MATT KENSETH SURGES LATE FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE WIN
By Reid Spencer( Edited) | NASCAR Wire Service | Getty Images
LOUDON, NH-- In a race that saw many of the usual suspects go into hiding in the closing laps, Matt Kenseth battled to the front of the field from the 18th starting position and pulled away after a late restart to win Sunday ' s New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Winning for the second time this season and for the third time at the Magic Mile, Kenseth crossed the finish line 1.982 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart, who solidified his position in the top 30 in the NA- SCAR Sprint Cup Series standings-- and therefore in the Chase-- with the runner-up finish.
" You ' re always pleased to be in Victory Lane," said the 44-year-old Kenseth, who won for the second straight time at the 1.058-mile flat track and for the 38th time in his career. " The farther down the road you get, the better they feel for sure. 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.”
Busch led a race-high 133 laps and restarted third with 11 laps left, but lost ground in a fight for fifth with Biffle and dropped two more spots thereafter.
Stewart, however, was delighted with the effort of his team. He and first-year crew chief Mike Bugarewicz exchanged texts dealing with setup notes on Saturday night, after Stewart flew to Ohio to oversee the Kings Royal sprint car race at Eldora Speedway, which he owns.
When he returned to Loudon for Sunday ' s race, his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was markedly better than it had been in Saturday ' s two practice sessions.
Getting his opportunity to drive the No. 88 Chevy when Earnhardt was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms, Bowman had a top-10 run going until contact with Edwards ' Toyota on pit road started tire issues that culminated in Bowman sliding into Kurt Busch ' s car in Turn 3 on Lap 271.
Kenseth, who recovered from an early glitch on pit road after his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was blocked in its stall, took the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 271 of 301 and held it the rest of the way, despite three subsequent cautions and restarts.
Even though Kyle Busch held eighth place in the late going, his finish was disappointing.