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Justin Haley
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, Justin Haley will be a dark horse for those looking for depth on the depth chart. Heading into the weekend, he would see him as a driver in the teens and early twenties, but he will have advantages for those looking to roll the dice. Gateway is a similar track and just a few weeks ago at that location Haley finished ninth, but take note of his 19th best overall speed ranking and average career position of 19.5. I would say Phoenix is the next most similar track visited this year and Haley finished 24th there.
New Hampshire Track History – In New Hampshire on Next Gen, outlining his tenure in the #31 Kaulig, Justin Haley has an average finish of 18.5 and the 20th best Next Gen speed ranking. Last year, Haley finished 17th, He had an average running position of 22.4 and was ranked 20th best in speed rankings. In 2022, Haley finished in 20th place.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, with the way Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is running right now, I think it’s best to see him as a 20th-ranked player, at best. Stenhouse just finished 20th at Gateway and at Phoenix, which I would say is the next closest track he finished 21st at this spring. In 2024, in terms of total speed ranking in the combined races, Stenhouse is ranked 32nd.
New Hampshire Track History – In New Hampshire, Stenhouse has ranked 20th. In Next Gen in the combined races, Stenhouse has an average finish of 20.0 and his Next Gen speed ranking is 26th. If we go back a little further in the last four, Stenhouse has a 17.3 finishing average. Last year at “The Magic Mile,” Stenhouse finished 18th, had an average running position of 25.1, and his overall speed ranking was 26th. I want to point out that on lap 41, while running in the 19th place, Stenhouse was said to have crashed into the wall, so one would have to think that affected his afternoon. In 2022, Stenhouse finished 22nd and had an average career position of 23.5. In terms of total speed ranking, he ranked 28th. In 2021, Stenhouse finished 15th, had an average running position of 16.5, and had the 19th best total speed ranking. In 2020, Stenhouse started in 31st place, but returned home in 14th place.
Austin Dillon
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – Austin Dillon can come home with solid performances on shorter flat tracks from time to time and recently finished sixth at Gateway, so there is some hope this weekend. That said, performance is such an anomaly in 2024 that I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking him off my hands and instead view him as a 20-year-old player who will have upside in the mid-to-upper teens.
New Hampshire Track History – Austin Dillon hasn’t been bad in New Hampshire. Dillon finished ninth last year and over the last four races his average finish is a solid 15.5. In 2023, Dillon finished ninth, led 12 laps via pit strategy, had an average race position of 17.7, and ranked 24th in terms of overall speed rating. Note, Dillon used the late pit strategy and during Gragson’s yellow flag with about 30 laps to go, he elected not to pit, which dropped him to second place, so he held on until the end to finish ninth. . On lap 268, just before that pit strategy play, Dillon was in 22nd place. In 2022, Dillon had an eventful afternoon and finished in 23rd place. In the race, Dillon had a fist fight with Keselowski under caution hit Kevin Harvick on pit road and, to top it all off, made an unexpected pit stop for a flat tire on lap 274 while running 20th. In addition to finishing 23rd, Dillon had a race position average of 24.5 and ranked 21st in the best total speed ranking. In 2021, Dillon finished 17th, had an average race position of 19.7, the 18th best overall speed ranking, and was the 15th fastest driver at the end of a race. In 2020, Dillon finished seventh in Stage #2, finished 13th overall, had an average race position of 16.8, and ranked as the ninth-fastest driver at the end of a race.
Ryan Preece
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Preece can be a sneak peek on shorter flat track from time to time, but with the way the #41 team is going, I think it’s best to just chalk him up to a 20 and hope for the best. In 2024, on shorter flat tracks, Preece is ranked 18th in track type total speed rankings and his average result is 26.7.
New Hampshire Track History – Last year at Gateway, Ryan Preece was a disappointment. In the race, Preece finished 28th, had an average race position of 21st, and his overall speed ranking was 25th. It just wasn’t a good performance. In 2021, when he last competed, Preece finished 22nd and had an average career position of 23.9. In his two races before that, Preece finished 16th and 21st.
Eric Jones
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – I don’t expect anything good from Erik Jones in New Hampshire. The 43rd team is not doing well and at best I think he will be a teenage driver and things only get worse after that. This year on shorter flat tracks, Jones has an average finish of 23.7 and the 28th best track type total speed ranking.
