Fantasy Nascar : New Hampshire: The event of New England : Fantasy Nascar

This week takes Nascar fans to yet another state and yet another very
distinctive track. We leave the mile and a half tri-oval of Chicagoland,
after an entertaining race no doubt, and travel to New Hampshire
International Speedway, a flat (12 degree) 1 mile plus a bit track.
New Hampshire, also called Loudon for the town it's found in, brags on
being the home of the two largest sporting events in New England each
year when more than 100,000 guests pile into the oval.
In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of dialogue about just how
Loudon will run. It's not a new track, but the owner repaved the track
last year. Then a bit over a month ago, he found cracks in turns 1 and 2
and had to repave parts of the track - fast. Several drivers have voiced
concern about the track and its new surface, which is just yet to be
seen.
So for the second week in a row, teams travel to a track where they
will have to depend on qualifying and practice rounds to really get a
feel for the surface. Yet, regardless of the changes there are some
drivers that seem to excel at the long-time Cup track. So I will look at
some of the drivers that have a good chance of ending up near the top
this week. Because of circumstance and my leaving town before qualifying, these picks are based on stats � pure and simple.
Three of the Cups marquee drivers all have a good track record at New
Hampshire. Jeff Gordon, still searching for his first win of the year,
Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart have all raced well at Loudon in the past
-- as well as at Homestead and Phoenix, two some what similar tracks.
First with Jeff Gordon. Gordon is in a slump, regardless of his current
fourth place standings in the points. He has no wins, something that has
never plagued him before. But, Loudon could be his place to break his
losing streak. He has placed in the top 10 in 5 of the last 6 races at
Loudon. He is currently only 95 points from the Cup leader, Sterling
Marlin and if Gordon likes anything it's the taste of being on the top
of the rankings. Gordon will definitely be a threat this weekend.
Dale Jarrett is another threat to take home some glory from the New
England asphalt this weekend. He currently sits in 11th place in cup
standings, and Gordon is never quite satisfied with his standing. The
veteran driver has 5 top 10s in the last 6 races, including a win at
this race last summer. Jarrett seems to know his way around this tight, yet flat, track, and I would look for him to be a factor in the top 10.
And Tony Stewart seems to be a fixture in nearly every week's column.
The reason being: he runs well at nearly any track he visits. He can
take the cake at Bristol and then visit a superspeedway (not Daytona
this year) and do fine. And he has a record at New Hampshire, as well as
Phoenix and Homestead. He has placed in the top 10 in the last 5 of 6
races at Loudon. He won in 2000. Stewart seems to know how to make his car
get up and go on the flat track up north. Stewart currently sits in 5th
place in the point standings, and he is just getting to where he knows
how to run. He is a good, safe, bet this weekend.
Others to watch this weekend are Jeff Burton and Mark Martin. Burton has had a lackluster season thus far, but he seems to be
comfortable in his car at this track. He has 3 top 5s in the last 6
races, including two wins While a championship may not be in his
future (at least this year), Burton could be a force to be reckoned with
this weekend.
Mark Martin has certainly proved why he is still racing this weekend.
The veteran driver, as much as he hates that title, has had an excellent
year. He currently sits in 2nd place, only a mere 49 points behind
leader Sterling Marlin. He has shown pure versatility this season with a
win at Lowe's Motorspeedway, as well 7 top 5s and 13 top 10s in the
first 18 races of the season. Martin has something to race for this
year - a shot at the championship. Martin
should definitely be a factor.
And almost as every week, rookies Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman, are
pretty safe bets. The two young guns are usually safe picks, and if your
leagues run like mine, they are affordable picks. Johnson and Newman
never seem to amaze week after week, running at tracks they have barely
set tire on, and doing well. They are usually pretty secure picks, and
they just might be again this week.
And always, I would love to know what you think. Drop me an e-mail.
I will post this column each Friday afternoon. The ideas are strictly
mine, with a little bit of help from the statistics and some of my
racing enthusiast friends. AND I want to know what you think: If you
agree, tell me. If you don't, tell me that as well. Drop me at a line at
Theracingirl@yahoo.com