NASCAR New Hampshire: Call him the Sultan of Speed; Denny Hamlin strikes a Bambno pose after winning Sunday. (AP Photo)

The second race in the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup is in the books.

On Sunday afternoon, Chase driver, Denny Hamlin captured the checkered flag in dominating fashion. Hamlin, who started 32nd after a qualifying mishap, charged his way to the front in his No. 11 FedEx Toyota and took the lead on 93 and never looked back.

The highlight of the race wasn’t a wreck or a horrible pit stop by a crew, it was the celebrated burnout down the front stretch of the 1.058-mile oval. Hamlin then brought his No. 11 Toyota to a stop on the granite stripe at the finish line and climbed out of his car. He then took a batter’s stance, a la David Papi, called his shot, and knocked an imaginary home run over the catch fence.

“It doesn’t hurt to have a little confidence in your team,” Hamlin said. “I know we’ve made a couple of big mistakes over the last two weeks. I said we were fast enough to make it up, and we were. This is my team, and I’m excited about everything. These are lightning-fast race cars these guys are giving me.” Read the rest of this entry »

Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burn out after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SYLVANIA 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 23, 2012 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk – Pool/Getty Images for NASCAR)

A week after tweeting a prediction that he would win the Sylvania 300, Denny Hamlin followed through, backing it up with a dominating victory in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Hamlin, who started 32nd after a qualifying miscue, charged his way to the front in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Toyota to take the lead on Lap 93 and never look back. Hamlin dominated the race, leading four times for a race-high 193 laps. This is his fifth victory of the season and the 22nd victory in his career. Today’s win by Hamlin, also gave Joe Gibbs Racing their 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory.

Hamlin celebrated with a burnout down the front stretch of the 1.058-mile oval. He then brought his No. 11 Toyota to a stop on the granite stripe at the finish line and climbed out of his car. He then took a batter’s stance, a la David Papi, called his shot, and knocked an imaginary home run over the catch fence. Read the rest of this entry »

Tony Stewart celebrats with his crew in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday in Loudon, N.H. ASSOCIATED PRESS

9 races to go in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. It seems just yesterday, NASCAR was heading to Daytona for the first race of the season. Boy does time fly! With NASCAR crowing a new champion soon, who will it be? Will a former champion be hoisting the cup at Homestead-Miami Speedway or will a new driver be hoisting it and celebrating the night away?  Fans and Media a like will be finding out soon.

In the second race of the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Formerly New Hampshire International Speedway, the track is a 1.058 mile oval speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire and has been hosting NASCAR races since the early 1990s. The track is also one of a few on the circuit that is nicknamed, which is “The Magic Mile.” Read the rest of this entry »

Kasey Kahne celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15, 2012 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Kasey Kahne started from the front row for the Lenox Industrial Tools at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and stayed in the top five all day but it was a miscommunication between another driver and his crew chief that caused a break for the No. 5 team.

The Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin dominated the race until Busch had an issue on pit road on lap 67 and Hamlin had a miscommunication with his crew chief, Darian Grubb on Lap 236. Hamlin told his crew chief he need tires, and Grubb made the decision to take four instead of two which is what the rest of the drivers on pit road did. Hamlin would end up restarting 14^th, but would quickly come back to the front.

Kahne would end up winning his second race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and 14^th of his career. The win would was his first at Loudon. Read the rest of this entry »

Kyle Busch was fastest in practice and starts Sunday’s race on pole (Getty Images for NASCAR)

Luck was on Kyle Busch’s side this Friday the 13th as he won the pole for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 after being the final driver to take a lap around the 1.058 mile oval. Busch captured the pole with a lap of 28.548 seconds, 133.417 mph for his first pole of the 2012 season and ninth of his career. Busch, who was the fastest in the morning practice session, tapped the wall during the qualifying session but caused no damage to the No. 18 Toyota Camry. He will share the front row with Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kasey Kahne. You can catch the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday on TNT beginning with Countdown to Green at 12:00pm EST. This will be the last race TNT will cover for the season.

Starting Lineup:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Ryan Newman
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. Jeff Gordon
9. Tony Stewart
10. Greg Biffle Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the last race weekend for NASCAR on TNT. Have you counted how many commercials they have shown during a NASCAR Sprint Cup race? I totally wish I had. If ESPN/ABC shows the KFC commercial one time, I may scream. It’s way overplayed. Enough about commercials. Let’s get ready for some racing this weekend. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Iowa Speedway after a three week hiatus, while the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for some great lobster and racing at the 1.058 mile asphalt and granite oval.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
2011 Pole Winner: David Mayhew
2011 Winner: Matt Crafton
Laps: 200
Distance: 175 Miles

Friday, July 13, 2012:

12:00PM NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice SPEED
1:30PM NASCAR Nationwide Series Final Practice SPEED
3:00PM NASCAR Live SPEED
3:30PM NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying SPEED
5:30PM Trackside SPEED
6:30PM NASCAR Performance SPEED
7:00PM NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice SPEED
9:00PM ARCA Re-Max Series
(200 LAPS, 175 MILES) Read the rest of this entry »