A little rain delay didn’t stop these cars from racing for 301 laps and looking back, we saw some passing and wrecking. The big two might as well have just become the big three now.
Brad Keselowski won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Team Penske. Keselowski’s 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang led 130 laps, won stage two, and swapped the lead back and forth with Joe Gibbs driver Denny Hamlin, pulling away at the end. The 2012 NASCAR Cup Champion locks in his third win of 2020, his 33rd career victory, and his second win at New Hampshire. Penske teammate Joey Logano finished fourth in the 22 AAA Insurance Ford, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the Penske cars, leading five laps and finishing 20th in the 12 Menards/Sylvania Mustang.
As talked about, Denny Hamlin was the only car that could compete with Brad throughout the race. Hamlin would win stage one, lead 92 laps and finish second in the 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Martin Truex Jr did not lead a lap in this race, but still finished a solid third in the 19 Sports Clips Toyota. The other two Gibbs cars packed it up early. Erik Jones had a penalty for pitting outside of his pit box early on which resulted in a one lap penalty. Jones did not recover and finished 24th in the 20 Toyota Dealers Toyota. Defending champ Kyle Busch finished dead last, hitting the wall on lap 15 in the 18 Pedigree Toyota.
Three of the four Stewart Haas Racing cars had strong runs in this race. Defending winner Kevin Harvick led six laps and came from the back of the pack to finish fourth in the 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. Aric Almirola kept the top ten streak alive, leading two laps and finishing seventh in the 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford. Rookie Cole Custer finished eighth in the 41 HaasTooling.com Mustang. Clint Bowyer finished 18th in the 14 Haas Automation Ford.
Hendrick Motorsports had serious speed early on, but once the laps were closing down, the cars started to fade. Chase Elliott led nine laps and finished ninth in the 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro. William Byron extends his playoff spot by a few points with an 11th place finish in the 24 Liberty University Chevy. Jimmie Johnson had some contact from Clint Bowyer and spun out early on. Johnson would fight back to fifth, but fade and eventually finish 12th in the 48 Ally Camaro. Alex Bowman finished 15th in the 88 Chevygoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro.
Austin Dillon led three laps and finished 13th in the 3 Freightliner Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing. His teammate and rookie of the year contender Tyler Reddick fought with Jimmie Johnson for the 10th spot, but in the end, Reddick’s 8 Feeding America Camaro passed him and finished 10th.
The next two races will be a double header at Michigan International Speedway. The first is on a Saturday for the FireKeepers Casino 400, while we can look forward to the Consumers Energy 400 on Sunday. Both races will start at 4pm on NBCSN. This race will have no fans, unlike this race.
RESULTS
- Brad Keselowski 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Denny Hamlin 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Martin Truex Jr 19 Sports Clips Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Joey Logano 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Kevin Harvick 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Matt DiBenedetto 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Wood Brothers Racing
- Aric Almirola 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Cole Custer (R) 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Chase Elliott 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Tyler Reddick (R) 8 Feeding America Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- William Byron 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Jimmie Johnson 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Austin Dillon 3 Freightliner America Chevrolet Camaro Richard Childress Racing
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Alex Bowman 88 Chevygoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick Motorsports
- Ryan Preece 37 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro JTG-Daugherty Racing
- Kurt Busch 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Clint Bowyer 14 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Stewart-Haas Racing
- Michael McDowell 34 Chicago Pneumatic Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Ryan Blaney 12 Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang Team Penske
- Ryan Newman 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Ty Dillon 13 GEICO Chevrolet Camaro Germain Racing
- Bubba Wallace 43 Cash App Chevrolet Camaro Richard Petty Motorsports
- Erik Jones 20 Toyota Dealers Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
- Chris Buescher 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang Roush-Fenway Racing
- Daniel Suárez 96 Toyota Genuine Parts & Service Toyota Camry Gaunt Brothers Racing
- Brennan Poole (R) 15 Remember Everyone Deployed Chevrolet Camaro Premium Motorsports
- Christopher Bell (R) 95 Rheem/Watts Toyota Camry Leavine Family Racing
- J. Yeley 27 Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- James Davison (R) 53 Signing Day Sports Chevrolet Camaro Rick Ware Racing
- Garrett Smithley 77 Chevrolet Camaro Spire Motorsports
- Quin Houff Permatex Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 StarCom Racing
- Timmy Hill 66 CrashClaimsR.us Toyota Camry MBM Motorsports
- Joey Gase PageKC.com Ford Mustang Rick Ware Racing
- Corey LaJoie 32 Trump 2020 Ford Mustang Go Fas Racing
- John Hunter Nemechek (R) 38 Citgard Heavy Duty Engine Oil Ford Mustang Front Row Motorsports
- Matt Kenseth 42 Clover Chevrolet Camaro Chip Ganassi Racing
- Kyle Busch 18 Pedigree Toyota Camry Joe Gibbs Racing
Standings
- Denny Hamlin (5 WINS)
- Kevin Harvick (4 WINS)
- Brad Keselowski (3 WINS)
- Joey Logano (2 WINS)
- Ryan Blaney (1 WIN)
- Chase Elliott (1 WIN)
- Martin Truex Jr. (1 WIN)
- Alex Bowman (1 WIN)
- Austin Dillon (1 WIN)
- Cole Custer (R) (1 WIN)
- Aric Almirola (+145)
- Kurt Busch (+112)
- Kyle Busch (+94)
- Clint Bowyer (+43)
- Matt DiBenedetto (+40)
- William Byron (+15)
PLAYOFF CUT LINE
- Tyler Reddick (R) (-15)
- Jimmie Johnson (-25)
- Erik Jones (-31)
- Michael McDowell (-125)
Ian O’Brien is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network. Follow him on Twitter @IanOBBrien.