New Hampshire NASCAR Preview
Tony Stewart says he and his team have had a miserable year up until just a few weeks ago when he finished third at Atlanta and then seventh at Richmond before his first win of the season at Chicagoland. His 40th career victory also ended a long winless streak.
And what a time of year to get hot. His rain-delayed win on Monday moved him from ninth to second place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, just 7 points behind leader Kevin Harvick and whether he wants to believe it or not he's now a championship contender. Before the Chase began he said of the 12 drivers in
the field, seven had a legitimate shot at winning the title, but he didn't consider himself one of them.
Newman has posted three wins and 13 top-10 finishes in 19 races. He's also claimed five poles.
In last fall's race at New Hampshire, Clint Boyer had the dominant car but was running second to Stewart in the closing laps until Stewart ran out of gas with less than two laps to go and held off Denny Hamlin to pick up the victory. Three days later, NASCAR handed down some stiff fines when they found Boyer's car was illegal.
Jeff Burton holds the track record with four victories.
Don't count anybody out of the Chase. Last year Jimmie Johnson finished 25th in the Chase opener at New Hampshire, but went on to win his fifth straight championship.