Check out a short list of favorites for Saturday's New England 200 at Loudon, N.H.
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| | Bodine |
Todd Bodine:
Lost two positions in the series standings after a
31st place finish at Chicagoland Speedway last Saturday, his worst
of the year; fell 124 points behind leader Scott Riggs; was points
leader for seven weeks earlier this year; second behind David
Green's 12 top-10s with 11; won at Darlington Raceway on March 17;
qualified third and finished second in last year's event at Loudon.
David Green:
1994 Busch Series champion was not among contenders
at Chicago last week, finishing 11th; lost a little bit of ground
to 23 points to Riggs in the standings; has been among the top
three in the series standings for 12 consecutive weeks; winner of
the Pepsi 300 on April 12, his sixth career triumph but first on
the circuit since 1996; started from the pole twice this year,
has scored seven top-fives and tops the series with 12 top-10s.
Bobby Hamilton Jr.:
Scored first career Busch Series victory
here last year by leading four times for most laps; also comes
off dominant performance at Chicagoland Speedway where he raced
virtually by himself Saturday; led all but 14 of 200 laps to claim
flag by 4.503-second victory over Winston Cup regular Matt Kenseth
in the most lopsided in the series this season; it was third career
victory and second of the year following another dominant
performance at last month's Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway; placed
in the top 10 in nine of last 12 races and is 157 points behind
Riggs in seventh place.
Ron Hornaday:
Missed a fourth consecutive top 10 finish, coming
home 12th at Chicagoland; remained third in the standings, 57
points behind Riggs; recorded five top-five finishes and nine
top-10s this year; victory this season came in solid performance
at Nazareth on May 18 when he led 148 of 200 laps; placed 14th
in this race last year; two-time Craftsman Truck series champion;
also tops that circuit with 26 victories.
Jason Keller:
Managed to lead four laps during pit sequences at
Chicago but in the end finished a lap down in sixth place; it was
a good result considering he started 21st; not a factor in this
event in 2002, but won previosu year; just 80 points behind series
leader and teammate Riggs in fifth place; just five weeks ago after
Dover, Keller was 188 points back in the standings; scored win at
The Milwaukee Mile this year to bring career total to 10; one of
five drivers with 300 or more career Busch Series starts, joining
Tommy Houston, Elton Sawyer, Randy LaJoie and Dale Jarrett; tops
the all-time money list with over $6.8 million; finished in the
top three in points each of the past three seasons.
Scott Riggs:
Series points leader is one of two Busch regulars with
two wins this season on circuit (Hamilton Jr.); won at Gateway and
Nashville, giving him four career wins in two years; was seventh at
Chicago for 10th top-10 finish of year; padded advantage to 23 points
over Green; qualified 13th the past two events, but through 18 races
has started in the top 10 12 times and finished in the top three
seven times; finished seventh as rookie last year in this race.
Johnny Sauter:
Steady in eighth place of the standings after the
past three straight races; scored nine top-10 finishes in 19 races
this year and also three among the first five finishers; a distant
299 points out of first place.
Brian Vickers:
Solid finish of third in the Tropicana Twister 300
lifted him two slots to fifth in the championship run; only 69
points out of the top position; it was sixth consecutive top-10
finish and fifth top-five overall; still seeking first career win;
enjoying an impressive season, with 10 top-10 finishes; best showing
was runner-up at the GNC 250 in Milwaukee three races ago; World
Karting Association national champion from 1994-97.
Scott Wimmer:
Has not finished lower than 19th in last 10 starts,
including three top-10s; team has been on an upswing lately,
posting 15th-, 14th-, 15th-, eighth- and fifth-place finishes in
five of the last six races; has a pair of fifth-place finishes
this year -- at Richmond on May 2 and Kentucky June 14; ninth in
the points standings.