After a heavy dose of speedway and road course racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to its short track roots at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Shape of Things to Come - The Sprint Cup Series Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Race Primer
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Located in Loudon, just outside of Boston, the speedway is a 1-mile flat track similar to Phoenix and Richmond. As such, New Hampshire plays an important role in providing data for some of the most important races of the season.
Teams safely in the Chase are going to use New Hampshire as yet another opportunity to acquire data for two Chase races in New Hampshire and Phoenix. For drivers ranked eighth and back, it’s one of the last chances to secure a Chase spot before the 26-race cutoff.
Look back toward Phoenix in February (won by Jeff Gordon) and Richmond in April (won by Kyle Busch) if you’re making predictions. Those races are the measuring stick going into Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301.
Read about the contenders after the jump!
Kyle Busch is coming off a win at Kentucky and has wrangled the championship lead away from Carl Edwards (-4) and Kevin Harvick (-10). His third win of the season ties him with Harvick for most in the Cup garage and gives both drivers a bonus point advantage heading towards Richmond.
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 12 career starts)
- One win, four top fives, six top 10s
- Average finish of 14.7
- Driver Rating of 91.3, 10th-best
- 111 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
- 600 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
- 2,192 Laps in the Top 15 (61.5%), 10th-most
Jeff Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson developed a brand new car for New Hampshire, built from the data of their destroyed Phoenix machine. Titled “24.1,” the car is an evolution of Gustafson’s race-winner and the duo expect to contend on Sunday.
Gordon has delivered three straight top 10s and finds himself in seventh, 24 points ahead of tenth place Denny Hamlin. Staying in the top ten is paramount for Team 24 because their two wins would amount to two bonus points in the Chase for the Championship.
New Hampshire presents Gordon the chance to match Busch and Harvick’s three victories.
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, 32 career starts)
- Three wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s; three poles
- Average finish of 11.0
- Series-best Average Running Position of 7.6
- Driver Rating of 107.0, second-best
- 270 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
- 563 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
- Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 124.473 mph
In 10 starts at New Hampshire, Clint Bowyer has two wins (2007, 2010), four Top 10s and an Average Finish of 16.1. Clint Bowyer won here in September and finished seventh last June. Bowyer finished 36th at Daytona and 35th at Kentucky and could really use a good finish.
New Hampshire couldn’t have come sooner for the winless Bowyer, sitting 15 points out of tenth.
Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, 10 career starts)
- Two wins, two top fives, four top 10s; one pole
- Average finish of 16.1
- Average Running Position of 12.9, eighth-best
- Driver Rating of 96.6, sixth-best
- 210 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
- 2,024 Laps in the Top 15 (68.2%), 11th-most
- 272 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 13th-most
And alas, there’s Jimmie Johnson.
He’s won five straight championships and Loudon is a Chase for the Championship race. He’s good here too.
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 18 career starts)
- Three wins, six top fives, 12 top 10s
- Average finish of 9.9
- Average Running Position of 9.6, third-best
- Driver Rating of 106.8, third-best
- 300 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
- Average Green Flag Speed of 124.241 mph, fourth-fastest
- 3,029 Laps in the Top 15 (84.9%), second-most
- 390 Quality Passes, fourth-most
The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH airs at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday and will be televised live on TNT. Race threads will be posted for all three touring series events on Saturday and Sunday. We hope to see you there!
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