NAS $150K New Hampshire Drive [$50K to 1st] (Cup)<\/a><\/p>\nFantasy NASCAR Driver Rankings: USA Today 301 at New Hampshire<\/p>\n
1. Christopher Bell ($11,200) \u2014 He is the Lobster King. Bell won the 2024 and 2022 races at New Hampshire and was the runner-up in 2021. All four of his Xfinity Series starts at Loudon resulted in wins.<\/p>\n
2. Ryan Blaney ($10,500) \u2014 A fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship for Team Penske looks like a real possibility. Blaney has earned a top-10 finish in eight of the last nine races.<\/p>\n
3. Denny Hamlin ($11,000) \u2014 New Hampshire is a race Hamlin doesn\u2019t mind losing. His struggles on the wet track during stage three of the 2024 race weren\u2019t the worst thing. Winning would have been. Hamlin has ostraconophobia \u2014 he fears lobsters, which happen to be the race trophy.<\/p>\n
4. Chase Briscoe ($10,700) \u2014 His runner-up finish at New Hampshire last year was inflated. The dirt racer benefited from the wet track. This season, he benefits from driving the No. 19 JGR Toyota \u2014 a car Martin Truex Jr. always had dialed in on the New England flat track.<\/p>\n
5. Kyle Larson ($10,200) \u2014 The 2024 New Hampshire race was not a typical cruise around the one-mile flat track in Loudon. Weather forced the use of wet-weather tires, turning it into a slick oval. Dirt trackers had a major advantage, according to Larson.<\/p>\n
6. Bubba Wallace ($8,500) \u2014 The 2024 New Hampshire race didn\u2019t work out for many drivers. In 2023, Wallace finished eighth, and in 2022 he earned a podium. Over the last eight races in 2025, Wallace has six top-10 finishes.<\/p>\n
7. Tyler Reddick ($8,700) \u2014 After Reddick\u2019s runner-up run at Darlington, he faded in the final two races of the first round. His turnaround didn\u2019t last long. The No. 45 23XI Toyota returned to the disappointing form that made his regular season forgettable.<\/p>\n
8. William Byron ($9,500) \u2014 The strong starter suffered his seasonal slump in the summer. The diverse tracks do not play into Byron\u2019s wheelhouse. The playoffs suit him better, but that doesn\u2019t always matter. Byron\u2019s slumps aren\u2019t skill-related \u2014 they\u2019re simply bad luck. He\u2019s always a top-10 rated driver, but he often struggles to finish where he should.<\/p>\n
9. Brad Keselowski ($7,600) \u2014 Forget the 2024 New Hampshire race, or at least give it less weight in projections. Before the wet and wild event, Keselowski had five consecutive top-10 finishes. In his last 20 New Hampshire starts, he has 15 top-10 finishes and two wins.<\/p>\n
10. Chris Buescher ($7,700) \u2014 Had Buescher qualified for the playoffs, RFK would have poured all of their resources into his car. He didn\u2019t, so the team remains spread across three rides. Buescher doesn\u2019t have the extra speed necessary to win. He finished 10th, 9th, and 11th in the three Round One playoff races.<\/p>\n
11. Chase Elliott ($9,200) \u2014 Nothing has changed for Elliott. He\u2019s not dominant, he\u2019s just good. His current run feels like Matt Kenseth\u2019s winless championship season that altered the arc of NASCAR. A top-10 finish on Sunday seems likely, but a win does not. At this price, DFS requires dominance.<\/p>\n
12. Joey Logano ($10,000) \u2014 Pit strategy shuffled Logano from third to 12th to begin the final stage of last year\u2019s New Hampshire race. Running in the pack, he got wrecked early in stage three. In the four races prior, Logano earned three top-5 finishes.<\/p>\n
13. Ross Chastain ($8,300) \u2014 His championship hopes are alive, but barely. Chastain has just one top-10 finish in the last 10 races (10th at Watkins Glen). He isn\u2019t scoring finishing-position points, let alone fastest-lap or laps-led points.<\/p>\n
14. John H. Nemechek ($6,200) \u2014 Front Row Joe\u2019s son has never been given the \u201cnepobaby\u201d treatment. JHN earned his place, grinding his way to the top of the Truck and Xfinity Series. After a rough 2024 debut with Legacy Motor Club, Nemechek is developing into a playoff-caliber driver. He\u2019s heating up and could get hotter \u2014 he earned a top-10 at New Hampshire last season.<\/p>\n
15. Michael McDowell ($5,900) \u2014 This is a cheap salary for a top-15 driver. McDowell has settled in with his new team. With his former team, he finished inside the top 15 at New Hampshire in both 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n