bigbadbrother
07-13-2014, 08:23 PM
Jay Pennell
For much of Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski was in a league of his own.
The Team Penske driver led 135 of the 303 laps to score his third win of the season and secure the weekend sweep.
Despite Keselowski's dominant performance, the No. 2 team had to work for the win in the closing stages of the race. When debris brought out the caution with 52 laps to go, Keselowski pitted for two tires as six drivers did not pit.
Restarting ninth with 48 laps to go, Keselowski quickly made his way back to the front, retaking the lead from Jeff Gordon on Lap 269.
Once out front it was smooth sailing for the No. 2 car until Justin Allgaier wrecked his No. 51 Chevrolet got into the wall with four laps to go to bring out the caution.
Scoring the win, Keselowski became the 13th different winner in the last 13 races at New Hampshire, and also became the first to sweep the weekend's races.
Kyle Busch was able to make the fuel last to finish second, rookie Kyle Larson was third, Ryan Newman was fourth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five.
With less than 100 laps to go, it appeared as if it was going to be a Team Penske 1-2 finish as Joey Logano ran behind Keselowski in second. However, on Lap 211 Logano's day came to an abrupt end when Morgan Shepherd got into the second-place car, sending him hard into the outside wall.
The only other incident of the day came early on Lap 13 when Jimmie Johnson blew a left rear tire heading into Turn 1, spinning and hitting the outside wall hard on the driver side. The incident was Johnson's second tire issue of the day, as he gave up the second spot on Lap 8 to pit for a flat left rear.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaves New Hampshire and will have its second and final off weekend before a 17-race stretch kicks off at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.
Jul 13, 2014 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, New Hampshire | 318.5 mi (305 of 301 Laps)
Pos Driver Car # Make Started
1 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 7
2 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 1
3 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 13
4 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 15
5 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 24
6 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 8
7 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 4
8 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 3
9 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 22
10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 28
11 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 10
12 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 9
13 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 14
14 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 23
15 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 27
16 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 5
17 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 18
18 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 20
19 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 16
20 Jeff Burton 66 Toyota 30
21 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 17
22 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 29
23 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 19
24 David Gilliland 38 Ford 33
25 David Ragan 34 Ford 26
26 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 11
27 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 21
28 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 35
29 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 32
30 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 12
31 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 36
32 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 39
33 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 37
34 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 34
35 Eddie MacDonald 32 Ford 40
36 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 38
37 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 25
38 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 31
39 Morgan Shepherd 33 Chevrolet 43
40 Joey Logano 22 Ford 6
41 Timmy Hill 87 Toyota 42
42 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 2
43 Mike Bliss 93 Toyota 41
For much of Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski was in a league of his own.
The Team Penske driver led 135 of the 303 laps to score his third win of the season and secure the weekend sweep.
Despite Keselowski's dominant performance, the No. 2 team had to work for the win in the closing stages of the race. When debris brought out the caution with 52 laps to go, Keselowski pitted for two tires as six drivers did not pit.
Restarting ninth with 48 laps to go, Keselowski quickly made his way back to the front, retaking the lead from Jeff Gordon on Lap 269.
Once out front it was smooth sailing for the No. 2 car until Justin Allgaier wrecked his No. 51 Chevrolet got into the wall with four laps to go to bring out the caution.
Scoring the win, Keselowski became the 13th different winner in the last 13 races at New Hampshire, and also became the first to sweep the weekend's races.
Kyle Busch was able to make the fuel last to finish second, rookie Kyle Larson was third, Ryan Newman was fourth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five.
With less than 100 laps to go, it appeared as if it was going to be a Team Penske 1-2 finish as Joey Logano ran behind Keselowski in second. However, on Lap 211 Logano's day came to an abrupt end when Morgan Shepherd got into the second-place car, sending him hard into the outside wall.
The only other incident of the day came early on Lap 13 when Jimmie Johnson blew a left rear tire heading into Turn 1, spinning and hitting the outside wall hard on the driver side. The incident was Johnson's second tire issue of the day, as he gave up the second spot on Lap 8 to pit for a flat left rear.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaves New Hampshire and will have its second and final off weekend before a 17-race stretch kicks off at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.
Jul 13, 2014 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, New Hampshire | 318.5 mi (305 of 301 Laps)
Pos Driver Car # Make Started
1 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 7
2 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 1
3 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 13
4 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 15
5 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 24
6 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 8
7 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 4
8 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 3
9 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 22
10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 28
11 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 10
12 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 9
13 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 14
14 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 23
15 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 27
16 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 5
17 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 18
18 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 20
19 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 16
20 Jeff Burton 66 Toyota 30
21 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 17
22 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 29
23 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 19
24 David Gilliland 38 Ford 33
25 David Ragan 34 Ford 26
26 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 11
27 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 21
28 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 35
29 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 32
30 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 12
31 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 36
32 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 39
33 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 37
34 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 34
35 Eddie MacDonald 32 Ford 40
36 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 38
37 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 25
38 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 31
39 Morgan Shepherd 33 Chevrolet 43
40 Joey Logano 22 Ford 6
41 Timmy Hill 87 Toyota 42
42 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 2
43 Mike Bliss 93 Toyota 41