Kevin Harvick, the driver of the #4 Busch Beer Ford, crosses the finish line to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 22, 2018, in Loudon, New Hampshire. Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

With just seven races left before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin, there are so many teams still fighting for their spot. There are fewer winners than last season which means there are still a lot of guaranteed spots left for some new winners this season.

The Cup Series was on tap Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 with some weather in the forecast leaving some wondering if they would race. The morning rains changed the track conditions incredibly by switching the grooves and with drivers unsure of what to expect, the race was now set as a fun one to watch.

The race started with the pole sitter Kurt Busch taking command and the lead. After a couple of early cautions, Busch stayed in the lead and kept working. After green-flag stops cycled through, Martin Truex Jr. cycled up to the front and it was his turn to lead the race and eventually take the first stage.

In the second stage, Chase Elliott started to poke his way into race contention as he chased down the leaders to lead some laps. Early in the stage, Elliott was showing some good speed and it looked as though the Hendrick Motorsports driver could bring them their first victory of the season. Elliott did win the second stage and his first of the season.

The third stage is where all the action started with the track changing a lot since the start of the race. With more rubber now on the track, drivers could change how they ran the race. A few drivers with speed early on lost their momentum and fell back. The drivers that struggled most of the afternoon were now able to find their way to the front.

A late caution brought drivers to pit road for a crucial stop. Aric Almirola was in the lead but had a poor stop causing him to lose the top spot. In contrast, the pit stop for Kyle Busch was excellent, gaining him the lead.

With Busch in the lead and Kevin Harvick chasing him from second, the rest of the race was a battle between the duo.

With ten laps to go Busch and Harvick were bumper to bumper and fighting hard. Harvick kept driving the car hard into the corner trying to push Busch up the track. Harvick kept nudging Busch with the two battling until Harvick finally bumped Busch out of the groove to pass him and take the lead. Harvick went on to win his sixth race of the season.

It was another controversial finish similar to the Kyle Busch victory at Chicagoland with two drivers racing hard against each other with a bump and run to decide the winner. Ironically, Harvick’s victory was similar to what Busch did to Kyle Larson at Chicagoland giving fans good hard racing for a victory.

Harvick was faster than Busch at the end of the race as it almost looked like Busch was holding him up to keep the top spot. Obviously, Busch was doing all he could to block Harvick, but there was no stopping Harvick. He has a bulldog mentality and put it to work against Busch. This rivalry is just getting started as both of these guys will remember how this race ended. Busch especially because he could do the same move back to Harvick later in the playoffs.

The Cup Series now heads to the ‘Tricky Triangle’ of Pocono Raceway next week. As the season winds down, a lot of drivers are still on the outside of the playoff standings cutoff looking in. Pocono is now the place for a driver to win and claim his spot in the playoffs. For fans, it will be fun to see how it all unfolds.