Fast forward: Five drivers hopeful for New Hampshire
Five NASCAR drivers feeling less nervous about their Chase for the Sprint Cup prospects heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend:
1. Ryan Newman: The 38-year-old, in a contract season with Richard Childress Racing, enters this weekend 12th in the driver standings but perhaps heartened by his three victories at New Hampshire, an all-time lead shared with Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. The last win came in the summer of 2011 with Stewart-Haas Racing, but at this point of the season, a driver will take any positive indicators. Finishes of fifth, 18th, 11th and 10th make him the sixth-best points-winner at New Hampshire over the most recent four races.
2. Kyle Larson: The wait for the long-anticipated first Sprint Cup win from the Ganassi Racing perennial prodigy continues into a third season, but New Hampshire could finally provide a backdrop for a breakthrough. The beauty or ridiculousness of the current Chase version is that a first victory at NASCAR’s highest level will not only validate him as a winner but a playoff-qualifier, just as it did for A.J. Allmendinger at Watkins Glen in 2014. The 24-year-old was pedestrian at best at New Hampshire last season at 31st and 17th, but was third and second his first swing though in 2014. Currently 19th in the standings – where he finished last season – he’s 27 points behind teammate Jamie McMurray for 15th-place, which is currently the final non-winners Chase billet. (Stewart’s win at Sonoma Raceway and current status as top 30 in points qualifies him for the Chase, assuming NASCAR grants him a medical waiver for missing the first eight races with a broken back - certainly expected.)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: The Hendrick Motorsports driver has never won at New Hampshire but is the eighth-best points-earner there in the last three races. He had four consecutive top-10s until finishing 25th last fall and can’t afford another costly performance with eight races remaining in the regular season and his positioning precarious. NASCAR’s most popular driver is just 22 points ahead of 15th-place Jamie McMurray, who holds the final non-winner Chase slot.
4. Jamie McMurray: The Ganassi Racing driver had led just 32 of his 7,779 career laps at New Hampshire and produced his best finish of third in the 2010 fall race. But he’s been competitive since 2013, qualifying in the top five twice and finishing fourth in the fall of 2014. The 10th-best points-earner at New Hampshire the past five races needs a bountiful weekend as he attempts to maintain his firewall.
5. Greg Biffle: Yes, Biffle is 22nd in points and outside the Chase field. But he’s supplied Roush Fenway Racing some reasonable runs this season – recently, at that - finishing eighth at Daytona International Speedway and sixth at Kentucky Speedway for his lone top-10s this season. And, Biffle has represented himself well at New Hampshire recently, bringing the No. 16 Ford to the checkered flag fourth last fall. He was third in the fall of 2013. Granted, that’s not a win, and his lone victory there occurred in the autumn of 2008, but for a driver groping for a starting point, this could be it.
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