NASCAR

Even though five of the biggest names in NASCAR stock car racing visited victory lane during the action-packed 2010 season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, track officials are predicting an even bigger and better year of racing for New England fans in 2011.

When NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series rolled into the 1.058-mile oval in June for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301, Jimmie Johnson had already launched the drive for his fifth consecutive NASCAR championship. Johnson won four times before the series visited the Granite State where he added another trophy to his collection.

Celebrate the holidays and the New Year by giving the gift of speed from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “The Magic Mile” is your one-stop holiday-shopping destination with tickets for the highly anticipated 2011 season along with a wide variety of racing souvenirs.

 As a bonus, bargain hunters choosing to purchase tickets for all three major racing events at NHMS will save 10 percent. Gift certificates are also available and can be used toward any New Hampshire Motor Speedway ticket or souvenir purchase. 

The big exterior numbers have been changed outside the shop buildings, the drivers have gotten to know their new crew members, the new revamped team configurations have even been put through a dry run during the recent tire test at Daytona International Speedway. The opening of the 2011 Sprint Cup season is still a long way off -- 60 days remain until the Daytona 500 -- and by then, the results of the personnel changes made by Hendrick Motorsports after this recent campaign should feel comfortable and familiar.

NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton never could have dreamed what he would unleash when he made the off-the-cuff comment, "Boys, have at it, and have a good time," this past January in a preliminary meeting before the 2010 season.

 But while Pemberton wouldn't have wasted time imagining what "the boys" might try -- or, that after a season's worth of rollicking, slam-bang racing on a variety of tracks a music producer would make Pemberton's comments the centerpiece of a video montage of the action tuned to a hip-hop beat -- he, along with the rest of NASCAR's hierarchy, was taking a lot of time contemplating where the sport was heading.

It's almost Christmas and soon we'll be celebrating the New Year, so it's inevitable that an avalanche of stories have been or will be written trying to capture the year in review.

There is great interest to look back on in what was the 2010 NASCAR season. Like it or not, Jimmie Johnson proved what a great champion he truly is by winning his fifth consecutive Cup Series title. In NASCAR's other national touring series, Brad Keselowski showed why he remains an up-and-coming star by winning the Nationwide championship and Todd Bodine reminded everyone he's still a force with which to be reckoned by capturing his second Truck crown.

The Camping World Truck Series is looked at as a stepping stone to the brighter and bigger lights of the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series. But lately, it's been the veterans, not the youngsters, who have found themselves hoisting the championship trophy at the end of the season.

 One has to go back to 2003, and Travis Kvapil, to find a Truck Series champion under the age of 30.

That didn't change in 2010.

A tip of my hat this week to my local track, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), a 1.058-mile oval with a 1.6-mile road course included which seats more than 93,000 people. Built 20 years ago by Bob Bahre, NHMS was bought three years ago by Bruton Smith, whose publicly-traded Speedway Motorsports Inc (SMI) also owns the Charlotte, Atlanta, Bristol, Las Vegas and Texas Motor Speedways plus the Infineon Raceway (Sears Point) road course.

Original owner Bahre is a crusty old boy (below with Gary Bahre), a self-made man in the construction business.

Goodyear appears to have executed the equivalent of a grand slam with two outs in the seventh game of the World Series with the tire combination it's tested during the past two days at Daytona International Speedway.

 The new tires were necessitated by a complete repaving of the 2.5-mile, high-banked race track that's the site of NASCAR's next national events, during February's Speedweeks 2011.

When NASCAR first brought its Champion's Week to Las Vegas in 2009, nobody embraced the experience more than Denny Hamlin. From his blowout celebration at the Palms Hotel featuring ice sculptures and sports celebrities to his 4-in-the-morning challenge to Jimmie Johnson that he was coming for the champion the next season, it all shaped up as a coming out party for the sport's brashest young driver cast against a neon glow.

Hamlin's return to Las Vegas this year, though, came with a decidedly different tone. He had indeed gone gunning for Johnson, and nearly gotten him, too, holding the lead for two of the final three weeks of the season before falling 39 points short of winning his first title in the sport's premier division.

Matt Kenseth used to dread preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. Even at speeds approaching 200 mph, circling the big restrictor-plate track for hours on end bordered on monotony.

