NASCAR at New Hampshire full results: 3 things we learned from Brad Keselowski’s win

Brad Keselowski danced with Denny Hamlin for most of the 301 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday evening. With 81 laps left, Keselowski made the final pass for first place and held onto the lead with clean air and a faster car through the checkered flag.

“I was able to get in a really good rhythm at certain points in the race and just kinda take control and that felt really good,” Keselowski said. “This is our third win of the year, but our first win where we’ve just been able to kind of take control of the race.”

Hamlin finished in second followed by Martin Truex Jr. in third at the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.

The veteran drivers bobbed and weaved around each other, exchanging the lead 12 times between Keselowski and Hamlin, but it was the No. 2 Ford Mustang that powered Keselowski through to his third win of the season.

“It felt like short-track racing, you know, half-mile short track racing,” Hamlin said. “We were crossing each other over and running into each other and kinda knocking each other up the racetrack. We were doing slide jobs in the middle of the corner.”

“It was fun racing those (No. 2) guys. They were very, very deserving today,” Hamlin added.

With less than a hundred laps left in the final stage, back-to-back cautions came out for Matt Kenseth followed by John Hunter Nemechek, allowing earlier non-pitters to grab fuel and new tires. The cautions added some new faces to the mix in the top-five briefly, but Stage 1 winner Hamlin and Stage 2 winner Keselowski emerged in first and second place, respectively. Keselowski then made his final pass and sailed to Victory Lane.

“This is the same tire and similar track to Phoenix and we know that’s what you’ve got to do to win this championship. You have to go win Phoenix,” Keselowki said after the race. “And we put on a great showing today. I’m pumped, I really am. The playoffs are a long ways away and they’re gonna be tough, but this is certainly a good sign.”

“Still 2020” for Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch went from missing from the top three this season to missing from the race entirely. On Sunday, Busch’s No. 18 Toyota Camry slammed into the wall rounding Turn 3 after a right front tire blew out. Busch was out of his car and out of the race by Lap 16, posting another “Did Not Finish” this season. The defending Cup Series champion emerged from the Infield Care Center and apologized to the No. 18 fans on the NBCSN broadcast.

“I think there’s a replay of another Pedigree car here a few years ago that blew a right-front tire for absolutely no reason too,” Busch said on the broadcast. “Seems to be our luck with the Pedigree car here at New Hampshire. Sorry to all of our fans and all the Pedigree folks.”

“It’s still 2020,” Busch said.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Truex Jr. mentioned with a slight laugh that Busch has been “pretty grumpy” with the recent string of finishes.

“They’ve had some tough luck for sure and again today obviously,” Truex Jr. said. “Kyle’s a great competitor and a smart guy. He’s really not been too down on things. He knows he’s got a great team and they can overcome this. He’s been a little grumpy at times, but for the most part, he’s been pretty typical Kyle.”

Bell starts strong, JTG comes back

Christopher Bell and Ryan Preece, two drivers who have not yet won a race or stage this season, posted strong performances early, both finishing in the top 10 in Stage 1. Although Cup rookie Bell stayed in the top five early in the race, a right rear flat tire sent his No. 95 Toyota into the wall in the final stage, forcing a bottom 20 finish by the race end.

Preece, meanwhile, bounced back after he was involved in a wreck at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago that forced another bottom-half finish for his No. 37 Chevy. Preece, however, finished in 16th place at Loudon. His JTG Daugherty teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished in 14th for a bright spot on the schedule for the struggling team, which was seeking top-20 finishes this week.

Hendrick drivers on the points cusp

If Kansas was a strong race for Erik Jones on the points bubble, New Hampshire was a solid finish for Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Jimmie Johnson, but not necessarily the top 10 either driver needed. Byron, who was the 16th place driver in points before the race, finished in 11th, while Johnson was 12th at the flag. Teammate Chase Elliott passed both drivers in the final laps to clinch a ninth place spot and Cup rookie Tyler Reddick, who is also in the hunt for a playoff berth on the points bubble squeezed out a 10th-place finish.

Still, Byron’s fifth place finish in Stage 2 helped him secure some points and kept him above the 16-driver cutoff, while Johnson gained a six-point lead over Jones, now three places below Byron.

This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 6:53 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription