NASCAR WCUP: New Hampshire Track Tidbits
7 July 1999
Track Tidbits
* The posted awards for this weekends Jiffy Lube 300 are $2,628,896.
* The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is worth $10,000 for this weeks Jiffy Lube 300 .
* The field at New Hampshire will consist of 43 cars, the fastest 36 cars plus seven provisional spots based upon current NASCAR Winston Cup owner points. The 43rd starting position is reserved for a former NASCAR Winston Cup champion, if needed. If not required by a past champion the final starting position will be assigned to the next eligible car owner.
* One qualifying lap on Friday afternoon will be used to determine the first 25 starting positions. A second round of qualifying on Saturday will set positions 26-36.
* There have been eight NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire since Rusty Wallace won the inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup race there on July 11, 1993. There was one race per year prior to 1997 which was the first year for twice-a-year NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire .
* In the eight previous NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire only three drivers have ever won there from a top-five starting position. Jeff Gordon (1998 CMT 300) is the only driver to win a NASCAR Winston Cup race at New Hampshire from the Bud Pole.
* Five different drivers have scored Bud Poles in the eight NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire since 1993. Mark Martin, Ken Schrader and Ricky Craven have all posted two Bud Poles at this track.
* Ken Schrader (1997) is the only driver to sweep both Bud Poles in a season in the two years of twice-a-season racing at New Hampshire.
* Ricky Craven is the defending Bud Pole winner of the Jiffy Lube 300.
* There have been five different race winners in the eight NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire. Jeff Gordon (three) and Jeff Burton (two) are the only repeat race winners at the New England track.
* Jeff Burton is the defending champion in the Jiffy Lube 300.
* Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace are the only drivers to score seven top-10 finishes in eight races at New Hampshire.
* Mark Martin leads all drivers with six top-five finishes at New Hampshire.
* Ford has four victories in the eight NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire. Chevrolet has three and Pontiac has one.
* Thirty different drivers have led at least one lap in the seven NASCAR Winston Cup races at New Hampshire. * Jeff Gordon has led 475 of 2,400 NASCAR Winston Cup laps raced at New Hampshire. He is the only driver that has led in seven of the eight New Hampshire races. He led the most laps in three of the last six races there (1995, 1996 and the second race in 1997). * Jeff Burton led the most laps en route to victory in the 1997 Jiffy Lube 300 and again this past July in the 1998 Jiffy Lube 300. * Fifteen different drivers led during the 1996 Jiffy Lube 300, the record for the most leaders in a race this track.
Selected Modern Era Performance at this Track
* Ricky Craven, Mark Martin and Ken Schrader all have won two Bud Poles at New Hampshire.
* Ernie Irvan and Jeff Gordon have both scored one Bud Pole at New Hampshire.
* Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with three NASCAR Winston Cup New Hampshire victories. Jeff Burton has two victories there. Three different drivers have each posted one victory at New Hampshire: Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd and Rusty Wallace.
* Mark Martin leads all active drivers with six top-five finishes in eight races at New Hampshire.
* Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace lead all active drivers each with seven top-10 finishes in eight races at New Hampshire.
* Ken Schrader leads all drivers who have competed in all eight races at New Hampshire with a 7.25 starting average.
* Rusty Wallace leads active drivers with a 6.63 finishing average at New Hampshire..
* Jeff Gordon has led 475 laps at New Hampshire, the most of all drivers. Mark Martin is second in New Hampshire laps led with 351 followed by Jeff Burton with 290.
* In spite of having run only seven of the eight races there, Ernie Irvan is fourth in laps led at New Hampshire with 261.
* Nine drivers have started all eight New Hampshire races without posting a DNF there: Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Rick Mast, Jimmy Spencer and Rusty Wallace.
Track Standouts
* Jeff Gordon has only four top-10 starts in eight races at New Hampshire - all third or better, including one Bud Pole. His best start in the other four New Hampshire races was 13th.
* Jeff Burton has only two top-10 starts in eight races at New Hampshire. He started sixth in the first race there in 1993 and fifth in this race last season. He has scored four top-five finishes, including two victories, in the last five races there.
* Jeff Gordon has three and Jeff Burton has two victories races at New Hampshire. Their five victories have occurred in the last six races and they are the only drivers to score multiple victories there.
* Rusty Wallace has scored seven top-10 finishes, including one victory, in the eight races at New Hampshire.
* Mark Martin has posted seven top-10 finishes in his eight races at New Hampshire but has yet to score a victory there.
* Bobby Labonte scored a top-10 finish in his first race at New Hampshire. He did not score another until he finished seventh in the CMT 300 last fall.
* Jeremy Mayfield has competed in seven of the eight races at New Hampshire and has yet to finish above 17th at the New England track.
Headaches
* John Andretti, Rich Bickle, Geoffrey Bodine and Terry Labonte all have three DNFs at New Hampshire, the most of all drivers. Bickle has competed in only four races there.
* Brett Bodine, Joe Nemechek, Dick Trickle and Darrell Waltrip all have competed in all eight races at New Hampshire without scoring a top-10 finish there.
* Several drivers with more than one start have poor finishing averages at New Hampshire: Michael Waltrip 25.00 Hut Stricklin 25.43 Jeremy Mayfield 25.71 Darrell Waltrip 25.75 Dick Trickle 26.38 Joe Nemechek 27.00 Dave Marcis 30.71 Ward Burton 31.29 Jerry Nadeau 31.67 David Green 32.00 Rich Bickle 34.25
Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.