Viewer's Guide: Loudon

For Jeff Burton, Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire (1:30 p.m. Sun., TNT) couldn't have come at a better time.

Burton is riding a streak of 12 consecutive top-15 finishes dating all the way back to Texas in April. He's fourth in the Nextel Cup Series standings and this weekend he heads to a track where he leads the series in wins with four.

	Inside the Numbers Jeff Burton at NHIS Starts 22 Wins 4 Top-5s 7 Top-10s 9 Poles 0 Laps Led 605 Avg. Start 20.4 Avg. Finish 13.8 Lead-lap finishes 17

What's more, Burton will be the featured guest on Sunday's pre-race show.

"I certainly have high hopes going there," Burton said. "I'm real comfortable with the racetrack. We worked pretty hard at a Richmond test and did not run well at Phoenix. We ran very well at Richmond. We've tried to step up our program and build even better cars for that kind of racetrack so I go into it optimistic."

That there are eight races to go until the field is set for the Chase for the Nextel Cup -- and the fact that the Chase opens at New Hampshire in September are facts not lost on Burton.

"I think [this weekend] is really important," said Burton. "As a matter of fact, I think all of the next eight races are exceptionally important. If you look at the points from third to 12th, it's really locked in tight. The rest of us are fighting really hard to get into the Chase."

Still, Burton said NHIS isn't the same track it used to be.

"The big challenge is the fact that the turns are so flat and the groove is half-a-lane off the bottom," said Burton. "The track has continued to gain grip through the years. It used to be real easy to spin the tires and we didn't have any rear grip but today it is actually pretty good with rear grip.

"Getting the car to turn is your biggest battle in New Hampshire where it used to be getting the rear wheels to hook up," he said. "Today it's getting it to turn. A good turning car could run really well there."

Also on the pre-race show, you can expect a full review of the Jeff Gordon/Matt Kenseth dust-up last week at Chicagoland.

Ron Hornaday is among the guests scheduled for Trackside this week (7 p.m. Fri., SPEED). If you're going to Loudon, the SPEED Stage will be outside Turns 1 and 2 in the souvenir area.

The final ratings are in for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and the news is not good. FOX's finale earned a 5.1 final rating with a 11 share, more than 7 percent lower than the 5.5/13 that last year's race snagged.

	MESSAGE BOARD •   Send your question to Benny and Wally

In the premiere of "Ask Wally and Benny," Daniel J. Westrick of Fort Wayne, Ind. writes:

Now that Juan Montoya is joining the Nextel Cup in 2007, do you think that NASCAR will finally be accepted in the international community?

Benny Parsons takes this week's inquiry solo.

"I think it's going to help NASCAR's image in the international community tremendously," he said. "It's probably one of the best things to happen to Nextel Cup Series racing in a long time.

"Here is a fella who has won the Indianapolis 500 and Formula One races; he's known worldwide and yet he chooses to go to NASCAR Nextel Cup racing. I think that it's phenomenal. That says a tremendous amount about the respect for NASCAR that he would choose to come here."

On to this weekend's busy schedule:

Nextel Cup Series: Lenox Industrial Tools 300

Track: New Hampshire International Speedway
• 1.058-mile oval
• 12-degree banking in turns
• 2-degree banking in straights
• Length of Frontstretch: 1,500 feet
• Length of Backstretch: 1,500 feet

Race length: 300 laps/317.4 miles

TV schedule: (All times ET)
• NASCAR Live: 2 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: 3 p.m. Fri. SPEED
• Trackside: 7 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• Final practice: 10 a.m. Sat.., SPEED
• NASCAR Raceday: 11 a.m. Sun., SPEED
• Pre-race: 1:30 p.m. Sun., TNT
• Race: 2:10 p.m. Sun., TNT

2005 FlashbackReview Stewart's dominating win at New Hampshire Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One year ago, Tony Stewart started 13th and wound up winning for the third time in four races, passing at will inside and outside in a dominant performance.

The most recent checkered flag went to Jeff Gordon, who bumped Matt Kenseth out of the way with four laps to go to win the USG Sheetrock 400.

Keep an eye on qualifying. In both races at New Hampshire last season, the winner came from the 13th starting position.

Busch Series: New England 200

Track: New Hampshire International Speedway
• 1.058-mile oval
• 12-degree banking in turns
• 2-degree banking in straights
• Length of Frontstretch: 1,500 feet
• Length of Backstretch: 1,500 feet

Race length: 200 laps/211.6 miles

TV schedule: (All times ET)

• Qualifying: 11 a.m. Sat., SPEED
• Race: 3 p.m. Sat., TNT

2005 FlashbackSee Truex get his fifth victory of 2005 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One year ago, Martin Truex Jr. held off a last-lap charge from Carl Edwards to win.

The most recent checkered flag went to Casey Mears. He and his team rolled the dice and came out ahead to get the driver his first career victory in Saturday's Busch race.

Keep an eye on Mark McFarland. After being out of action for the past two weeks with an injury, McFarland has been cleared to return to the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend at New Hampshire.

Craftsman Truck Series: O'Reilly 200

Track: Memphis Motorsports Park
• 0.75-mile oval
• 11-degree banking in turns
• 4-degree banking on straights
• Length of Frontstretch: 1,100 feet
• Length of backstretch: 1,100 feet

Race length: 200 laps/150 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• Race: 9 p.m. Sat., SPEED

2005 FlashbackWatch Whitt pull off the upset last year at Memphis Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One year ago, Brandon Whitt celebrated his O'Reilly 200 win in dramatic fashion after passing Ron Hornaday on the final lap.

The most recent checkered flag went to Ron Hornaday, who brushed off two challenges in the final 20 laps to win the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Keep an eye on Victory Lane. Memphis is one of 10 tracks (of 22) on the current schedule without a repeat winner.