NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.058-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 19 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 1:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JULY 19 (NBCSN/PRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 35 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
12th in standings
18 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
2 top-five finishes
6 top-10 finishes
46 laps led
Career
414 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
85 top-five finishes
152 top-10 finishes
4,587 laps led
Track Career
22 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
3 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
305 laps led
#MOREMINUTES: As children head back to school, families are often crunched for time, wishing they had more minutes to tackle everything on their daunting to-do lists. That’s why Great Clips, the world’s largest hair salon brand and a primary sponsor of Kasey Kahne and the No. 5 Chevrolet SS, has launched a back-to-school #MoreMinutes campaign based on their online check-in app and Clip Notes program, which both are designed to save customers time in the salon. From July 1 through Sept. 11, Great Clips is asking fans what they would do with more time. And, by random acts of kindness, Great Clips will give people gifts to spend #MoreMinutes doing what they love. To join in the fun, fans can post a selfie of their Great Clips haircut on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and say what they would do with #MoreMinutes.
GREAT CLIPS ON NO. 5 CHEVY SS: Great Clips will adorn the hood of Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet SS this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and will be the primary sponsor on the car for two additional Sprint Cup Series races this year: Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 20) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 22).
GOING HOME: New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the home track for three members of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS team. Shock engineer Dave Paronto hails from Woodsville, New Hampshire, located approximately 75 miles north of the speedway; engineer Taylor Moyer is from Shoreham, Vermont, a town 147 miles northwest of the track; and engine tuner Tony Bove originates from Burlington, Vermont, a city 167 miles northwest of Loudon, New Hampshire.
SUMMER SESSION: Kahne is not known to take a summer break during the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, as 10 of his 17 career victories have been achieved between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
RACE TO THE CHASE: Kahne is currently 12th in the standings, having earned 513 points through the first 18 races. He is 179 points away from the leader and just 24 points out of the top 10. Kahne is still seeking his first win this year to help solidify his spot to compete for a championship. Currently he is inside the Chase Grid’s top 16 but is not yet locked in.
No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
10th in standings
18 starts
0 wins
3 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
162 laps led
Career
779 starts
92 wins
80 pole positions
322 top-five finishes
464 top-10 finishes
24,826 laps led
Track Career
40 starts
3 wins
4 pole positions
16 top-five finishes
22 top-10 finishes
1,371 laps led
ONLY GORDON AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, is the only driver to compete in all 40 Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
NHMS LEADER: The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion leads all drivers in top-five finishes, top-10s, laps led and laps completed (11,666) at the 1.058-mile track.
DELAYED HOMECOMING: Gordon’s visit to Pittsboro, Indiana, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway market to help promote the upcoming Brickyard 400 has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 23. The 43-year-old driver lived in Pittsboro and attended nearby Tri-West High School while racing as a teenager throughout the Midwest.
MEMBER ADVANTAGES AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: AARP Member Advantages will sponsor four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS to spread awareness about the many benefits available to AARP members. The special AARP Member Advantages paint scheme – which debuted at Sonoma Raceway on June 28 – will be featured in six Sprint Cup Series events in 2015 and is part of Hendrick Motorsports’ existing partnership with Drive to End Hunger, which is AARP and AARP Foundation’s multi-year effort to raise awareness of and support for the fight against older adult hunger. AARP Member Advantages is a collection of discounts, products, services and insurance programs available to AARP’s millions of members through third party providers. The provider offers include a variety of health products, financial products, travel and leisure products, and life event services.
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 39 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
2nd in standings
14 starts
4 wins
0 pole positions
10 top-five finishes
13 top-10 finishes
467 laps led
Career
489 starts
74 wins
33 pole positions
203 top-five finishes
305 top-10 finishes
17,618 laps led
Track Career
26 starts
3 wins
0 pole positions
10 top-five finishes
18 top-10 finishes
322 laps led
TOP-10 STREAK ALIVE: With a ninth-place finish Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway, Jimmie Johnson kept his streak alive as one of only four drivers to finish in the top 10 at all five Sprint Cup Series races at the 1.5-mile track.
