya rounded out the top five. Logano is the newcomer to the list, and he has finished in the top 10 in two of his four starts. However, he has been struggling this season and is far from a sure thing.

Surprisingly, the Roush Fenway Racing drivers struggled as a whole during both practice sessions. The organization has been strong throughout the 2009 season, but the speed just wasn't there Saturday. Given how effective Carl Edwards and company have been in 2011, fantasy owners may want to save them for another week. Even the top drivers are entitled to an off week every now and then.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
4	31	Jeff Burton	Catepillar Chevrolet	129.169	29.487	127.781	50
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	129.591	29.391	127.690	59
11	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	128.885	29.552	127.546	35
13	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet	128.793	29.573	127.500	59
8	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Toyota	129.007	29.524	127.454	36
10	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	128.920	29.544	127.415	38
6	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot Toyota	129.112	29.500	127.395	41
30	99	Carl Edwards	Ortho Home Defense Ford	128.148	29.722	127.386	32
3	39	Ryan Newman	U.S. Army Chevrolet	129.278	29.462	127.355	51
29	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing LLC Toyota	128.152	29.721	127.278	7
19	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	128.506	29.639	127.258	44
2	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	129.292	29.459	127.188	40
23	33	Clint Bowyer	Good Sam/Cheerios Chevrolet	128.389	29.666	127.185	52
17	5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	128.667	29.602	127.104	48
18	27	Paul Menard	Richmond/Menards Chevrolet Chevrolet	128.584	29.621	127.099	49
9	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Freight Toyota	128.959	29.535	127.088	49
16	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWALT Ford	128.689	29.597	127.081	44
15	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet	128.724	29.589	127.080	43
12	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	128.832	29.564	127.065	45
7	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	129.059	29.512	127.064	41
32	47	Bobby Labonte	Capital Window/CapWinFund.com Toyota	128.074	29.739	127.055	41
28	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevrolet	128.156	29.720	126.989	42
14	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	128.728	29.588	126.958	45
24	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	128.312	29.684	126.935	39
22	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	128.476	29.646	126.910	42
5	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	129.156	29.490	126.909	61
21	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	128.476	29.646	126.904	63
20	18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries Toyota	128.476	29.646	126.839	32
38	55	Jeff Green	Front Row Motorsports Ford	127.261	29.929	126.786	9
31	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	128.126	29.727	126.747	14
26	17	Matt Kenseth	Affliction Clothing Ford	128.234	29.702	126.714	40
25	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	128.255	29.697	126.630	58
33	51	Landon Cassill	SecurityBenefit/ThankATchrToday Chev	127.967	29.764	126.412	41
27	38	J.J. Yeley	Long John Silver's Ford	128.173	29.716	126.391	39
36	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	127.325	29.914	126.155	25
40	7	Scott Wimmer	SPEED Energy Dodge	127.113	29.964	125.946	20
37	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	127.278	29.925	125.716	26
39	30	David Stremme	Inception Racing Chevrolet	127.236	29.935	125.657	24
35	87	Joe Nemechek	AMFMEnergy.com Toyota	127.436	29.888	125.648	6
42	46	Erik Darnell	Red Line Chevrolet	127.040	29.981	125.609	9
43	32	Mike Bliss	Starrett Ford	127.036	29.982	125.590	31
41	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	127.045	29.980	125.439	37
34	34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports Ford	127.513	29.870	124.948	25

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	40	49	128.755
2	31	Jeff Burton	1	10	128.669
3	20	Joey Logano	1	10	128.463
4	24	Jeff Gordon	1	10	128.094
5	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	10	128.042
6	56	Martin Truex Jr.	1	10	127.969
7	2	Brad Keselowski	1	10	127.966
8	5	Mark Martin	33	42	127.862
9	22	Kurt Busch	20	29	127.804
10	39	Ryan Newman	41	50	127.748
11	9	Marcos Ambrose	32	41	127.731
12	11	Denny Hamlin	34	43	127.719
13	14	Tony Stewart	4	13	127.707
14	33	Clint Bowyer	1	10	127.615
15	27	Paul Menard	1	10	127.582
16	43	A.J. Allmendinger	33	42	127.532
17	29	Kevin Harvick	8	17	127.524
18	1	Jamie McMurray	31	40	127.513
19	47	Bobby Labonte	2	11	127.305
20	51	Landon Cassill	1	10	127.082
21	38	J.J. Yeley	1	10	126.917
22	6	David Ragan	3	12	126.883
23	71	Andy Lally	28	37	126.216
24	34	David Gilliland	15	24	125.715

