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This Sunday, NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers make their first of two annual visits to ?The Magic Mile? in Loudon, New Hampshire for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300. Drivers will make 300 laps around this relatively flat, 1.058-mile track. This track opened in 1990, ran its first Cup series race in 1993, and added a second Cup race in 1997 when North Wilkesboro Speedway was dropped from the schedule. In 2002, the speedway?s corners were modified to progressive banking, going from 4 degrees at the bottom to 12 degrees at the top. Then in 2003, an incident with Dale Jarrett stuck on the main straightaway while the rest of the field raced around him back to the caution flag proved to be the final straw in NASCAR?s decision to implement the ?lucky dog? rule.

As I see it, the following drivers have the best chance of pulling out a top finish this Sunday. I have compiled my ranking by analyzing drivers? success at this track and similar tracks such as Phoenix International Raceway, then throwing ol? momentum into the mix by factoring in the last month of racing.

TOP TWENTY
1) 11 Denny Hamlin
2) 20 Tony Stewart
3) 24 Jeff Gordon
4) 29 Kevin Harvick
5) 99 Carl Edwards
6) 17 Matt Kenseth
7) 12 Ryan Newman
8) 5 Kyle Busch
9) 1 Martin Truex Jr.
10) 31 Jeff Burton
11) 16 Greg Biffle
12) 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13) 48 Jimmie Johnson
14) 2 Kurt Busch
15) 9 Kasey Kahne
16) 07 Clint Bowyer
17) 83 Brian Vickers
18) 42 Juan Montoya
19) 18 JJ Yeley
20) 25 Casey Mears

This will be Denny Hamlin?s third start at Loudon in a Nextel Cup car. In the July race last season, Hamlin settled for sixth place as he ran of out fuel on the way to the checkered flag. In September, Hamlin once again looked to have a shot at wining before settling for fourth. This is a Car of Tomorrow race, and Hamlin has led 566 laps (22% of all possible) in COT races this year. He will pilot chassis 162 this weekend, a car that he drove to the pole at Martinsville, then lead 125 laps before finishing third. Hamlin: ?This track has been pretty good to this #11 FedEx team so far. I feel really comfortable at New Hampshire, and that?s because I can really feel what the car is doing, and what it wants to do there. It comes down to being able to roll through the corners and get back on the throttle as soon as possible, and that?s where we?ve been good. It’s definitely a little bit different than any other track we go to because it almost seems like it’s banked in the other direction on the bottom. But you can go way up high or run on the bottom so there are some options for you to find a fast line. We?ve had some success in the COT so far this season and we expect that will help us going to New Hampshire. We feel like we missed some chances to win races in the COT because we ran so well at Phoenix, Martinsville and Darlington but just didn?t lead the lap that matters most.?

In 16 career starts at New Hampshire, Tony Stewart has racked up two wins, six top-threes, nine top-fives, 10 top-10s, and has led a total of 764 laps. Plus, he?s won an IRL Indy Car race and finished second in a Busch series race at New Hampshire in 1998. Stewart: ?It?s a big motor deal. With the corners being so tight, you?ve got to put a lot of gear in the car to get it up off the corner. Forward bite is always an issue there too ? trying to get the car to go forward. So, it?s hard to get up off the corners. Then you?ve got long straightaways where you can kind of relax a little bit. Coming into the corners, you use a lot of brake, and it?s hard to not only get the car stopped, but to get it to turn. Then you go through that challenge all over again.?

In 12 Cup starts at Loudon, Kevin Harvick has earned one win, one pole, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He has a 12.7 finishing average, has completed all but four laps, and has led in seven of those 12 races for a total of 264 laps. Harvick will pilot RCR?s 2007-built chassis #190 this weekend, a car that finished fourth at Bristol, eighth at Phoenix, and seventh at Richmond. Harvick: ?We had a lot of success at New Hampshire last season. Our flat-track program has been really good over the past few years ? Richmond, Loudon, Phoenix all those places have been really good to us. We look forward to going to New Hampshire every year and this year is no different. We enjoy the racetrack since they put the progressive banking in. Since the progressive banking, you can race side-by-side and pass people and do the things you need to do to get toward the front.?

