[Winnisquamguy]

LOUDON -- The Cup guys are coming.

Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth and a few of their rivals in NACAR's Sprint Cup series descend on New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week.

For NHMS, it's a week for testing and ticketing.

Gordon, Kenseth, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Dave Blaney are due at the track on Tuesday and Wednesday for a Goodyear tire test.

On Monday, speedway officials will team up with the Manchester Police Department and give out tickets - the good kind of tickets - in the city.

To help kick off Buckle Up NH Week, police will set up a seatbelt check on Elm Street near the Verizon Wireless Arena from noon to 2 p.m. Those who are checked and are wearing seatbelts will receive a pair of tickets to the New Hampshire 300 Sprint Cup race on July 14.

Gordon and the rest are scheduled to hit the track at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

They'll put their cars through the paces on the one-mile oval so Goodyear can come up with statistics and data to determine what it wants and needs for a tire for when the Cup folks return here for real for races in July and September.

Along the way during testing, the drivers will gain all the track knowledge possible and look for any little bit of an edge for the New Hampshire 300.

The grandstands will be open on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and fans can watch the drivers and their teams free of charge. The testing session is closed, though, and no one will be allowed in the infield.

Kenseth and Bowyer were both in the top five in Sprint Cup points going into Saturday night's race at Darlington. Kenseth moved from 11th to fourth in the standings when penalties against Joe Gibbs Racing for using an illegal engine part during the race he won in April at Kansas were reduced.

The penalty went from 50 to 12 points after Gibbs appealed the ruling.

Bowyer was fifth in points. Gordon was 14th, Logano 18th, Jeff Burton 19th and Blaney 30th going to Darlington.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130512/SPORTS1101/130519872