By Rich Foust

New Hampshire Motor Speedway opened in 1990 and hosts two cup events each year. It’s a 1.058-mile oval, 65 feet wide with 1 degree of banking on each straight for 1500 feet and finally the turns are banked at a slight 2/7th degree.

With such long straight-aways, the speed into the turns are very high. But along with minimal banking, the drivers are hard on the brakes in order to slow down enough to make the turns. So essentially, the track is two drag strips with turns at each end and this configuration will be very hard on brakes, engines and very likely tempers.

The smart Chasers are going to conserve their car until they get closer to the ‘Money Lap.’ The drivers not contending for the Chase, are just looking to win at all cost.

So if you put all this into an interesting perspective, it’s a recipe for a very tasty New England clam chowder and only one driver gets the lobster. So grab a bowl of your favorite chowder, a good chair and get ready for something beyond MAGICAL.

Do you have a technical racing question? Ask Rich, and he’ll include the answer to your question in his weekly feature, Tech Talk with Rich. Fans can submit your questions by replying below – or you can email your question to [email protected]