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Kahne Holds off Hamlin and Wins at New Hampshire

Kahne celebrates after winning
Photo- Getty Images

By Jason Schultz

A strategy filled afternoon in New Hampshire put Kasey Kahne in victory lane at the end of the race.

Kahne won his second race of the season and put himself in the first wild card position. Kahne said to make the Chase he “need(s) to stay after it.” This win was definitely a momentum builder for Kahne and will help him come Chase time.

The rain threatened but never arrived at the track.

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch led all the laps until the first round of green-flag pit stops began on lap 60. Busch had a slow stop and then received a pit road speeding penalty, putting him in the 22^nd position after serving the penalty.

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin then assumed the lead after the cycle of pit stops.

The first caution of the day came out on lap 89 when debris was spotted on the track. Jeff Gordon did not pit and took over as race leader followed by Hamlin, Johnson, Kahne and Earnhardt Jr. Hamlin would soon take the lead from Gordon.

Hendrick dominance was present in the race and on lap 98, all four Hendrick drivers were in the top-five.

At the halfway point of the race, Hamlin led followed by Johnson, Kahne, Earnhardt Jr and Keselowski.

On lap 154 the second round of green-flag pit stops began. Hamlin was still the leader following the stops.

The second yellow-flag came out on lap 191 when more debris was spotted on the track. On the restart, Kyle Busch who stayed out was the leader. Hamlin would soon pass Busch and inherit the lead.

On lap 235 the caution came out for David Reutimann who blew his engine and left liquid on the track. Just before the caution came out, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch pit, putting them both a lap down. However, Johnson received the lucky dog, getting him back on the lead lap. Busch would take the wave around to get back on the lead lap.

Kasey Kahne made a strategic move and took two tires and the lead for the restart. Hamlin’s team decided on four tires, causing him to start deep in the field on the restart.

On lap 272, Hamlin continued his quest to the front and passed Earnhardt Jr for third. Hamlin eventually passed Bowyer for second and started to charge towards Kahne. Hamlin came up short in reaching Kahne up to the final laps and the No. 5 car crossed the line first to pick up his second victory of the season.

With the win, Kahne improves his Chase chances that much more. Kahne said in victory lane that “Hamlin was obviously the best car” and he was lucky to beat Hamlin in the closing laps.

Kahne moved up to twelfth in points and now holds the first wild car position, with Kyle Busch holding the second wild card position. If Carl Edwards wins a race, he will be in position for a wild card spot.

Kahne showed today that he is serious about contending for the championship by winning a race and almost setting a lock on a wild card position for him.

In two weeks, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Indianapolis to kick-off ESPN’s coverage of the races. Before the Indianapolis race arrives, we should know the fate of A.J Allmendinger.

The championship Chase will heat up after this off-week, as the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup will begin after the next seven races.

Results & Point Standings via Nascar.com

FIN	ST	CAR	DRIVER	MAKE	SPONSOR	PTS/BNS	LAPS	STATUS
1	2	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	HendrickCars.com	47/4	301	Running
2	3	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Office	44/2	301	Running
3	5	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	5-hour Energy	42/1	301	Running
4	9	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	National Guard ‘An American Salute’ / Diet Mountain Dew	40/0	301	Running
5	22	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	40/1	301	Running
6	8	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Pepsi Max	39/1	301	Running
7	7	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe’s	38/1	301	Running
8	12	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Budweiser Folds of Honor	36/0	301	Running
9	11	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M	35/0	301	Running
10	6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Aspen Dental	34/0	301	Running
11	4	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Batteries	33/0	301	Running
12	10	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Mobil 1	32/0	301	Running
13	27	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	NESN	31/0	301	Running
14	16	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	Dollar General	30/0	301	Running
15	15	55	Brian Vickers	Toyota	MyClassicGara ge.com / Aaron’s	29/0	301	Running
16	1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	Interstate Batteries	29/1	301	Running
17	13	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Quaker State / Menards	27/0	301	Running
18	21	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Fastenal / Lenox	26/0	301	Running
19	20	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	DEWALT	25/0	301	Running
20	28	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / NRA Museum	24/0	300	Running
21	25	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Wheaties	23/0	300	Running
22	24	22	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	Shell / Pennzoil-AAA	0	300	Running
23	18	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Kingsford	21/0	300	Running
24	14	51	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction Services	21/1	299	Running
25	31	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	Target	19/0	299	Running
26	17	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row / Farm American	18/0	298	Running
27	39	38	David Gilliland	Ford	Glory Foods	17/0	298	Running
28	23	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	U.S. Air Force	16/0	298	Running
29	29	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	Burger King / Dr Pepper	15/0	297	Running
30	30	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	Burger King / Dr Pepper	14/0	297	Running
31	37	32	Ken Schrader	Ford	Federated Auto Parts	13/0	294	Running
32	43	33	Stephen Leicht *	Chevrolet	Little Joes A utos.com	12/0	293	Running
33	26	10	David Reutimann	Chevrolet	CarportEmpire .com / TMone.com Call Centers in America	11/0	229	Engine
34	19	34	David Ragan	Ford	MHP / 8 Hour Alert	10/0	139	Engine
35	40	30	David Stremme	Toyota	Stock Car Steel and Aluminum	9/0	101	Vibration
36	33	13	Casey Mears	Ford	GEICO	8/0	91	Vibration
37	32	26	Josh Wise *	Ford	MDS Transport	7/0	82	Brakes
38	34	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves	0	71	Brakes
39	35	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Golden Corral	5/0	68	Brakes
40	36	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	Phil Parsons Racing	4/0	63	Vibration
41	41	23	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	North Texas Pipe	3/0	32	Vibration
42	42	179	Kelly Bires	Ford	Team Kyle / Bestway Disposal	2/0	19	Brakes
43	38	249	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	Robinson-Blak	1/0	4	Engine

