The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series returns to New Hampshire International Speedway for the second time this season and the 1.058-mile oval is the first of 10 races in the Chase to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.
* Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) is the defending race champion. Harvick, who has 11 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories, won the 2007 Daytona 500 and the 2007 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Chevrolet) won at New Hampshire back in June to post his third career victory and his lone victory thus far in 2007. Hamlin’s average finish at New Hampshire is a stellar 3.7.
* Kurt Busch won the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire in 2004 and used that victory as a springboard to garner that season’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship. Busch swept both of the New Hampshire races that year.
* Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) are the only two drivers that have qualified for the Chase all four years. Johnson won the 2006 title. Kenseth is a former series champion (2003) and his best finish in the Chase format is second in 2006.
* Johnson has been in the top 12 for 24 straight weeks this season, while Gordon has led 17 races on the year, most of any driver.
* Tony Stewart won three races in the Chase last year, despite not being in the Chase field. The 2002 and 2005 series champion posted Chase wins at Kansas, Atlanta and Texas a year ago.
* Johnson and Stewart have led the most laps on the year – 863 of a possible 6,999 laps.
* Carl Edwards (No. 99 Fenway Sports Group Ford) is back in the Chase after missing it last year. Edwards has come on strong the second half of this season, winning at Michigan (June 17) and Bristol (Aug. 25). Edwards’ best finish in the series championship is third in 2005.
* Eight of the 12 Chase drivers have won at New Hampshire and seven of the top 12 are in the top 10 of the Driver Rating standings at New Hampshire.
* Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) leads all active drivers with four wins at New Hampshire. Currently the #10 seed in the Chase, Burton has one victory (Texas), seven top fives, and 12 top 10s in 2007.
* The Car of Tomorrow, NASCAR’s new race car that features improved safety systems, has shown to deliver a competitive level of performance, and has provided teams with the opportunity to run the same chassis at multiple tracks, will race for the 12th time this Sunday at New Hampshire. The new car will race at a total of 16 events on the season; including five of the 10 Chase races (New Hampshire, Dover, Talladega, Martinsville, and Phoenix) before running the entire NASCAR NEXTEL Cup schedule beginning next year.
* Kyle Busch (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet) is in the Chase for the second straight year. Kyle has performed well at New Hampshire, with one win and two top fives.
* Stewart is a two-time winner at New Hampshire, to go along with his nine top fives and 10 top 10s.
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