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 .