Not this year, though. With the 2.5-mile speedway shining from a just-completed repaving job, drivers are eager to find out what the new Daytona surface will be like. Several will get their chance this week, when about 20 cars will take to the high banks for a Goodyear tire test slated for Wednesday and Thursday at the facility.

Through most of the first 11 races of the 2010 Sprint Cup season, Tony Stewart wondered where the magic had gone.

Stewart founded his own Stewart-Haas Racing organization a year earlier and surprisingly hit the ground running fast in his No. 14 Chevrolet, leading the point standings much of that season. Although he faded somewhat down the stretch in the 2009 season, he still finished a strong sixth in the final standings after visiting Victory Lane four times.

In a place where NASCAR history is on display, its future was celebrated as six champions in NASCAR’s developmental series were honored during the Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala in the Crown Ballroom at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

The festivities featured the champions and top drivers from all of NASCAR’s North American regional touring series, who gathered for the special year-end celebration in the heartland of stock-car racing.

The 2010 Sprint Cup season only emphasized Kyle Busch's great overall potential, underscored by a maddening inconsistency.

 Busch was part of two successful 2010 owners' championships in NASCAR's national tours, the Camping World Truck Series title he captured for his own Kyle Busch Motorsports team secured by eight victories, and the Nationwide Series crown he enabled Joe Gibbs Racing to win capped by Busch's record 13 victories.

It’s time to call the 2010 NASCAR season for what it was.

Who was the best driver? What was the best race? What did NASCAR do right and wrong?

Here’s our take:

DRIVER OF THE YEAR: Throughout the course of the year it was declared by competitors and media alike that Jimmie Johnson was somehow not up to snuff.

He had supposedly misplaced his lucky horseshoe. Those four championships in a row? Great, but five was not possible.

Typically, drivers can point to a particular race -- or even a moment within a race -- as the key to the ultimate success or failure of their season. But it's rare when it happens several days after the fact, and miles from Victory Lane.

 But that was the case for Clint Bowyer in 2010. After ending an 88-race winless streak at New Hampshire to open the Chase, Bowyer's No. 33 Chevrolet was taken back to NASCAR's Research and Development center in North Carolina. And when the chassis was found by NASCAR inspectors to be outside of tolerances, the team's elation turned to frustration after being docked 150 points and having crew chief Shane Wilson suspended for four weeks.

The tagline for NASCAR’s 2010 Sprint Cup season was written before the first green flag even dropped: Boys, have at it.

The message couldn’t have been clearer. In an effort to reinvigorate the kind of politically incorrect personalities that had endeared NASCAR to the masses, the gents in the corner offices were, in essence, telling the drivers they would be looking the other way in 2010.

The 2010 Sprint Cup season was the ultimate in bittersweet dichotomies for Virginia veteran Jeff Burton.

 Burton, in his 17th full-time Cup season, was a solid part of Richard Childress Racing's resurgence into the Chase as RCR, after being shut out of the 2009 Chase, had all three teams "in," in 2010.

After ending the 26-race regular season seventh in the championship and entering the 12-man Chase seeded 10th,

Amidst all the glitz and glamour and outrageous fanfare that was the Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Jeff Gordon made everyone in attendance and watching on television pause for a moment of reflection.

Gordon did so with a comment about the likely lasting historical significance of what has been accomplished by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

Richard Childress, who oversaw a resurgence of Richard Childress Motorsports, is the Sporting News owner of the year, the magazine announced Wednesday.

 Denny Hamlin is the 2010 Dale Earnhardt Tough Driver. The top driver and crew chief will be announced Thursday. All four awards were voted on by Sprint Cup drivers, crew chiefs and owners.

RCR made a remarkable turnaround in 2010. After all four of Childress' drivers missed the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2009, the organization consolidated to three teams this year with drivers Kevin Harvick,

The New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities spread early holiday cheer this morning in Manchester, N.H., distributing over $100,000 to 24 non-profit organizations that assist underprivileged children throughout New England.

Representatives from each organization were on hand at Manchester City Hall to receive the grant money that will benefit 12,000 children in need. Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas and Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, also took part in the festivities.

The champion is crowned, the celebration awaits.

What a party it promises to be.

