ISM Connect 300
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs
VenueNew Hampshire Motor Speedway
LocationLoudon, New Hampshire
SponsorISM Connect
First race1997
Last race2017
Distance317.4 miles (510.8 km)
Stage 175
Stage 275
Stage 3150
Laps300
Previous namesCMT 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)
Sylvania 300 (2003–2015)
Bad Boy Off Road 300 (2016)
ISM Connect 300 (2017)

The ISM Connect 300 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race that was 317.4 miles (510.8 km), traditionally held in mid-September at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, the other one being the Ambetter 301 in July.

The New England 300 also has the distinction of being the only NASCAR Cup Series points race outside 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 on May 12, 2000, and Kenny Irwin Jr.'s fatal crash in the Cup Series practice on July 7, 2000, 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 noncompetitive that, for Cup cars only, the restrictor plates were gone for the very next race, the 2001 New England 300.

From 2004 until 2010, the race served as the opening round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, 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. Beginning with the 2011 Chase, the race became the second race in the ten-race playoff; as in part of a new round of schedule realignment the Overton's 400 at Chicagoland Speedway moved from its traditional early July race date.[1] On March 8, 2017 it was announced that the fall NHMS date would move to Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting in 2018.[2]

History

The first race in September came at the expense of the fall race at North Wilkesboro Speedway which was one of eight tracks from the original 1949 season, this race which took the date from North Wilkesboro, has its lineage starting in 1949 with the inaugural schedule. The first race was run here in 1997, won by Jeff Gordon, who also coincidentally won the last race at North Wilkesboro the year before.

2000 Dura Lube 300 Presented by Kmart

This was the first NASCAR Cup Series race held since the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr. at this track. NASCAR used restrictor plates for this race as a result, in an effort to slow the top speed of the cars. However, cautions were so frequent and passing was so slowed that outside polesitter Jeff Burton led all 300 laps. This is the only race to date on a short track that had used restrictor plates. They were not used again after this race.

2001 New Hampshire 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. Since there were no scheduled off weeks between then and the end of the season, NASCAR's only option was the weekend of November 23–25, 2001, Thanksgiving weekend.

This created an interesting challenge for Goodyear, the tire manufacturer, as they were not expecting to run a race in New Hampshire in November. With the potential for a much colder raceday than they would have had in September at Loudon, and taking into account the possibility for snow, Goodyear brought a tire that they hoped would be better suited to the cold conditions. NASCAR announced the rescheduled race date would be Friday, November 23, the day after Thanksgiving, to allow for potential weather-related rescheduling. NBC was to carry the race live in the Eastern, Central, and Mountain time zones, with a tape delay for the Pacific time zone to accommodate the third hour of Today.

However, NASCAR's concerns were unfounded as the race was run in unseasonably mild conditions with temperatures in the 50s. NASCAR didn't conduct a traditional qualifying event for this race, instead choosing to employ a modified version of its method used when qualifying is canceled due to weather. To set the field for the race the cars that were holding the top 43 positions in the standings following the September 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond automatically qualified for the race. Only 42 of those cars started the race, as 43rd-place Eel River Racing had folded shortly after the Richmond race.

The race saw Robby Gordon, driving the #31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, win his first ever race in NASCAR, and was marked by an incident in which he 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 Robby 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).

2003 Sylvania 300

The 2003 race marked the last time that the long-standing NASCAR rule of racing back to a yellow caution flag was in place. During the race, Dale Jarrett spun and hit the wall in turn 4 and came to rest in the middle of the racetrack's front stretch. Leaders slowed down except Michael Waltrip, who attempted to put several cars a lap down; he and others raced past Jarrett's immobilized car at full speed and some barely avoided contact with him. Beginning with the next race, the MBNA America 400 at Dover, in addition to other rule changes for the NASCAR Cup Series, Busch, and Truck series, NASCAR outlawed racing back to the caution. Instead, NASCAR froze the field immediately at the caution and allowed the first car one lap down (or multiple laps down, if there were no cars one lap down) to rejoin the lead lap; this is officially called the "free pass" by NASCAR but is widely known by fans and journalists as the "lucky dog" rule.

2004 Sylvania 300

The 2004 Sylvania 300 was the first time drivers raced in the Chase for the Nextel Cup format. Rain cancelled qualifying, prompting the grid to be set from owner's points. Jeff Gordon led them down to the green flag. Afterward, Greg Biffle got in the back of Robby Gordon sending Gordon spinning. Later in the race Robby Gordon spun Biffle collecting Chase contenders Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield. Robby Gordon was penalized two laps for aggressive driving. Kurt Busch won the race to start his run toward his first Nextel Cup Series championship.

