Fast Forward ~ The Camping World RV 301 At Loudon Fantasy Race Picks And Preview
7/11/2013
Jim
Fitzgerald And Staff
“The future is like a
corridor into which we can see only by the light coming from behind.”
–Edward Weyer, Jr.
Before
we get started…I MISS NORTH WILKESBORO!!!
Just
about halfway home.
What have we learned so far this year?
Plenty.
We learned that Jimmie Johnson is still in top form, and that Matt
Kenseth can still win races. We learned
that the greatest of all underdogs still have a chance. We learned that, for the most part, something
new is almost always something better, and we were reminded that aggression
against others should never happen on the race track.
And
all that goes out the window right now, because it is almost Race Day
again. Time to forget lessons learned
and go out and get everything you can. We’re going to New Hampshire this week!
The Track: New
Hampshire Motor Speedway
Location:
Loudon, New Hampshire
Length: 1 Mile oval
Banking: Turn
1-4, 12 degrees
Frontstretch,
2 degrees
Backstretch, 2 degrees
Pit Road Speed:
35 MPH
The Race: Camping World RV 301
301 Laps,
318.485 Miles
Defending
Champion: Kasey Kahne, 116.226 MPH
Most recent
winner: Denny Hamlin, 116.810 MPH
Track Record: Jeff
Burton, 117.134 MPH, July 1997
Race Record: Jeff
Burton, 117.134 MPH, July 1997
Qualifying
record: Ryan Newman, 135.232 MPH, July 2011
2012 Purse: $5,367,865
TV: TNT, 1:00PM
EST 7/14/2013
Radio: Performance
Racing Network (PRN) Sirius XM 90; www.goprn.com
The History:
August 13, 1989-
Ground breaking. The track was
originally called New Hampshire International Speedway.
July 11, 1993-
First Sprint Cup Series race was run, won by Rusty Wallace.
July 1,
2007-Closest Margin Of Victory: Denny Hamlin over Jeff
Gordon by 0.068 seconds.
January 11th,
2008-Bob and Gary Bahre, original track owners,
agreed to see it to Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
June 28th,
2009-Joey Logano becomes the youngest winner at 19 years, 1 month, 4 days.
September 20,
2009- Mark Martin becomes the oldest winner at 50 years, 8 months, 10 days
The Contenders:
Who do I think
will have a shot to win at New Hampshire?
Ryan Newman: Hello,
Newman. Three wins and 15 top ten
finishes in 22 starts.
Tony Stewart: Three wins and
17 top tens in 28 starts. But which Stewart will show up this
week? It is summertime…
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth
actually has (GASP!) a POLE here? His
last ten finishes here are quite mediocre.
I wonder if that has anything to do with the old team? Okay…Going out on a limb and keeping Kenseth
as a pick.
Jeff Gordon: Gordon’s stats
are just monstrous here, but he hasn’t won here since LAST CENTURY. Makes it sound like a long time. Well, racing years are like dog years, and 15
years is a long time. So…NO…Not
picking Jeff. Instead, I’ll take
his team mate and threat to win everywhere…Jimmie
Johnson, who already has three wins here as well.
Denny Hamlin: If Denny is
going to make the Chase, which he still could with a few wins, he’s going to
have to start here…Denny has multiple wins here, but he also has wins at
Martinsville, which is very much like a
small New Hampshire…
DARK HORSE PICK-Kurt Busch: Every week,
Kurt and I wonder…could this be the one?
There are my
contenders for New Hampshire. How did I do with my picks from Daytona?
Jimmie Johnson: I take no
credit for this…Daytona is always a toss up….
Matt Kenseth: He tried not to
be the hitter and he busted up his splitter on the…raaaaacetrack.
Michael Waltrip: Top five in the
Dream Machine!
Jeff Gordon: 34th. Yuck.
Tony Stewart: Second place for
Smoke!
DARK HORSE PICK-Danica Patrick: Ended up 14th.
Daytona recap: a
1st, a 2nd, a 5th, a 14th, a 33rd,
and a 34th. Three top 5’s at
Daytona? I’ll take it.
Race Pro Picks!
How did we all
do last week?
I got my fourth
win of the year, and moved up to second place.
PattyKay s;ipped a
spot with her Kenseth pick, Fitz had a good day with Smoke, Brian scored a 12th
place with Kyle Busch, and Kevin scored a second top 5 in a row by selecting
Michael Waltrip.
Player |
Selection |
Race Pts |
Previous Pts |
Total Pts |
Wins |
DNFs |
Mr. Seven |
1 |
38 |
670 |
708 |
0 |
0 |
Jim |
48 |
48 |
636 |
684 |
4 |
1 |
PattyKay |
20 |
12 |
662 |
674 |
0 |
1 |
Alabama |
14 |
42 |
608 |
650 |
0 |
0 |
Brian |
18 |
33 |
595 |
628 |
1 |
2 |
Kevin |
55 |
39 |
504 |
543 |
0 |
5 |
Here are our
picks for the Camping World RV 301 at New Hampshire:
PattyKay (@MamaPKL): This week, we're off to Loudon.
