New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Sylvania 300 (News & Notes)

[HacheMan]

The Sylvania 300
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 27th race of the 2010 season, the Sylvania 300. NASCAR expert Brian Brown took a look at past performances, season trends, and spoke to NASCAR contacts to provide you the most accurate fantasy preview of Sunday's race.


When: Sunday, September 19, 2010; 1:15 p.m./et.


Weather: Mostly sunny with high around 79; wind out of the NW at 3 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10%.


The Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

NHMS is a 1.058 mile flat-oval. It has 12 degree banking on the corners with 2 degree banking on the straight-aways. Ryan Newman has been great at NHMS during his career. He earned his first career Nextel Cup victory at the track and passed Tony Stewart late in the 2006 September race for another win at NHMS. Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Clint Bowyer have won the past five races at the track.


Key to Race: THAT IS ONE BIG PAPERCLIP

NHMS is basically a big version of Martinsville. It is a mile long paperclip configuration with two long straight-aways with tight corners at the ends. This race is always hard on brakes and tires. The team that can figure out a setup that allows them to keep the brakes and tires fresh will have a big advantage. Look for Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch to have strong runs in Sunday's race.


Qualifying Procedures:

45 cars will attempt to qualify for 43 spots. Cars not in the top 35 in the 2010 owner point standings will have to qualify based on speed. Starting positions 1-43 will be determined by qualifying runs on Friday, September 17 at 3:10 pm/et.


Fantasy Cheat Sheet:


Top 5

No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has finished in the top 15 in all but one of his 17 career Cup starts at NHMS. He won at the track in June and is a great pick on Sunday.
No. 14 Tony Stewart: Stewart has 12 top five finishes, including two wins, in 23 career starts at NHMS. He has brought one of the best cars in the field the last few races in the Granite State and is a terrific option.
No. 24 Jeff Gordon: Between 1997 and 2001 Gordon was easily the top driver at NHMS, but then the Rainbow Warrior went into a serious slump at the track. He has worked hard at his race setups at the Magic Mile and is once again a great option to take the checkers.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won the July 2007 race at NHMS and has finished in the top 10 in six of his last nine Cup races at the track. He is an excellent pick on Sunday.
No. 2 Kurt Busch: Busch has three career wins at NHMS including the July 2008 rain-shortened race. With his past success at the track and how well he has driven this year we like his chances to win.


6 to 10

No. 18 Kyle Busch: Rowdy dominated the July 2006 race at NHMS, but has cracked the top 10 just three times in the past eight races at the track. He will be back in the top 10 this trip up Route 106.
No. 29 Kevin Harvick: Harvick has 10 top 10 finishes in 19 career starts at NHMS. He won the September 2006 race at track and with some luck could crack the top 10 on Sunday.
No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior has finished in the top 10 in eight of the last 15 races at NHMS. He will finish in the top 10 again this weekend.
No. 20 Joey Logano: Logano won his first career Cup race at NHMS. This is his home track and even if he wouldn't have won without the race being rain-shortened, he still has lots of speed at the Magic Mile.
No. 31 Jeff Burton: Burton has an impressive history at NHMS. In 29 starts at the track he has won four races. He is a very safe pick to finish inside the top 15 on Sunday.


11 to 20

No. 5 Mark Martin: Martin has had plenty of past success in the Granite State, including a win in last year's September race. He should have no problem cracking the top 10 on Sunday.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Biffle brought a strong car to NHMS in three of the past four races. He should be fast again this weekend.
No. 56 Martin Truex Jr.: Truex has four top seven finishes in the last seven races at NHMS. This is the weekend to use the No. 56 driver.
No. 99 Carl Edwards: Carl had one of the better cars at NHMS the past few years. He will flirt with another top 10 finish this weekend.
No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya: Montoya seems to get better with every trip he makes to New Hampshire. He is a fine choice this weekend.
No. 33 Clint Bowyer: Bowyer dominated the September 2007 race at NHMS. If he can bring a similar setup to the track this weekend he will be tough to beat.
No. 39 Ryan Newman: In 16 Cup starts at the Magic Mile, Newman has 10 top 10 finishes, including two wins. He is a solid pick as a third driver in most fantasy leagues.
No. 17 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has finished inside the top 10 in nine of the last 16 NHMS races. He should finish around 10th on Sunday.
No. 00 David Reutimann: Reutimann cracked the top 20 in the last five races at NHMS. He should finish in the top 20 again this weekend.
No. 9 Kasey Kahne: Kahne has been slow in seven of the last eight races at NHMS. He is normally a solid pick, but we think he will struggle this weekend.