Race Day Chat – LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire

Join Fan4Racing writers for a live Race Day Chat for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup LENOX Industrial Tools 301

The Race Day chatroom will open at 12:00pm CDT – the race is scheduled to begin around 12:20pm CDT.

You can access this live event in two ways

On our Fan4Racing facebook page click the – Let’s Talk Chatroom – link just below the cover photo.

On Fan4Racing or Sports Rantz click the – Race Day Chat – page link

This live event is FREE and participants are not required to log-in to be a listener for the event.

To participate in the discussion, you may choose to sign-in via your twitter or facebook account, or log-in as a guest – it’s up to you.

If you can’t watch this event on TV, this is a great way to still participate and get updates of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 race action. Just bookmark the page on your mobile phone to receive live updates throughout the race.

Space is limited, so be sure to arrive early to secure your place in the Race Day Chat discussion.

PLEASE NOTE: Once all participants log-off the chatroom, following the race, the discussion will not be saved. Therefore, there are no replays available for this Race Day Chat.

SHR’s Dynamic Duo rolls with Momentum into New Hampshire

By Fan4Racing

What happens when you combine momentum with a dynamic duo?

In one word – Anticipation

Owner Stewart celebrates Newman’s Victory
New Hampshire July 2011 – Stewart finished 2nd
Photo – NHMS/HHP

For those without it, they work harder to make gains on the track every week. But when momentum is working, great things happen, seemingly with less effort. So will fans see momentum continue it’s roll this weekend?

For Stewart Haas Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, their return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway – where this dynamic duo celebrated in victory lane twice in 2011 – offers a lot of anticipation for this weekend’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 – Going The Extra Mile.

Ryan Newman won the pole for both 2011 races at the track, with Newman winning in the July race followed by Stewart in second. Then Stewart won five of the ten Chase races, which includes a fall win at NHMS, on his way to winning his third championship. Couple that momentum with Stewart’s third win of the 2012 season at Daytona last weekend, and the excitement translates to a great deal of anticipation leading up to the checkered flag on Sunday.

On Friday, Stewart was asked about momentum on his side coming off his win at Daytona and a pretty good practice to start off the weekend.

“We’re decent I think. We have been pretty good here both races last year so I’m pretty excited about coming back here. We definitely have a good start to the day for sure.”

Sounds like momentum is still rolling in Tony’s favor, and the other half of the dynamic duo, Ryan Newman was also excited and confident as he reflected a bit more on their 2011 success.

“It was awesome for us here last year,” said Newman. “It was a time when Tony (Stewart) was struggling a little bit too, so, to have the one-two start and one-two finish, that was awesome. Then for him to back it up, and us to win the Spring race, and him to win the Fall race, I wish we could have backed it up and finished in at least second in the Fall race. But it was an amazing place for us here, … in Loudon. We’ll try to do it again. There’s no reason that we can’t.”

When asked about why they’re so good and can they carry any of last year’s success over to Sunday’s race, apparently Stewart’s not sure but isn’t concerned about that, because his team is picking up where they left off despite a different tire for this year’s race.

#39-Newman & #14-Stewart up front at NHMS
Photo – Getty Images

“I wish I knew, but it seems like where we were last year it’s continuing on so far even though we’ve got a little bit different tire it sounds like. I’m pretty happy with it. I mean the car right off the first lap felt like it had really good balance to it. Just got to keep working with it and see if we can keep making it better all weekend.”

Qualifying on Friday netted Newman a sixth-place starting spot and Stewart in tenth. Yet the team remains confident they will perform well on Sunday.

“I think our cars are good, there’s no doubt. I think the Hendrick engines, I mean everything’s clicking. I like the track because I think you have to feel the tires and be on the edge,” says Newman. “I was thinking about it last week. I think (Tony) Stewart might have a similar answer, it kind of reminds us of our old IRP – Indianapolis Raceway Park – days. This kind of drives like that kind of race track where your car is on top of the race track, and you get everything you can. There is really nothing to really make it go any faster. It’s not like you are pushing the car on the banking to make it grip better. There’s none of that really to speak of here. I think just a little bit of our past. A little bit of our time. A little bit of us as far as the way we drive race cars.”

Currently, Ryan Newman is 15th in the point standings with one win to his credit. Both Kyle Busch and Joey Logano also have one win each, but are ranked 12th and 14th respectively, giving them the current wild card spots. With Newman on the bubble, if his past success here does translate to another win, it would be a huge boost for him to take over a wild card spot for the Chase.

