| | By Ron Buck
ESPN.com
| FAST FACTS |
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Event |
New England 300 |
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When |
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (TNN) |
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Where |
New Hampshire International Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns).
Loudon, N.H.
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Distance |
317.4 miles (300 laps) |
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Defending champion |
Jeff Burton |
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1999 Pole Sitter |
Jeff Gordon, 131.171 mph
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Qualifying |
Friday, first-round, 2:30 p.m. ET; Saturday, second-round, 11 a.m. ET |
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Track Records |
Track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon, 131.171 mph (1999)
Race record: Jeff Burton, 117.134 mph (1997)
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On the Track
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Thursday, July 6
Loudon is a place where both Jeffs have run well, both Burton and Gordon have three wins each at the track. And coming off his win at Daytona, Burton is trying to make a push in the points as he comes to a stretch that should be good for him. This is a place he can definitely gain some ground.
The thing about New Hampshire is it's a tricky racetrack. It's really one of the most temperature sensitive racetracks we go to each year. They actually imported the asphalt from Trinidad because they had such a hard time keeping the asphalt from lifting off the track. So they went to a place that was so hot that they knew the asphalt would last. The heat also makes handling tough.
I think of Loudon as a big Martinsville. It's a mile long, but it's a flat mile. So a lot of teams will take different types of chassis to this race. Some take drop-snout chassis. Other will take regular-snout chassis.
As for the racing at Loudon? Well, it's usually a great race for the modifieds. As for the Winston Cup cars, it can get a little boring. For some reason, this isn't a racetrack that you'll see a lot of side-by-side racing. Sure, we've had some good races here in the past. But it's nothing like Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Labonte coming out of Turn 4 at Atlanta this year, or Burton and Gordon banging at Richmond to the finish.
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Jeff Burton made his debut in Winston Cup the same time as New Hampshire International Speedway. The date was July 11, 1993. Little did we know the love affair that would blossom a few years later.
Burton, fresh off his first Daytona victory last Saturday night in the Pepsi 400, returns to a track he's enjoyed the most success on since joining the Winston Cup Series. It's no secret Burton has won the past three July races in Loudon, but sprinkled among those wins are a pair of top-five finishes in the fall race as well. All told, in 10 Winston Cup races run at Loudon, Burton has three wins and six top-10 finishes.
But Burton's success in Loudon is only part of the story this week. New Hampshire starts the second half of the Winston Cup season, which means all eyes will be on points leader Bobby Labonte as he tries to continue his march toward a first championship. The numbers are on Labonte's side, as the past seven points leaders at the midway point of the season have gone on to win the title.
As for New Hampshire International Speedway, the first two-thirds of the race usually set the stage for teams to gamble on fuel mileage. The race may be just 300 miles, a sprint really in Winston Cup, but the fastest car isn't always the winner. Just ask Tony Stewart.
Stewart was on his way to his first career Winston Cup win a year ago in this race when he ran out of gas with just two laps remaining. Enter Burton, who's Roush engine conserved enough drops of fuel to make it all the way to the end. Stewart stormed out of New Hampshire, while Burton cruised into Victory Lane for a third straight year.
Loudon, despite being just over a mile long, also emphasises handling. Not like Daytona, mind you, but the setup will most likely change during the 300 laps. The low banks and surface have a reputation for changing substantially throughout the course of the race. If the sun shines, the track's surface can get slick as the day goes on. Drivers with early handling problems often find themselves quickly falling a lap or more off the pace.
Burton's win in Daytona made him the fourth driver with multiple wins -- none, however, have more than two. That could easily change this week. Obviously, if Burton makes it four straight he'd also become the first driver in 2000 with three wins.
But another Jeff, one with three wins himself at Loudon, could beat Burton to the three-win plateau. Jeff Gordon, who has proven to be the same old 24 on tracks he's excelled on in the past, won the first two fall races at Loudon and this race back in 1995.
The only other previous winners in the field are Rusty Wallace, who won the inagural race back in '93, Ricky Rudd, who is the only top-10 driver this year without a win, and Joe Nemecheck, who won his first Winston Cup race last year in the fall.
10 Drivers to Watch
Jeff Burton: Comes off unexpected win at Daytona. Expected to win this week, but with the 99 team you never know. A strong first half could have been better, but seven top-five finishes included his win at Las Vegas. Starts second half of season fifth in points.
Jeff Gordon: Needs to find consistency -- what's new? -- with new team. First half of the season saw him post just 3 top-10 finishes. Two, however, were wins at Talladega and Sears Point. Usually does better in fall race at Loudon, but was third last year in July behind Burton and Kenny Wallace. Stands 10th in points.
Dale Earnhardt: Really can't look back at last few years to see how he'll do Sunday. The 2000 season has been a resurgence with a series-high 14 top-10 finishes in the first 17 races. Was a runner-up to Jeff Burton in the '97 July race and was eighth a year ago. Sits second in points as we make the turn for home, just 52 points off the pace set by Bobby Labonte.
Bobby Labonte: Which brings us to the points leader, who has nine top-five results this season and one win in Rockingham. Labonte ran third at Loudon last fall. Can't afford to repeat last year's July finish, however, which saw him spin, hit the wall and finish just 222 laps in finishing 38th.
Ricky Rudd: He's going to breakthrough sooner or later, might as well be at a track he's won at in the past. Since Talladega, Rudd has climbed from 11th to sixth in the standings with six top-five finishes in eight races. Won the July race at Loudon in '94 and was third a year later. Finished 27th last year in this race.
Dale Jarrett: The '99 champ has steadily moved himself back into contention for this year's title and he's always solid in Loudon, where he's run the top five in four of the 10 races competed in. Was fourth last year in this race.
Mark Martin: While his teammate will make prerace headlines, Martin has made raceday headlines in the past himself. While he hasn't won in Loudon, he finished second to both Burton and Gordon in '98. Last season, he was sixth in July and 17th in the fall. After a promising start to the 2000 season, he struggled for a stretch of six races before bouncing back with top five finishes in the last three races. His one victory this year came at Martinsville.
Tony Stewart: This track owes the 20 team after the tank ran dry last year with two laps remaining and Stewart way out front. He wound up 10th. Followed his debut at Loudon up with a second-place run in the fall. Won back-to-back races this year in Dover Downs and Michigan.
Rusty Wallace: Don't be surprised to see him on the pole Friday. He's won a pole at Loudon and has six this season. That doesn't mean he'll win, however. Wallace has just one triumph in 2000 (Bristol). Still, he won the first race at Loudon in 1993 and comes off a career-best finish of third at Daytona.
Joe Nemechek: "Front-Row Joe" became "First-Place Joe" last fall when his first career victory came at Loudon. His victory really came out of nowhere. He'd never finished in the top five at Loudon before his victory.
Ron Buck is ESPN.com's auto racing editor. | |
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