Denny Hamlin stayed out during a debris caution inside the final 40 laps to inherit the lead.
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It nearly seemed like a repeat scenario for Kenseth.
After winning the New Hampshire 301, racer Matt Kenseth’s auto failed post-race inspection Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Busch topped the 17,000 laps-led mark in his career and was never seriously challenged, pulling away off every restart and he eventually took his traditional victory bow.
Because the first race at the Magic Mile is so close to the Chase race at NHMS – barely more than two months apart – it’s fair to say that solving the 1.058-mile flat track in Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 will give teams a leg up on the second race in the Chase, come September. He was 38th career victories.
“I felt like we had probably the best auto all day”, Kenseth said. We adjusted and made some great changes for run two, and really I felt like we had probably the best vehicle all day.
NASCAR announced after the race that Kenseth’s winning vehicle had failed post-race inspection at the sanctioning body’s laser inspection station. The penalty for failing the NASCAR laser platform – an inspection station that measures tire camber, axle housing, alignment, rocker panels and the main frame rail – has been a 15-point penalty and a $25,000 fine to the crew chief. Eleven drivers have scored regular-season wins to virtually secure Chase berths, leaving five spots open for competitors to race their way into the playoffs with victories or points.
Tony Stewart finished second, followed by Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.
Alex Bowman will fill in for him today. Earnhardt will sit out because he suffers from symptoms of a concussion.
Johnson led the first lap after starting on the pole before Busch took the top spot. Mainly, if you were on the top lane on a restart that was a good location.
But this race could be the one remembered for truly solidifying Stewart in Chase contention. I thought last week when I was going into the wall [during a Sprint Cup Series event at Kentucky Speedway] that it was going to hurt really bad. Smoke is heating up this summer and could be racing for a fourth championship in his final NASCAR season.
“The beginning of previous year, I didn’t expect the changeover to JGR… it was a bigger deal than I expected”, Edwards said on Fridayafternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “And I think we’re on the right track”.
Stewart said drivers must remember a critical lesson at New Hampshire – they are racing the track, not just the other drivers. He and first-year crew chief Mike Bugarewicz exchanged texts dealing with setup notes on Saturday night, after Stewart flew to OH to oversee the Kings Royal sprint auto race at Eldora Speedway, which he owns. Johnson has finished outside the top 10 in five straight races, but we know that can’t continue. Thanks to everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing – I’ve said it a million times, but I’m blessed with this opportunity to be over here with the guys I get to work with… “I can’t point to one thing”, driver Carl Edwards said Friday.
“The result will not show what a great job @AlexBRacing and the @nationwide88 gang did this weekend”. At the checkered flag Keselowski would cross the finish line third for his third Top-5 finish of the season.
“I don’t think I’ve gotten out of a Cup auto with a smile on my face in a while”, he said. “It’s been a real turnaround for me”.
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Here’s our picks for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
