***Update*** Lineups and Playbook have been updated slightly since original posting.
ISM Connect 300
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Last week was the first race in the Monster Energy Cup playoffs as it got underway at Chicagoland Speedway. The first stage of the race was dominated by Kyle Busch, as he led 78 of the first 80 laps of the race. However, a couple of pit stop mistakes by a new pit crew forced him to spend the rest of the race in the middle of the pack, at least one lap down. After serving a pit penalty of his own, Martin Truex Jr. sailed through the field to take the lead and run out the laps to the tune of a 7.7 second win over Chase Elliott, who finished second. It was Truex’s second-straight win at Chicagoland and clinched his spot in the Round of 12.
This week the speeds of Chicagoland transition to the braking patterns of Loudon as the second race of the Chase playoffs hits New Hampshire Motor Speedway. New Hampshire is one of the flattest tracks on the schedule with banking in the single-digits all the way around the 1-mile oval. Due to the lack of banking on the turns, speeds tend not to crack too far above 120 mph in the straightaways before the drivers slow down to make the turn. Despite the track being the same distance as Phoenix and Dover, it drives much more like a short track than those two typically do, however the eventual winner does come from the top five starting spots just 73% of the time.
The race this weekend will be the last in the fall for Loudon for the foreseeable future as SMI has moved this race to Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting next year. So next season the late-summer race will be the only time to enjoy this flat track known as “The Magic Mile,” but it also means that the concentration of tracks in the Chase changes a bit but still holds the same ratio of distances.
DFS Playbook
| Driver | Draft Kings | NASCAR Live | Description |
| Kyle Busch | $10,700 | $27.25 | Busch has one of the fastest cars on the track this week, he's sitting on the pole. He has a win, top-fives, three top-10s and 327 laps led in the last five races. Busch is a safe play in either setup |
| Martin Truex Jr. | $10,500 | $28.00 | Truex Jr. has run no worse than fourth in practice, running first in the final session. He hasn't won on this track, but he has come awfully close. He's led the most laps over the last five races |
| Kevin Harvick | $10,100 | $27.50 | Harvick has a great history here with a win and four top-fives in the last five races at NHMS. His car has gotten faster each practice going from P19 to P13 to P2. He starts P6 and is a GPP play |
| Denny Hamlin | $9,900 | $27.75 | Denny has a win and three top-10s here in the last five races. He also has nine career top-fives in 23 tries. The win at NHMS earlier in the year got him into the playoff and now he starts P3 |
| Jimmie Johnson | $9,600 | $23.25 | JJ has been a very good driver here in the past with three career wins and 10 top-fives in 31 races at Loudon. He's been in a bit of a slump the second part of the year, and is a GPP-only play |
| Kyle Larson | $9,500 | $27.50 | Larson has been one of the top cars on the track this week and is coming off a win at Richmond two weeks ago. In seven races at NHMS he has three top-fives and four top-10s. Either works |
| Matt Kenseth | $9,400 | $27.00 | Kenseth is arguably the best driver on the track in the field this week. He has two wins and four top-fives in the last five races, with the fifth finish being P6. He hasn't shown top-end speed yet |
| Joey Logano | $8,700 | $23.00 | Logano has three top-fives In the last five races but only has 12 laps led. Overall he has two wins and eight top-10s in 18 career races. He starts P39 on Sunday giving upside for any lineup |
| Ryan Blaney | $8,000 | $16.75 | Blaney has just three top-20s in the last few races here, but will start P4 on Sunday. His 21-car has shown well in practice but without the solid history behind him, he's relegated to a GPP play |
| Daniel Suarez | $7,500 | $23.00 | Suarez has only raced once here in MENCS but went from P14 to P6. In Xfinity he has two races and two top-five finishes. The speed in practice with his middling Q spot gives GPP upside |
| Ryan Newman | $7,200 | $23.50 | Newman has two top-10s in the last five races but not much else. He does have a couple of wins and 18 top-10s in his career at New Hampshire. A win at PIR got him in but he remains a GPP |
| Austin Dillon | $7,000 | $21.50 | Dillon has one of the best positional differentials in the field this week at +7.2. He ran between P18-P23 in practice and qualified P17. Dillion makes a fine GPP play who could sneak a top-10 |
