LOUDON, N.H. – The verdict? Wait and see.

Losing practice and qualifying Friday and having two 45-minute test sessions Saturday morning and early afternoon left NASCAR Winston Cup drivers with mixed impressions of what impact the repaving and slight widening of the turns at New Hampshire International Speedway will have on today’s New England 300.

“It seems OK,” Kevin Harvick said after his second-place finish in the Busch Series New England 200 on Saturday. “There’s not a bunch of sealer peeling up everywhere. I think that’s a good step. There are a couple grooves out there, so I think we’ll be fine.”

“The track drives the same, and we’re going with a similar set-up to last year,” said Jimmie Johnson. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I expect the racing will be a lot like before, hopefully without the marbles all over the place.”

Marbles are the tire rubber and debris that tend to circulate during any long race. Couple that with pavement that tends to break up in the Sunday afternoon heat and NHIS has served up a recipe for frustrated drivers throughout the history of Winston Cup racing at the track.

There were no serious signs of the asphalt coming apart during Saturday’s Busch race. Winston Cup drivers aren’t counting on the same weather conditions for their race, which won’t start until after 2 p.m. today.

Also, Saturday’s high attrition rate, with 19 of 43 cars failing to finish, isn’t typical of a Winston Cup race.

“I think the biggest problem for NASCAR is going to be keeping the track clean throughout the day,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Sticks and stones

Mike Bliss verbally blasted Bobby Hamilton Jr. for an incident that took place while they were battling for fifth in the Busch race. Bliss’ car was knocked out of the race after the contact that sent it careening into the inside front stretch wall on lap 84.

Hamilton, whose front fender nudged the rear quarter panel of the Bliss car and sent it for a loop, went on to finish fifth.

“Ron (Hornaday) and I were going at it pretty good for fourth, so I let off the gas a little bit going into turn three and (Hamilton) hit me,” Bliss said. “He hit me again in turn four and then three or four times coming out. I’m going to shorten that sawed-off little (expletive) up even more.”

While Hamilton is one of the shortest drivers on the Busch Series, his temper didn’t match. The second-generation NASCAR driver calmly admitted to the contact but said that it wasn’t intentional.

“I just screwed up. Everybody knows that I don’t race that way. If I can’t pass a guy, I sure won’t spin him,” Hamilton said. “I think it’s bullcrap to do something like that, especially at these speeds and with the history at this race track.”

Hamilton alluded to the deaths of drivers Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin three years ago.

He said that he will try to talk to Bliss about the incident this week.

“We’ll get it straightened out,” said Hamilton. “These things always happen, and it always gets worked out.”

Suddenly speedy

Matt Kenseth almost never starts a race near the front of the pack. The current Winston Cup point leader only has seven top-five starts in 130 career tries. The last time he won a pole, at Dover, Del., in 2002, his car suffered engine failure during practice and he was forced to start at the rear of the field.

In many respects, then, it was viewed as a gift when Kenseth was awarded the pole on car owner points after Friday’s qualifying was rained out. Kenseth proved Saturday that he belongs there, as he was the fastest car in both Winston Cup practices.

His top speed in the final “Happy Hour” session was equivalent to 130.558 mph.

“I love it when it rains on Friday,” said Kenseth.

Another benefit of being the de facto pole winner is that Kenseth was able to choose the front pit stall for Sunday’s race. Even with a 165-point lead, he covets every available advantage.

“If anything goes wrong, those guys (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte) are right back in it,” he said. “I don’t really feel comfortable where we’re at.”

More happy guys

Also fast in Happy Hour: Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Terry Labonte.

“I think the track is great,” said Labonte. “It’s real smooth. Hopefully it will stay that way and we won’t have any big problems.”

Ricky Craven was 26th fastest of 43 in the final session.

Hoss out of the barn

Chuck Hossfeld led only one lap of Friday evening’s Featherlite Modified race: the last one.

Hossfeld drove around Todd Szegedy in the third turn and won the sprint to the finish line to capture the open-wheel event.

The modified race often is considered the most exciting competition of every Winston Cup weekend. Hossfeld’s winning pass punctuated a race that featured frequent lead changes and the requisite jockeying for position on almost every lap.

There was one scary incident when veteran Massachusetts driver Rick Fuller made hard driver’s side contact with the concrete retaining wall. Fuller, who was conscious in the infield medical center, was transported by ambulance to Concord Hospital for additional evaluation.

Series point leader John Blewett III finished third.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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