21 to 30

No. 83 Reed Sorenson: Sorenson is back behind the helm of the No. 83 Toyota. NHMS is one of his best tracks and we highly recommend taking a chance on him.
No. 12 Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished sixth and 26th in his two career starts at the Magic Mile. He is a good shoe to gamble on this weekend.
No. 47 Marcos Ambrose: Ambrose finished 13th, 20th and 23rd in his trips to the Granite State. Based on how he has run this season, he should cross the finish line a little slower on Sunday.
No. 1 Jamie McMurray: McMurray usually struggles with the tricky configuration at NHMS. He isn't an option.
No. 43 A.J. Allmendinger: A.J.'s average finish at NHMS is 30th. He should finish a little better than his average on Sunday.
No. 77 Sam Hornish Jr.: Hornish Jr. did a great job of playing the "rain game" at NHMS last summer. He won't match the eighth place finish he notched in that visit to the Granite State.
No. 19 Elliott Sadler: Sadler hasn't done much at NHMS in his career. We think he should finish right around 29th on Sunday.
No. 7 Robby Gordon: Gordon, a past winner at NHMS, has cracked the top 30 in eight of his last nine starts at NHMS. He is worth taking a chance on in deep, deep leagues.
No. 6 David Ragan: Ragan has been very inconsistent at NHMS. He should miss making the top 20 again this weekend.
No. 82 Scott Speed: Speed has had no speed at NHMS during his career. We expect his luck to improve a little this trip to Loudon.


31 to 34

No. 98 Paul Menard: NHMS has never been kind to Menard. He isn't a fantasy option this weekend.
No. 13 Casey Mears: Mears has been decent in the No. 13 car. He is a great deep, deep sleeper.
No. 78 Regan Smith: Smith will miss the top 30 once again.
No. 71 Andy Lally: Lally is a road-course expert that takes the wheel of the No. 71 ride. He shouldn't be worth using.
No. 09 Bobby Labonte: Labonte is guaranteed a spot in the field.

Field Fillers

No. 37 David Gilliland
No. 38 Travis Kvapil
No. 34 Tony Raines
No. 66 Scott Riggs
No. 36 Dave Blaney
No. 26 Jeff Green
No. 87 Joe Nemechek
No. 55 Mike Bliss
No. 46 Michael McDowell
No. 64 Todd Bodine


Brownie's Picks

Top Four:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Kurt Busch
4. Tony Stewart

Sleepers:

1. Reed Sorenson
2. Robby Gordon

Bust of the Week:

Jamie McMurray

 

[HacheMan]

Loudon, NH: Sylvania 300
Track history: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the first superspeedway started in the U.S. since 1969, broke ground on August 13, 1989 and was ready for racing the next year. It is a 1.058-mile asphalt oval with 12-degree banking in the turns. The 1,500-foot frontstretch and backstretch are banked two degrees. The seating for 55,000 fans in the grandstands on opening day has been increased to its current 95,000 capacity.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series held its first race, the Budweiser 300, on July 15, 1990. Tommy Ellis drove the No. 99 Goo Goo Clusters Buick to the victory in that event. For the next three years, the Nationwide Series was joined by CART and IRL at the Loudon track. The speedway hosted its first NASCAR Cup race in July 1993.

