Monday, July 8, 2013

New Hampshire Motor Speedway History and Notes

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

History
· Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was Aug. 13, 1989.

· The 1.058-mile oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres; the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on July 11, 1993 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.

· Speedway Motorsports, Inc., agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre on January 11, 2008 and then renamed the track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Notebook
· There have been 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; one per year from 1993 through 1996 and two per year since.

· 146 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; 120 in more than one.

· Four drivers have competed in all 36 races at New Hampshire: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek.

· Mark Martin won the inaugural Coors Light pole at New Hampshire in 1993 with a speed of 126.871 mph.

· 18 drivers have Coors Light poles at New Hampshire, led by Ryan Newman with six.

· Five drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at New Hampshire: Ken Schrader (1997 sweep); Jeff Gordon (1998-1999); Rusty Wallace (1999-2000); Ryan Newman (twice – 2003-2004 and 2011 sweep); Juan Pablo Montoya (2009-2010).

· Youngest New Hampshire Coors Light pole winner: Brian Vickers (7/17/2005 – 21 years, 8 months, 23 days).

· Oldest New Hampshire Coors Light pole winner: Bill Elliott (7/21/2002 – 46 years, 9 months, 13 days).

· 21 different drivers have won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, led by Jeff Burton with four.

· Two drivers have posted consecutive wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2003 sweep) and Kurt Busch (2004 sweep).

· Youngest New Hampshire winner: Joey Logano (6/28/2009 – 19 years, 1 month, 4 days).

· Oldest New Hampshire winner: Mark Martin (9/20/2009 – 50 years, 8 months, 11 days).

· Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at New Hampshire in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with nine; followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven.

· Five different manufacturers have won at New Hampshire; led by Chevrolet with 18 victories; followed by Ford with 11.

· Jeff Burton is the only driver to win the July race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway three consecutive years in a row (1997, ’98 and ’99).

· Five of the 36 (13.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Ryan Newman in 2011.

· The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (five) than any other starting position at New Hampshire.

· Eight of the 36 (22.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from the front row: eight from the pole and seven from second-place.

· 19 of the 36 (52.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· Nine of the 36 (25.0%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at New Hampshire was 38th, by Jeff Burton in 1999.

· Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are tied for the series lead in runner-up finishes at New Hampshire with five each.

· Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at New Hampshire with 16; followed by Tony Stewart with 14.

· Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-10 finishes at New Hampshire with 21; followed by Tony Stewart with 17.

· Ryan Newman leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at New Hampshire with an 8.045.

· Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at New Hampshire with a 7.929.

· All 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano won at New Hampshire in their second appearance.

· Mark Martin competed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway 25 times before winning in 2009; the longest span of any the 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

· Bobby Labonte leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at New Hampshire without visiting Victory Lane at 36.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the July 1, 2007 race won by Denny Hamlin over Jeff Gordon with a MOV of 0.068 second.

· Only one of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races have resulted with a green-white-checkered finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): 2006 (300/308).

· Four of the 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was June 28, 2009 – the race was called on Lap 273, 28 circuits shy of the 301 scheduled laps.

· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway four times: 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2009.

· Three NASCAR Sprint Cup active drivers have made their first career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Jeff Burton (9/14/93), Joe Nemechek (7/11/93), and Joey Logano (9/14/08).

· Brad Keselowski (9/19/10) is the only active driver to post his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

· Four active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have posted their first career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Joe Nemechek (9/19/99), Ryan Newman (9/15/02), Clint Bowyer (9/16/07) and Joey Logano (6/28/09).

· Jeff Gordon leads all active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in laps led at New Hampshire with 1,316 in 36 starts.

· Danica Patrick will attempt to become the first female driver to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Patrick does have one start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at NHMS; she started 18th and finished 14th (7/14/2012).

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data
Season Race #: 19 of 36 (07-14-13)Track Size: 1.058-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 2 to 7 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 2 to 7 degrees
Banking/Straights: 1 degree
Frontstretch Length: 1,500 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,500 feet
Race Length: 301 laps / 318.458 miles

Top 12 Driver Rating at New Hampshire
Tony Stewart............................111.7
Jeff Gordon.............................. 109.9
Jimmie Johnson.......................105.8
Denny Hamlin...........................104.8
Clint Bowyer..............................97.2
Dale Earnhardt Jr......................96.9
Ryan Newman...........................94.9
Kevin Harvick.............................92.8
Kasey Kahne.............................. 91.8
Jeff Burton................................. 91.6
Kurt Busch................................. 89.6
Kyle Busch................................. 89.6
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (16 total) among active drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 

Qualifying/Race Data
2012 pole winner: Kyle Busch, Toyota, 133.417 mph, 28.548 secs. 7-13-12
2012 race winner: Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 116.226 mph, (02:44:24), 7-15-12
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 135.232 mph, 28.165 secs. 7-15-11
Track race record: Jeff Burton, Ford, 117.134 mph, (02:42:35), 7-13-97

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