The 2010 edition of Sprint Cup Series Champion's Week in Las Vegas will fete Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson, who earned an unprecedented fifth consecutive series title following the Nov. 21 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Avoid the long lines at the malls this holiday season by giving the gift of speed from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “The Magic Mile” is your one-stop holiday-shopping destination with tickets for the highly anticipated 2011 season along with a wide variety of racing souvenirs.

 As a bonus, bargain hunters choosing to purchase tickets for all three major racing events at NHMS will save 10 percent. Gift certificates are also available and can be used toward any New Hampshire Motor Speedway ticket or souvenir purchase.

It was early Monday morning, and Jimmie Johnson was celebrating another NASCAR championship in the surf on South Beach.

His five NASCAR championship trophies had been placed delicately in the sand, and with rolled up pant legs, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus stepped into the water for one final photo commemorating their historic march through the record books.

Was anyone really surprised at what transpired in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday?

From the moment Denny Hamlin's dominance in the previous week's race at Phoenix went up in a puff of miscalculated fuel-mileage smoke, costing him the victory that might have clinched the Chase for himself, this was more Jimmie Johnson's title to lose than it was Hamlin's -- even though Johnson had a worried Hamlin thinking exactly the opposite.

Brian France wouldn’t go as far as to say NASCAR will make changes to the Chase in 2011. But reading between the lines, it sounds like that’s where they are heading.

“What’s really clear to me is when you put drivers in a position where there’s a lot on the line … and they actually have got to go out and win or lead laps or compete high – they do it,” France said Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “So that tells us that the more we can do to have incentives – an incentive basis and decide this championship, that puts it all on the line more often – that’s what we need to be thinking about.”

In many ways, this has been a normal week for Kevin Harvick, even with a championship on the line. He did some planning for next season at Kevin Harvick Inc., worked out twice, and sat in on the regular Tuesday morning competition meeting at Richard Childress Racing, where his No. 29 squad game-planned setups and strategies for Sunday's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was all routine and familiar, helping him to arrive in South Florida relaxed, smiling, and looking every bit like the outside title contender that he is.

Under the NASCAR points system, a 15-point margin is less than the difference between a race winner and runner-up, and a 46-point margin is less than the difference between first place and eighth. For the three contenders left in the race for the Sprint Cup title, the mathematical possibilities seem endless, particularly once bonus points are taken into account. And yet, at the same time, it's all very simple -- winning the championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway may also require winning the race.

What is it with Carl Edwards and gymnastics? First, it was the back flip. Now, instead of a hand stand, Edwards continued to pioneer another signature move Sunday: a fan stand.

After winning the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway and snapping a 70-race winless streak, Edwards grabbed the checkered flag then raced up a ladder, through a catchfence gate and into the frontstretch grandstand for an impromptu celebration.

Jimmie Johnson didn't have the fastest car in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway -- at the end of the day, race winner and pole-sitter Carl Edwards did.

Johnson, the four-time defending Cup Series champion, didn't lead a lap. Denny Hamlin, ahead in the points and seeking his first title, led a race-high 190 laps.

In this year of "have at it," passion and emotion were taken to a couple of extremes last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, and it was all good.

Well, it wasn't good for Kyle Busch's bank account -- or wherever his fine money comes from -- and his Sunday race result. But it was good for the show, for the most part.

As far as I'm concerned, the sport needs more of it -- when it's called for, of course.

His black No. 11 car charged to the finish line, his primary competition for the Sprint Cup Series title visible only in his rearview mirror. Denny Hamlin scored a statement victory, earned himself a big new cowboy hat, and sent a clear message at Texas Motor Speedway that he was prepared to end Jimmie Johnson's unprecedented run of four consecutive championships. And he did it all long before he won in the Lone Star State again on Sunday night.

Chad Knaus isn’t listening to what Mike Ford has to say about whose team is better with two races left to determine the 2010 Sprint Cup champion.

While he acknowledged he had not heard everything Denny Hamlin's crew chief had said Sunday following the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, Knaus said he does not agree with Ford’s declaration that his Joe Gibbs Racing team of Hamlin was better than the Knaus-led Hendrick Motorsports team of Johnson.

A study to examine the cost and economic impact of adding two more lanes to sections of Route 106 will begin early next year, according to the state Department of Transportation. The study, which is being funded in part by the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, will also look at traffic volume to see if the widening is necessary.

