Sylvania 300 Race Preview

New Hampshire International Speedway -- 09/14/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Thursday Sep 11 2008 1:23am

Looking ahead to Loudon this weekend, Ryan Newman reminds us about the characteristics of the track, as well as what happened here back in June:

"I got my first Cup win there in 2002, so I have always enjoyed the track. We had a decent Alltel Dodge there in June, but the rain kept us from the finish that we could have gotten. We got caught like a lot of other guys did, so we ended up 15th. I’d like to think we can go back there this time and get that top 10. It’s a fun race track. You really have to drive it into the corner and focus on rolling through the center. 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. We want to start by qualifying well."

So, a few things are clear from a driver's 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 is a very flat 1.058 mile oval with variable banking of just 2 to 7 degrees in the turns and 1 degree on the straightaways.

Back in June, Tony Stewart (+650) led 132 of an intended 300 laps, but rain ended the race at lap 284. A group of mid-pack cars that had stayed out during a previous pit stop were running up front, including that of Kurt Busch (+3000), who was declared the winner when the race was halted. Michael Waltrip finished 2nd and J.J. Yeley, no longer a Cup series driver, finished third.

Of course, this weekend's race is the first of the ten-race stretch known as the Chase for the Championship, in which the top-12 drivers in points will be vying for the 2008 Cup title. This will put extra pressure on those 12 to have a clean race and avoid trouble, while the rest of the drivers will be careful not to do anything to ruin a contender's chances. The drivers around 35th in points will also be striving to improve their spots in the standings between now and the end of the season.

The first Cup race at Loudon was held in 1993. For the first four years, a mid-summer race was the track's only date, but in 1997, a fall race was added. Four active - Jeff Burton (+2200), Jeff Gordon (+1400), Bobby Labonte, and Joe Nemechek - have competed in all 27 races here.

Chevy drivers had won four straight here prior to Kurt Busch's Dodge win in June. Kyle Busch (+600), then with Hendrick, and Kevin Harvick (+1000) won in 2006, and Denny Hamlin (+600) and Clint Bowyer (+1400) in 2007.

Jeff Burton is the all-time winner at Loudon with four victories, though all of his wins came between 1997 and 2000. Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon have three wins a piece, while Jimmie Johnson (+450), Tony Stewart (+650) and Ryan Newman (+5000), each have two.

Among the one-time New Hampshire winners are Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Joe Nemechek and Robby Gordon.

Loudon is a track where Denny Hamlin has really excelled. He has a very impressive 6.8 average finish in five starts, including two top 5s and four top 10s. Hamlin's win here was in the summer of '07; he finished 8th this June.

Following Denny in the average finish category are Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.

Over the course of the most recent five races at Loudon (both summer and fall dates), Denny Hamlin leads all drivers with points accumulated, including bonus points. Hamlin is just two points ahead of Jeff Gordon in that category, however, followed by Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Jeff Burton. Truex (+2500) has three straight top-5 finishes here - a 3rd, 5th, and a 4th.

Chase frontrunner Kyle Busch has made seven Loudon starts, but historically this hasn't been his best track, with just one top 10 in his last four starts. He finished 25th here in June and 4th in this race last year. Carl Edwards' (+1000) average finish is 14.1, and Jimmie Johnson's, 10.5.

Here are some additional loop data notes for Loudon, courtesy of NASCAR:

- Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon rank one-two in pre-race Driver Rating. Stewart has finished in the top-three at New Hampshire in four of the last seven races (including a win in the spring race of 2005).

- Over that span, the 2002 and 2005 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has series-highs in Driver Rating (118.6), Fastest Laps Run (223) and average Green Flag Speed (124.508 mph). He also ranks second in Average Running Position with a 9.2.

- Gordon has three career wins at New Hampshire, but none since 1998. He has come close recently, though, finishing in the top three in three of the last four races (including two runner-up finishes last year).

- Since 2005, Gordon has a Driver Rating of 108.7 (second-best), 183 Fastest Laps Run (second) and series-high statistics in Laps in the Top 15 percentage (88.7%) and Average Running Position (7.0).

- Jimmie Johnson, who has a series-high 11 victories during the Chase’s 40-race history, has a New Hampshire Driver Rating of 94.6 (seventh), an Average Running Position of 11.9 (fifth), 100 Fastest Laps Run (sixth) and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 80.4% (third).