New Hampshire Odds & Ends: Sylvania 300

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 first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was July 11, 1993.

·         Renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2008.

Notebook

·         There have been 31 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 31 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 16 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman (four).

·         20 different drivers have won, led by Jeff Burton (four).

·         Last season, 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 who have posted season sweeps. Those are also the only back-to-back winners. Johnson, who won the June race, looks to repeat the feat.

·         Hendrick Motorsports has won eight 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.

·         There have been four winners who started from the pole. The last race winner to win from the pole was Clint Bowyer in 2007. He scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 that event.

·         There have been 11 consecutive different race winners.

·         Jeff Burton led all 300 laps raced in the 2000 fall race.

·         Five drivers got their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at New Hampshire: Joe Nemechek (1999), Robby Gordon (2001), Ryan Newman (2002), Clint Bowyer (2007) and Joey Logano (2009).

NASCAR in New Hampshire

·         There have been 31 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.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data

Race #: 27 of 36 (9-19-10)

Track Size: 1.058 miles

Race Length: 317.4 miles (300 laps)

Banking/Corners: Variable at 2 & 7 degrees

Banking/Straights: 1 degree

Driver Rating at New Hampshire 

Tony Stewart                 114.1

Jeff Gordon                   107.9

Jimmie Johnson            107.9

Dale Earnhardt Jr.          99.8

Denny Hamlin                99.8

Mark Martin                   95.5

Jeff Burton                     94.0

Kurt Busch                    93.6

Kevin Harvick                 93.0

Ryan Newman               91.2

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (11 total) at New Hampshire.

Qualifying/Race Data

2009 pole winner: Juan Pablo Montoya (133.431 mph, 28.545 sec.)

2009 race winner: Mark Martin, 100.753 mph, 9-20-09)

Track qualifying record: Juan Pablo Montoya (133.431 mph, 28.545 sec., 9-20-09)

Track race record: Jeff Burton (117.134 mph, 7-13-97)

Estimated Pit Window: 70-78 laps

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

·         22 different drivers have made the Chase. All 12 drivers in this year’s field have made a prior Chase.

·         In the 60 Chase races, Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with 18 Chase wins. Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are tied for second, with six.

·         Champion’s wins during each Chase:

o    2004: Kurt Busch, one win

o    2005: Tony Stewart, no wins

o    2006: Jimmie Johnson, one win

o    2007: Jimmie Johnson, four wins

o    2008: Jimmie Johnson, three wins

o    2009: Jimmie Johnson four wins

·         Champion’s average finish during each Chase:

o    2004: Kurt Busch, 8.9

o    2005: Tony Stewart, 8.7

o    2006: Jimmie Johnson, 10.8

o    2007: Jimmie Johnson, 5.0

o    2008: Jimmie Johnson, 5.7

o    2009: Jimmie Johnson, 6.8

·         Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to make all seven Chases for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

·         Three drivers have made six Chases: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Gordon missed in 2005; Stewart in 2006; Kenseth in 2009.

·         Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to average a top-10 finish in Chase races (8.4).

·         Three drivers have 20 or more top-five finishes during Chase races: Jimmie Johnson (33), Jeff Gordon (26), Carl Edwards (20) and Matt Kenseth (20).

·         12 drivers have more than 20 top-10 finishes during Chase races: Jimmie Johnson (45), Jeff Gordon (41), Carl Edwards (32), Kurt Busch (32), Tony Stewart (31), Kevin Harvick (29), Matt Kenseth (26), Greg Biffle (26), Jeff Burton (26), Mark Martin (24), Denny Hamlin (23) and Kyle Busch (20).

·         Jimmie Johnson has the most laps led during the Chase (3,190). Matt Kenseth is second with 1,642.

·         Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, two drivers have a Chase Driver Rating of at least 100.0: Jimmie Johnson (110.5) and Jeff Gordon (100.5).

·         Jimmie Johnson’s average start during the Chase is 9.0. He has eight poles in the 60 Chase races, second only to Ryan Newman’s nine.

·         There have been 12 races won by drivers who did not qualify for the Chase. The last to do so was Jamie McMurray, at Talladega last year.

·         Eight qualifying sessions in the Chase have been canceled due to weather.


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