Race:LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Date:Sunday July 15, 2012
Track:New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Time:12 pm ET
TV:TNT
by Virginia Vroom, NASCAR Betting Handicapper, Predictem.com
Well, Brad Keselowski was doing really well until that wreck!But I suppose they all were, including Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.Keselowski still had a respectable finish, coming in 8thplace despite his hardships.Tony Stewart was your winner for Daytona.He really isn’t a surprise to see in victory lane.He’s mastered these types of tracks, and as I mentioned before, he’s definitely never one to overlook coming to the superspeedways.
This weekend, we are heading to Loudon.This is a much different track than Daytona at just over a mile.It has variable banking in the turns, going from 9 degrees to 7 degrees.This track is a true oval with both the backstretch and frontstretch coming in at 1500 feet.
At this track, much the same with Daytona, track position seems to be key.It is difficult to get a lap back and difficult to move through the traffic that we see at this track.That is because the track gives very little room for passing.It’s a relatively narrow track.Tires are just as important.Unlike Daytona where aerodynamics are the most important factor, you can get by at Loudon with some bumps and bruises as long as you take care of your tires and maintain track position.
When we take a look at track history here, we see that Ryan Newman is the defending winner of the summer race while Tony Stewart took the win in the fall.Honestly, as well as Tony ran at Daytona, he probably will not do the same here.Although he will probably come out with a strong finish, I think that he’s going to have a few more contenders at the end on this one.My pick to win is Matt Kenseth.Although he has struggled in the past to win here, he’s got 5 top five finishes and 12 top 10 finishes in his 24 starts here.Additionally, he has finished 98.9% of all laps raced here, which is well in the 7000s.Coming into this race as the number one driver in driver standings doesn’t hurt either.Here is the rundown of all picks this week:
Pick to Win:Matt Kenseth
Middle of the Road Pick: Martin Truex Jr.
Dark Horse Pick:Marcos Ambrose
This is almost the same as going home for Truex.Being from around Dover, Loudon isn’t a far trip for Truex.He’s got a decent record here, and with good track position and good pit stops, Truex could pull it off.Ambrose, well, he’s just got to win one someday, right?I think that he’s the best option out of all the C list guys we have this weekend.
Here are your current top 10 in points after Daytona:
1.Matt Kenseth
2.Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3.Greg Biffle
4.Jimmie Johnson
5.Tony Stewart
6.Kevin Harvick
7.Denny Hamlin
8.Martin Truex Jr.
9.Brad Keselowski
10. Clint Bowyer
Kenseth is coming into this race first in points and also as driver who led the most laps at Daytona last weekend.He’s got a lot going for him.Other notables to watch include Kenseth’s teammate Greg Biffle, who’s the only one from the pair to have a win here at Loudon.Denny Hamlin is also a name to watch as he has a win here and really needs to step up his consistency.He does better on these more aggressive type tracks.Look for some action this weekend as we head to the mile track that drives like a short track!