5-Hour Energy 301 Fantasy NASCAR Picks and Analysis for DraftKings

5-Hour Energy 301 Fantasy NASCAR Analysis & Early Picks Welcome back to FantasyCPR’s coverage of the 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to be held on Sunday, July 18th at 1:30 p.m. EST. Whether you are a fantasy racing player or just a NASCAR fan, let us be your one stop shop for all the information you need to prepare you for NASCAR races in the 2015 season. Go to our Fantasy NASCAR Hub at https://fansided.com/category/nascar-fantasy/ and bookmark it! SEE ALSO: 5-Hour Energy 301 Preview

Live Feed

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin not the big winner at Pocono /

Beyond the Flag

NASCAR: Kyle Busch reveals ideal retirement seasonBeyond the Flag

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin penalty could come back to haunt himBeyond the Flag

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin ties all-time unwanted recordBeyond the Flag

NASCAR: Major recurring issue not a factor at PoconoBeyond the Flag

NASCAR: Recurring issue may not be a factor at PoconoBeyond the Flag

Our weekly coverage will typically consist of 4 articles a week: 1) A

Fantasy Recap

from the previous race that includes driver scores and our prediction results; 2) A race preview mid-week prior to the race; 3) A comprehensive fantasy analysis and early picks after the initial practice and qualifying that will include the starting grid. and 4) Our expert driver picks released after the final practice. To stay updated and get the posts as they are published, bookmark our site as well as follow us on Twitter! Our fantasy coverage and predictions are unique compared to other outlets as it takes in the cars’ and drivers’ current performance over the weekend instead of just their historical statistics coming in. For DraftKings, this is crucial as starting position and in-race performance are important factors in fantasy scoring. This approach (vice releasing driver picks early in the week like most sources do) leads to more accurate and successful predictions as you can see in our weekly Fantasy Recaps.

Next: The Field: Race Entrants in Qualifying Order

Jul 17, 2015; Loudon, NH, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards celebrates winning the pole for the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Race Entrants in Qualifying Order w/ DK Salaries 1) #19 Carl Edwards, Sport Clips Toyota for $10,200 2) #22 Joey Logano, Shell Pennzoil Ford for $12,200 3) #55 David Ragan, Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota for $7,800 4) #18 Kyle Busch, Interstate Batteries Toyota for $11,800 5) #11 Denny Hamlin, FedEx Freight Toyota for $11,100 6) #41 Kurt Busch, Haas Automation Chevrolet for $11,600 7) #48 Jimmie Johnson, Lowe’s Chevrolet for $12,700 8) #20 Matt Kenseth, Dollar General Toyota for $11,200 9) #5 Kasey Kahne, Great Clips Chevrolet for $10,100 10) #2 Brad Keselowski, Miller Lite Ford for $12,800 11) #1 Jamie McMurray, McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet for $9,800 12) #4 Kevin Harvick, Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet for $14,200 13) #40 Landon Cassill, Interstate Moving Services Chevrolet for $7,300 14) #16 Greg Biffle, Safety-Kleen Ford Fusion for $8,300 15) #78 Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Chevrolet for $10,800 16) #21 Ryan Blaney, SKF Ford for $7,500 17) #42 Kyle Larson, Target Chevrolet for $10,000 18) #15 Clint Bowyer, 5-Hour Energy Toyota for $9,400 19) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Nationwide Chevrolet for $10,300 20) #10 Danica Patrick, GoDaddy Chevrolet for $8,000 21) #13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet SS for $7,600 22) #47 AJ Allmendinger, Better Than Bouilon Chevrolet for $8,200 23) #24 Jeff Gordon, AARP MEMBER ADVANTAGES Chevrolet for $10,900 24) #3 Austin Dillon, Dow Chevrolet for $8,100 25) #14 Tony Stewart, Mobil 1 Chevrolet for $8,800 26) #31 Ryan Newman, Quicken Loans Chevrolet for $9,200 27) #9 Sam Hornish Jr., Shaws/Smithfield Ford for $8,100 28) #27 Paul Menard, Richmond/Menards Chevrolet for $8,200 29) #43 Aric Almirola, Smithfield Ford for $7,700 30) #51 Justin Allgaier, Brandt Chevrolet for $7,400 31) #6 Trevor Bayne, AdvoCare Ford Fusion for $8,300 32) #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Fastenal Ford Fusion for $8,200 33) #35 Cole Whitt, Taco Bell Ford for $6,700 34) #34 Brett Moffitt, Dockside Logistics for $6,800 35) #83 Matt DiBenedetto, Burger King Toyota for $6,900 36) #26 Jeb Burton, Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota for $6,600 37) #38 David Gilliland, MDS Ford for $7,200 38) #46 Michael Annett, Pilot Flying J Chevrolet for $6,800 39) #23 J.J. Yeley, Dr. Pepper Toyota for $6,900 40) #7 Alex Bowman, Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet for $7,000 41) #32 Eddie McDonald, Draftdemons.com Ford (No Salary Listed) 42) #33 Derek White, Braille Battery/Graford Chrevolet for $7,200 43) #98 Timmy Hill, Residence Inn Ford (No Salary Listed)

Next: 5-Hour Energy 301 Fantasy Strategy

5-Hour Energy 301/New Hampshire Fantasy Strategy:

Although my race picks will not be released until after the final practice session on Saturday, here is a sneak peek at some of the trends that will factor into my selections. This also gives fantasy players some foundations to base their own fantasy research on.

