RACE INFO:
Event: Camping World 301
Date/Time: July 13/1 p.m. ET
2013 winner: Brian Vickers
2013 polesitter: Brad Keselowski
Distance: 301 laps/318.5 miles
Track Length: 1.06 miles
Banking: 7 degrees
Track Shape: Oval
EXPRESS NOTES:
Daytona Recap: Denny Hamlin finished sixth in Sunday’s rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway, avoiding major damage in a pair of multi-car incidents in the 112-lap event won by Aric Almirola, to record his third-straight top-six finish in points-paying restrictor plate races in the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota. Sunday’s race was postponed from Saturday due to rain, and with more inclement weather expected, Hamlin charged through the field from his 37th-place starting position at the drop of the green flag. He was up to 24th by the race’s first caution on Lap 7 and inside the top-20 when contact at the front of the field triggered a 16-car incident on the frontstretch at Lap 21. After a stretch of green flag racing through the event’s midpoint, that saw Hamlin challenge for the lead, another multi-car wreck — again at the front of the field — involved 26 cars, including the #11 machine. Hamlin spun through the grass in Turn 3 and fortunately, the damage was not severe. After a trip to pit road for repairs, he returned to the race in the top-10 for the restart. However, more rain came eight laps later, forcing NASCAR to call the race after 112 of the scheduled 160 laps.
New Hampshire Preview: The Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) for Sunday’s 301-lap event on the flat, one-mile oval. Hamlin is a two-time New Hampshire winner, taking the checkered flag in the July 2007 event and the Chase race at the track in 2012. Hamlin has 10 top-10 finishes in 16 career New Hampshire starts, and his 9.0 average finishing position at the track is tied with Jeff Gordon for best among active drivers. Hamlin has a driver rating of 102.9 at NHMS, fourth-best in the Series, behind Tony Stewart, Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. He has led a total of 417 laps at the track and finished 12th at the “Magic Mile” in the Series’ most recent trip last September.
What are the keys to success at New Hampshire?
“You definitely have to get your car to turn in the center of the corner to be fast at New Hampshire. You use a lot of brake in the corner because it is so flat, and you make up time with your drive off. If you can save your tires and equipment for later in the run, you should be in pretty good shape to make up some positions. We have had some fast FedEx cars at the track in the past, and hopefully we bring another one this weekend.”
