New Hampshire Preview

Brian Vickers races under the checkers to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2013.  [Jonathan Ferrey/NASCAR via Getty Images]

 

by Dan Margetta and John Wiedemann

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the flat circuit at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Camping World RV Sales 301 this Sunday afternoon.

A flat one mile oval, New Hampshire races similar to the race tracks in Phoenix and Richmond and traditionally drivers who perform well there, race strong at New Hampshire. This is also the first race since the recent formation of the Race Team Alliance, an organization consisting of nine of the top race teams to work together, and tensions could run a little higher than normal in the garage area.

Here are some drivers to watch as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes to New Hampshire for the last event before a much needed week off next weekend.

Joey Logano
Dan Margetta: While not the favorite in the eyes of the Vegas odds makers at 12-1, I think Joey Logano will be a major force to be dealt with this weekend at New Hampshire. Logano won the Richmond race and is driving the same winning chassis this weekend in the Camping World RV Sales 301. Logano also led many laps and finished in the top five at Phoenix, plus he does have a New Hampshire victory to his credit. The Penske Fords have been strong everywhere and that trend should continue this weekend at New Hampshire where Joey Logano has a strong chance to chalk up his third win of the season.

Jimmie Johnson
John Wiedemann: On his way to winning at the Brickyard in a couple of weeks, Jimmie Johnson just might pick up a victory at New Hampshire before the break. Johnson has three wins at the track and has finished in the top ten in 12 of the last 14 races. In fact, in 24 races, Johnson has only ended up out of the top ten in seven of those events. Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the team believe they have a great new car lined up for the Brickyard 400. It wouldn’t be a shock at all to see Johnson dominate this weekend to kick off the flat track portion of the schedule.

Kevin Harvick
DM: Kevin Harvick finished 11th at Richmond but everyone still remembers his dominating win at Phoenix in the second week of the season. Harvick is a great flat track racer and he enters this weekend at odds of 7-1, well aware his team in plenty capable of scoring the victory. He does have one New Hampshire victory in his career and has finished in the top ten, 13 times. It’s been awhile since Harvick and the #4 team has made some positive noise and Sunday could very well be the day they return to their early season dominance.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
JW: Dale Earnhardt Jr’s average finish at New Hampshire is a not very promising 15.7. But, if you look past that number and factor in his results this season, you see a driver that has a great shot a season win number three. In the NASCAR statistics Junior has the third-most quality and green flag passes and passing is something that is not easy to do at the flat one mile track. The race is short and could call for some quick and out of the box thinking regarding fuel strategy, something which Earnhardt’s crew chief Steve LeTarte excels at. Junior won at Pocono, a track that favors cars that work on flat corners – just like New Hampshire. It all adds up, now let’s see what happens.

Jeff Gordon
DM: Jeff Gordon has won three times at New Hampshire in his career and has been on somewhat of a resurgence this season. His victory may have came at the 1.5 mile Kansas circuit but Gordon came very close to winning at Richmond and finished in the top five in Phoenix. This week Gordon will be driving a brand new chassis that has yet to be raced and he’s listed at 7-1 odds in Las Vegas. The New Hampshire event is the kind of race Jeff Gordon has traditionally found success at and he should definitely be one to watch on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin
JW: Ten of sixteen races ended in a top ten finish including six top three runs and two wins. Denny Hamlin, New Hampshire is calling you. A sixth place finish at Daytona was just what Hamlin needed after three races that needed to be forgotten. New Hampshire is a track that can help Hamlin continue success and build on for the second half of the season. Joe Gibbs Racing teams in particular need some good news and New Hampshire is a track that they will return to in the Chase so this is an important week to see if they will be competitive going forward. Hamlin, along with teammates Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth will be ones to watch.

Clint Bowyer
DM: Clint Bowyer has yet to win this season and has been very good on the flat tracks in the past. That should leave Bowyer looking forward to this weekend’s race at New Hampshire where he has won twice and owns six top ten finishes. He was 13th at Phoenix and ran into early trouble in Richmond after running well throughout the weekend. New Hampshire can produce a surprise winner, such as last season when Bowyer’s MWR teammate Brian Vickers drove to victory, and at 15-1 odds, Clint Bowyer could sneak out a win while no one’s paying attention.

Brian Vickers
JW: After last weekend at Daytona where Brian Vickers came close to victory lane, he returns to a track where he is the defending champion. It was somewhat of a surprising victory at the time but you look back now and Vickers has four top ten finishes at New Hampshire including the spring 2013 win and a seventh place finish in the fall. Vickers again should be near the front. It will be important to see how the team unloads and runs in practice and qualifying. A short 301 lap race on a circuit that is difficult to pass on means that track position will be of utmost importance. Qualifying position and a handling car will be the keys to get into victory lane.

Ryan Newman
DM: My long shot pick this weekend is Ryan Newman who is listed at 40-1 odds and is a very accomplished flat track racer. He has won three times in his career at New Hampshire and his driving the same chassis he has used in similar events this season. He finished seventh at Phoenix and was eighth at Richmond and the team tested this chassis last week at the New Hampshire track. At 40-1, Newman is worth a shot this weekend, but as a side note, if you are really adventurous, take his Childress teammate by technical alliance, A.J. Allmendinger in the #47 car at monstrous 300-1 odds this weekend.

Jeff Burton
JW: If you are playing in a fantasy racing league, there is one driver to keep your eyes on this weekend and that is Jeff Burton. Running a limited schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing this season, Burton is a driver that knows how to get around the mile track at New Hampshire. Burton won at New Hampshire four times while driving Fords for Jack Roush. In his last two races at the track, Burton scored third and eighth place finishes. Even though it is a part-time team, expect Burton to get everything he can out of the car and that may just be what it takes to put him up front.

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