More from FanSided

1. This race is on 2-turn, 1.06 mile, flat, paved True Oval track (301 laps, 318.458 miles) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. 2. Strongly consider drivers that have a good history on shorter tracks (less than 1.5 mile) as well as flat tracks. Richmond, Phoenix, and Martinsville have those things in common with Loudon, 3. NASCAR has two Cup races a year at NHMS. Take note of how drivers and teams did in the those races in the past, especially last year. . 4. The Pit area here is very cramped, with only about 10 spots that have fairly easy access; this makes qualifying order (with its pit selection) very important. 5. Leaders in average finish among active drivers: Jimmy Johnson (10.3), Brad Keslowski (11), Jeff Gordon (11.4), Matt Kenseth (13.30) and Ryan Newman (13.8). 6. This smaller race track makes track position and the ability to carry speed through the large turns very important. 7. Recently, qualifying has been a good indicator of race speed. In both 2014 races, no driver that led more than one lap qualified outside the Top 11. 8. 22 of the 40 Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from a top-10 starting position. 9. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at New Hampshire with 9, but did not have any driver in the Top 8 in either 2014 Cup race. 10 Eight active drivers have multiple wins at NHMS: #41, #24, #48, #31, #14 have 3 wins a piece while #15, #11, and #22 have 2 each.

Next: Preliminary Fantasy Picks prior to Qualifying

Jul 17, 2015; Loudon, NH, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson sits in his car during qualifying for the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

My Early Favorites: As we know, practice speed is extremely important in DraftKings handicapping, but here are my favorites based on historical data. Jimmie Johnson, #48 Chevrolet for $12,700: Finished in the Top 10 in 18 of 26 NHMS starts; He’s a threat to win any week on any track and currently tops the 2015 Standings; Driver Rating is 102.1 (4th). Kyle Larson, #42 Target Chevrolet for $10,000: Has a 2nd and a 3rd in his only 2 starts here; desperately needs a win as he’s sitting 20th in the standings; 3rd highest average Running Position (10.73) among entrants. Kasey Kahne, #5 Chevrolet for $10,100: Has one win and 3 Top 5s at NHMS. 12th best Driver Rating (91.3) among entrants; Series best 340 Fastest Laps run. Clint Bowyer, #15 Toyota for $9,400: Two wins along with 4 Top 5s; finished 6th in this race last year; 8th best Driver Rating of 95.0; The #15 has been much more competitive in 2015 on non-1.5 mile tracks. Ryan Blaney, #21 Ford for $7,500: Has been very good racing on a part-time schedule for the Wood Brothers. His team is affiliated with Penske, a team that has dominated recently at NHMS. Blaney looked great in the initial practice (1st) and qualified a respectable 16th. I will release my final DraftKings Picks on Saturday after the final practice sessions.

Next: General NASCAR Strategy for DraftKings Contests

Jul 17, 2015; Loudon, NH, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart during qualifying for the New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

General DraftKings Strategy: The next thing to consider while filling out your teams is the DraftKings scoring system. DraftKings owners will draft a team of 5 drivers with a $50,000 Salary Cap. Scoring will be based on several factors including a driver’s Finishing Position, Place Differential, Fastest Laps, Laps Led, and Pass Differential. Please refer to the Daily Fantasy NASCAR Strategy Guide by DraftKings that breaks down the specific rules and calculations that govern these contests.

More from DraftKings

The salaries used are set weekly for each contest before qualifying and practice and are based on the overall strength of each driver/team/car for that particular race. The calculations that DraftKings use to determine drivers’ salaries are based on a driver’s ability to score fantasy points and as such consider all the five aforementioned factors. Since NASCAR is a new Daily Fantasy game, DraftKings has made it easier for players to understand the scoring system by listing a driver’s Fantasy Points Per Race (FPPR) next to a driver’s salary that shows a driver’s performance to date (including 2015 races that did not have DK contests). The following are some of the factors that determine a driver’s salary and something that a fantasy player should look at:

A Driver and/or Team’s current level of speed and performance this season.
A Driver and/or Team’s history at that specific track and race.
A Driver and/or Team’s history at similar tracks and races.

Next: Why Wait Until After Practice/Qualifying to Make Picks?

Sep 21, 2014; Loudon, NH, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (2) lines up at the front of pit road as they prepare for the start of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Because the DraftKings salaries are set prior to qualifying and practice, there are many things that can change a driver’s relative fantasy value before the race starts. Some things to consider:

Qualifying and practice speed are a good (but not the only) indicator of a driver’s projected performance and factor largely in a driver’s potential to maximize points in the Finish Position, Fastest Laps, and Laps Led categories.
The DraftKings points system is unique and emphasizes both in-race performance as well as finishing position. So it is paramount to target at least some drivers that start further back in the field yet can compete as a top-performing car. This will get you points in the Place Differential and Pass Differential categories.
Considering a Driver’s Pit Crew proficiency is also important as drivers with fast cars can earn more points in the Pass Differential category during green flag racing due to lost track position during pit stops.

We will be back on Saturday evening with our FINAL 5-Hour Energy 301 DraftKings Fantasy Picks! Introduction to DraftKings NASCAR Games If you haven’t joined DraftKings yet and want to play in their exciting contests, use this direct DraftKings Link to sign up and you will earn a free cash contest entry with a minimum deposit of just $5. DraftKings will even match your initial deposit up to $600 – just click “Sign Up”!

Next: 5-Hour Energy 301 Fantasy Preview