New Hampshire Motor Speedway: History

New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

History

·         Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was Aug. 13, 1989.

·         The 1.058-mile oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres; the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on July 11, 1993 – won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.

·         Speedway Motorsports, Inc. agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre on January 11, 2008 and then renamed the track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Notebook

·         There have been 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; one per year from 1993 through 1996 and two per year since.

·         158 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; 123 in more than one.

·         Two drivers have competed in all 39 races at New Hampshire: Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon.

·         Mark Martin won the inaugural Coors Light pole at New Hampshire in 1993 with a speed of 126.871 mph. 

·         18 drivers have Coors Light poles at New Hampshire, led by Ryan Newman with seven.

·         Five drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at New Hampshire: Ken Schrader (1997 sweep); Jeff Gordon (1998-1999); Rusty Wallace (1999-2000); Ryan Newman (twice – 2003-2004 and 2011 sweep); Juan Pablo Montoya (2009-2010).

·         Youngest New Hampshire Coors Light pole winner: Brian Vickers (07/17/2005 – 21 years, 8 months, 23 days).

·         Oldest New Hampshire Coors Light pole winner: Bill Elliott (07/21/2002 – 46 years, 9 months, 13 days).

·         24 different drivers have won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, led by Jeff Burton with four.

·         Two drivers have posted consecutive wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2003 sweep) and Kurt Busch (2004 sweep). 

·         Youngest New Hampshire winner: Joey Logano (06/28/2009 – 19 years, 1 month, 4 days).

·         Oldest New Hampshire winner: Mark Martin (09/20/2009 – 50 years, 8 months, 11 days).

·         Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at New Hampshire in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with nine; followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven.

·         Five different manufacturers have won at New Hampshire; led by Chevrolet with 18 victories; followed by Ford with 12 and Toyota with four.

·         Jeff Burton is the only driver to win the July race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway three consecutive years in a row (1997, ’98 and ’99)

·         Five of the 39 (12.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Ryan Newman in 2011.

·         The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (five) than any other starting position at New Hampshire.   

·         Eight of the 39 (20.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire have been won from the front row: eight from the pole and seven from second-place.

·         21 of the 39 (53.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Nine of the 39 (23.0%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at New Hampshire have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at New Hampshire was 38th, by Jeff Burton in 1999.  

·         Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are tied for the series lead in runner-up finishes at New Hampshire with five each. 

·         Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at New Hampshire with 16; followed by Tony Stewart with 14.   

·         Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-10 finishes at New Hampshire with 22; followed by Tony Stewart with 18.

·         Ryan Newman leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at New Hampshire with an 8.680.

·         Denny Hamlin leads NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at New Hampshire with an 8.941.

·         All 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano won at New Hampshire in their second appearance.     

·         Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at New Hampshire without visiting Victory Lane at 30.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the July 1, 2007 race won by Denny Hamlin over Jeff Gordon with a MOV of 0.068 second.

·         17 of the 31 NSCS races scored by electronic scoring at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have had a Margin of Victory less than a second.

·         Three of the 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races have resulted with a green-white-checkered finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): 2006 (300/308), 2013 (301/302) and 2014 (301/302).

·         Four of the 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was June 28, 2009 – the race was called on Lap 273, 28 circuits shy of the 301 scheduled laps.   

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway four times: 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2009.   

·         Two active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have made their first career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Joe Nemechek (7/11/93), and Joey Logano (9/14/08).

·         Brad Keselowski (9/19/10) is the only active driver to post his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.      

·         Four active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Joe Nemechek (9/19/99), Ryan Newman (9/15/02), Clint Bowyer (9/16/07) and Joey Logano (6/28/09).

·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at New Hampshire with 1,371 laps led in 39 starts. 

·         Danica Patrick is the only female driver that has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.