Denny Hamlin finished sixth in his first race at Loudon. Credit: Autostock

Hamlin leads contenders with top rating at NHIS

• Loop Data Statistics: Cup Series | Busch Series | Truck Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- New Hampshire International Speedway has built a reputation over the past two seasons as a track that can make or break a driver's chances for the Nextel Cup Series championship. The opening event to this year's Chase figures to be no different.

This weekend's event at New Hampshire International Speedway could have even more of an impact on this year's Chase contenders considering that five of the 10 have Driver Ratings that rank outside the top 10.

In the Loop Driver Rating at Loudon 2005-06 Rank Driver Rating 1. D. Hamlin 107.8 2. Ky. Busch 107.7 3. J. Johnson 97.0 4. J. Burton 95.2 5. J. Gordon 94.0 6. K. Harvick 91.1 7. D. Earnhardt Jr. 90.2 8. M. Martin 89.9 9. M. Kenseth 86.1 10. K. Kahne 83.3

Denny Hamlin is the top-ranked Chase contender at New Hampshire with a Driver Rating of 107.8. Hamlin -- who only has raced at New Hampshire once in the Cup Series -- has been able to amass such a high Driver Rating because of his sixth-place finish and his ability to run near the front. He has completed 81.2 percent of his laps in the top 15.

Kyle Busch rates second-best with a Driver Rating of 107.7 at New Hampshire. Busch has an Average Finish of 10.7 at the 1.058-mile track and won the event there in July. He has completed 663 (73.0 percent) laps in the top 15 and has led a total of 107 (11.8 percent) laps at New Hampshire. Busch has the most points gained (432) at New Hampshire compared to other Chase drivers who have started three races there.

The other Chase contenders who rank in the top 10 of the Driver Rating category at New Hampshire are Jimmie Johnson, who ranks seventh (97.0), Jeff Burton, who ranks eighth (95.2) and Jeff Gordon, who ranks ninth (94.0).

Johnson has not led a lap at New Hampshire in his past three starts, but still should be considered a contender for the win this week. Johnson has the most laps in the top 15 of any Chase driver with 758 (83.5 percent) and has an average finish of 10th.

In the Loop Green-flag passes at Loudon 2005-06 Segment Passes Percentage Frontstretch 1,342 28.26 Backstretch 977 20.57 Turn 4 835 17.58 Turn 1 602 12.68 Turn 2 595 12.53 Turn 3 398 8.38

Passing Zones

The flat racing surface at New Hampshire International Speedway generates some of the best racing on the Cup circuit. The frontstretch features the most passing followed by the backstretch. Here's the breakdown of the 4,749 green-flag passes that have taken place during the past two seasons at New Hampshire (chart at right).

Where does speed matter?

Tony Stewart is the driver who knows the fastest way around New Hampshire. Stewart has completed the Fastest Lap at New Hampshire a total of 159 times during the past two seasons. Ryan Newman is the second-fastest at getting around New Hampshire, but has only completed the Fastest Lap 74 times.

Stewart and Newman have nearly identical Speed Stats in all categories, including arguably the two most important categories -- Green Flag Speed and Speed in Traffic. One statistic does show a noticeable difference in the speeds of Stewart and Newman -- Fastest Drivers on the Frontstretch. Stewart ranks sixth in this category while Newman ranks 17th.