"The track is definitely interested in Route 106, and we are interested in it because it continues to grow as a commuter corridor," said Bill Cass, director of project development for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

Monkeys, which were on hand to sell programs, did not run down the frontstretch shooting off bottle rockets.

Other than that, take your pick for the unpredictable moments during Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Brawling drivers, angry gestures, bold statements and a pit crew change on the fly. This race had it all.

And shock of all shocks, someone is leading the Chase with two races to go other than Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Chevy team, which didn't end the race as a team.

Clint Bowyer not only is coming off a victory last weekend at Talladega, he’ll get his crew chief back this week with the series heading to Texas Motor Speedway as well.

Crew chief Shane Wilson has completed a four-race suspension for Bowyer’s illegal car that won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the opening Chase For The Sprint Cup race.

Richard Childress Racing, which denied intent and that the quarter-thin height advantage played a role in the victory, appealed the original penalty, and Wilson’s suspension was reduced from six to four races while the 150-point penalty remained the same.

Brad Keselowski knows that barring a catastrophe, he will win the 2010 Nationwide Series title.

All Keselowski has to do is start each of the final three races to clinch the championship. If he finishes 21st or better Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, he also secures the title.

Keselowski has no finish worse than 21st all season.

When Jimmie Johnson visits the track media center each week, he is introduced by NASCAR’s Kerry Tharp as the “2009 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.”

It has become his unofficial title and a running joke that always brings a chuckle from both Johnson and the media.

But the award Johnson won last year was a significant accomplishment for both the driver and NASCAR, demonstrating just how rare and special his fourth straight Sprint Cup championship was.

Just in case, Clint Bowyer started his celebratory burnout several minutes before NASCAR declared him the winner of Sunday's Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

A multi-car crash behind the leaders at the start of the final lap had thrown the outcome in doubt, and it wasn't until Bowyer drove a quarter-mile and stopped his No. 33 Chevrolet at the entrance to the garage that shouts and high-fives from the crew that surrounded the car let the crowd know Bowyer indeed had won his second race in the Chase.

Trick or treat, race fans.

Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway should be a real Halloween treat, as far as the points battle in the championship Chase is concerned.

Talladega is the "wild card, "the crapshoot" in the 10-race Chase. It's the one race the title contenders fear the most, since the unpredictable can happen here, including the "big one."

Halfway through Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, you couldn’t blame Mark Martin for thinking, “Here we go again.”

On Lap 226 of 500, Martin smacked the frontstretch wall after a tap from AJ Allmendinger and lost a lap for repairs.

Then his fortunes turned. Martin finally regained the lost lap on the next caution as the first car one lap down on Lap 393. In the final 98 laps, he drove from 18th to second in a No. 5 Chevrolet that was the fastest car on the track during the closing green-flag run.

Dead heat.

Well, almost.

Denny Hamlin won Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville and trimmed fifth-place finisher Jimmie Johnson's lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup to six points with four races left in the season.

The closest Chase ever through six races is on a collision course toward next Sunday's AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the most dangerous and unpredictable race in the Chase.

When Denny Hamlin won at Martinsville Speedway in March, he entered the race knowing he was going to have surgery on his knee in a few days and face a painful recovery.

He won that event but now returns to his best track with even more pressure – trailing Jimmie Johnson by 41 points with five races left in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

Bring on Martinsville.

Jamie McMurray cleared Kyle Busch off Turn 2 after a restart on Lap 314 and pulled away from Busch to win Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of McMurray’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in 2002.

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Jimmie Johnson and second-place Denny Hamlin, however, both dodged trouble and finished third and fourth, respectively, to set up a showdown Oct. 24 at Martinsville, a short track the two drivers have dominated the past four years.

The 2011 season of speed is fast approaching and so are ticket renewal deadlines for the most action-packed year in the history of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series drivers will make their first of two appearances on a new date, July 17, in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301, and because of an overwhelming response from race fans the ticket renewal deadline for this event has been extended to Oct. 26.

Joining NASCAR’s elite once again next summer will be the NASCAR Nationwide Series, K&N Pro Series East and the New England favorite Whelen Modified Tour. 

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) will gather at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. today  to announce its second hall of fame class.

