Daily Fantasy NASCAR Picks for DraftKings & FantasyFeud – 5 Hour Energy 301

Daily Fantasy Nascar Picks
5 Hour Energy 301


DFSR is proud to bring you our newest contributor Chris Durell. He'll be bringing weekly Nascar picks, analysis and breakdowns to help you cash on DraftKings. If you are new to DraftKings Nascar DFS be sure to click on the banner below.


Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the 5 Hour Energy 301? Chris is selling 2 DraftKings and 2 Fantasy Feud lineups plus a cheatsheet for $5. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

 

5 Hour Energy 301

New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, NH
Track Type/Length - 1.058 Mile Intermediate Oval /strong>

Kyle Busch picked up his 2nd win in three weeks last weekend at Kentucky Speedway. It was also his 2nd win at Kentucky in its five year Cup Series existence and ties Brad Keselowski for most in NASCAR. Joey Logano had the lead after a late restart but with the new aero package on the cars for the race, Kyle was able to catch Logano and eventually pass for the lead that he wouldn't give up. The new aero package, which was a Kentucky specific package, was a successful change by NASCAR. It created more down-force on the cars which led to multiple passing opportunities and had the feel of old school racing. NASCAR will implement other changes moving forward like a new tire package from Goodyear when the cars hit Darlington in September. If Kentucky was any sign of things to come, 1.5 mile racing will continue to get better for both the teams and its fans. Now onto New Hampshire.

This week the Sprint Cup Series head to Loudon, New Hampshire for the 5 Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This is another track much like Sonoma where becoming a repeat winner is very tough. Since 2008, only Joey Logano has won at Loudon twice. Even though it is tough to win here multiple times there is still a short list of drivers who consistently run well at New Hampshire. It is very hard to pass here which puts a premium on qualifying and track position during the race. This will make analyzing the practice and qualifying data very important this week. I update my cheatsheet after Final Practice, so be sure to get your updated copy on Saturday sometime.

This week I will be adding Fantasy Feud salaries to my cheatsheet and article. They have a very well done product that supports NASCAR. They offer a salary cap game in which you roster six drivers within a $1,000,000 Salary Cap and receive points for finishing differential, laps led and finishing position. They also offer a Pro Pick'em game where you choose one driver from each group of seven to form a six driver team. You can enter 50/50 or GPP tournaments just like a Salary Cap game. If you have any questions about the site or its rules be sure to tweet me. Now onto the picks.

Upper Tier Targets

Brad Keselowski
DraftKings - $12,800
Fantasy Feud - $225,000
Vegas Odds - 7.5/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 6th
Qualified -
He comes in as the 2nd most expensive option this week behind Kevin Harvick. This is a steal as Brad owns a 5.8 average finish at New Hampshire over the past five races which is 2nd best in the series to Kyle Larson who has only raced here twice. Brad also has the 2nd most laps led in those five races. He has finished in the top 20 all five times and in the top 5 twice to go with a win. He has been up and down lately but still has two top 6 finishes in his last 5 races.

Kyle Busch
DraftKings - $11,800
Fantasy Feud - $230,000
Vegas Odds - 11/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 35th
Qualified -
He is on quite the run lately after returning to the series after an 11 race layoff to recover from an accident at Daytona in February. He has two wins in his last three races with three top 10's and four top 20's in his previous five races. He shows up in Loudon with a 8.4 average finish in his previous five races here and has 3 top 5 finishes and 4 top 10 finishes in those races. He will probably be fairly high owned with his trending form and success here but how can you avoid him on his quest for the Chase.

Martin Truex Jr.
DraftKings - $01,800
Fantasy Feud - $245,000
Vegas Odds - 15/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 5th
Qualified -
If you are looking for a lower owned driver this week in the upper tier Truex Jr. might be for you. He has been trending down lately with recent finishes of 17th, 38th, and 42nd place. He hasn't won or even finished in the top 5 at Loudon in the previous 5 races. Why pick him then? Well hopefully he will go under the radar to most people because of those stats. I think most people will be flocking towards the #88, #24, #11 in that price range. Truex is a different driver this year and has had a fantastic start to the year and sits in the 5th position in the standings. Look for Truex to get back on track this week and contend for a win.

Middle Tier Targets

Kyle Larson
DraftKings - $10,000
Fantasy Feud - $165,000
Vegas Odds - 21/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 19th
Qualified -
For the price Larson is probably my favorite pick this week. His price only went up $200 on DratKings and stayed the same on FantasyFeud and he is coming to a track where he has finished in the top 5 both races here. He is probably closer to an upper tier driver but sits as the 14th most expensive option on Draftkings. He is to good of a driver not to pull out of this mini slump in which he has two straight finishes outside the top 35. Qualifying will be huge for how many shares I will have for him. I am hoping he qualifies outside the top 10 this week.

Clint Bowyer
DraftKings - $9,400
Fantasy Feud - $115,000
Vegas Odds - 51/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 15th
Qualified -
Bowyer is another short track racer who does well at New Hampshire. He owns a 10.8 average finish in his previous five races here, finishing inside the top 20 each time with one top 5 and two top 10 finishes. He has been rock solid lately finishing inside the top 22 in each of his last five races with two top 10 finishes as well. He is a bargain on DraftKings where he is the 14th most expensive driver and a super bargain on FantasyFeud where he is the 19th most expensive. He is a great play for both cash games and GPP tournaments.

Greg Biffle
DraftKings - $8,300
Fantasy Feud - $120,000
Vegas Odds - 76/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 18th
Qualified -
He is another driver who arrives at Loudon with five top 20 finishes in his previous five trips here. He has been solid with 3 top 20 finishes recently but hasn't scored a top 10 since Charlotte. He will be a lower owned option and good pick for GPP's this week.

Low End Target

Austin Dillon
DraftKings - $8,100
Fantasy Feud - $105,000
Vegas Odds - 101/1
Sprint Cup Standings – 21st
Qualified -
He has raced here twice and owns a 12.5 average finish in those two races. In those two races he has an average starting position of 22.5 so if he qualifies outside the top 20 again this week he will make a great play. He has been consistent lately logging four top 20 finishes in his previous five races with a top 10 at Daytona. He makes a nice cash game play to help fill out your rosters.

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the 5 Hour Energy 301? Chris is selling 2 DraftKings and 2 Fantasy Feud lineups plus a cheatsheet for $5. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership. Head over to our PayPal payment page, if that's more your bag.


Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA, PGA, and of course NASCAR. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any NASCAR questions or how he copes with the winters up north.

 

image sources

  • 2048px-NASCAR_practice: By U.S. Air Force photo by Larry McTighe [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Chris Durell

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