Sylvania 300
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| Venue | New Hampshire Motor Speedway |
| Corporate sponsor | Sylvania |
| First race | 1997 |
| Distance | 317 miles (511 km) |
| Number of laps | 300 |
| Previous names | CMT 300 (1997)
Farm Aid on CMT 300 (1998) Dura Lube/Kmart 300 (1999) Dura Lube 300 sponsored by Kmart (2000) New Hampshire 300 (2001-2002) |
The Sylvania 300 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car race held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
The Sylvania 300 has traditionally held in mid-September, however, the race has been rescheduled once in its history. (see below)
The Sylvania 300 also has the distinction of being the only Sprint Cup race outside of Daytona and Talladega to run a restrictor plate race since the adoption of the current 358 cubic inch formula. After Adam Petty's fatal crash in the Busch Series practice in May, and Kenny Irwin, Jr.'s fatal crash in the Cup Series practice in July, NASCAR decided to run restrictor plates, already used for the Whelen Modified Tour races at the circuit, for the 2000 Cup race, then known as the Dura Lube 300 sponsored by Kmart. Adding restrictor plates did have the desired result of slowing down the cars drastically, but at the same time, restricted passing so much that Jeff Burton led all 300 laps. This lack of passing was so uncompetitive, that for Cup cars only, the restrictor plates were gone for the very next race, the 2001 New England 300.
Since 2004, the race has served as the opening round of the "Sprint for the Cup", a ten-race "playoff" designed among the top ten (twelve as of 2007) drivers in the standings of the series following the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 to spur interest in a championship series while NASCAR faces competition from the start of the NFL season and college football, the pennant races and post-season of Major League Baseball and the outset of the NHL and NBA seasons.
It was announced on July 15, 2006 that the title sponsor Sylvania signed an extension until 2012 to be the title sponsor of the race. This most likely will secure the track's September race until 2012.
[edit] The 2001 New England 300
The 2001 fall race, originally scheduled for September 16, 2001, was postponed due to the 9/11 terror attacks. Not wanting to cancel the event outright, NASCAR decided to reschedule the race to the next available date, November 23, 2001, the day after Thanksgiving. This created an interesting challenge for Goodyear, the tire manufacturer, as they were not expecting to run a race in New Hampshire in November, at a much colder time of year than normal, with snow a possibility. They brought a tire that they hoped would be better suited to the cold conditions, and NASCAR scheduled the race for a Friday in order to allow for two available weather dates, but at the time of the race, their concerns were unfounded, the race took place with high temps in the 50s, with live national television coverage being tape-delayed in the West Coast to accommodate NBC's third hour of Today.
NASCAR didn't conduct traditional qualifying for the race. Instead, the field was set based on the top 43 positions in owner points after the September 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400. Since the 43rd ranked team in owner points, Eel River Racing, had folded prior to the race, only 42 cars started.
The race saw Robby Gordon, driving the #31 Lowe's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, win his first ever race in NASCAR, and was marked by an incident in which Robby and Jeff Gordon got tangled together late in the race which put Robby into the lead. Jeff, who had been running up front all day, hit Gordon during a caution flag to retaliate and finished in the middle of the pack (although it was all moot, as Gordon had clinched the 2001 Winston Cup championship at Atlanta the week before).
[edit] The 2003 New England 300
On September 14, 2003, Dale Jarrett's spin caused rule procedure revisions that banned racing back to the yellow (caution) flag and modify pit road entry for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will go into effect beginning on September 21, 2003 at Dover International Speedway, MBNA 500, NASCAR officials announced Thursday, September 18, 2003.
[edit] Past winners
Sylvania 300
New Hampshire 300
- 2002 Ryan Newman
- 2001 Robby Gordon (race postponed until November due to 9/11)
Dura Lube 300 sponsored by Kmart
- 2000 Jeff Burton
Dura Lube/Kmart 300
Farm Aid on CMT 300
- 1998 Jeff Gordon
CMT 300
- 1997 Jeff Gordon
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