In the mid-to-late 1990's, several improvements were made at the facility. A 1.6 mile road course was added for motorcycles and sports cars. Four helipads, an expanded Corporate Hospitality area, VIP suites, an additional 52 bay garage and more grandstands were built. More parking and a five-lane access road were constructed.

July 11, 1993: After driving the No. 6 Valvoline Ford to a 126.871 mph qualifying lap, Mark Martin started on the pole for the first Loudon NASCAR Cup race, the Slick 50 300. He led 29 of the 300 laps and finished 2nd. Rusty Wallace started the No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac 33rd in the lineup, got to the front to lead 106 laps and earned the victory. This race marked the Cup Series debuts for Jeff Burton and Joe Nemechek.

September 20, 2009: Juan Pablo Montoya dominated the 2009 Sylvania 300. His lap of 133.431 mph in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet broke the track qualifying record to capture the pole. He led all the practice sessions, led 105 of the 300 laps but finished in 3rd. Mark Martin also put the No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's Chevrolet out front for 68 laps, including the final one. Martin's win was his first NHMS Cup win and fifth series victory in 2009.

June 27, 2010: Juan Pablo Montoya scored his second consecutive Loudon pole to lead the field for the 2010 Lenox Industrial Tools 301. He led 66 laps before he and Jeff Gordon (No. 24) started rubbing on each other for 4th place (lap 248). Montoya's No. 42 suffered some damage and on lap 282, he and Reed Sorenson got together sending Montoya hard into the wall (placed 34th). Kasey Kahne led the most laps (110 of 301) before the No. 9's engine expired (he placed 36th). Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) made a last lap pass on Tony Stewart's No. 14 to pick up his 2nd consecutive win (he won at Sonoma the week before) and 5th 2010 Cup victory.

Your fantasy game won't allow you to pick all track favorites so Mid-Pack Attack is here to help. A mid-packer may not win the race but has as good a shot at a top 15 finish as track favorites Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart. There were 45 cars on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's Cup race. Here are our picks for Sunday's Sylvania 300 in Loudon, New Hampshire.

Mid-Pack picks

In this race last season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running 4th with 8 to go when another car got into him and put the No. 88 into the fence (DNF; placed 35th). In the last four races at Loudon, his other finishes were 5th, 13th and 8th. Only favorite Hamlin is ranked higher than Earnhardt in NASCAR Statistics "Quality Passes" (passing while running in the top 15) category. He's also fourth in their "Laps in the Top 15" category (78.4 %). Dale Jr. has an average finish of 17.4 for 22 NHMS starts. Give the No. 88 a chance this week for a possible top ten.

There's not much more to say about Juan Pablo Montoya besides what we said above in the 9/20/09 and 6/27/10 race recounts. He's also collecting a string of top ten finishes. Including his win at The Glen in August, Montoya has 5 straight top tens (average 6.2 finish). The way he gets around the New Hampshire track, we expect that streak to continue.

Joey Logano made two starts (one from the pole) in the 2007 K&N Pro Series East at Loudon and won both events. Some say his lone career Cup win was due to being in the right place at the right time in the rain-shortened race in June 28, 2009 but, the day before, he finished 2nd (from the pole) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. This past June, he scored a 4th in the NNS race and a 9th in the Cup event. Over the last three Cup races at this venue, Logano has scored the 5th-most driver points of all drivers entered this weekend. Think about using him as your fourth or fifth driver on Sunday.

Martin Truex Jr. holds a 15.2 average finish in 9 Cup starts at the New Hampshire track. In his only DNF (June 2009), he was running 5th on a restart when he and Kyle Busch got together resulting in Truex being credited with a 37th place finish. He picked up a win here in the 2005 Nationwide Series race. He also scored 2 wins, 3 poles and 6 top tens in 10 starts at NHMS in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East earlier in his career. Back on the Cup side, Truex has four top tens in the last seven Loudon races. This has not been his been season but, currently, he has five top 17 finishes in the last six Cup races. Truex just might produce another top 15 or better this weekend at one of his better tracks.