The announcement, which will be carried live on SPEED, NASCAR.COM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128 at 4 p.m. ET, will be made by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

The 2011 racing season will be even faster with more on-track action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway highlighting an action-packed season of speed.   

This exciting season will kick off with the second annual FANtasy DRIVE, the ultimate open house and fan appreciation day.

The largest sports and entertainment facility in New England once again hosted the biggest sporting event in the Northeast Region with NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series SYLVANIA 300 on Sunday, September 19.

Before an estimated crowd of 95,000 fans saw some of the best racing at “The Magic Mile”.  The first race in the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” saw many of the top-12 contenders racing like it was the final event of the season.  Denny Hamlin spun on lap 215 but battled back to a solid second place finish.  Tony Stewart ran out of gas just before the white flag waved, and four- time champion Jimmie Johnson finished 25^th the worst finish of all 12 Chasers.

Finally, the first race in the “Chase for the Sprint Cup” has arrived!  In a few hours, the stars of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series will hit “The Magic Mile” for the SYLVANIA 300. Who will be the first Chaser to cross “The Granite Stripe”?

It is shaping up to be a beautiful fall New England day with sunny skies and highs in the mid-70’s.  Fans are reminded that the green flag drops at 1:00 p.m. 

With drivers at his heels and a right rear tire quickly losing air, Ryan Newman held off the modified regulars to take the F.W. Webb 100. 

Ryan earned the modified sweep for 2010 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, winning both poles and both races this season behind the wheel of team owner Kevin “Bono” Manion’s No. 7 Aggressive Hydraulics/ Menards Chevrolet.

In a race plagued with late race cautions, it was Ryan Truex behind the wheel of his No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota who raced his way to the checkered flag in the New Hampshire 125 sweeping both series races at “The Magic Mile.”

Truex lost the lead with 15 laps to go but when the No. 38 of Allen Tardiff and No. 07 of Corey LaJoie got into each other he took the lead and found his way to victory lane for the second straight time this season. 

New Hampshire Motor Speedway becomes the center of the motorsports universe this weekend. Six races will highlight an action packed weekend at “The Magic Mile,” starting today.

Today kicks off a weekend full of racing action at “The Magic Mile” with the K&N Pro Series East New Hampshire 125 beginning at 5:00 p.m. Brett Moffitt leads the way, followed by teammate Max Gresham, and Kevin Swindell.

Brett Moffitt of Grimes, Iowa grabbed the pole position for tomorrow’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East New Hampshire 125 and set a new track record. Moffitt also won the pole in June.

Driving the No. 20 Game Plan for Life Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Moffitt turned a lap record of 29.863 seconds at a speed of 127.542 mph.

“We were terrible in practice, I really thought we were going to have a bad weekend, but my team worked on the car until it was time to qualify,” said Moffitt.  “We’ve grown as a team learning, and picking everything apart. We just threw it all together today.”

Track Facts SYLVANIA 300 (NSCS)

Track Facts New Hampshire 125 (NKSE)

NASCAR’s Chase leader Denny Hamlin will highlight New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s “FanFest” tomorrow with an on-stage Q&A and an autograph session for his fans.

Hamlin launched into the number one seed after a dominating victory in Richmond, bringing him to a season and career high six wins.  He races into “The Magic Mile” just 10 points ahead of June’s winner Jimmie Johnson. 

NASCAR points leader Denny Hamlin dueled and dined in Boston iRacing style, throwing down fast times and nasty wrecks against local media this afternoon.

NASCAR's most recent winner showed his iRacing skills by racing "The Magic Mile," from the comfort of a racing simulator setting the record of the day with a lap of 30.3 seconds. Coming in a close second was radio host Bill Thomas of WPKZ 105.3 FM and 1280 AM out of Fitchburg, Mass. with a lap of 31.31 seconds.

There are only a few days remaining until the cars and stars of NASCAR race their way to “The Magic Mile,” for an action packed weekend of non-stop speed and entertainment. Here are just a few things to make for an even more thrilling weekend.

“The Magic Mile” welcomed the first of many campers today as race fans gear up for the SYLVANIA 300 and the first race in the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”

New Hampshire Motor Speedway was up bright and early to welcome the fans in at 5:00 a.m. this morning with donuts and coffee. 

