Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Hamlin and New Hampshire Get Along Well Together

Darian Grubb has had the No. 11 set-up perfect on these type of tracks  
By Micah Roberts
The Linemakers on Sporting News

Coming into New Hampshire this week, we have four races of data from comparable tracks to sort through to help narrow the list of top candidates who should do well in in the second race of the Chase.

The Richmond race two weeks ago, won by Clint Bowyer, offers some of the most relevant information, since it’s the most-recent race on a similar track. We also have the first New Hampshire race of the season, won by Kasey Kahne in July. Then there’s the year's first Richmond race, run in April and won by Kyle Busch, and the Phoenix race in March won by Denny Hamlin.

When looking at those four races, along with the three tracks over his career, no one stands out more than Hamlin, which is why he is the 5-1 co-favorite this week (see Sylvania 300 odds below). He‘s finished fourth or better in three of the four races on comparable tracks this season. Over his career, he has a track-best 8.5 average finish at New Hampshire, a 10.9 average at Phoenix and an 8.1 average at Richmond; and four of his 21 career victories have come at the three tracks.

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