NASCAR – Sylvania 300: Flat Track Experts Always Dominate
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series travels North to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first race in the NASCAR Chase. The New Hampshire track is well suited to drivers that know how to make their way around a flat mile track.
Drivers with short track stock car racing or sprint car racing background are the best drivers on this fast mile track. Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin are two drivers with short track skill that have competed well on the New Hampshire oval. Busch and Hamlin are both good rhythm drivers and this track is a rhythm track.
Since coming to the track in 1997, only one driver has repeated. Jeff Gordon, the only two time winner, won the first two races held on the New Hampshire Speedway track. The track has also produced unexpected winners over the years. Robby Gordon and Joe Nemechek were surprise winners in 1999 and 2001 respectively.
Other drivers that should be factors in this race will be the Roush Fenway contingent. Roush Fenway has done well in New Hampshire over the years with the trio of Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth. Three of the four wins for Ford on this track were won by Roush Fenway over the years, with the most recent win going to Biffle in 2008.
The September race in New Hampshire is a much different track than the first race held in New Hampshire earlier in the season. The track will have more grip and the crew that anticipates the tighter conditions will be the team that will win the race.
