Tony Stewart climbed the fence in front of the grandstand in what has become his trademark victory celebration. And a crowd of 100,000 at New Hampshire International Speedway roared its approval on last year's race as he grabbed the checkered flag and pumped his fist in the air just as he did two weeks earlier after a victory at Daytona.
Trust me, I'll be glad to be panting like a dog when I get up there," he said. "It's something they like and I'll keep doing it for them." Stewart said he needs a personal trainer. "Yes, I'm still too old and too fat to be doing that stuff," the 34-year-old driver said. "I'm probably going to fall and bust my butt before its over. I'm glad they let me go through the gate instead of climbing back down."
Stewart started 13th and wound up winning for the third time in four races, passing inside and outside in a dominant performance in the New England 300.
New Hampshire International Speedway is one of the most unusual tracks on the Nextel Cup Series. How unusual? The track has been described as "Martinsville on steroids." The Bahre family are the owners of this track. Its roots in New England racing started in 1964 when Bob Bahre acquired a track in Oxford, Maine, which he and his son, Gary, operated until 1986. The Bahres' efforts to bring a major racing facility took off in 1989 when ground was broken for New Hampshire International Speedway on a site about 10 miles north of New Hampshire's capital city, Concord. The track opened its gates for the first time in June 1990 and played host to its first NASCAR touring series event, the Budweiser 300 for Busch Series. The Cup Series followed in July 1993, with Rusty Wallace getting the victory. In July 2000, New Hampshire International Speedway became the first facility to draw more than 100,000 sports fans for a single-day event. Jeff Burton is the career leader with four Cup victories at NHIS. Burton's list of victories at New Hampshire International Speedway includes the Dura Lube 300 in 2000 in which Burton led every lap. In 2004, New Hampshire International Speedway played host to the first race in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. As it turned out, that race played a big role in how that battle for the championship played out.
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