Saturday, July 13, 2013

Hamlin tops final New Hampshire Driver Ratings following all practice sessions

Hamlin should be strong enough Sunday to get third New Hampshire win
We're going to look for Denny Hamlin to win Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hamlin has been reeling with some poor finishes of late, but this is the type of track that always does him well. He didn't have the greatest practices on Saturday after looking stellar in qualifying trim on Friday, but there wasn't a driver that stood out Saturday which gives Hamlin an edge.

What we like most of all out of Hamlin this week is his swagger. He hasn't guaranteed a win like he did last fall when he won, but he knows he's better on these types of tracks than everyone else. The short flat tracks are Hamlin's main game, and with a good starting position, he should find himself in a similar situation as last year when he led the most laps between both events.

Hamlin comes to the forefront even more considering no driver really stood out in Saturday's final practices. Brian Vickers had the best 10-consecutive lap average in the final practice session with two-time New Hampshire winner Clint Bowyer right behind him. Like Hamlin, Bowyer also excels on these types of tracks.

We have to consider the winners from races at Phoenix and Richmond this season just because the set-up requirements are similar. If a driver did well on those tracks, they're likely to do well Sunday at New Hampshire. Carl Edwards won at Phoenix and Kevin Harvick won at Richmond. Harvick is using the same chassis this week he won with at Richmond. Because it looks to be a wide open race, we're going to ride with a driver starting up front like Hamlin (7th), who knows better than most how to get around the flat one-mile track.

Read More Here.......Top-10 Final Driver Ratings

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