He is the top candidate this week to derail the Joe Gibbs Racing express which has won the past three races on the schedule and 14 of 27 races this season.
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“It’s kind of like an addiction”, Harvick said.
Kenseth finished second, Kyle Busch third, Brad Keselowski fourth, and Kurt Busch fifth. Byron cruised to his sixth victory of the season to kickoff the Chase for the Cup. Busch is one of the best drivers in the entire series.
NASCAR made a series of changes to its inspection-failure policy this week after Joliet race victor Martin Truex Jr. and 12th-place finisher Jimmie Johnson both failed the Laser Inspection Station.
Harvick, the 2014 Sprint Cup champion, had enough juice in the Chevy to zip past Kenseth with five laps left and join Truex as the drivers locked in the next round.
He has been boom or bust at New Hampshire, but Larson has two finishes of third or better in five starts at the track. Not to be overlooked is the fact that he won last weekend, punching his ticket to the next round of the Chase.
NASCAR issued a stern warning to the Sprint Cup garage before the race not to “circumvent what happens with postrace inspection”. “I think NASCAR did a good job responding to that”.
On Tuesday, NASCAR announced it will increase the tolerances at its post-race laser-inspection stations during the Chase, removing all lower-tier penalties. We want to concentrate on the race. Byron had a substantial lead on his rookie teammate, but with the race winding down and with lap traffic, Bell was able to real in the No.9 and put a little bit of pressure.
Kevin Harvick (4) passes David Ragan (23) as he works his way to the front of the pack during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Loudon, N.H. Kenseth dove to the inside and pulled away from Truex Jr. on the front straightaway.
Kyle Larson claimed his first career Sprint Cup victory four weeks ago at MI and the 24-year-old from Elk Grove, California, looks like he wants another one based on his dominating practices at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Those speeds left Larson, now 15th in Chase points coming out swinging at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Leading 161 of 175 laps in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – the first race in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase – Byron cruised to victory, the way Busch has done so many times before, and punched his ticket into the Chase’s Round of 6.
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Larson doesn’t have the history of success at New Hampshire of the other high-priced options, but after topping the charts in both practices, he is a sleeper candidate to dominate the race and finish as the top scorer.
