http://gty.im/490350472
NASCAR continued its Chase for the Sprint Cup with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This was the second of three races that will take the field from 16 drivers down to 12. A win at any of the three races sends a driver to the next round. Denny Hamlin won the first race at Chicagoland last week, and Matt Kenseth punched his ticket with a win this week.
Kevin Harvick had led 216 laps before he ran out of fuel on Lap 298 out of 300, settling for a 21st place finish. That allowed Kenseth to become the second Joe Gibbs driver to automatically qualify for the Contender Round. The win was number five for Kenseth, the most in the Sprint Cup series this year.
Kenseth made a pit stop for fuel and tires on Lap 239, which proved to be valuable in the end. He was able to outlast Harvick and take the checkered flag.
“We had a great car today. Kevin definitely had the field covered and [Kenseth’s crew chief] Jason [Ratcliff] did a great job on pit strategy there, and those new tires paid off better than we thought to get up through the field. And I was able to keep the pressure on enough and he came up a little short.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr also ran out of fuel on Lap 298 after being in the top 10 most of the race. He finished in 25th place. Kyle Busch blew a right front tire on Lap 159 and hit the wall in Turn 3, causing him to settle for a 37th place finish.
On to the Contender Round
http://gty.im/490332272
Matt Kenseth grabbed the second automatic spot for his 20 car in the Contender Round with his victory in New Hampshire. He came into this race with the points lead and he extended the lead with this win.
Denny Hamlin won last week’s race at Chicagoland Speedway and ensured that his 11 car will be in the Contender Round. Just for good measure, Hamlin was the runner up in New Hampshire. Hamlin is second in points, six behind Kenseth.
Leaders
Carl Edwards notched another top 5 finish in the 19 car and he maintains his third place spot in the standings, 10 points behind Kenseth.
Joey Logano and his 22 car finished in third place in New Hampshire to move him up two spots to fourth place in the standings, 10 points behind Kenseth.
Jimmie Johnson used a sixth place finish to move the 48 car up to fifth place in the standings, 16 points behind Kenseth.
Ryan Newman had another top 10 finish in the 31 car and moved up to sixth place in the standings, 25 points behind Kenseth.
http://gty.im/490324462
Kurt Busch finished 19th in the number 41 car and slipped down to the seventh spot in the standings, 36 points behind Kenseth.
Brad Keselowski finished 12th in the 2 car to move up one spot to eighth place, 27 points behind Kenseth.
Martin Truex Jr used his eighth place finish to move his 78 car up to ninth place, 28 points behind Kenseth.
Jeff Gordon powered the 24 car to a seventh place finish to move up two spots to tenth place, 28 points behind Kenseth.
On the bubble
Jamie McMurray and the number 1 car finished 14th in New Hampshire and broke into position to move on with the 11th spot in the rankings, 41 points behind Kenseth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr slipped a couple of spots due to a 25th place finish in the 88 car, and now sits in the 12th and last spot to move on, 42 points behind Kenseth.
Outside looking in
http://gty.im/490327896
Kyle Busch, with his wreck in the 18 car, dropped from fourth all the way down to 13th in the standings, 43 points behind Kenseth and one point out of the top 12.
Paul Menard finished 15th and kept his 27 car in the 14th spot, 43 points behind Kenseth and one point out of the top 12.
Kevin Harvick needed a big finish to climb back into the race after last week’s wreck. The good news is that the 4 car moved up in the rankings. The bad news is that it was only up to 15th, 65 points behind Kenseth and 23 points out of the top 12.
Clint Bowyer and the 15 car started the race in 26th and finished the race in 26th. He also moved down to the 16th spot in the standings, 81 points behind Kenseth and 39 points out of the top 12.
What’s next?
The last race of the Challenger Round is coming up on October 4, the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. This is the last chance to either win the race and automatically qualify or move up into the top 12 in the points standings.