2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Picks
LOUDON, NH (ATS Consultants) – The Sprint Cup Series heads to Loudon, New Hampshire for the 19th Cup race on Sunday, July 15 at 1pmET for the Lenox Tools 301 from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Last year, Ryan Newman won the road as he started on the pole. He lead a race-high 119 laps, including the final 71 and beat his teammates, Tony Stewart, to the finish line by 0.8 seconds. Newman has won here three times including his first during his 2002 rookie season.
So far this season, Hamlin has easily been the best of all Sprint Cup drivers on the flat tracks, leading the series in average finish (3.7), average running position (5.0) and percentage of laps run in the Top 15. In 10 career races in Loudon, Hamlin has never finished outside the top-15, and has only failed to finish in the top-10 three times. His sole win here came in 2007, but has finished second two of the last three times here. Hamlin leads all drivers with an average finish of 7.6 and is the best on this type of track, which makes him an easy pick this week.
He’s won here three times but his last victory was back in 1998. Last fall Gordon finished 4th and led nearly a third of the race (led 78 laps). He had the best driver rating (131.5) and the best average running position (3rd). In the July race he finished 11th and led 19 laps. Even though his finishes weren’t as good as Tony Stewart’s last season he still tied him for having the best driver rating ( 120.9). In the 2010 New Hampshire races Gordon finished 6th and 11th. Gordon likely would’ve of won this race in 2009 (year Joey Logano won) but that event was rain shortened.
Live Longshot
Logano won here in 2009 at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, and he’s badly in need of another big time run to make it anywhere near the Chase for the Championship. There’s just 45 points separating Logano from the coveted 12th position and plenty of races to go, there is definitely a ton of hope remaining for No. 20 to get into the postseason. The upside about Logano is that he’s been pretty good on similar tracks lately.
2012 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Information
Race Date: Sunday, July 15
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH.
Start Time: 1pmET
Green Flag: Approx. 1:15PM ET
TV Coverage: TNT
Radio Coverage: Performance Racing Network (MRN/Sirius NASCAR Radio)
Track Type: 1.058 mile oval (301 laps, 318.5 miles)
Recent Winners
2011: Ryan Newman
2010: Jimmie Johnson
2009: Joey Logano
2008: Kurt Busch
2007: Denny Hamlin
Last year’s top 5
Ryan Newman
Tony Stewart
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Jimmie Johnson
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