New Hampshire Int. Raceway Numerology

[KenP]

Ten drivers are in, and more half are Chasing for the first time.

By the Numbers: NHIS

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
September 14, 2006
11:25 AM EDT (15:25 GMT)

Ten drivers. Ten races.
Those are the even numbers, so what about the odd?....

Numerology
Sunday's Sylvania 300 (12:30 p.m. ET, TNT) will be the 24th race held at New Hampshire International Speedway. Dubbed the Magic Mile, the flat oval may be better recognized as the Great Equalizer. In 23 races, 12 winners have started from a top-10 position while 11 have been outside the top 10.
Fords have won 10 races to Chevrolet's nine victories (Dodge has two). And there have been eight different winners in the past 11 races. But one of those winners was Kurt Busch in 2004, the only Chase champion to win a race.

0.5 -- Percent of laps led by Kevin Harvick at the 10 Chase tracks in the past two years, the lowest among the top 10 drivers.

3 -- Consecutive top-five finishes at New Hampshire for Greg Biffle, the longest current streak.

4 -- Pole positions for Ryan Newman in the past eight New Hampshire races. Two qualifying sessions were rained out. Newman's average start at the track is 6.0 and he has led in all nine of his races there.

5 -- Consecutive top-10 starts for Denny Hamlin. In his New Hampshire debut in July, he started 12th and finished sixth. As a prelude to the Chase, Hamlin has scored top-15 finishes in 16 of the last 17 races.

6 -- Times the New Hampshire winner has gone on to win the title. Jeff Gordon did it three times (1995, 1997 and 1998). Kurt Busch's 2004 victory stands as the only race a Chase champion has won.

7.481 -- Average running position for Reed Sorenson in the past three New Hampshire races, the best among full-time drivers. Five drivers have averages better than 10th: Sorenson, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon.

8 -- Consecutive top-15 finishes at New Hampshire for points leader Matt Kenseth. His average finish at the track is 10.9.

8.7 -- Average finish for Jimmie Johnson at New Hampshire, the best among drivers with more than one start. His worst finish is 15th, his first trip there in 2002.

10 -- Former winners will be in the field Sunday, with Jeff Burton's four victories leading full-time drivers. In three of Burton's four wins, he has led the most laps, including all 300 in the 2000 September race.

10.7 -- Average finish for Mark Martin at the 10 Chase tracks in the past two years, the best among the top 10 drivers.

13.43 -- Average starting position for New Hampshire winners. More winners have started 30th or worse (five) than from the front row (three).

28.26 -- Percent of passes made on the frontstretch in the past three New Hampshire races, the most popular place to pass. Just 8.38 percent of passes have been made in Turn 3.

107 -- Laps led by Kyle Busch in the July race at New Hampshire, when he won his third career Cup race. He also led the most laps last week at Richmond (248), where he finished second.

125.478 -- Green-flag speed of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the past three New Hampshire races, the fastest among full-time drivers.

140.5 -- Average points scored by Mark Martin at the 10 Chase tracks in the past two years, the most among the top 10 drivers.

159 -- Laps in which Tony Stewart clocked the fastest time during the past three New Hampshire races. The next-highest is Ryan Newman with 74. Stewart is expected to make his 275th career start.

395 -- Laps led by Mark Martin at New Hampshire, the most among drivers who have not won at the track. His average finish there is 11.0. New Hampshire is one of just six tracks on the schedule at which Martin has not won.

1,070 -- Laps led by Jeff Gordon at New Hampshire. He has led in 15 of his 23 races but has not finished better than 14th in the past three trips, leading just three laps during that time.

Heading into the Chase's opening event, six of the top-10 drivers have never won at New Hampshire. However, all but one have an average finish inside the top 15.

Chaser wins: 10
Chaser top-fives: 39
Chaser top-10s: 67
Chaser average finish: 11.9

[KenP]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of two drivers who lead three categories of NASCAR's pre-race Loop Data statistics for New Hampshire. Credit: Autostock

Closer Look: Loudon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The field is set, the stage prepared.
Sunday's green flag at New Hampshire International Speedway marks the beginning of the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and storylines pop faster than dashboard gauges......

In The Loop
Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't begin his Cup career with New Hampshire on his list of favorites. Early finishes at the flat, 1.058-mile surface mirrored his frustration, but NASCAR's new Loop Data statistics illustrate his recent reversal of that trend.

Ahead of Sunday's Chase kick-off event, Earnhardt is one of two drivers who lead three categories of NASCAR's pre-race Loop Data statistics for New Hampshire. They are:

? Fastest in Turn 2: 114.567 mph
? Fastest in Turn 4: 114.320 mph
? Fastest Late in a Run: 125.070 mph

Earnhardt also ranks in the top five of seven other categories, including second in Fastest Early in a Run (125.416 mph), in Turn 1 (113.049 mph) and Turn 3 (115.970 mph).

How does this translate?

Earnhardt has five top-10 finishes in his last seven New Hampshire starts compared to just one top-10 finish in his first seven New Hampshire starts.

[Mrs.ssippi]

I Heart Dale Jr.!!!!!!

[KenP]

Originally Posted by Mrs.ssippi

I Heart Dale Jr.!!!!!!

I know you do.

[PARAGON]

I think that, after our conversation with these guys, Jr. should do well. Can't do much about the brake line dealy though.