MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The NASCAR Cup Series is coming to New England, specifically, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
The 30th race of the marathon-like Cup Series schedule is this Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 where drivers must go the extra mile – literally and figuratively – to score a strong result.
“New Hampshire is definitely one of the more unique tracks we go to on the schedule,” said Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Parts Plus Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing. “It’s a mile, which we have plenty of on the Cup Series schedule, but nothing quite as flat, and between the cold winters and hot summers, there’s a decent amount of bumps and the pavement changes there in the corners.
“You need your car to turn really well through the corners, but a lot of times, you end up with a free racecar where the front end isn’t as planted as you want it to be. You lose grip and momentum, and that affects your drive off the corner. Finding the right balance is hard, and combine it with all the shifting we’re doing each lap, we’ve got a lot going on inside the racecar. I don’t think there’s another short track where we’re using our hands as much as we are at New Hampshire.”
The 1.058-mile oval has just 2-7 degrees of variable banking in its corners, each with a 450-foot turning radius. Those corners are attached by two 1,500-foot-long straights, simulating a drag race off one corner before drivers are hard on the brakes to navigate the opposite corner. It is a rhythm that gets repeated for approximately three hours over the course of the 301-lap race.
“New Hampshire has kind of turned into a pseudo road course,” Ware said. “We’re doing so much shifting to make the most of every lap and navigate the flat corners. Consistency is key. Perfection is required every lap because even the littlest change in the RPMs that you’re turning – whether you’re downshifting into the corner or grabbing your upshift out of the corner – it all affects your torque band and the balance of your race car.
“If you don’t grab your shift right off the corner, you might not have enough torque to keep the momentum going, and that’ll hurt your time down the straightaway. So, it really requires laser focus and consistency to make that optimal lap time, lap after lap, for 301 laps.”
Beyond the track’s challenging nature, New Hampshire serves as a beacon for New England motorsports. The region is a quiet hotbed of racing, which is highlighted by the New England Racing Museum, located on track property by the South Entrance.
“The amount of racing, and the various styles of racing that are available in New England and Upstate New York, is pretty impressive,” Ware said. “The fans up there know it, and they’re proud of it too… and they should be.
“The Modified Tour is probably what I most associate with the Northeast, and that’s just an awesome series that has produced a ton of talent. But you’ve also got Supermodifieds, Super Late Models, Late Models, the ACT Tour, and they’re all competing at some really good, well-run short tracks. I think New Hampshire helps put a spotlight on all of that racing because, a lot of times, they’re right there with us as part of the NASCAR race weekend.”
Racing at New Hampshire also means taking in all that the region has to offer. For this, Ware is going to lean on his wife, Emily, a traveling nurse who has spent time at select New Hampshire hospitals and knows the area well.
“Emily is excited to take me around because she was based in Concord and got to explore all the places there, in Manchester and near Lake Winnipesaukee,” Ware said. “I’m a big seafood guy – lobster rolls, crab, fish, you name it – and I know that’s one of the things New England is known for. Emily knows some good spots that I haven’t been to before, so we’re looking forward to checking them out amid the hustle and bustle of the race weekend.”
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