Grills are sure to be fired up and televisions tuned into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond tonight which will determine the rest of the Chase Contenders. 

With an anticipated crowd that exceeds the Super Bowl, Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series games, and the Stanley Cup playoffs the SYLVANIA 300 weekend is just one week away and race fans are reminded they can bring their favorite Coca-Cola products, beer, and snacks to “The Magic Mile.”

For the seventh consecutive year, the largest sports and entertainment facility in New England is gearing up to host first race in the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup,” and fans can be sure that the racing and tailgating will be thrilling right up until the last checkered flag waves.

The American rock band 38 Special led by Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant will kick start the SYLVAINA 300 with a concert during pre-race activities on September 19 beginning at 11:15 a.m.

The band was formed in 1975 and throughout the years has sold more than 15 million albums, but still plays a rigorous touring schedule with more than 100 shows per year. The thousands of audience members who attend 38 Special shows are still amazed at the power and strength of the band’s performance ability.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway announced today that The Charity Splits Company, of Joliet Ill., will sponsor TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday, September 18.

Charity Splits has been established in motorsports by benefitting multiple NASCAR Charities and Foundations including: The Tony Stewart Foundation, Victory Junction, The Petty Family Foundation, The Greg Biffle Foundation, The Ryan Newman Foundation, The Dale Jarrett Foundation, and The Kyle Busch Foundation. 

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is inviting all race fans to take a lap around the track with their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to support children’s programs throughout the region, with the help of Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) this weekend.

A lucky race fan will get the opportunity to take the “Ride of a Lifetime” around the “Magic Mile” before the start of the SYLVANIA 300 on Sunday, September 19.

It will be a full schedule of NASCAR action at “The Magic Mile” when the 2011 season visits New England. As previously announced, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars will race twice in 2011, and for the 16^th consecutive year the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series will join them at the largest sports and entertainment facility in the northeast. 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway has the “Yard of Bricks,” Augusta has the “Amen Corner,” and of course, Boston’s own Fenway Park has the mighty “Green Monster.”  Now, New Hampshire Motor Speedway will have the same iconic item that every fan will remember. 

This September, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars will have to pass “The Granite Stripe” at the start-finish line. 

NASCAR fans, have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend race day Sunday as the general manager of “The Magic Mile?”  If you purchase a ticket to the SYLVANIA 300, you could be the face of NASCAR in New England for the day when the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” rolls into New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 19.

On any given Sunday, NASCAR fans from across the country root for their favorite drivers to grab that elusive checkered flag and many of those fans dream of one day meeting their favorite NASCAR star.  For one New Englander, meeting his favorite driver happened under the grandstand at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last September.

On a typical NASCAR weekend at “The Magic Mile,” thousands of spectators walk through the grandstands, so what are the odds that you will run into your favorite driver? Probably not that great, but for one fan, lady luck was on his side.

Still stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series raced into New Hampshire Motor Speedway the day after the holiday on Friday, November 23, 2001, with one driver extremely hungry for his first Cup win.

Robby Gordon rolled into “The Magic Mile” driving the No. 31 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Gordon moved his way up from a 31^st starting position to the front of the pack with just 20 laps to go, when a controversial pass caused the newly crowned champion Jeff Gordon to spin out.  

Joe Nemechek rolled into New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 19, 1999 with nothing to lose.  To call him a desperate driver might be an understatement.  His team owner, Felix Sabates, had just let him know he wasn’t going to be with the team for the 2000 season.  Joe was a no go.  His ride was leaving him and his future prospects depended heavily on the last few races of the season.  If “Front Row Joe” ever needed his first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win, it was now.

New England race fans will have the opportunity to see not one but three exciting races on Saturday, September 18.  “The Magic Mile” triple header will feature the northeast favorite Whelen Modified Tour New Hampshire 100, the Camping World Truck Series New Hampshire 175, and the second annual American Canadian Tour (ACT) Invitational. 

From Danica Mania to an IndyCar zooming around the “Magic Mile” to the exciting finish of Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, New Hampshire Motor Speedway maintained its presence as the largest sports and entertainment facility in New England and hosting the largest sporting events here in the northeast.

Finally, the day that New England race fans have longed for all year, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars will take to "The Magic Mile" in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301!