“This is our place to shine and statistically I’ve run really well here on Friday’s and Sunday’s. It’s a crunch time period for us in the season to need to do that again. Hopefully, we can deliver, I feel like our cars are pretty good. The US Army ROTC Chevrolet was good in practice; I didn’t get a perfect lap in practice so I’m hoping I get that perfect lap in qualifying. I just kind of caught the seams wrong just a little bit down in (turns) three and four. It’s crunch time no doubt and we will go out there and see if we can have fun today and the rest of the weekend.”

And with Stewart tied with Keselowski for most wins – three – in 2012, Tony could use another win to put him solidly in the lead spot to start the Chase at Chicagoland. With the race on Sunday, there are only eight more chances for all the drivers to better their position going into the Chase.

So with the competition heating up in the Race to the Chase, will the dynamic duo continue their momentum with another win this weekend? Or will it be another driver in victory lane?

Anticipation awaits all fans on Sunday and we’ll know the answer when the checkered flag waves in New Hampshire.

Josh Williams: A Driver’s Eyes in the Sky

Courtesy of Josh Williams

By Jason Schultz

A key component of success for a driver is the help they receive by their team each weekend. One of the most important roles on the team is the spotter. The spotter tells the driver what they can’t see on the track. Whether it’s from a wreck ahead or if a car is approaching high or low. Without the spotter, a driver would have a much harder time navigating around the track and staying out of trouble.

Josh Williams isn’t a veteran spotter but he knows what to do. He spots for driver T.J Bell in the Nationwide Series and Scott Speed in the Sprint Cup Series. Josh grew up around racing and that’s basically all he knows. His racing background led him into a tier-type of racing in North America, NASCAR. Josh was kind enough to take some time out of his hectic schedule to answer some questions about his job.

Question 1: What’s a normal race day like for you?

“A normal race day for me is show up with the team early around 8 am and we usually have a strategy meeting and talk about the plan for that day. I usually head to the spotters stand about 1:30 before race time to get my spot and look at our pit box location and get sorted out for the race.”

Q2: What are the hardest tracks to spot on and why?

“The hardest for me are places like Atlanta and California where there are multiple grooves and tires fall off a lot, makes it more difficult to judge the runs and usually there are green flag stops there, so a lot of different strategies going on. Bristol is a different beast, but it just happens so fast there, is why it’s difficult; it’s a lot of fun if you can just slow things down in your mind and not get caught up in the rest of the show.”

Q3: Have you ever had to spot through a wild wreck, if so explain how you maneuvered your driver through it?

“Not really, thankfully, but this year in the Daytona Nationwide race there was some big wrecks near the end and we missed most of them until the last one. Basically you just go off of your quickest judgment and try and help them one way or the other and it’s up to the drivers with a little bit of luck involved.”

Q4: Who is easier to spot for, Scott Speed or T.J Bell, and why?

“I wouldn’t say one is easier than the other because they both are very competitive people. The hardest thing for me is going between the two of them, I spot for TJ more than Scott because he runs the full Nationwide schedule so I have to remember Scott wants a little more information and remind myself of that during the race. They’re both great friends and fun to work with.”

Q5: Did you grow up around racing?

“Yes, my grandfather was the general manager at the Martinsville speedway and my dad sold souvenirs for Dale Earnhardt Sr and still works for Motorsports Authentics. I’ve been around it since I was 8 months old so pretty much all I know.”

Q6: Who was your first spotting job for?

“My very 1st spotting experience was for my cousin (Blaine Atkins) in the Allison legacy series. My 1st NASCAR spotting job was with Scott last year and my 1st race was Bristol, no pressure there!”

Q7: What is the main equipment do you use to spot with?

“I use Motorola ex 600 xls radios, one I use to scan NASCAR and to listen to myself and the other is strictly for our team communications. I use racing radios headset and racing radios does all of my programming for radios.”

Q8: What’s your favorite track to spot on and why?

“My favorite track by far is Daytona! It’s such a blast being in the pack trying to judge runs and which lane is best to be in! Bristol is my 2nd favorite.”

Q9: On twitter, you are always talking with Scott Speed about golf. What has been your favorite golf experience so far and who is a better golfer, Scott or you?

“I play professional golf in my free time so I have a lot of golf experiences, my favorite with Scott has to be going to play at TPC sawgrass when we were in Daytona this year and I shot 67 from the back tees. I’m definitely the better golfer but Scott is so competitive and always working at it, he’s getting pretty good and it’s not a stretch to say he’s the best golfing race car driver. I’ve seen him shoot 71 before.”

Q10: Do you like hang out with your drivers off-track? If so, what do you like to do?

“Yes definitely, Scott’s like my brother I never had, so are always needling each other and giving each other a hard time. He’s super competitive so he is up for anything that can be a competition. Anything from; golf, running, swimming and to even playing games on our iPhone’s. About the only thing I beat him in is golf so I remind him of that daily!”

Kahne Holds off Hamlin and Wins at New Hampshire

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