Counting this weekend’s race at New Hampshire, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have only eight races left to secure their spot in the playoffs. Which drivers have a good chance to do that in the Overton’s 301?
The first thing we need to do is look at the race track itself. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is nicknamed “The Magic Mile.” Perhaps it is called that because it takes not only skill, but also some kind of “magic” to win on the track that is nearly a flat track.
The track is 1.058-miles around and has banking in the turns of only two to seven degrees. With average speeds of well over 100 mph during the race, if a car is not handling well the banking in the turns will not only offer little help it could actually enhance the issues and cause a driver to lose control.
The drivers, crew chiefs and teams will need to be on top of their game and focused to make adjustments and get the car in and out of the pit stops mistake free if they hope to have a chance to win the race.
Now, let’s take a look at the drivers that have performed well during their careers at The Magic Mile.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at New Hampshire
- Denny Hamlin – 102.7
- Jimmie Johnson – 101.0
- Brad Keselowski – 99.3
- Kyle Busch – 98.1
- Kevin Harvick – 97.5
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 97.4
- Chase Elliott – 02.9
- Matt Kenseth – 91.9
- Martin Truex Jr. – 90.6
- Kasey Kahne – 90.4
NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races (24 total) among active drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Matt Kenseth is the defending winner of this race from last season. In fact, Matt has won two of the last three races at The Magic Mile in NASCAR’s top division. He has a total of three career wins at New Hampshire.
Three other active drivers also have a trio of wins at the track. Those drivers are Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.
Kevin Harvick won the fall race at New Hampshire last season. That gave him a pair of Most Mile trophies for his career. Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, joey Logano and Kyle Busch have all also won two times on The Monster Mile during their Cup Series careers.
Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne have each scored just a single win at the track in their careers in NASCAR’s top division.
There are 10 drivers with Chase qualifying wins for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Joey Logano has a win, but because of a post-race rule infraction found on his car that win has been disallowed to lock him into the playoffs.
With just eight races (counting this weekend) left to get a win to secure a chance to race for the championship, the racing is going to intensify from week to week. Factor in the new stage racing format and fans could be in for quite a show this weekend at New Hampshire.
The first two stages of this weekend’s race will be 75 laps each with the third and final stage running for 151 laps to determine the race winner. There is room to get side-by-side on The Magic Mile, but just enough room really. When the drivers feel the pressure to perform and get around other cars they might spread out more than they should and head into the minimal banking turns with a head of steam. The result could be the exact opposite of what they were attempting to achieve.
What will actually happen in the race? We will watch and see starting at 2 PM central time (3 PM eastern time) Sunday, July 16th in the Overton’s 301 when the green flag waives to start 301 laps (318.458-miles) of racing on The Magic Mile (a.k.a. the New Hampshire Motor Speedway).
By: Buck Stevens
