At Loudon, Hamlin can get Phoenix redemption
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series has been racing at New Hampshire International Speedway since 1993. With the age on the track, and the reconfiguration that they did, we definitely have much better racing there now than we had in the past.
Who to Watch
# Denny Hamlin: After leading 70 laps at Phoenix, Denny Hamlin has to be one of the favorites on Sunday. If NASCAR hadn't caught him for speeding on pit road, he would have won that race in April.
# Tony Stewart: Leading 132 laps at Phoenix and finishing 2nd, Tony Stewart should be strong this weekend at a track where he has two Cup wins.
# Jeff Gordon: We know all of the Hendrick cars will be strong, just look at their track record with the Car of Tomorrow. Jeff Gordon won the COT race at Phoenix.
# Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch: Both Penske Racing South drivers will be players at a track where they each have two wins. They actually ran pretty well at Phoenix, and the caution that won the race for Jeff Gordon ended up playing against the Penske cars.
# Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Like the Penske cars, the DEI cars were kept from strong finishes by that late caution flag so they should run well this weekend.
What to Watch
# Phoenix factor: The race at the flat, one-mile Phoenix International Raceway is a great benchmark for how teams will run at New Hampshire International Speedway, but these teams never quit learning about the Car of Tomorrow. So we'll have more competitive cars at Loudon than we had at Phoenix two months ago because these guys have learned more about this car.
# Track position wanted: Strategy may play a role in who wins. Track position is critical toward the end of the race because it's so hard to pass. When we get down to the last 75 laps, the crew chiefs need to decide whether to stay out and keep their track position, roll the dice and get two tires or or put on four tires. Remember, restarting 10th is like restarting 20th with lapped cars on the inside line.
# Traffic jam: Lapped traffic almost bites you more than it does at the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.
Coming soon: Wide Open Coverage
I'm really looking forward to the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday. TNT is working to set a new precedent in television with its Wide Open Coverage. The crew has dotted every "i" and crossed every "t." Unless it ends up being a caution-free race — which probably won't happen at Daytona — you shouldn't miss a single-lap of green-flag racing.
We're going to do a rehearsal during Saturday's Busch race at Loudon to prepare ourselves for this coverage. The announcers won't know the difference, but it will be a huge adjustment for the production crew in the truck. I've really enjoy doing these Turner races. It's obviously a different role for me, and I will not, have not and never will compare the FOX and TNT broadcasts because they are totally different. At the end of the day, I'm following FOX Sports chairman David Hill's philosophy that a rising tide lifts all ships. It's one reason that he and FOX Sports president Ed Goren blessed me doing this deal.
Playing hurt
I apologize for losing my voice at Sonoma. There's no rhyme or reason why. I didn't have a cold, and I didn't have a sore throat. While we were shooting NASCAR Performance on Saturday afternoon, my voice started going away. By Saturday night, it was gone. Obviously, it's the worst thing that could happen to a broadcaster. I did the best I could, and I wasn't going to give up and walk off the show. I just kept digging as hard as I could, and I'll be the first to tell you I've never been so relieved to hear the words, "We're off the air." It was a first for my voice, but I'm sure it won't be the last.
Another racer who played hurt last week was 15-year-old Justin Allison, grandson of Donnie Allison. He won his first Allison Legacy race at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Saturday, and it's even more special because he had a fever and couldn't hold down water on Friday night and on race day. But he did the same thing that I did Sunday. We reached as far down in that barrel as we could, knowing we had a job to do.