| Ty Dillon | $6,700 | $17.00 | Ty has only run once here but has a +9 PD in that effort. In Xfinity he has two top-10s in three races. Dillon ran P24, P28, P29 in practice and starts P30. He has some top-20 upside as a GPP |
| Danica Patrick | $6,100 | $12.50 | Patrick has three top-20s in the last five races at Loudon and has surprisingly led nine laps in that span. She ran P14, P26, P21 and will start P27 on Sunday. She makes a good budget GPP play |
| Landon Cassill | $5,500 | $5.50 | Cassill ran 27th at each practice and qualified 28th. He doesn't have much of a history here but we are looking for consistentcy at this price point and he has it. Cassill is a budget-play again |
Optimal Lineups
| Draft Kings Cash | |
| Kyle Busch | $10,700 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | $10,500 |
| Kyle Larson | $9,500 |
| Joey Logano | $8,700 |
| Landon Cassill | $5,500 |
| Reed Sorensen | $4,900 |
| Total | $49,800 |
The cash lineup this week starts with the three best drivers this season in Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Larson. All three have led a practice and Busch sits on the pole for the race. All three are capable of being the laps led dominator in the race. Joey Logano is next up in the six-driver roster as he is the biggest upside play this week. He didn't get to run the final practice due to serving a penalty for failing pre-qualifying inspection four times. But he did run P13 and P15 in the first two and will start at the back of the pack since he didn't run a qualifying lap either. With the expensiveness of the drivers above, there was only room for Landon Cassill and Reed Sorensen who are both budget plays with outside chances of running well enough of positional differential points.
| Draft Kings GPP | |
| Kyle Busch | $10,700 |
| Kyle Larson | $9,500 |
| Ryan Blaney | $8,000 |
| Daniel Suarez | $7,500 |
| Austin Dillon | $7,000 |
| Ty Dillon | $6,700 |
| Total | $49,400 |
This week's first GPP lineup starts with two of the drivers from the cash in Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson. Here we are taking the guys starting P1 and P2 on Sunday and skipping MTJ starting P5 in favor of Ryan Blaney starting P4. Blaney has run consistently fast this week but hasn't shown this much speed here previously making him the perfect GPP play. Daniel Suarez is next up after running in the top-10 in practice and qualifying P25 while also running in the top-five twice in his Xfinity career here. Austin Dillion and Ty Dillon finish off the six-driver squad for their combined outstanding position differential in their combined races here. Ty has just one, compared to Austin's five, but Ty also has two top-10s in three Xfinity races and has an outside top-20 shot on Sunday.
| Draft Kings GPP #2 | |
| Kevin Harvick | $10,100 |
| Kyle Larson | $9,500 |
| Matt Kenseth | $9,400 |
| Joey Logano | $8,700 |
| Danica Patrick | $6,100 |
| Landon Cassill | $5,500 |
| Total | $49,300 |
Kevin Harvick is a new name at the top of a lineup this week but there is good reason to have him in there. He's one of the top drivers on the track, aside from a guy further down this lineup, and has four top-fives in the last five races while also posting faster times each practice. Kyle Larson makes the cut for all three lineups as his speed has just been consistent enough to warrant it, plus a $9,500 price tag is tough to turn down. Matt Kenseth is next as the top driver in the field both, recently and historically, at Loudon. Two wins and four top-fives cement his place atop the field though his slight lack of speed thus far has him in the GPP field. Joey Logano is back in the roster simply because he possesses too much upside to ignore and his history here is a very solid one to boot. Danica Patrick has been subbed in for the previously listed Paul Menard due to her better practice runs. She ran P14, P26, P21 and starts P27, but Patrick has also managed three top-20s in the past five races so a +7 PD is well within reach. Landon Cassill finishes off the group for the same reason as the cash lineup.
| NASCAR Live | |
| Kyle Busch | $27.25 |
| Kyle Larson | $27.50 |
| Joey Logano | $23.00 |
| Ryan Blaney | $16.75 |
| Landon Cassill | $5.50 |
| Bonus Winner | Kyle Busch |
| Bonus Manufacturer | Toyota |
| Total | $100.00 |
A lot of the same names made the NASCAR Fantasy Live lineup as made the cash and GPP above. Busch, Larson, and Blaney all possess consistently fast cars this week and could walk away with the laps led title. Cassill provides budget upside to a degree.
| Streak To The Finish | Matt Kenseth |
Kenseth has finished in the top-five four times in the last five races and finished sixth in the one in which he didn't nail down a top-five. With that kind of record, why wouldn't you pick him for a top-10 finish?