OPINION

By Brian Brown

updated 1:26 p.m. ET Sept. 17, 2009

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 27th race of the 2009 season, the Sylvania 300. We took a look at past performances, season trends, and talked to NASCAR contacts to shed a light on how the field should finish on Sunday.

When
Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009
2:15 p.m. ET

Weather
Sunny with high around 67; wind out of the WNW at 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is zero.

The Track
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile flat-oval. It has 12 degree banking on the corners with 2 degree banking on the straight-aways. Ryan Newman has been great at NHMS during his career. He earned his first career Nextel Cup victory at the track and passed Tony Stewart late in the 2006 September race for another win at NHMS. Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle have won the past five races at the track.

Key to Race: That is one big paperclip
NHMS is basically a big version of Martinsville. It is a mile long paperclip configuration with two long straight-aways with tight corners at the ends. This race is always hard on brakes and tires. The team that can figure out a setup that allows them to keep the brakes and tires fresh will have a big advantage. Look for Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch to have strong runs in Sunday's race.

Qualifying Procedures
Forty-five cars will attempt to qualify for 43 spots. Cars not in the top 35 in the 2009 point standings will have to qualify based on speed. Starting positions 1-43 will be determined by qualifying runs on Friday, Sept. 18 at 3:10 p.m. ET.

Fantasy Cheat Sheet

Top 5
No. 14 Tony Stewart: Stewart has 11 top-five finishes, including two wins, in 21 career starts at NHMS. He has brought the best car in the field to the track the last few races in the Granite State and is a terrific option on Sunday.
No. 2 Kurt Busch: Busch has three career wins at NHMS including the July 2008 rain-shortened race. With his past success at the track and how well he has driven this year, we like his chances to win on Sunday.

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No. 48 Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has finished in the top 15 in all but one of his 15 career Cup starts at NHMS. He is a great pick on Sunday.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won the July 2007 race at NHMS and has finished in the top 10 in five of his last seven Cup races at the track. He is an excellent pick on Sunday.
No. 24 Jeff Gordon: Between 1997 and 2001 Gordon was easily the top driver at NHMS, but then the Rainbow Warrior went into a serious slump at the track. He has worked hard at his race setups at the Magic Mile and is once again a great option to take the checkers.

6 to 10
No. 18 Kyle Busch: Rowdy dominated the July 2006 race at NHMS but has cracked the top 10 just twice in the past six races at the track. He is racing for wins the remainder of the season and should be back in the top 10.
No. 16 Greg Biffle: Biffle brought a strong car to NHMS the past two races, and he should be fast again this weekend.
No. 1 Martin Truex Jr.: Truex has four top-seven finishes in the last five races at NHMS. This is the weekend to use the No. 1 driver.
No. 17 Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has finished inside the top 10 in nine of the last 14 NHMS races. He should finish around 10th on Sunday.
No. 5 Mark Martin: Martin has had plenty of past success in the Granite State. He should have no problem cracking the top 10 on Sunday.

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