On a hot, sunny day, 37 drivers strapped up for 301 intense miles around a magical track for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. With six races left before the playoffs, there is no time to mess around with the intensity picking up as teams battle for the final remaining spots for the playoffs.
Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag, but Kyle Busch quickly jumped out to the lead. Kyle Busch took off to a commanding lead, but Keselowski stayed in his trail. Keselowski was able to pass Busch back on lap 37. On lap 45 Austin Dillon brings out the first caution after slamming into the outside wall. Erik Jones won the race off pit road when all the leaders came down for servicing. Busch took the lead once again on the following restart and continued to pave the way to win the first stage of the race.
Kyle Busch won the race off pit road and continued to control the race. On lap 110, another caution flag waved as Daniel Hemric lost control of his car and hit the wall in turn two. Busch won the race off pit road once again and took the lead on the restart. Another caution flag waved on lap 136 as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hit the outside wall in turn two. Busch was still holding a consistent lead at this point. Shortly after the restart, another caution flag waved when Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. created contact. Bowyer lost control of his car as a reaction of the contact. This led to a restart with two laps remaining in the stage. Aric Almirola came out on top for his first stage win of the year, as he claims stage two.
Denny Hamlin cycled into the lead after he decided to pit late in stage two and not return back to pit road under the stage break. After two cautions involving Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, Hamlin continued to increase his lead deep into the final stage of the race. With 37 laps remaining, the caution comes out once again as Larson hit the outside fence on corner exit. Kevin Harvick decided not to come down pit road and moved into the lead. Hamlin won the race off pit road but was placed into the second-place position. Harvick moved into the lead on the restart with Hamlin giving chase. Hamlin began to move closer to Harvick once the leaders began to run into lapped traffic. On the final lap, Hamlin drove his machine hard into turn one trying to move Harvick out of the groove. Hamlin was not able to capitalize as Harvick led the field down into turn three. Hamlin ran off turn four with momentum on Harvick, but it was not enough as Harvick came out on top and won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
It was Kevin Harvick’s first win of the season. Nobody would have predicted that it would take Harvick this long to win his first race. Better late than never as this one solidifies his spot in the playoffs six races from now. This is also back to back years in which Harvick has won at New Hampshire. He won last year when he was able to move Kyle Busch out of the way a few laps before the checkered flag.
Nine drivers have already punched their ticket into the playoffs with winning a race this season. The remaining seven spots are still up for grabs, and it is a tight battle for points in the bottom half of the playoff picture. Clint Bowyer holds a 17-point lead over Jimmie Johnson for the last spot in the playoffs. It would be disappointing for the seven-time cup champion to miss out on the playoffs this year.
Next week’s race is at Pocono Raceway for the Gander RV 400. Kyle Busch won this race back in June. It will be an intense battle from now until September to see who will gain some momentum and race their way into the playoffs.