New Hampshire Track History – Erik Jones has had some limited success at Iowa, but not as much lately or consistently. Last year, Jones had his best finish in New Hampshire in years. In the race, Jones started 30th, had the 30th best total speed ranking, had an average running position of 23.8 and then finished 11th. Note that Jones hit the wall and spun on lap 162 while running 24th and then late in the race on lap 281, while running around the mid-teens, he was involved in another. With that level of adversity, for him to finish so well is pretty shocking. In the two New Hampshire races before that, Jones had consecutive 19ths.
Zane Smith
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, I think Zane Smith is probably a mid-20s driver and I’m basing that on his 2024 baseline weekly performance level. That said, he finished 19th at Gateway a few weeks ago, so there’s hope.
New Hampshire Track History – In the Cup Series, Zane Smith has never competed in New Hampshire. Smith has also never raced here in either the Xfinity Series or the Truck Series.
John Nemechek
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, prepare for another mid-20s finish if you pick John H Nemechek. In 2024, on shorter flat tracks, Nemechek is 3 for 3 finishing between 25th and 27th and in the combined races he has an average finish of 25.7, an average race position of 25.2 and his ranking of total speed by track type ranks 29th. At Gateway just a few weeks ago, Nemechek finished 27th.
New Hampshire Track History – In 2020, in his only previous Cup start at New Hampshire, John H Nemechek crashed and finished 36th. Last year in the Xfinity Series, Nemechek led 137 laps and raced to victory lane.
Harrison Burton
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – If you choose Harrison Burton, you already know the drill. Chalk it up for a +25 finish and prepare for the worst. This year, on shorter flat tracks, Burton is 30th in the track type total speed rankings and his average finish is 30.7. At Gateway just a few weeks ago, Burton finished 31st.
New Hampshire Track History – In New Hampshire, in Next Gen, which covers both of his starts, Harrison Burton finished 23rd and his Next Gen speed ranking is tied for 20th. Last year, Burton finished 20th, had a position Average race time of 19.9 and his total speed ranking ranked 21st. In his debut in 2022, Burton did not have an incident-free race and finished 26th. On lap 84 he was running in 23rd place, but then, on lap 90, he was involved in a multi-car accident that caused a fair amount of damage to the #21.
Corey La Joie
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, I would list Corey LaJoie as a +25 player and consider him good. This year on shorter flat tracks, LaJoie has been one of the worst and in the combined races, LaJoie is 34th in terms of overall speed rating and is 3 for 3 finishing in the 30s with an average finish of 33 ,7. Gateway is a similar track and just a few weeks ago. LaJoie finished 32nd there and was very bad.
New Hampshire Track History – Corey LaJoie has been very bad in New Hampshire. He finished 32nd or worse in 3 of the last 4 races and overall in 6 of the 8 starts he finished 27th or worse. Last year at “The Magic Mile”, Corey LaJoie was one of the worst and finished in 33rd place. That said, LaJoie had some kind of problem with his car that sent him to the garage and caused him to finish with a lot of laps below. However, at no point did he look competitive and his total speed ranking was 32nd. In 2022, LaJoie struggled and finished 32nd. By lap 84 he was 25th, but then on lap 90, He was involved in a multi-car accident that destroyed the #7 and marked the end of his career. In 2021, LaJoie finished 23rd and had an average career position of 23.8.
Kaz Grala
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, I would consider Kaz Grala to be a mid-20s performer, which is essentially his baseline weekly performance level for 2024. This year on shorter flat tracks, Grala has competed twice with an average finish of 30.5 and placed 35th in terms of overall speed ranking among drivers on the track.
New Hampshire Track History – At the Cup level, Kaz Grala has never competed in New Hampshire. In the Xfinity Series, he is 3 for 3 by finishing 13th or 14th and his average finish is 13.6.
Daniel Hemric
New Hampshire Fantasy Outlook – In New Hampshire, I don’t see anything good in taking Daniel Hemric and he will probably perform at +25. This year on shorter, flatter tracks in the combined races, Hemric has an average finish of 25.3. It should be noted that he had his best result on this type of track at Gateway a few weeks ago when he finished 18th.
New Hampshire Track History – In 2019, in his only previous Cup start at New Hampshire, Daniel Hemric crashed and finished 37th.
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