2017 ISM Connect 300

The 2017 race marked the last time that NASCAR would come here in the fall for the second race in the Playoffs. On March 8, 2017 it was announced that the fall NHMS date would move to Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting in 2018.[2] Kyle Busch dominated and won the race.

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Sponsor Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)		 Report Ref
Laps Miles (km)
1997 September 14 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:09:45 100.364 Report [3]
1998 August 30 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:49:55 112.078 Report [4]
1999 September 19 42 Joe Nemechek SABCO Racing Chevrolet BellSouth 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:09:10 100.673 Report [5]
2000 September 17 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide Batteries 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:06:42 102.003 Report [6]
2001 November 23* 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Lowe's 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:03:50 103.594 Report [7]
2002 September 15 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Ford Alltel/Mobil 1 Speedpass 207* 219.006 (352.455) 2:05:03 105.081 Report [8]
2003 September 14 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:58:41 106.58 Report [9]
2004 September 19 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford Irwin Industrial Tools/Sharpie 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:53:31 109.753 Report [10]
2005 September 18 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Dodge Mobil 1/Alltel 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:18:36 95.891 Report [11]
2006 September 17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Reese's 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:06:21 102.195 Report [12]
2007 September 16 07 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:52:23 110.475 Report [13]
2008 September 14 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford Dish Network Turbo HD 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:00:34 105.468 Report [14]
2009 September 20 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet CarQuest/Kellogg's 300 317.4 (510.805) 3:09:01 100.753 Report [15]
2010 September 19 33 Clint Bowyer* Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cheerios/Hamburger Helper 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:58:22 106.769 Report [16]
2011 September 25 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Mobil 1/Office Depot 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:43:13 116.679 Report [17]
2012 September 23 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota FedEx Freight 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:43:02 116.81 Report [18]
2013 September 22 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Husky Tools/Matt Kenseth 500th Start 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:57:02 107.573 Report [19]
2014 September 21 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford Shell/Pennzoil 303* 320.574 (515.913) 3:14:53 98.697 Report [20]
2015 September 27 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Dollar General 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:58:51 106.480 Report [21]
2016 September 25 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Ditech 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:54:15 109.291 Report [22]
2017 September 24 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota M&M's Caramel 300 317.4 (510.805) 2:54:47 108.958 Report [23]

Notes

  • 2001: Race postponed from September 16 to November 23 due to 9/11.
  • 2002: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 2010: Clint Bowyer's was found to have illegal car modifications in the post-race inspection, and he was penalized 150 points, while crew chief Shane Wilson was suspended four races.
  • 2014: Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins Driver Years Won
2 Jeff Gordon 1997, 1998
Ryan Newman 2002, 2005
Clint Bowyer 2007, 2010
Matt Kenseth 2013, 2015
Kevin Harvick 2006, 2016

Multiple winners (teams)

# Wins Team Years Won
4 Hendrick Motorsports 1997, 1998, 2003, 2009
Richard Childress Racing 2001, 2006, 2007, 2010
Joe Gibbs Racing 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017
3 Roush Fenway Racing 2000, 2004, 2008
Team Penske 2002, 2005, 2014
2 Stewart-Haas Racing 2011, 2016

Manufacturer wins

# Wins Manufacturer Years Won
11 Chevrolet 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016
5 Ford 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014
4 Toyota 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017
1 Dodge 2005
# Wins Sponsor Years Won
3 Mobil 1 2002, 2005, 2011
2 DuPont 1997, 1998
Lowe's 2001, 2003
Alltel 2002, 2005

References

  1. ↑ "Chase Date for Chicagoland?". www.speedtv.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Las Vegas gets second Cup date in 2018; New Hampshire loses a Cup date". 8 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "1997 CMT 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  4. ↑ "1998 Farm Aid on CMT 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  5. ↑ "1999 Dura Lube / Kmart 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  6. ↑ "2000 Dura Lube 300 sponsored by Kmart". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  7. ↑ "2001 New Hampshire 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ "2002 New Hampshire 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  9. ↑ "2003 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  10. ↑ "2004 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  11. ↑ "2005 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  12. ↑ "2006 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  13. ↑ "2007 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  14. ↑ "2008 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  15. ↑ "2009 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  16. ↑ "2010 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  17. ↑ "2011 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  18. ↑ "2012 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  19. ↑ "2013 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  20. ↑ "2014 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  21. ↑ "2015 Sylvania 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  22. ↑ "2016 Bad Boy Off Road 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  23. ↑ "2017 ISM Connect 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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