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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Loudon, New Hampshire today for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Coverage begins today at Noon eastern on TNT.
Kyle Busch captured the pole, but the two guys to watch may very well be Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. Stewart won the last time out at Loudon and finished second in this race last season. The winner of that one? Ryan Newman. Each driver has 3 wins at the track in their careers and have led a combined 1,900 laps.
"It was awesome for us here last year," Newman said. "It was a time when Stewart was struggling a little bit, too, so to have the one-two start and one-two finish, that was awesome. Then for him to back it up -- for us to win the spring race, and him to win the fall race -- it was an amazing place for us here, for Stewart-Haas, this race track here in Loudon. We'll try to do it again. There is no reason that we can't."
"We're decent, I think," said Stewart. "We were pretty good here for both races last year, so I'm pretty excited about coming back here."
Newman qualified 6th, while Stewart will start in the 10th position this afternoon. When asked what is specifically about New Hampshire that always brings out the best in his team, Newman credited the whole way they do business at SHR.
"I was thinking about it last week. I think it kind of reminds us of our old IRP [Indianapolis Raceway Park] days. This kind of drives like that kind of race track where your car is on top of the race track, and you get everything that you can. There is nothing to really make it go any faster. It's not like you're pushing the car on the banking to make it grip better. There's none of that really to speak of here. I think just a little bit of our past, a little bit of us as far as the way we drive race cars, is what helps us here."
Here's the top 10 starting lineup for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301
- Kyle Busch
- Kasey Kahne
- Denny Hamlin
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Clint Bowyer
- Ryan Newman
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jeff Gordon
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Tony Stewart
Other notables - New father Kevin Harvick will start 12th, Kurt Busch in 15th, Joey Logano 16th and Carl Edwards in 21st.
For more on today's race be sure to check out our dedicated NASCAR hub.