New England 300 Preview

The New England track is very similar to the track at Chicagoland. In fact, the two tracks are often compared to each other because it is very hard to pass on both tracks and because they are both relatively new. Now, however, New England differs because it’s newly paved track allows for a faster track with two grooves where there used to be only one. While this should open up the track a bit, don’t expect significant differences.

This week again, it is not recommended that you take a flyer on a driver with minimal experience on this track. Unbelievably, one reputable Web site actually compared Kyle Busch and Travis Kvapl to Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace at this track, pointing out that Martin and Wallace won the pole and the race here on their first attempts. What the Web site forgot to mention, though, was that both Martin and Wallace were already seasoned veterans when this track opened and Busch and Kvapil are still rookies. Busch might be considered a good longshot, but Kvapil hasn’t earned anything and isn’t even that good. The same Web site also reports on Kvapil’s success here in the truck series, but the truck series is not the same as the Nextel Cup Series.

Winner's Circle for the New England 300

Tony Stewart (8/1): An early pick to win the championship, Stewart has overcome every obstacle put in front of him. Even if he doesn’t win this week, keep your eyes on him for the championship.

Jimmie Johnson (7/1): Johnson has won here two times already and he’s still got plenty of fight left in him to try to hang onto his points lead and, at least finish in the Top 5. His fighting spirit was obvious only last week when came back from a lap down to finish in the Top 5.

Ryan Newman (8/1): Newman has a strong chance of getting his first win of the season here. He has won at this track before and not just this specific race. He’s also finished in the Top 5 in all three of his starts here and he’s racing with a good car that he will probably be improving upon.

Kurt Busch (7/1): Bush has been good this year, but not great. He is only on the winner’s list because he is the defending champ here.

Greg Biffle (8/1): Biffle has a good chance for a win here because Roush has won six races here and Biffle has won five races for Rousch this year.

Carl Edwards (40/1): This week’s flyer, Edwards got knocked out of contention the last few weeks which brought him from fourth in the points standing to 14 th, but he has a great car, a great crew, and a strong will which just may be enough to push him to the front.

Matt Kenseth (12/1): Because of the Roush factor and the fact that he had the best car last week, we can expect a good finish from Kenseth this week, especially if he brings the car up to the same intensity as last time.

Who to Avoid in the New England 300

Michael Waltrip (30/1): Sadly, for Waltrip, all the attention is now on Junior as it appears that Waltrip has somehow absorbed all of Junior’s bad luck. Waltrip’s chances don’t look good this time around.

Elliot Sadler (25/1): Sadler seems to be following the philosophy that consistency will get him the cup – he finishes races and gets his points but this approach doesn’t win a race.

Jamie McMurray (30/1): McMurray has great potential but we probably won’t see it until he gets to Roush.

Kasey Kahne (15/1): Even though Kahne finished in the Top 10 last year (his only starts here), his success this year has been limited. He still has not yet made it to the Top 10 since he won at the Chevy American Revolution and is just not competitive enough for this race. Kahne is not a good bet this time around.

Jeff Gordon (8/1): While worth keeping your eye on for the future, right now Gordon just isn’t having any luck. Whether he is an innocent bystander in an accident or he simply blows a tire, nothing seems to be working for him. Wait till he gets back on track and then keep an eye on him. Until then, don’t waste your money.

Jeff Burton (25/1): Don’t’ be misled into thinking that Burton is a good bet just because he has won four races here. The fact is, he hasn’t won wince 2000 and has only finished in the Top 10 since then. Also, he only has one Top 10 this year.

Travis Kvapil (100/1): Just a reminder here, Kvapil is not a good bet (unless it is the Busch race).

USG Sheetrock 400 Review

In stark contrast to what had been predicted, Dale Earnhardt Jr. performed with excellence and won in spite of predictions that he would not be able to run a patient race on a non-restrictor plate track and his team would not be able to work together.

Junior’s team deserves special mention here because, even though he did do a lot of the work, moving up into the top 10 with less than 20 laps to go, his car wasn’t good enough to climb up to the front and it was his team who made the difference. Where most of the field, including Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart running first and second respectively, took four tires when they pitted due to a caution, Junior took two tires and fuel. This took Jr. first out of the pits and eventually led him to victory. The entire week before the race, Jr.’s crew chief, Steve Hmiel, had swore that track position and clean air were the keys to victory. Obviously he was right.

Even though Earnhardt won the race, the best cars belonged to Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. Kenseth, who dominated most of the race, leading 176 of the 267 laps, took the lead from teammate Greg Biffle early on in the race and wasn’t faced with any serious competition until the last 11 laps. The decision to take four tires in the last pit caused him to come out in 8 th place after going into the pits in first place. Even though he moved up to second with four laps to go he still couldn’t catch Junior, meaning another loss for Kenseth. After the race, Robby Ryan (Kenseth's crew chief) said: "when you have the best car, you take four tires." He was wrong.

Stewart’s experience was quite different than Kenseth’s, having crashed the car during practice and, making him unable to qualify his car. Fortunately for Stewart, his backup driver was able to qualify the car so Stewart was cleared to race. However, he was forced start from the back in 43 rd place. Not one to let a setback like that hold him back, Stewart was able to steadily move up the pack and run closely behind Kenseth for a good part of the race. Ultimately though, his decision to take four tires too probably cost him the race as well.