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
10	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	128.758	29.581	127.951	29
4	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet	128.976	29.531	127.818	35
21	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	128.519	29.636	127.577	32
6	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Freight Toyota	128.924	29.543	127.567	33
2	33	Clint Bowyer	Good Sam/Cheerios Chevrolet	129.156	29.490	127.528	34
5	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Toyota	128.972	29.532	127.528	34
20	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	128.532	29.633	127.505	38
8	27	Paul Menard	Richmond/Menards Chevrolet Chevrolet	128.841	29.562	127.427	29
7	31	Jeff Burton	Catepillar Chevrolet	128.902	29.548	127.422	50
3	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	129.151	29.491	127.420	36
27	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	128.238	29.701	127.406	36
26	99	Carl Edwards	Ortho Home Defense Ford	128.260	29.696	127.334	24
17	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	128.576	29.623	127.325	11
14	39	Ryan Newman	U.S. Army Chevrolet	128.663	29.603	127.297	45
19	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWALT Ford	128.550	29.629	127.297	38
24	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	128.329	29.680	127.290	36
1	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	129.169	29.487	127.240	42
11	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	128.758	29.581	127.232	31
13	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot Toyota	128.732	29.587	127.206	33
29	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevrolet	128.070	29.740	127.188	36
15	47	Bobby Labonte	Capital Window/CapWinFund.com Toyota	128.624	29.612	127.073	29
25	5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	128.281	29.691	127.063	42
28	17	Matt Kenseth	Affliction Clothing Ford	128.148	29.722	127.046	28
9	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	128.837	29.563	127.038	41
16	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet	128.619	29.613	126.991	41
23	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	128.346	29.676	126.966	40
12	18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries Toyota	128.754	29.582	126.954	39
18	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	128.563	29.626	126.879	27
30	55	Jeff Green	Front Row Motorsports Ford	127.602	29.849	126.833	10
32	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing LLC Toyota	127.423	29.891	126.800	7
22	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	128.407	29.662	126.774	39
33	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	127.257	29.930	126.430	20
31	38	J.J. Yeley	Long John Silver's Ford	127.491	29.875	126.226	23
36	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	127.053	29.978	126.005	21
34	30	David Stremme	Inception Racing Chevrolet	127.070	29.974	125.901	18
37	34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports Ford	126.778	30.043	125.832	24
40	87	Joe Nemechek	AMFMEnergy.com Toyota	126.307	30.155	125.681	5
35	51	Landon Cassill	Security Benefit/Thank A Teacher Today Chev	127.062	29.976	125.426	34
41	32	Mike Bliss	Starrett Ford	126.299	30.157	125.333	30
43	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	125.990	30.231	125.007	12
42	7	Scott Wimmer	SPEED Energy Dodge	126.215	30.177	124.838	16
38	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	126.622	30.080	124.631	34
39	46	Erik Darnell	Red Line Chevrolet	126.601	30.085	124.421	12

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

RK	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	33	Clint Bowyer	2	11	128.421
2	14	Tony Stewart	2	11	128.287
3	31	Jeff Burton	2	11	128.239
4	24	Jeff Gordon	1	10	128.079
5	11	Denny Hamlin	2	11	128.052
6	20	Joey Logano	2	11	127.969
7	27	Paul Menard	20	29	127.881
8	48	Jimmie Johnson	25	34	127.836
9	22	Kurt Busch	25	34	127.752
10	39	Ryan Newman	29	38	127.709
11	18	Kyle Busch	2	11	127.684
12	2	Brad Keselowski	1	10	127.681
13	83	Brian Vickers	4	13	127.671
14	78	Regan Smith	2	11	127.568
15	56	Martin Truex Jr.	25	34	127.559
16	00	David Reutimann	1	10	127.463
17	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	32	41	127.262
18	43	A.J. Allmendinger	13	22	127.227
19	17	Matt Kenseth	1	10	127.101
20	5	Mark Martin	28	37	127.011
21	46	Erik Darnell	2	11	124.982

Combined Average Speeds (weighted by # of laps run in each session)

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Average Speed	Total Laps
1	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	127.730	64
2	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet	127.618	94
3	31	Jeff Burton	Catepillar Chevrolet	127.602	100
4	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Toyota	127.490	70
5	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	127.460	76
6	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	127.423	100
7	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	127.392	76
8	99	Carl Edwards	Ortho Home Defense Ford	127.364	56
9	39	Ryan Newman	U.S. Army Chevrolet	127.328	96
10	33	Clint Bowyer	Good Sam/Cheerios Chevrolet	127.321	86
11	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot Toyota	127.311	74
12	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Freight Toyota	127.281	82
13	27	Paul Menard	Richmond/Menards Chevrolet Chevrolet	127.221	78
14	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	127.217	81
15	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWALT Ford	127.181	82
16	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	127.099	97
17	5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	127.085	90
18	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevrolet	127.081	78
19	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	127.063	67
20	47	Bobby Labonte	Capital Window/CapWinFund.com Toyota	127.062	70
21	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	127.047	73
22	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing LLC Toyota	127.039	14
23	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	127.038	105
24	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet	127.037	84
25	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	127.030	56
26	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	127.016	81
27	18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries Toyota	126.902	71
28	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	126.883	94
29	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	126.855	78
30	17	Matt Kenseth	Affliction Clothing Ford	126.851	68
31	55	Jeff Green	Front Row Motorsports Ford	126.811	19
32	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	126.561	34
33	38	J.J. Yeley	Long John Silver's Ford	126.330	62
34	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	126.087	46
35	51	Landon Cassill	Security Benefit/Thank A Teacher Today Chev	125.965	75
36	30	David Stremme	Inception Racing Chevrolet	125.762	42
37	87	Joe Nemechek	AMFMEnergy.com Toyota	125.663	11
38	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	125.492	38
39	32	Mike Bliss	Starrett Ford	125.464	61
40	7	Scott Wimmer	SPEED Energy Dodge	125.454	36
41	34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports Ford	125.381	49
42	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	125.052	71
43	46	Erik Darnell	Red Line Chevrolet	124.930	21

Author Bio

Brian Polking

Racing has been part of Brian's life ever since he can remember, and he spent his childhood at dirt tracks throughout Ohio and Kentucky watching his father race. NASCAR naturally became his favorite sport, and he has been following the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series for most of his life. Brian majored in journalism and economics at Ohio State University and becoming a sports writer has always been his dream. Although he has covered everything from minor league baseball to the NCAA tournament, his passion has always been NASCAR. Brian has served as a NASCAR writer for a variety of sites, eventually becoming head editor of the NASCAR section for Fanball.com. His knowledge of NASCAR comes from his life-long love of racing, and he tries to add a personal touch to every article he writes. Brian is always up for talking NASCAR with anyone that wants to. Brian joined KFFL's team in 2011.