NEWS & NOTES
EARNHARDT AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: In 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored five top-five finishes and eight top-10s. He has led 351 laps there.
DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks fifth in the driver rating category at New Hampshire with a score of 100.7. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
LAPS IN THE TOP 15: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt is fourth among drivers for laps run in the top 15 at New Hampshire. During the last 10 races at the 1.058-mile oval, the Kannapolis, N.C., native has spent almost 80 percent of his laps (2,329 laps of 2,965 total) running in the top 15.
POINTS AFTER INFINEON: After finishing 11th last week at Infineon Raceway, Earnhardt advanced one position to 13th in the championship standings. He trails 12th-place Carl Edwards by 57 points.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-589. This is a brand-new chassis that has not been raced or tested.
HENDRICK AT LOUDON: In 30 Sprint Cup events (106 starts) at the New England racetrack, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied seven wins, 29 top-five finishes, 46 top-10s, five pole positions and led 2,160 laps.
QUOTES
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON NEW HAMPSHIRE.): “New Hampshire is one of the smaller tracks we go to, and I like racing on the shorter, flatter tracks. There’s multiple grooves you can run there. You can go low and high and move around trying to find different things to make the car better. The trick is getting the car to roll through the center of the turns. We had a real good setup there last year so I’m looking forward to going back there.”
LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON NEW HAMPSHIRE.): “You have to have a good-handling car to be successful at New Hampshire. It’s a flat racetrack so it’s difficult to get the car where it rotates in the center like you want and you still have enough forward bite to get off the corners and be happy. It’s very difficult to pass there so track position again is at a premium as usual.”
McGREW (ON LAST YEAR AT NEW HAMPSHIRE.): “We had really good cars at New Hampshire last year. The first race came down to weather, and I think we had the strategy to win the race or at least have a shot at the win. In the fall, we were running up front all day and got wrecked. It was unfortunate.”
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