LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Race Preview

New Hampshire International Speedway -- 06/29/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Thursday Jun 26 2008 12:13am

I wonder if Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick compared notes before giving their descriptions of Loudon in the race previews this week.

Ryan Newman said: "You really have to drive it into the corner and focus on rolling through the center. It’s one of the most symmetrical tracks we go to, in that turns one and two are very similar to turns three and four. It’s really important to focus on the exit of the corners. The toughest part is track position - if you get behind, it is hard to make it up."

Kevin Harvick said: "It’s one of those places where you have to get through the center of the corner and get up off the corner wide open. That makes it really hard to get through the center of the corner and turn good like you need to. Getting up off the corner under full power without getting loose is really tricky. Passing is harder there than at most places because it’s so hard to make your car work getting up off the corner. That makes track position probably the most important thing."

So, a few things are clear from the drivers' perspective: The keys to winning at Loudon are track position, rolling through the center of the corner, and getting on the throttle as quickly as possible exiting.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, is a flat 1.058 mile oval with variable banking of just 2 to 7 degrees in the turns and 1 degree on the straightaways.

The track's two dates both play an important role in deciding the Cup championship. This weekend's race is the first of the 10-race stretch known as the Race to the Chase, while the September race will be the first of 10 in the Chase for the Championship.

The inaugural Cup series raced in Loudon was in 1993 and for the first four years, July was the track's only date. In 1997, a second race was added. Four active drivers have competed in all 26 races - Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, and Joe Nemechek.

Chevy drivers have dominated here in the past few years, winning four straight and five of the last six. Those GM drivers include Tony Stewart (+925) in 2005, Kyle Busch (+525) and Kevin Harvick (+1425) in 2006, and Denny Hamlin (+685) and Clint Bowyer (+1585) last year, in what was Bowyer's first Cup win. The exception was Ryan Newman (+3500) in 2005, taking his Dodge to Victory Lane in the first Chase race that year.

Going back to the beginning of the Loudon race statistics, Jeff Burton (+2000) emerges as the driver with the most victories overall, though all four of his wins came between 1997 and 2000. Burton has 26 starts here, the same number as Jeff Gordon (+955), who has won three times, all between 1995 and 1998.

Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch (+3500), and Jimmie Johnson (+715) each have two New Hampshire wins, while Hamlin, Harvick, Nemechek, Robby Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Clint Boywer have one a piece.

Among drivers with at least two Loudon starts, Denny Hamlin leads the average finish category with a very low 6.5 in four starts, including a 6th, 4th, 1st, and 15th-place finish. The next closest competitors are Matt Kenseth (+1485) with a 10.5 and Jimmie Johnson with a 10.7.

In the last five races at Loudon (both dates), Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with points accumulated, followed by Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Burton.

Stewart, who's still looking for his first win this season, has had numerous good runs at Loudon, including two wins, three 2nd-place finishes, and two 3rds. He ran 12th in this race a year ago.

Meanwhile, Stewart's JGR teammate Kyle Busch, who's won everything but the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes this year, has made six Loudon starts, posting a win and three top 5s. His worst finish was 38th in the fall of 2006. Busch has a series-high average running position at Loudon with a 9.6.

Along with being a relatively short track, this will be a short race by NASCAR standards - just 301 laps, or 318 miles.