SO FAR, SO GOOD: Heading into the second half of the season, Johnson’s average start is 14.2 and average finish is 10.6, and he has completed 98.2 percent of all possible laps run. Johnson is second in the point standings, but his series-leading four wins have him seeded first in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup grid.
NEW HAMPSHIRE STATS: In the last 20 races at New Hampshire, according to NASCAR loop data, Johnson has the fourth-best driver rating – 102.1. During that span, he has an average finish of 11.0 and has led 322 total laps at the track.
ICYMI TOUR DE FRANCE FEATURE: The cycling feature Johnson filmed with Tour de France analyst Christian Vande Velde can be seen here. The package aired on NBC Sports Network during coverage of the Tour de France.
UPCOMING JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION WELLNESS CHALLENGE EVENTS: Registration is open for the remaining two events of the 2015 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Wellness Challenge. The Cane Creek Sprint Triathlon will take place on Aug. 11 and the Lake Davidson Sprint Triathlon will take place on Sept. 13. Log on to www.jjfwellnesschallenge.org for more details.
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 40 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
4th in standings
18 starts
2 wins
0 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
11 top-10 finishes
204 laps led
Career
559 starts
25 wins
13 pole positions
136 top-five finishes
235 top-10 finishes
8,051 laps led
Track Career
31 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
7 top-five finishes
14 top-10 finishes
368 laps led
LAPS IN THE TOP 15: Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranks third among drivers for laps run in the top 15 at New Hampshire, according to NASCAR’s loop data statistics. During the last 20 races at the 1.058-mile oval, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has spent 74.2 percent of his laps running in the top 15.
DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt is ranked sixth in the driver rating category at New Hampshire with a score of 97.1 during the past 20 races at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
MY DALE STORY: Fans can help Nationwide create a digital storybook by sharing personal stories. Between today and Aug. 7, fans can upload a photo or video via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook – or here – using #MyDaleStory for a chance to win a VIP race experience. One participant will win the Grand Prize, an all-expenses-paid trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway in October.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: Hendrick Motorsports has nine wins, six pole positions, 41 top-five finishes, 67 top-10s and 2,524 laps led at New Hampshire. The nine wins have come via five different drivers, with Kahne most recently finding Victory Lane at the 1.058-mile oval. In July 2012, he started from the outside pole and led 66 laps en route to the organization’s ninth victory at the track.
DOUBLE DIGITS: A Hendrick Motorsports win this weekend would mark its 10th at New Hampshire. Currently, the organization has double-digit victory totals at 10 active Sprint Cup Series tracks: Martinsville (22), Charlotte (18), Dover (18), Pocono (17), Darlington (14), Daytona (14), Atlanta (13), Talladega (12), Bristol (10) and Richmond (10). Hendrick Motorsports has nine wins at four different tracks: Fontana, Indianapolis, New Hampshire and Phoenix.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 237 victories, 204 pole positions, 965 top-five finishes and 1,602 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 64,720 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“What a day. I just remember being so pumped to get another win for Hendrick Motorsports. We had a really strong team that day. My guys put in a great effort and I remember having so many other drivers and fans reach out to me with their support and congratulations. It was a great feeling that afternoon. Even Mario Andretti sent me a tweet. It was pretty unbelievable to get a tweet from Mario.”
Kasey Kahne on winning at New Hampshire in 2012
“The 2015 rules package equals less power and less downforce, and it seems less power is the bigger issue. At Loudon, we’ll be driving into the corner a little deeper, and we’ll get back to the gas more aggressively.”
Jeff Gordon on racing at New Hampshire
“New Hampshire is a really tough track. Track position is really important and fuel mileage always seems to come into play. It’s a pretty scrappy race.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at New Hampshire
“New Hampshire is a track I enjoy racing on. I love short-track racing, and the corners and the speeds there kind of lend itself to that style. It’s just a little bit frustrating that I haven’t won there because I feel like it’s a track that I should be capable of winning.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at New Hampshire
