New Hampshire Facts

Compiled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
History
• Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was Aug. 13, 1989.
• The official opening was June 5, 1990 with the first race a NASCAR Nationwide Series race on July 15, 1990.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on July 11, 1993.
• The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race was on Sept. 9, 1996.
• The track was renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2008.

Notebook
• There have been 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; one per year from 1993 through 1996 and two per year since.
• Four drivers have competed in all 29 races: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek.
• Mark Martin won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole.
• Rusty Wallace won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
• There have been 15 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman (four).
• 19 different drivers have posted victories, led by Jeff Burton (four).
• In June, Joey Logano became the all-time youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner at 19 years, one month and four days.
• Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kurt Busch (2004) are the only drivers that have posted season sweeps. Those are also the only back-to-back winners.
• Roush Fenway Racing has won seven races, more than any other organization.
• The deepest in the field that a New Hampshire race winner started was 38th, by Jeff Burton in 1999.
• The last race winner to win from the pole was Clint Bowyer in 2007.
• There have been nine consecutive different race winners.
• Jeff Burton led all 300 laps raced in the 2000 fall race.
• Clint Bowyer led 222 laps and scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 in the 2007 fall race.

NASCAR in New Hampshire
• There have been 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in New Hampshire, all at NHMS.
• 13 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) are listed as New Hampshire natives.
• There has been one race winner from New Hampshire in NASCAR’s three national series: Jamie Aube. Aube, from Manchester, won a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Oxford Plains Speedway in 1987.

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

• 22 different drivers have made the Chase, including Brian Vickers and Juan Pablo Montoya, who each made their first Chase this season.
• There will be 3,152 laps and 4,095.48 miles run during the 2009 Chase.
• Only one driver has made all six Chases for the NASCAR Sprint Cup: Jimmie Johnson
• Three drivers have made five Chases: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Kenseth has made all five previous Chases, but missed this year’s after finishing the regular season 14th in points.
• In the 50 Chase races, Jimmie Johnson has won a series-high 14 races. He’s followed by Carl Edwards (six), Greg Biffle (six), Tony Stewart (four) and Jeff Gordon (three).
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to average a top-10 finish in Chase races (8.7).
• In the 50 Chase races, Greg Biffle has an average finish of 14.4. But in the 20 Chase races where he was in contention for the championship, Biffle has an average finish of 9.6.
• Three drivers have notched more than 20 top-five finishes during Chase races: Jimmie Johnson (26), Jeff Gordon (22) and Carl Edwards (20).
• Nine drivers have more than 20 top-10 finishes during Chase races: Jimmie Johnson (36), Jeff Gordon (34), Carl Edwards (29), Tony Stewart (26), Kevin Harvick (25), Kurt Busch (25), Matt Kenseth (23), Greg Biffle (22) and Jeff Burton (22).
• Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, two drivers have a Driver Rating of at least 100.0: Jimmie Johnson (108.8) and Carl Edwards (100.0).
• Ryan Newman’s average starting position in Chase races is 10.9, which ranks second to Jimmie Johnson’s 9.5. But in the 20 Chase races Newman has been in contention for a championship, he has an average starting position of 5.1.