A Different Year For Defending New Hampshire Winner Kurt Busch
Ask Kurt Busch which year he prefers — 2008 or 2009 — and he’ll pounce on the latter.
The defending winner of Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301, Busch is faring better in present times. Although he reveled in last June’s victory, it was one of the few bright spots in a season that saw him miss the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, plus finish an uncharacteristic 18th in the final standings.
A quick recap: Thanks to good fuel mileage and a timely final pit stop, Busch had surged to the lead when NASCAR officials called the race at Lap 284 of the scheduled 300 because of an approaching thunderstorm.
The celebration came in an empty garage building amid a lightning-spiked downpour, but Busch said his team earned every moment.
“When everybody pitted with, I don’t know, 30 laps to go — when I was told, ‘You’re in the lead, there’s 26 laps to go’ — that’s the most motivation a driver could ever ask for,” Busch said, “because you want to hold it off and bring it home for your team.
“So we were gonna have our work cut out for us. I felt we could have held off some the guys right behind us, and our pit strategy worked out perfect.”
Busch’s fourth season at Penske Racing appears to be working out, too. A year ago he was 22nd in the standings, trailing then-leader and brother Kyle Busch by 804 points, and 12th place — the final eligible spot for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup — by 288 points.
This year, Busch is fourth, 280 points behind leader Tony Stewart. He has one win — at Atlanta Motor Speedway — plus four top fives and eight top 10s. Busch also led the standings for one week, following the eighth race of the season, at Phoenix International Raceway.
New England Natives In The NSCS Garage
From New Hampshire: Bill Plourde (Barrington) – No. 18 mechanic; Kyle Power (Lyme) – No. 16 rear tire changer.
From Vermont: Shane Wilson (South Royalton) – No. 33 crew chief; Phil Surgen (Elmore) – No. 43 engineer; Erik Pringle (Sharon) – No. 33 rear tire carrier.
From Maine: Steve Letarte (Portland) – No. 24 crew chief.
From Massachusetts: Kevin Manion (Boylston) – No. 1 crew chief; Greg Morin (Waltham) – No. 24 pit crew coach; Billy Manchester (Westport) – No. 16 gas man; Michael Moore (Springfield) – No. 39 gas man; Mike Arning (Lunenburg) – No. 14 media relations.
From Connecticut: Joey Logano (Middletown) – No. 20 driver; Greg Zipadelli (Berlin) – No. 20 crew chief; Gary Putnam (Vernon) – No. 1 car chief; Chris Moyher (Naugatuck) – No. 43 mechanic; Matt Clark (North Haven) – No. 07, 31, and 29 pit crew coach; Andy Flynn (Oakdale) – No. 33 tire specialist; Aaron Keuhn (New Britten) – No. 14 tire specialist; Peter Jellen (Stafford Springs) – No. 18 transporter driver; Mike Bodick (Norwalk) – No. 42 gas man and Tim Ladyga (Norwich) – No. 24 rear tire changer.
NSCS Etc.
Milestones At New Hampshire: Regan Smith (No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet), the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will make his 50th career start Sunday if he qualifies for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301.
Kahne, Newman Doing “Double-Duty”: Two NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers will participate in this weekend’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at New Hampshire.
Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman have entered Saturday’s New England 100, scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET start. Audio for the race will be streamed live on NASCARHomeTracks.com.
Newman, who made his modified debut last September at New Hampshire (he won the pole for that event) will drive the No. 7 Aggressive Hydaulics Chevrolet Modified.
Kahne will drive the No. 96 Mohawk Northeast/N.E. Race Fuels Chevrolet Modified.
“Any racer will tell you that when they get the chance to race, they are going to,” Newman said, “so I’m looking forward to getting back into the modified at New Hampshire this weekend. I have good equipment, and I have some more experience in the car, so I am excited about Saturday’s race.”
Kahne’s team is overseen by veteran NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief and new team owner Tommy Baldwin, who grew up the son of modified legend Tom Baldwin.
Kahne also plans to compete in the September modified event at New Hampshire, plus the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours’ August events at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“I love to race, so any chance that I have to drive a different type of car is a cool opportunity,” Kahne said. “The modified race at New Hampshire is always competitive. Those guys run pretty hard and it is going to be fun to be part of it.”
Off Track News This Week:
Infield Improvements At New Hampshire:
Teams and fans present this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will benefit from several significant renovations to the infield.
Track officials and workers reconfigured the infield to gain additional usable space — expanded from one-and-half acres to nearly seven.
New, black chain-link fencing now defines the space, and a redesigned Victory Lane awaits the winner of Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301.
Construction took two months, but planning has been underway for nearly 18 months, since Speedway Motorsports Inc., Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith purchased the facility from the Bahre family in 2008.
Also ready for competition will be 3,400 feet of new and enhanced safety fencing along the grandstand sides of the 1.058-mile track.
The lower portion is reinforced with six strands of 5/8-inch, high-strength cable, while the upper portion consists of sixteen strands of 3/8-inch cable. Arch posts raise the overall height of the safety fence to over 21 feet.
Track President Jerry Gappens said this specific project wasn’t related to Carl Edwards’ April accident at Talladega Superspeedway.
“Bruton Smith, our chairman, put this project on the top of our priority list for 2009 facility improvements,” Gappens said, “utilizing the improved technology and engineering used at other SMI facilities and installing it here.”
Up Next: Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors return to Florida next week for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Superspeedway.
Kyle Busch is the defending champion of the Coke Zero 400. Last year’s victory marked his first at the 2.5-mile venue.
Paul Menard (No. 98 Moen/Menards Ford) is the defending pole winner. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six wins at Daytona.
Fast Facts
Next Race: LENOX Industrial Tools 301
The Date: Sunday, June 28
The Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway; 1.058-mile oval
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Distance: 318.46 miles/301 laps
2008 Polesitter: Patrick Carpentier
2008 Winner: Kurt Busch
Schedule: Friday—Practice, noon-1:30 p.m.; Qualifying, 3:10 p.m. Saturday—Practice, 9-9:50 a.m.; Final practice, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
2009 Top 12 Drivers
Driver Points
1 Tony Stewart 2,364
2 Jeff Gordon 2,280
3 Jimmie Johnson 2,207
4 Kurt Busch 2,084
5 Carl Edwards 2,051
6 Ryan Newman 2,046
7 Denny Hamlin 2,009
8 Greg Biffle 1,992
9 Kyle Busch 1,962
10 Matt Kenseth 1,957
11 Mark Martin 1,926
12 Juan Pablo Montoya 1,917
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