The Championship Chase Starts at New Hampshire

The Chase Begins: New Hampshire Always An Exciting Start

The 2008 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins with Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

It’s the fifth consecutive Chase, the process which determines the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, and, as always, intriguing title possibilities exist.

So why not start at the beginning?

The kick-off event at New Hampshire is renowned for immediate drama. Drivers have been known to zoom to the top or bottom of the Chase standings after only one event, with new contenders emerging.

First, a reminder:

The top 12 drivers following the 26th of 36 events are eligible to compete for the series title during the season’s final 10 events, or the Chase.
The format debuted in 2004.
Drivers have their point totals reset to 5,000, and are seeded according to the number of wins they accrued over the first 26 races. Each win during that 26-race span is worth 10 bonus points.
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota), the standings leader after 26 races, also is this year’s top Chase seed with a series-high eight wins (80 bonus points).

And he’s undoubtedly aware of New Hampshire’s propensity for action.

Brother Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) won the inaugural Chase event there in September 2004 to establish himself as a contender. The elder Busch didn’t win another Chase race, but the momentum helped propel him to that year’s series title.

Also in that race, Chase participants Ryan Newman (No. 12 Kodak Dodge) and Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) suffered engine problems and an accident, respectively, that handicapped their title chances.

The reverse held in 2005, when track troubles limited then-defending champion Kurt Busch to a 35th-place finish at New Hampshire. Stewart finished second in that season’s first Chase race, en route to his second series title.

Witness last season’s Chase kick-off at New Hampshire – a career-changing event for defending race winner Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet).

The then-second year driver was participating in his first Chase as the lowest, and 12th seed, and considered a title afterthought by many prognosticators.

Not only did Bowyer win his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup and Chase race, he did so from the pole, eventually finishing third in the final Chase standings.