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Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart both hope to be smiling in Victory Lane at New Hampshire.

Past champions without a win run strong at Loudon

In the Loop: Stewart, Gordon, Kenseth all favorites

By Official Release
June 27, 2008
02:43 PM EDT
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Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth have combined for seven Sprint Cup Series championships.

They've also combined for zero wins in 2008.

According to the statistics, the "slump" will be busted sooner than later.

All three are either strong at this weekend's track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, or over the 10-race Race to the Chase. Below is a rundown of the three drivers, and their chances of victory:

Tony Stewart

Of the three, Stewart has the least to worry about. He is a notorious late bloomer. In seven of his nine Cup Series seasons, it took Stewart until after race No. 10 for his first victory (2002 and 2006).

Last season, it took him until race No. 19 at Chicagoland to capture his first win. His stats suggest this season's first victory may come two races earlier -- this weekend at New Hampshire, race No. 17.

His statistics at the track are phenomenal. In the past six races, Stewart has a win, two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish. Below is Stewart's race-by-race log the last six races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the site of Sunday's LENOX Industrial Tools 301:

Tony Stewart

New Hampshire (last three years)
Date Finish Avg. Running Position Fastest Laps Run Laps Top 15% Driver Rating
7/05 1 2.2 80 100% 149.2
9/05 2 2.9 71 97.7% 143
7/06 37 29.2 8 29.2% 89.9
9/06 2 9.2 9 85.3% 109.5
7/07 12 10.4 5 87.0% 92.9
9/07 3 3.7 16 99.3% 122.8
Total 9.5 9.6 189 82.9% 117.9

But if a victory doesn't happen this weekend for Stewart, it very well could happen before the Chase begins.

At the upcoming 10 tracks in the Race to the Chase -- the 10 races prior to the Chase for the Sprint Cup -- Stewart has 18 career wins, 59 top-fives and 91 top-10s. And the last three seasons, Stewart has series-best numbers in Driver Rating (107.2), Average Running Position (10.5) and Laps in the Top 15 percentage (76.2%).

Jeff Gordon

Like Stewart, Gordon excels at New Hampshire and has strong numbers at the Race to the Chase tracks.

In the last three races at NHMS, Gordon has done just about everything but win. He finished second in both 2007 races, and third in the second race of 2006. Check out his numbers during that span:

Jeff Gordon

New Hampshire (last three races)
Date Finish Avg. Running Position Fastest Laps Run Laps Top 15% Driver Rating
9/06 3 3.5 49 98.7% 125.1
7/07 2 4.1 38 97.3% 125
9/07 2 5.5 40 93.0% 119.8
Total 2.3 4.4 127 96.3% 123.3

At the next 10 tracks, Gordon has a Driver Rating of 96.3 and an Average Running Position of 11.8 since 2005.

Matt Kenseth

Even without a Victory Lane trip, Kenseth is the hottest driver in the Cup Series right now. In the last six races -- all top-10 finishes -- he has tallied more points than any other driver (934). And at the next 10 tracks, only Stewart boasts better numbers.

In the last three seasons, Kenseth has a Driver Rating of 98.2 and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 73.8% during the Race to the Chase. Both figures are second-best in the series.

The End

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Sprint Cup Series

Official Standings
Pos. +/- Driver Points Behind
1. -- Kyle Busch 2408 Leader
2. -- Jeff Burton 2305 -103
3. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2256 -152
4. -- Carl Edwards 2150 -258
5. -- Jimmie Johnson 2082 -326
6. +3 Jeff Gordon 2041 -367
7. +1 Greg Biffle 2019 -389
8. -2 Denny Hamlin 2008 -400
9. -2 Kasey Kahne 1958 -450
10. +2 Clint Bowyer 1924 -484
11. -- Tony Stewart 1908 -500
12. +2 Matt Kenseth 1892 -516

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