Carl Edwards will make his sixth Cup start at the Magic Mile this weekend, where he has one top-five (second in this race last year) and five top-20 finishes. Edwards: “I like New Hampshire; it’s one of my favorite tracks. It’s flat and fast and it puts a lot of things in the driver’s hands. We had a really strong run there last year in the summer, so hopefully we?ll be able to repeat that success.? Crew Chief Bob Osborne: ?New Hampshire is a great track that really suits Carl?s driving style. It?s flat; it?s fast and is really a driver?s track. Over the past few weeks the team has really improved so much and we?ve started running up front and contending for wins. This weekend should be no exception.?

SELECTED LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE HIGHLIGHTS

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet)
? One top five, two top 10s
? Average finish of 5.0
? Average Running Position of 8.8, second-best
? Driver Rating of 106.8, second-best
? Fifth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 548 Laps in the Top 15 (90.1%), the highest percentage of any driver
? 74 Quality Passes (37%), highest average of any driver

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet)
? Two wins, nine top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
? Average finish of 13.5
? Average Running Position of 10.9, seventh-best
? Series-best Driver Rating of 122.9
? Series-high 168 Fastest Laps Run
? Fastest Green Flag Speed
? 939 Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
? 112 Quality Passes, second-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
? Three wins, 10 top fives, 13 top 10s; three poles
? Average finish of 12.4
? Series-best Average Running Position of 8.2
? Driver Rating of 101.8, fifth-best
? 84 Fastest Laps Run, tied for second-most
? Third-fastest Green Flag Speed
? Series-high 1,029 Laps in the Top 15
? 109 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), third-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
? One win, three top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
? Average finish of 12.7
? Average Running Position of 10.4, fourth-best
? Driver Rating of 105.6, third-best
? 84 Fastest Laps Run, tied for second-most
? 842 Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
? Five top fives, nine top 10s
? Average finish of 10.9
? Series-best ?Closer? ? 21 positions improved over the last 10% of New Hampshire races
? 47 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
? Series-high 234 Green Flag Passes

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
? Two wins, five top fives, seven top 10s
? Average finish of 11.4
? Driver Rating of 104.4, fourth-best
? 76 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
? Eighth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 932 Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
? 86 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet)
? Four wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s
? Average finish of 13.2
? Average Running Position of 10.6, sixth-best
? Driver Rating of 100.7, sixth-best
? Ninth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 980 Laps in the Top 15, second-most

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ameriquest Ford)
? Three top fives, four top 10s
? 18.8 average finish
? Average Running Position of 10.96, eighth-best
? Driver Rating of 100.1, seventh-best
? 10th-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 930 Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most

Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota)
? One top five; one pole
? Average finish of 17.0
? Average Running Position of 10.3, third-best
? Driver Rating of 99.0, eighth-best
? 62 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
? 191 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
? Fourth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 953 Laps in the Top 15, third-most
? Series-high 130 Quality Passes

New Hampshire International Speedway Active Streaks
? Ryan Newman has started in the top five in three of the last four races.
? Jeff Gordon has started in the top 10 in three consecutive races.
? Greg Biffle has finished in the top 10 in three of the last five races.
? Jeff Burton has three consecutive top-10 finishes.
? Kevin Harvick has three consecutive top-10 finishes.

Drivers that Tested at The Milwaukee Mile in Preparation for Loudon?s Magic Mile
? 1 Martin Truex Jr.
? 5 Kyle Busch
? 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fastest)
? 10 Scott Riggs
? 11 Denny Hamlin
? 14 Sterling Marlin
? 15 Paul Menard
? 16 Greg Biffle
? 17 Matt Kenseth
? 18 JJ Yeley
? 19 Chase Miller for Elliot Sadler
? 20 Tony Stewart
? 25 Casey Mears
? 40 David Stremme
? 41 Reed Sorenson
? 44 Dale Jarrett
? 55 Michael Waltrip
? 83 Brian Vickers
? 84 AJ Allmendinger
? 96 Tony Raines
? 99 Carl Edwards
Drivers scheduled to Test this week at The Milwaukee Mile in Preparation for Loudon?s Magic Mile
? David Ragan
? Clint Boyer
? Jeff Burton
? Kevin Harvick
? Jamie McMurray
? David Gilliland
? Robby Gordon
? Bill Elliott

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