2006 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway

The 2006 Sylvania 300 in New Hampshire is the first race of the 2006 Chase For The Cup. Ten drivers are within 45 points of the lead with only ten races remaining in the NEXTEL Cup season.

NASCAR's playoffs begin this week in New Hampshire. This is one of the most exciting parts of the NASCAR season. It all begins this Sunday.

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The 1.058 mile perfect oval that is New Hampshire International Speedway has only 12 degrees of banking in the corners. The straightaways measure 1,500 feet each to make this a true symmetrical oval. The flat corners can make passing difficult as there is usually only one groove.

300 laps = 317.4 miles

This is the first race of the 2006 Chase For The Cup. Matt Kenseth is currently the leader but any one of the ten drivers could leave New Hampshire with the point lead.

Drivers in the top ten need a solid top fifteen finish. This is no place to take a DNF if you can avoid it.

The current top ten in points are:

1. Matt Kenseth -0
2. Jimmie Johnson -5
3. Kevin Harvick -10
4. Kyle Busch -15
5. Denny Hamlin -20
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -25
7. Mark Martin -30
8. Jeff Burton -35
9. Jeff Gordon -40
10. Kasey Kahne -45

The big story this week is the kickoff of The Chase. Matt Kenseth's point lead is now only five points over Jimmie Johnson and 45 points over tenth place Kasey Kahne.

The Chase For The Cup is NASCAR's ten race playoff system. The top ten drivers in points have their points manually reset to force a close points battle.

Whether or not you like The Chase format you have to admit that it is exciting. The points battle has instantly heated up and all eyes are on the top ten.

TV: TNT Sunday, September 17th, 12:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and XM Satellite

Actual Race: 1:10PM Eastern

$5,209,809

Tony Stewart had the car to beat and dominated much of the day. However some late race pit strategy put Ryan Newman out front for a late race restart.

Stewart made the pass for the lead and looked to be headed for the victory but with just two laps to go Newman got back under Tony and took the win. This was some of the best NEXTEL Cup racing that NHIS has ever seen.

In 2005 Tony Stewart managed a win and a second place finish. Then when the NEXTEL Cup series was here in July Tony was leading when he was caught up in an incident with the lapped car of Ryan Newman.

Tony has been dominating New Hampshire International Speedway lately. Plus he will have the aggression turned up a notch trying to avenge his disappointment of not making The Chase. Tony Stewart will almost certainly be a force in Sunday's race.

For my backup this week I am going with Mark Martin. Although Mark has never won in New Hampshire he has had some strong runs. He finished fourth here in the spring and had a very fast race car. If Mark's crew chief Pat Tryson can make the right strategy calls then Mark can win this race.