As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series reaches the halfway point of the season, the only thing that was clear was that the next eight races would test and challenge the drivers on the bubble for the Chase. Kyle Busch (#18 Interstate Batteries Toyota) certainly put his foot further in the door of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, securing the pole for today’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire. The “Magic Mile” as it is called did not disappoint in its first race of the year, with plenty of pit road strategy to help decide the race.
With the green flag out, Kyle Busch led the field off the start, and looked dominant from pole early in the race. New Hampshire, not known for its ability to pass on the track, is more well known for its passing on pit road thanks to strategy calls, and pit miscues. Unfortunately for Busch, he was the first victim of the pit road bug, with his pit crew dropping a lug nut on a tire and Busch was spotted speeding on the exit of the pits. This would be the end of the front running for Busch on the day, handing the race to his teammate Denny Hamlin (#11 FedEx Toyota) and the drivers of Hendrick Motorsports.
As the race pushed to its close, its looked like Hamlin’s race to lose. That phrase would be foretelling, as Hamlin, calling for two tires on his final pit stop, instead saw his pit crew change four tires, and force him back in the field. This left the field in the control of Kasey Kahne (#5 Farmers Insurance Chevy), who would not look back and hang on to win in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin would recover from 14th in miraculous fashion to finish second.
Here is the finishing order from the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire:
1. 5 Kasey Kahne
2. 11 Denny Hamlin
3. 15 Clint Bowyer
4. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr
5. 2 Brad Keselowski
6. 24 Jeff Gordon
7. 48 Jimmie Johnson
8. 29 Kevin Harvick
9. 16 Greg Biffle
10. 39 Ryan Newman
11. 56 Martin Truex Jr
12. 14 Tony Stewart
13. 17 Matt Kenseth (Points Leader)
14. 20 Joey Logano
15. 55 Brian Vickers
16. 18 Kyle Busch (Polesitter)
17. 27 Paul Menard
18. 99 Carl Edwards
19. 9 Marcos Ambrose
20. 1 Jamie McMurray -1 Lap
21. 31 Jeff Burton -1 Lap
22. 22 Sam Hornish Jr -1 Lap
23. 47 Bobby Labonte -1 Lap
24. 51 Kurt Busch -2 Laps
25. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya -2 Laps
26. 78 Regan Smith -3 Laps
27. 38 David Gilliland -3 Laps
28. 43 Aric Almirola -3 Laps
29. 83 Landon Cassill -4 Laps
30. 93 Travis Kvapil -4 Laps
31. 32 Ken Schrader -7 Laps
32. 33 Steven Leicht (Rookie) -8 Laps
33. 10 David Reutimann DNF
34. 34 David Ragan DNF
35. 30 David Stremme DNF
36. 13 Casey Mears DNF
37. 26 Josh Wise (Rookie) DNF
38. 87 Joe Nemechek DNF
39. 36 Dave Blaney DNF
40. 98 Michael McDowell DNF
41. 23 Scott Riggs DNF
42. 79 Kelly Bires DNF
43. 49 JJ Yeley DNF
The Sprint Cup Series is off next weekend before their annual return to the Brickyard in Indianapolis for the Crown Royal 400, live on ESPN.
