Sylvania 300 Qualifying Update

New Hampshire International Speedway -- 09/14/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Saturday Sep 13 2008 11:32pm

With qualifying rained out again this week (the seventh time this year), NASCAR's Cup Series drivers will be starting the Chase at Loudon lined up in order of owner's points.

This puts the 12 Chase contenders side by side and nose to tail in the first six rows, with points leader Kyle Busch (+585) on the pole and Carl Edwards (+1650) on the outside of row one.

Responding to a reporter's question about his starting position, Edwards' answer gives us a look at racing this track from the driver's perspective. In addition to the usual concerns, teams will be starting the race unsure of level of grip following heavy rains earlier in the weekend.

“The outside - it depends on probably how much rubber gets put down on the race track before the race starts," Edwards said. "If there’s a lot of rubber down, the outside might be good. The cars - when you’re on the bottom here, one of the things that makes it so hard to pass is the guy on the bottom gets a little bit of that aero-loose condition, and even though you’re not going real fast, you get a little freer on the bottom. So I’m fine with starting on the top. I think that’s a safe place, and knowing that Kyle and Jimmie, and knowing all the guys that are right there, I don’t think it should be a problem. I don’t have to worry about them getting loose or anything.”

Speaking of weather, RaceWeather.net is forecasting a 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms Sunday.

Behind Busch and Edwards, in row two will be Jimmie Johnson (+375) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+985), with Clint Bowyer (+650) and Denny Hamlin (+605) in row three.

Rounding out the top 10 on the starting grid are Jeff Burton (+2500), Tony Stewart (+645), Greg Biffle (+1650) and Jeff Gordon (+1450).

Ryan Newman (+5000) once described Loudon as the "birthplace of track position," which gives added importance to the qualifying rainout, as some of the Chase contenders did not look particularly fast in first practice Friday. Edwards, for example, was 33rd on the speed chart, with Matt Kenseth (+3250), 39th. Now the two Roush-Fenway drivers will start 2nd and 12th, respectively.

Another advantage of lining up by points, especially for the top three drivers, is pit selection and the impact it could have on track position coming off pit road. As polesitter, Kyle Busch got the first pit selection and chose stall No. 1, which should get him off pit road ahead of the pack if his stops are fast enough. Edwards took stall No. 19, the next pit stall with an opening in front of it, and Johnson took stall No. 29 for the same reason.

In other qualifying news, Tony Raines and Carl Long will miss the race because of the rainout. Rookie Joey Logano, making his Cup series debut in the No. 96 Toyota, starts 40th.

The weather was nice in Loudon on Saturday, allowing both Cup series practices to run. And if you're looking for someone besides one of the Chase's "Big Three" to hang your hat on, you don't have to look any farther than Clint Bowyer, who won this race last year.

Bowyer led all three practice sessions, with his fastest lap a 130.273 mile per hour, 29.237 second lap. If Bowyer can get to the front of the pack early, he could pull away. Jimmie Johnson ran 2nd in the first two practices and 5th in Happy Hour. The only other driver to run in the top 10 in all three practices was Greg Biffle.

Following Bowyer in Happy Hour times on Saturday were Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte, Biffle and Johnson. Rounding out the top 10 were Kurt Busch (+2850), Paul Menard, Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya and David Reutimann.

The top four drivers in Happy Hour were one each for Chevy, Toyota, Dodge and Ford. Chevy has won four of the last five races here - including a win by Kyle Busch when he was still with GM.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s best practice lap placed him 8th Saturday morning with a 29.875. Jeff Gordon was 12th in Happy Hour with a 30.305, Kevin Harvick was 15th in practice one with a 29.426, and Jeff Burton, all-time race winner at Loudon, was 14th Friday morning with a 29.417.

Brian Vickers was set to start 16th, but hit the wall in first practice Saturday and will be going to a backup. Carl Edwards scraped the wall Friday, but the damage was not that significant. Chad McCumbee, in Kyle Petty's No. 45 ride, is also going to a backup car.

Statistically, P1 has produced the most winners at Loudon - 4 in 27 races. Just over half the race winners have come from a top-10 starting position - meaning the converse is also true.

The deepest starting spot to produce a winner is 38th place, achieved by Jeff Burton in 1999, in the last of his three New Hampshire wins to date.

By the way, John McCain will be at Loudon Sunday, drumming up support from the all-important NASCAR voting block.