It is shaping up to be a gorgeous New Hampshire summer day, with sunny skies and highs in the lower 80's. Fans are reminded that this year's race will start one hour earlier, with the green flag waving at 1:00 p.m.

The last 10 laps were a race fans dream. Two cars traded the lead and it was anyone's race. As the drivers came out of turn one side by side on the last lap of the New England 100, the crowd was on their feet. The difference between first and second place was just 0.125 seconds!

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Ryan Newman captured the checkered flag behind the wheel of the No. 7 Aggressive Hydraulics/Menards Chevrolet, narrowly edging out Ted Christopher's No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet. The two came within inches throughout the entire Whelen Modified Tour race, but the finish was clean.

How good is Kyle Busch? He is not even running a full time Nationwide Series schedule this season, yet he is closing in on the record books faster than he can get around "The Magic Mile."

At today's New England 200, Busch has three direct opportunities to land in the Nationwide Series history books, two of which involve another NASCAR star, Mark Martin.

For the second consecutive time at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Juan Pablo Montoya captured the pole position, this time for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.

Driving the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, Montoya turned a lap time of 28.781 seconds with a top speed of 132.337 mph.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Ryan Newman grabbed the pole position for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour New England 100.

Driving the No. 7 Aggressive Hydraulics/Menards Chevrolet, Newman turned a lap time of 29.663 seconds at a top speed of 128.402 mph.

"This is the best race of the weekend. You get to see the cars bump and draft," said Ryan Newman. "It's such a fun race to drive."

Fast Facts

New England 100

Location

New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.

Date

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Time

1:00 p.m. (EDT)

Sanctioning Body

NASCAR, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Series

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

Length

100 laps, 105.8 miles

Purse

$166,513

Event Winner

Ronnie Silk, TS Haulers Chevrolet

Time of Race: 1 hour, 25 minutes, 43 seconds

Average Speed: 74.283 mph

Margin of Victory: 0.324 seconds

Event Pole Sitter

Ryan Preece, Mizzy Const. /Reynold's Auto Wrecking Chevrolet

127.962 mph, 29.765 seconds

Qualifying

Qualifying for this event is scheduled for Thursday, June 24, at 4:45 p.m. (EDT). The better of two laps will determine a driver's official qualifying speed for the New England 100. Starting positions 1-37 will be determined by qualifying speeds with the top 30 in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour owner standings guaranteed a starting position. The remainder of the 38-car field will be set as outlined by the event's official entry blank.

Television

TBA

Tickets

Tickets for all of the great NASCAR events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's LENOX Industrial Tools 301 are available online at www.nhms.com or by calling Guest Services at (603) 783-4931.

Track Facts New England 200 (NNS)

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is inviting all race fans to attend "FanFest," a celebration dedicated to NASCAR fans, with food, music, fun and much more on Thursday, June 24 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Broadway Midway. Fan favorite and driver of the No. 31 LENOX Industrial Tools Chevrolet Jeff Burton will kick off this year's festival with a question-and-answer session hosted by WOKQ's Morning Waking Crew, Mark Ericson and Karen Kiley. 

New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s executive vice president and general manager Jerry Gappens joined U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen in Washington D.C. today to showcase all that the great state of New Hampshire has to offer.

Gappens presented a green starters flag to Senator Shaheen kicking off a month full of excitement at New England’s largest sports and entertainment facility. In a few weeks the speedway just so happens to turn into the largest city in New Hampshire.

The “Magic Mile” turned into a driving range and driving school as driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota Casey Mears and three stars of the Duramed FUTURES Tour took to the green and track during a double drive competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Briana Vega, Susan Choi, and Chelsea Curtis arrived fresh off a tour stop in Iowa to teach Mears a little bit about the game of golf.  The foursome hit a series of golf balls ranging from 100 to 301 yards, not bad for a NASCAR driver!

It'll feel like you won the race yourself!  To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of New Hampshire Motor Speedway and NASCAR, we plan to truly "enrich" one lucky fan's experience at the LENOX Industrial Tools 301.

Just before the race begins, NHMS will randomly draw a race fan's name and give him or her $20,000.  Our 20/20 Giveaway is a way to say thank you for two decades of memorable racing and great times at the Speedway.

