Loudon's new groove will be a true test

LOUDON, N.H. -- New Hampshire International Speedway's reconfiguration that was established earlier this spring is the biggest question mark heading toward Sunday's $4,054,390 New England 300.

	Jeff Gordon

A more definite assessment is how the latest event in a 20-race stretch that will end the season will affect the NASCAR Winston Cup championship battle.

A year ago, New Hampshire signaled the start of a 10-race tear that cemented Jeff Gordon's fourth Winston Cup championship. This season, Gordon, despite being mired in a 26-race winless skein, is fourth in the championship, 95 points behind leader Sterling Marlin.

"This stretch really shows how well teams are prepared," Gordon said. "It can create long hours for the guys at the shop if they're playing catch-up during this time.

"We didn't tear much up during the first half of the season and that certainly helps. And we learned a lot from the 48 team (Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Jimmie Johnson) that we'll apply during our second visit to the tracks."

The first of two visits to New Hampshire this season will be critical in that it marks the first trip by the Winston Cup Series since pavement was added to each end of the 1.058-mile speedway in an attempt to add another groove to improve the track's raceability.

Adding a twist is the fact that no pre-event testing was allowed because the track surface had to be repaired following May's NASCAR Busch Series event. Thus, drivers Stacy Compton, Todd Bodine and Jeff Burton, who competed here in May, might have a slight advantage.

Kevin Harvick and Ken Schrader entered trucks in Saturday's New England 200 for The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to get more track time. Both were among the fastest trucks in Friday morning's practice.

Friday afternoon's Bud Pole Qualifying session will be the latest chance for Rusty Wallace's two-year-old track record of 28.835 seconds, 132.089 mph to go by the boards. Gordon won the pole a year ago at 28.905 seconds.

Another Bud Pole would be fine, Gordon said, but he'd prefer a run similar to last year's. In the 10-race 2001 stretch that started here, Gordon had nine top-10 finishes, including victories at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Kansas City.

Jeff Gordon's 2001 championship run began with a strong run at New Hampshire. Credit: Autostock

He entered the New Hampshire race tied for the point lead with Dale Jarrett, and 10 races later -- after winning at Kansas City -- he held a 222-point lead over Ricky Rudd.

"That was a defining stretch for this team," Gordon said. "I guess you could say we were in the zone during those races. Not only did we think we should consistently finish in the top-five each weekend, but we felt like we had cars that could win every race."

Jarrett is the defending champion of the race that will be broadcast live on TNT, with the pre-race show beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday; and live on the affiliate network of MRN Radio, also beginning at 1:30.