NHMS is a relatively new and very flat 1.058 mile oval. The track has only 12 degrees of banking in the turns leading onto 1500 foot straight-aways—kind of like a big Martinsville. And like Martinsville used to be, it’s run by a family with a great love of racing, the Bhares, who built the track back in 1990. It hosted its first Cup race back in 1993, with Rusty Wallace taking the win.

New Hampshire has long straights and tight corners. Recently, they widened the track by making the apron part of the racing surface, but it’s still pretty darn flat. To go fast, you have to get into those flat corners without getting loose. If you get loose and have to lift, you’ll find yourself killing your straightaway speed. Because it’s flat, it's tough to get that car to turn. Brakes are also important because you have to slow so much to get into the corners.

Track position is also critical in this short 300 lap race, because it’s very hard to pass. And usually, even if the caution comes out, you won’t see the leading cars pit in the last 50-60 laps. New Hampshire is also known for long green flag runs, and it’s a stretch to make it on just two stops. Crew chiefs will need to think about fuel mileage from the beginning of the race.

NHMS is a fairly flat one-mile true oval—no kinks in the back or the front. The racing groove is pretty narrow, rewarding track position late in the race. If you run well at Richmond and Phoenix, you should do well here too.