Last weekend, Jeff Gordon's championship hopes got off to a rough start as a stuck throttle turned what was likely a top-five run in a disastrous opener to the Chase. In qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Friday, the four-time champ took a big first step in getting his postseason back on track by grabbing the pole for Sunday's race. He already had a series-leading 7.5 average finish at NHMS in the past 10 races, and considering three of the last four races at the track have been won by a driver starting on the front row, there is a lot for fantasy owners to love about Gordon this weekend.

Gordon wasn't the only intriguing fantasy option to qualify up front. Kyle Busch will join Gordon on the front row, defending race winner Tony Stewart qualified third, and Kasey Kahne qualified sixth. Stewart has to be considered the top option out of the bunch. He is a three-time winner at New Hampshire, and his 8.4 average finish at the track in the last 10 races is the second best in the series. Coming off a win in the July race, Kahne isn't far behind. Busch, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild card. However, he is a former winner at New Hampshire, and he showed last weekend at Chicagoland that he isn't going to collapse down the stretch just because he missed the Chase. With most fantasy owners likely to stick with the championship contenders, Busch could be an excellent option for anyone looking to gain ground in their league.

Of course, not all the big names had success in qualifying, and Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are among the drivers starting 20th or worse Sunday. Hamlin's poor effort was particularly notable because it occurred after his team forgot to switch the tire pressure over to qualifying trim. Fortunately, history has shown that with a fast car and a good pit strategy, a driver can win from just about any starting spot. Johnson is a three-time winner at New Hampshire, and he has finished in the top 10 in eight of his last 10 races at the track. Hamlin is a former winner, as well, and he has finished third or better in three of his last four New Hampshire starts. Despite starting deeper in the field, owners should feel free to add both Johnson and Hamlin to their rosters this weekend.

Fantasy owners looking for a sleeper pick this weekend need to look no further than Brian Vickers. He qualified fourth for Sunday's race, he finished fifth at New Hampshire last fall, and he finished in the top 15 at the track earlier this year. Not to mention that Vickers has been rock solid in his six previous starts with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012, posting three top-five finishes and a 14.8 average finish. Throw out an engine failure at Watkins Glen, and he would have an 8.1 average finish this season. Vickers has been getting it done all year in his part-time role, and a top-10 finish isn't out of the question this weekend.

Rk	Driver	Car No.	Make	Plinker	Team	Starting Pos
1	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx	Joe Gibbs Racing	32
2	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	Office Depot	Stewart-Haas Racing	3
3	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's Home Improvement	Hendrick Motorsports	20
4	Clint Bowyer	15	Toyota	5 Hour Energy	Michael Waltrip Racing	12
5	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	M&M's	Joe Gibbs Racing	2
6	Kasey Kahne	5	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	Hendrick Motorsports	6
7	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	Hendrick Motorsports	1
8	Brad Keselowski	2	Dodge	Miller Lite	Penske Championship Racing	15
9	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	Mountain Dew AMP Energy	Hendrick Motorsports	14
10	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	Michael Waltrip Racing	9
11	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	3M	Roush Fenway Racing	13
12	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Richard Childress Racing	16
13	Brian Vickers	55	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	Michael Waltrip Racing	4
14	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs Racing	18
15	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Stewart-Haas Racing	8
16	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Subway	Roush Fenway Racing	5
17	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	Best Buy	Roush Fenway Racing	25
18	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menard's	Richard Childress Racing	7
19	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	Richard Childress Racing	11
20	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	Stanley Black & Decker	Richard Petty Motorsports	21
21	Sam Hornish Jr.	22	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	Penske Championship Racing	10
22	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	29
23	Kurt Busch	51	Chevrolet	Tag Heuer	Phoenix Racing	23
24	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Clorox	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	24
25	Regan Smith	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row	Furniture Row Racing	22
26	Aric Almirola	43	Ford	Medallion Financial	Richard Petty Motorsports	19
27	Bobby Labonte	47	Toyota	Kingsford	JTG Daugherty Racing	17
28	Landon Cassill	83	Toyota	Burger King	BK Racing	28
29	Travis Kvapil	93	Toyota	Burger King	BK Racing	33
30	David Ragan	34	Ford	8-Hour Alert	Front Row Motorsports	26
31	Casey Mears	13	Ford	GEICO	Germain Racing	30
32	David Gilliland	38	Ford	MHP	Front Row Motorsports	37
33	J.J. Yeley	37	Chevrolet	TBA	Max Q Motorsports	40
34	David Reutimann	10	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Tommy Baldwin Racing	34
35	Dave Blaney	36	Chevrolet	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Tommy Baldwin Racing	41
36	Mike Olsen	32	Ford	C&J Energy	FAS Lane Racing	42
37	David Stremme	30	Toyota	Inception Motorsports	Inception Motorsports	43
38	Reed Sorenson	91	Toyota	Plinker Tactical	Humphrey Smith Racing	35
39	Stephen Leicht	33	Chevrolet	LittleJoesAutos.com	Richard Childress Racing	39
40	Michael McDowell	98	Ford	Phil Parsons Racing	Phil Parsons Racing	31
41	Scott Speed	95	Ford	Jordan Truck Sales	Leavine Family Racing	27
42	Kelly Bires	79	Ford	BBI/Bestway	Go Green Racing	38
43	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	AM FM Energy	NEMCO Motorsports	36