When the green flag waves at the New England 200 on Saturday, June 26 there is a good chance it is going to be a Sprint Cup Series full-timer leading the field.

Five of NASCAR’s top drivers are probable entries for this year’s New England 200 at the “Magic Mile;” fan favorite and Conn. native Joey Logano, Kyle Bush, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, and Jamie McMurray will join all of the Nationwide Series drivers, including Indy Racing’s most popular driver, Danica Patrick, when they take on the 1.058 mile oval.

The sun may not have been shining, but lady luck sure was smiling down on Joey Logano, who became the youngest driver ever to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, when he took a soggy checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009.  A fitting first win too, because NHMS is his hometown track.

Logano, a Middletown, Conn. native watched his first race at the “Magic Mile,” made his first Sprint Cup Series start here, and as fate would have it won his first race in NASCAR’s top series at NHMS.

Tommy Ellis was the first to hoist a NASCAR trophy in 1990 and Rusty Wallace was the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to celebrate in victory lane that hot July day in 1993. From green flag to checkered drivers, crews, and fans have enjoyed a “magical” partnership between New Hampshire Motor Speedway and NASCAR.

This year the speedway will celebrate “20 Years of Motorsports Magic,” with some of racing’s most recognized figures, as drivers past and present celebrate the milestone and take a look back at just how far NHMS has come in such a short period of time. They joined dozens of race fans in Loudon today to celebrate the 20th Anniversary.

Legendary NASCAR driver Bobby Allison will serve as Grand Marshal for Oval Day’s at New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Twentieth Annual Vintage Celebration. 

Bobby Allison, a former NASCAR Sprint Cup series driver was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.  He began his career in 1966, after winning 85 races. Bobby retired in 1988.

Known as the “Alabama Gang,” Bobby and a few friends set up shop in Hueytown, Ala.  where their passion for racing came alive.

Bobby’s ties to the New England region date back to the mid-sixties, where he captured his first NASCAR Cup win at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine.

On an unusually hot July day, the second annual Slick 50 300 was under way at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as some of NASCAR’s greatest drivers took to the track.

In NASCAR’s top series doubling as both owner and driver can be a losing battle. Few have had success in both ventures.

Driving the number 10 Tide Ford, Ricky Rudd would prove the racing world wrong by running, driving, and winning in his own operation.

On July 11, 1993, all eyes were on the Northeast as New Hampshire Motor Speedway held its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race, the Slick 50 300.

In arguably one of his most successful seasons, Rusty Wallace endured the 100 degree plus temperatures to take home the very first checkered flag at “The Magic Mile.” 

Driving the No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac owned by Roger Penske, Wallace qualified 33rd at the speed of 123.618 mph.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities has stepped up to the plate to help the Manchester South Little League repair the recent vandalism at Precourt Park.

A check for $2,000 from the local chapter of Speedway Children's Charities will be presented to league officials by Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, at Precourt Park on Saturday, April 10 at noon to cover the estimated damage done by vandals.

For the first time in the 20-year history of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, fans will have the opportunity to drive their own cars around the "Magic Mile" on Saturday, April 3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as the speedway hosts FANtasy DRIVE, the ultimate open house and fan appreciation day.

Thirsty race fans taking in the action at some of the most popular NASCAR(R) racetracks can continue to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola for years to come. Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) and Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) are extending their long-term partnership through 2015, ensuring NASCAR fans who visit premier speedways in locations such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Las Vegas can open a Coke and Open Happiness as they cheer on their favorite drivers.

Got the Winter blues? The cure is simple... NASCAR tickets to the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday, June 27 and the SYLVANIA 300 on Sunday, September 19.

Stuck in winter traffic?  Daydream about your trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway!  Picture yourself basking in the sun while watching the greatest racers in the world duel at the largest sports and entertainment complex in the Northeast.

Jimmie Johnson Motivated to Go for Fifth-Straight Title Day three of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway included a lunch stop at the campus of the top team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Hendrick Motorsports.

And the top driver on that team the last four years has been Jimmie Johnson. He's the winner of the last four NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, and set a NASCAR record for most consecutive titles last year with the 2009 championship.

Stewart-Haas Racing Enters Second Year

The first function of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway was a luncheon hosted by Stewart-Haas Racing, one the surprise teams of the 2009 season.