-- Ryan Newman will make his ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday in his Alltel Dodge Charger and his 171st in the NASCAR Cup Series.
-- NHIS is one of five tracks where Newman has earned three or more Bud Pole awards in his Cup series career. Newman's last pole at the 1.058-mile track came in July 2004. In eight starts at the oval, Newman has six top-10s, including four in the top-five. His lowest starting position was in July 2003 when he rolled off the grid in 16th. His average starting position at the track is 6.625. Newman also holds the track qualifying record from 2003 with a lap of 133.357 mph.
-- Again, NHIS is one of only three tracks where Newman has earned multiple wins in the Cup series. Newman has won three Cup races at Dover International Speedway and two at Michigan International Speedway. At NHIS, Newman has two wins, including the last Cup event at the track in September 2005. Newman has only one finish outside the top-10 in eight starts - a 33rd in September 2004 - and five of those finishes have been in the top-five. His average finish at the New England track is 7.875.
-- Newman has led at least one lap in each of his eight races at NHIS for a total of 499 laps led. Twice Newman has led the most laps during the race, including his first win at the track in September 2002 when he led 143 laps en route to victory lane. Newman has had only one DNF at the track - an engine problem in September 2004 - and has completed 2,269 laps of a possible 2,307, giving Newman a 98 percent completion rate at the 1.058-mile oval.
-- Crew chief Matt Borland and the Alltel team will take chassis PRS-55 to this weekend's Lenox Industrial Tools 300. This is the same car that Newman drove to victory in September 2005, however, it's been rebuilt a couple of times since then. In November 2005, the team took the same chassis to Phoenix where Newman was involved in a wreck during practice. The car was taken back to Phoenix in April 2006 and was involved in a wreck during the race.
-- The backup car for NHIS is chassis PRS-69, a car which had two top-10 finishes last year. Borland and the Alltel team took this car to both Martinsville races in 2005. In April, Newman had a flat tire at the beginning of the race and lost a few laps, but he was able to drive the car back to the front and finish fourth. In October, the car finished 10th at Martinsville. The team also tested this car at Richmond International Raceway earlier this year.
Newman on New Hampshire International Speedway: "I enjoy going to Loudon to race. We've had quite a bit of success there and we've only had one finish outside of the top-10, which was due to engine problems. We're going into this weekend's race knowing that we can win here and hopefully, we'll be able to get two consecutive wins at this track.
Obviously, we need to have a good finish in order to make our way into the 'Chase'. We're not out of it yet, but we need some better runs if we're going to make it in. New Hampshire is a good place for us to go in order to get that finish that we're looking for. We won the last time we were there and I know everyone on this team feels like we can do it again."
Quick Stats:
New Hampshire International Speedway: 8 Races Led/Laps Led: 8/499
Best Starting Position: 1 (three times) Best Finishing Position: 1 (twice)
July 2005 Start: 4 July 2005 Finish: 7
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Reed Sorenson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the July 9 USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Sorenson scored a seventh-place finish, his fourth top-10 in 20 career NEXTEL Cup Series starts and his second in the last four races. He led the race once for six laps, the third event he has led in 2006. Sorenson claimed top Raybestos® Rookie honors for the fourth time this season.
A FIRST FOR 2006: Three Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-10 at Chicagoland, the most freshman drivers to finish in the top-10 in a race this season: Sorenson, Clint Bowyer (9th) and J.J. Yeley (10th).
Denny Hamlin leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by 24 points (202-178) over Bowyer entering the July 16 LENOX Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Bowyer scored his second consecutive top-10 finish and fifth of the 2006 season at Chicagoland. He also moved up two spots in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings to 16th entering the New England 300. Bowyer trails 15th-place Casey Mears by 54 points.
Yeley scored his second top-10 of the season and first since the race at California (race number two).
THE STREAK STAYS ALIVE: A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-15 in all 18 races this season.
Hamlin is 12th in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is three points behind 11th-place Greg Biffle and 50 behind 10th-place Jeff Gordon. Hamlin holds an 82-point lead over 13th-place Kurt Busch.
DID YOU KNOW? Hamlin has led 18 times in six races for 185 laps, 348.050 miles, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is the only first-year driver to lead the most laps in a race this season, holding the top spot six times for 83 laps in the June 11 Pocono 500 at Long Pond, Pa. (race number 14).
Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 LENOX Industrial Tools 300, scoring a fourth-place finish. Busch joined Ryan Newman (fifth in 2002) as the only Raybestos® Rookies to finish in the top-five in the July race at New Hampshire International Speedway.
DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has posted a top-10 finish in each of the last FIVE consecutive July races at New Hampshire:
2001: Kevin Harvick, eighth
2002: Ryan Newman, fifth
2003: Greg Biffle, 10th
2004: Kahne, eighth
2005: Busch, fourth
DID YOU KNOW? Tony Stewart is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the July race at New Hampshire. Stewart led twice for 118 laps in the 1999 New England 300.
Jamie McMurray is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the July event at New Hampshire, hold the top spot once for 13 laps in 2003.
The best start by a Raybestos® Rookie at New Hampshire is third by Jeff Gordon in 1993.
Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 just once 12 NEXTEL Cup races at New Hampshire. In 1993, Gordon finished seventh while Bobby Labonte placed 10th.
Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at New Hampshire (July race):
1993: Jeff Gordon, seventh
1993: Bobby Labonte, 10th
1996: Johnny Benson, ninth
1999: Tony Stewart, 10th
2001: Kevin Harvick, eighth
2002: Ryan Newman, fifth
2003: Greg Biffle, 10th
2004: Kahne, eighth
2005: Busch, fourth
Raybestos® Rookies who have led a lap at New Hampshire (July race):
1993: Jeff Gordon (twice for three laps)
1996: Johnny Benson (once for 17 laps)
1999: Tony Stewart (twice for 118 laps)
2001: Kevin Harvick (once for 13 laps)
2002: Ryan Newman (once for one lap)
2003: Jamie McMurray (once for 13 laps)
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY
The way to the NASCAR NEXTEL championship is to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, SIX Raybestos® Rookie of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999, 2005) and Kenseth (2000).
At least one Raybestos® Rookie has won a Bud Pole in each of the last 11 years (1996-2006).
Ryan Newman holds the all-time Raybestos® Rookie record for most poles (6), most top-fives (14) and most top-10s (22).
Kasey Kahne holds the record for most earnings by a Raybestos® Rookie ($5.4 million in 2004).
The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is three, shared by Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2002).
Johnson also holds the best ever points finish by a Raybestos® Rookie, placing fifth in the championship standings in 2002.
A Raybestos® Rookie has posted multiple victories SIX times in NASCAR Winston Cup history: Davey Allison (two wins in 1987), Stewart (three wins in 1999), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two wins in 2000), Kevin Harvick (two wins in 2001), Johnson (three wins in 2002), and Kyle Busch (two wins in 2005).
More than one Raybestos® Rookie has posted victories in their rookie season only three times: Morgan Shepherd and Ron Bouchard (one each in 1981), Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Kenseth (2000), Johnson (three) and Newman (2002).
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Denny Hamlin 202
Clint Bowyer 178
Reed Sorenson 166
Martin Truex Jr. 153
J.J. Yeley 149
David Stremme 121
Brent Sherman 41
®Raybestos is a registered trademark licensed to Brake Parts Inc. by Raybestos Products Company
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New Hampshire International Speedway, the first superspeedway started in the U.S. since 1969, broke ground on August 13, 1989 and was ready for racing the next year. It is a 1.058-mile asphalt oval with 12-degree banking in the turns. The 1,500-foot frontstretch and backstretch are banked two degrees. The seating for 55,000 fans in the grandstands on opening day has been increased to its current 91,000 capacity. The NASCAR Busch Series held its first race, the Budweiser 300, on July 15, 1990. Tommy Ellis drove the #99 Goo Goo Clusters Buick to the victory in that event. For the next three years, the Busch Series was joined by CART and IRL at the Loudon track. The speedway hosted its first NASCAR Cup race, the Slick 50 300, on July 11, 1993. Mark Martin put the #6 Valvoline Ford on the pole and finished that event in 2nd place. Rusty Wallace took the #2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac from 33rd position to take the inaugural Cup victory. In the mid-to-late 1990’s, several improvements were made at the facility. A 1.6 mile road course was added for motorcycles and sports cars. Four helipads, an expanded Corporate Hospitality area, VIP suites, an additional 52 bay garage and more grandstands were built. More parking and a five-lane access road were constructed. The most recent improvement at NHIS involved driver safety. The SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier construction was installed around the track in August 2003.
Top 5 Active Drivers: Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett
Worst 5 Active Drivers: Scott Riggs, Mike Wallace, Tony Raines, J.J. Yeley, Travis Kvapil
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New Hampshire International Speedway
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