Kenseth Wins New Hamphire Cup Race

Cheryl Senter/AP

LOUDON, NH – RIS – Matt Kenseth came on strong in the latter stages of the race to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  Kyle Busch dominated most of the race, leading a race-best 133 laps.  Martin Truex, Jr. led a second-best 123 laps, but both faltered toward the end. Restarts were horrendous as the laps wound down.  The reputation that this track is a big Martinsville held true today.

Jimmie Johnson, the pole sitter, led the first lap, but gave away to Kyle Busch on Lap 2.  From then on, the race was dominated by Joe Gibbs Toyotas with Busch, satellite team Furniture Row Racing and Martin Truex, Jr., plus Kenseth were strong as the final laps emerged.

Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Greg Biffle made up the top five finishers with Jamir McMurray, Ryan Newman, Kyle Bush, Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 10.

“I didn’t qualify well, and had to come from behind,” Kenseth said.  “This used to be a bad track for me, but we kept working and came on strong at the end.  I saw the 22 coming and thought he was a lap down at one point, and then Tony (Stewart) came back.  It wasn’t easy.”

Unfortunately, Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota failed post-race inspection.  According to NASCAR, the laser inpection failed to get the green light.  Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was impounded and taken back to Concord, NC for further discovery.  None of the other top five cars had any problem in post-race inspection.  NASCAR usually announce fines and penalties on the Tuesday followin the race.  The victory will stand.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. missed the race due to concussion-like symptoms, and it was a rough day for Hendrick Motorsports.  Johnson led the team with a 12th place finish.  Alex Bowman, subbing for Earnhardt finished 26th, Kasey Kahne finished 25th, and Chase Elliott 34th.

The drivers next head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 next week, If Earnhardt is unable to drive, Hendrick Motorsports has chosen retired driver Jeff Gordon to drive the No.88 Chevrolet.  When asked if Gordon would be available for events after that if Earnhardt is unable to race after that, Hendrick said, “I would think so.”

Stay tuned.

Unofficial Race Results: 24th Annual New Hampshire 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, BPts, Status, TLd, LLd
1) 18, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, 301, 44, 4, Running, 2, 38
2) 12, Tony Stewart, No. 14 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 301, 39, , Running, ,
3) 6, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 301, 38, , Running, ,
4) 8, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 301, 37, , Running, ,
5) 28, Greg Biffle, No. 16 NESN Fuel Ford, 301, 36, , Running, ,
6) 19, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Credit One/CreditCards.com Chevrolet, 301, 35, , Running, ,
7) 25, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Whelen Chevrolet, 301, 34, , Running, ,
8) 2, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, 301, 35, 2, Running, 4, 133
9) 5, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 301, 33, 1, Running, 1, 5
10) 22, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 301, 31, , Running, ,
11) 14, Ryan Blaney #, No. 21* Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 301, 30, , Running, ,
12) 1, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 301, 30, 1, Running, 1, 1
13) 15, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Olympic/USOC Chevrolet, 301, 28, , Running, ,
14) 29, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Nature's Bakery Chevrolet, 301, 27, , Running, ,
15) 9, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 301, 27, 1, Running, 1, 1
16) 3, Martin Truex Jr, No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota, 301, 26, 1, Running, 5, 123
17) 17, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 301, 24, , Running, ,
18) 24, Paul Menard, No. 27 Dutch Boy/Menards Chevrolet, 301, 23, , Running, ,
19) 26, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 301, 22, , Running, ,
20) 13, Carl Edwards, No. 19 Sport Clips Toyota, 301, 21, , Running, ,
21) 10, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Bush's Grillin Beans Chevrolet, 301, 20, , Running, ,
22) 4, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet, 301, 19, , Running, ,
23) 31, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 301, 18, , Running, ,
24) 32, Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour Energy Chevrolet, 301, 17, , Running, ,
25) 11, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, 301, 16, , Running, ,
26) 20, Alex Bowman(i), No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 301, 15, , Running, ,
27) 21, Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 300, 14, , Running, ,
28) 30, Landon Cassill, No. 38 MDS Transport Ford, 299, 13, , Running, ,
29) 35, Chris Buescher #, No. 34 CSX-Play it Safe Ford, 299, 12, , Running, ,
30) 23, David Ragan, No. 23 Flaming Leprechaun Toyota, 299, 11, , Running, ,
31) 16, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Cosmo Motors Toyota, 299, 10, , Running, ,
32) 34, Regan Smith, No. 7 APC Chevrolet, 297, 9, , Running, ,
33) 37, Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 295, 8, , Running, ,
34) 7, Chase Elliott #, No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 294, 7, , Running, ,
35) 36, Reed Sorenson, No. 55* Vydox Plus Chevrolet, 294, 6, , Running, ,
36) 38, Eddie MacDonald, No. 32 Bentley's Saloon Ford, 293, 5, , Running, ,
37) 40, Ryan Ellis(i), No. 98* Superlite Cars Chevrolet, 292, 0, , Running, ,
38) 33, Brian Scott #, No. 44 Shaw's Ford, 278, 3, , Running, ,
39) 27, Michael McDowell, No. 95 Malwarebytes Chevrolet, 191, 2, , Electrical, ,
40) 39, Josh Wise, No. 30* Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet, 94, 1, , Accident, ,
# = Rookie, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led.
Average Speed: 107.416 MPH
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 57 Mins, 53 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.982 Seconds
Lead Changes: 13 among 6 drivers
Seven cautions for 36 laps