Fantasy Fastlane: Get your roster claws on Keselowski for New Hampshire

Editor's note: Fantasy Fastlane will look at each race from a fantasy perspective, examining the top plays and sleepers as well as plays to avoid for NASCAR Fantasy Live. Garage driver will lock at end of Stage 2. Odds come from Penn National Gaming.


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Kevin Harvick | View stats

Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford

Odds: 4-1

Fastlane forecast: Harvick has won three of the last five races at New Hampshire, including the last two at the "Magic Mile." The question with Harvick always revolves around uses this time of year. I'd save at least one use for Michigan and wouldn't worry about either Daytona race with him. At two uses, I like Dover a little more. At three uses, turn him loose.

Denny Hamlin | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota

Odds: 9-2

Fastlane forecast: Hamlin has three wins at New Hampshire and holds the best average finish - 9.9 – among drivers entered in Sunday's race. He is also fresh off his fifth win of 2020 at Kansas. Why is he not a slam-dunk play? In three races with the 2020 short-track rules package, Hamlin has no top 10s and an average of 20.7 points.

Brad Keselowski | View stats

Team Penske, No. 2 Ford

Odds: 9-1

Fastlane forecast: Has this type of consistent season flown more under the radar in recent history? Keselowski is enjoying one of his best seasons to date. With the exception of Daytona, he has scored at least 28 points in every race. In addition to a win at Bristol, he has the third-most points with this rules package.

Joey Logano | View stats

Team Penske, No. 22 Ford

Odds: 12-1

Fastlane forecast: With the short-track results package for 2020, Logano has earned the most points in three races so far – an average of 44 points. He won at Phoenix, was in contention in the closing laps at Bristol and ran well at Martinsville. He has three straight top 10s at New Hampshire. The concern lies with his rough summer – one top five and two top 10s in the last eight races.

Kyle Busch | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 18 Toyota

Odds: 7-1

Fastlane forecast: Busch has three Cup wins at New Hampshire, and this is his best track left on the regular-season schedule. With the short-track package, Busch has the seventh-most points in those races this year – an average of 34.3. This seems like the prime spot to play "Rowdy" with Dover and Michigan (based on recent runs there) as other plays.

Martin Truex Jr. | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota

Odds: 8-1

Fastlane forecast: Truex has seemingly done everything but win at New Hampshire in recent years. He has six top-eight finishes in his last seven races there and is the most recent winner with the 2020 short-track package (last run at Martinsville). With no 1.5-milers left on the schedule, this is a great spot to play him based on past strong runs.

Ryan Blaney | View stats

Team Penske, No. 12 Ford

Odds: 8-1

Fastlane forecast: In the last two races at New Hampshire, Blaney has the fifth-most points and two top-seven finishes. His short-track stats in 2020 are very up and down. Two crashes at tracks where he had speed – Phoenix and Bristol – and a runner-up finish at Martinsville. I'd rank his Penske teammates ahead of him for this one.

Aric Almirola | View stats

Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 10 Ford

Odds: 20-1

Fastlane forecast: Almirola continues to stay hot as he now has eight straight top 10s and an average of 39 points over that stretch – the most among all drivers. His two races at New Hampshire with SHR have seen him average 42.5 points. The blemish on his resume? His 2020 short-track results leave him with the 18th-most points.

Clint Bowyer | View stats

Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford

Odds: 50-1

Fastlane forecast: Bowyer has two top fives and an average of 34.7 points in the three races with the 2020 short-track rules package. That point average places him sixth – ahead of Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. New Hampshire is a mixed bag for him with two wins but just nine top 10s in 26 starts.

SLEEPER PICK: Christopher Bell | View stats

Leavine Family Racing, No. 95 Toyota

Odds: 33-1

Fastlane forecast: Two points in the owner standings is the difference between Bell starting inside the top 24 and not. I would be all on this play if track position wasn’t so crucial given Bell's two Xfinity wins in as many starts at New Hampshire. I value William Byron a bit more as a sleeper, but there’s a lot of upside to like Bell.

SLEEPER PICK: William Byron | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet

Odds: 40-1

Fastlane forecast: Byron has finished in the top 10 in all three races where this year's short-track rules package has been used. He has the ninth-most points in those races – an average of 31.3 points. Those top 10s make up half of his total for the 2020 season. For a driver in the thick of the playoff bubble, he should be looking to maximize his points day.

SLEEPER PICK: Matt DiBenedetto | View stats

Wood Brothers Racing, No. 21 Ford

Odds: 66-1

Fastlane forecast: Here's another driver in need of a good points day to boost his playoff stock. DiBenedetto nabbed a top-five finish at New Hampshire last year. His results with this rules-package have seen two races with more than 30 points. Penske's solid history at this track also works in his favor.

SLEEPER PICK: Ryan Newman | View stats

Roush Fenway Racing, No. 6 Ford

Odds: 80-1

Fastlane forecast: Short-track racing fits Newman's grind-it-out, hard-to-pass style to a tee. He has an average finish of 13.5 with this rules package this year. He also has the sixth-most points in the last two races at the "Magic Mile" – both top-seven finishes for the veteran driver. He's not flashy, but three wins and 20 top 10s here show he can get it done at this venue.

STAY AWAY FROM: Chase Elliott | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet

Odds: 9-1

Fastlane forecast: Elliott has just one top 10 in six starts at New Hampshire, and the track ranks in the lower third in his average finishes at each track. Add in that he has just two races of more than 30 points in the last seven, only one top 10 in that stretch and then Michigan, Dover and the Daytona road course line up as better uses. He's an avoid for me.

STAY AWAY FROM: Jimmie Johnson | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet

Odds: 33-1

Fastlane forecast: This year's short-track stats say play Johnson – he has the fifth-best point total with an average of 35 points. His recent New Hampshire stats land more in the middle with the ninth-most points in the last six races there. His recent 2020 stats say stay far away with only one race of over 25 points in his last seven. I'm inclined to raise the latter point above all else.

STAY AWAY FROM: Tyler Reddick | View stats

Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet

Odds: 50-1

Fastlane forecast: Reddick has had two crash-induced exits in three short-track races in 2020, and that lands him tied for 27th in total points for those races. The bigger concern for me is short-track racing has been far from a strength for RCR in 2020 – Austin Dillon’s 31-point, sixth-place effort at Bristol is the only instance of a more than 25-point, top-10 finish this season at a short track for the organization.

My lineup heading into the weekend: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin; Garage: Martin Truex Jr.
Nearly made it: William Byron, Clint Bowyer and Christopher Bell.

Tweet at me @kraftdaddy85
with your lineups and questions before Sunday’s race at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.