DFS NASCAR: Overton's 301 Track Breakdown

The first of two stops in the Northeast on the schedule happens this weekend for the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. It is a 1-mile oval in the same mold as Phoenix and Dover, in terms of distance, but there is a difference in banking. Loudon, as it’s commonly referred to, is a flat track, nearly. The turns are banked progressively starting four degrees and going to seven degrees near the outer wall. That’s not a lot. Speeds will be slower than even at Phoenix since that has more banking and wider turns.  The last two year’s worth of races haven’t proven to be terribly wide-open as there are only three drivers in the field this week with a +6 positional difference.

Track Data

Top-15 Drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Top-15 Drivers at 1-mile Tracks

Drivers to watch this week:

Matt Kenseth: Kenseth had a big week last week, well off the track at least, when he announced he wouldn’t be back at Joe Gibbs Racing next year and then started third at Kentucky, before finishing 17^th. Now that Erik Jones has been named as his replacement, this week becomes the best chance for him to get a win before the Chase begins. Kenseth has two wins, three top-fives, and four top-10s in the last four races with 170 laps led. He three total wins, 10 top-fives, and 19 top-10s in 34 races here with 410 laps led. The 20-car could very well run up front most of the race.

Kevin Harvick: Harvick has been a monster on 1-mile tracks of late, with four wins, nine top-fives, and 11 top-10s in the last 14 races (since the start of 2015) and with 1,352 laps led, by far the most. One of the wins and three top-fives have come at Loudon in the last four races. As did 283 laps led. Harvick could lack to nab his second win of the season this week and bump his seeding up for the Chase.

Joey Logano: Logano started with a bang this season with eight finishes sixth or better in the first nine races. The only bad finish, 31^st, was a blown tire crash at Phoenix. However, he has three top-fives in the last four races at NHMS and a low finish of 11^th in that span. He does have two career wins here, six top-fives, and nine top-10s and needs a win to make the Chase due to his Richmond win being encumbered.

Ryan Newman: Newman is one of those guys that makes sense to play several times a year and this is one of those weeks. He has two top-10s in the last four races at New Hampshire but overall he has three wins, seven top-fives, and 18 top-10s in 30 races. He did sneak out a win at Phoenix earlier this year when late pit strategy worked beautifully for the 31-car. Not to be forgotten is the fact that Newman also has the most laps led of any driver in the field this week with 722 in his career.

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson, like Newman, has two top-10s in the last four races here, but overall he has a record equal to that of Kenseth’s at the track. Three wins, 10 top-fives, 20 top-10s, and 323 laps led in 30 races at NHMS. He already has three wins this season, but who says he’s slowing down.