Put quite simply, I do not like the track in Loudon. Every time I hear the name
or see the track, two things come to mind... well, actually three... the faces
of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin, and North Wilkesboro. Don and I spent a lot of
happy hours at that old and storied track before NASCAR saw fit to close down a
real piece of history in favor of keeping their books sealed against a
cantankerous old man in Texas. Ask me more about North Wilkesboro some time. My
pick to lead the parade in Loudon therefore, can only be one man. Jimmie
Johnson brings it home first... again. Deal with it. He's that good.
Brian: As much as I want to pick Morgan Shepherd
this week, I have to take this opportunity to comment on the whole Start and
Park thing that's trying to kill NASCAR.
Why, oh why do they do this? If
there isn't enough money to field 43 drivers who all have a shot to compete,
then don't field 43 cars.....how difficult is that? Start and Park is just a waste of time and
money, and every once in a while, one of these drivers contributes to taking a
real contender out of the race.
Pathetic… my two cents!!!
So with ole Morgan out, I'm looking
at the Rainbow Warrior to be victorious this week. New Hampshire is a long flat track that
requires discipline and rhythm, and who better than Jeff Gordon to show the
field how it's done!!! I like his
numbers, with 3 wins, a 7.6 average finish in the last 10 races here, and a
Driver's Rating of 109.9, second to Tony Stewart at 111.7. Tony is another well-disciplined driver who
knows the game, but Alan Gustafson is a scientist, and he can fix
anything. I've got a 2 for 1 every time
I go with Gordon, because I'm really betting on Alan and Jeff, not just
Jeff.
#24 wins his 4th at New
Hampshire......have a Pepsi on me this week :)
:)
Kevin
(@KEVDOGG329): The
Magic Mile. My home track for many years, from the time I lived in Maine.
This track is a finesse track, where the action can happen quickly. To be
good here, the driver needs a good car, and a good team behind him on pit
road. In the late 1990's there was no driver more dominant at this track
than Jeff Burton. He won three races in a row, and won the fall 2000
event leading all the laps (which is the last time anyone has led every lap in
a Sprint Cup race). Burton however has lost his 'magic' on this track in
recent years. Looking at the numbers, one would take a safe pick with
Johnson, Stewart, Newman, Burton, Gordon or Hamlin. Many will suggest to
take the safe pick, and ride Johnson's coattails back into points
contention, but I love a challenge, like my pick to win this week, Kurt
Busch. This team is jelling together well, and Kurt is in the top ten in
points for the first time since his days with Penske. Kurt Busch is
hungry to prove that his presence in the top ten is no fluke, and he has three
wins of his own with two teams on this track, including a season sweep in 2004,
his championship year.
Mr. Seven: I think I’m just
going to take whoever finished in seventh place. Deal with it.
(Editor’s Note: Mr. Seven will be given
credit for the points of the seventh place finishing driver each week.)
Alabama: Well, congrats to Jim for
his 4th win. I sit with none, zero,
zilch, nada, goose egg, etc. It isn't
due to my lack of trying. Okay, enough
sour grapes. This week, all I see is Gordon, Stewart, Gordon, Stewart and
Gordon, Stewart...hey! there's a Stewart, Gordon. How about that? Wait! There's one more Gordon missed: JJ
leads in finishing position, and look, there's Stewart, 2nd in yet another
category at New Hampshire. Of course,
there is ol' Jimmie Johnson sitting on top of the
most important category overall. How
does one ignore that in the long run?
How soon before we see the JJ band wagon fully loaded? Gotta fess up, the
thought did cross my mind about sending in a "JJ to win" pick for
each race for the remainder of the year.
Seems to me the smart money would do it.
I don't think there is a rule against it, but nobody ever accused me of
being smart...and I don't have any money.
I'm sticking with "Smoke" for this one. I'm hoping that
"where there's smoke there's fire" and remember,
The Chase isn't that far away. Good luck
to all.
Jim (@Forewasabi): Now Alabama
Fitz may not be a smart man, but he does know what racing is… Okay, he is a smart man, because he agrees
with me. I think this race is going to a
Stewart Haas driver, with the emphasis on Stewart.
There are our
picks and my contenders…good luck to all and may we pick you a winner!
“It’s not the
Olympics. It’s New Hampshire, and a
homecoming should reflect the community I’m part of.” –Christa McAuliffe
Jim Fitzgerald @Forewasabi
PattyKay Lilley @MamaPKL
Kevin Abraham @KevDogg329
Marshall Gabell @Gabell_Racing
Who is YOUR pick to win this week?