Kasey Kahne has scored his second victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season and made a strong showing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup wild-card by winning the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Kahne inherited the lead under caution on lap 235 with a two-tyre stop and fended off Denny Hamlin who had taken fresh rubber all-round, but had to battle through the field.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is now in the lead spot for one of two Chase berths awarded to the winningest drivers ranked 11th to 20th. Kahne is the only driver outside the top 10 with more than one win.
“Denny was obviously the best car,” Kahne said.
“We had a great Farmers Insurance Chevrolet and had to battle hard the whole race.
“It doesn’t get us in the Chase yet, but it definitely helps.”
Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five, followed by Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman.
A strategy miscue cost Hamlin a shot at completing a dominating weekend with a win. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver took four tyres during his final stop under yellow and dropped from first to 13th while the 12 drivers ahead of him opted for right-side rubber.
“What made us switch to four (tyres)?” Hamlin radioed crew chief Darian Grubb. When Grubb replied, “You said you wanted tyres,” Hamlin replied: “Oh God.”
“My bad,” Grubb radioed. “Go kick their (butts).”
Hamlin had taken took the lead from teammate Kyle Busch on a restart with 105 laps remaining.
“If we’re not wrecking, we’re in contention to win every single week,” Hamlin said.
“That’s all you can ask for. … I’m very pleased with where we’re at right now.”
Busch started on pole and led the first 66 laps before being hurt by multiple pit miscues. He was penalized for being too fast entering the pits for his first stop under green on lap 67. After he climbed into the top five by pitting out of sequence, another slow stop under green on lap 232 knocked him out of the top 10 for good.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose ran no higher than mid teens in the race and brought his Ford home in 19th. He did improve his overall position in the standings one place to 18th.
RESULTS : LENOX Industrial Tools 301 – Race 19 of 36
|
FIN |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
PTS/BNS |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | 47/1 | 301 | Running |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 44/2 | 301 | Running |
| 3 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 42/1 | 301 | Running |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard ‘An American Salute’ / Diet Mountain Dew | 40/0 | 301 | Running |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 40/1 | 301 | Running |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Pepsi Max | 39/1 | 301 | Running |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 38/1 | 301 | Running |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser Folds of Honor | 36/0 | 301 | Running |
| 9 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 35/0 | 301 | Running |
| 10 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Aspen Dental | 34/0 | 301 | Running |
| 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Batteries | 33/0 | 301 | Running |
| 12 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 | 32/0 | 301 | Running |
| 13 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | NESN | 31/0 | 301 | Running |
| 14 | Joey Logano | Toyota | Dollar General | 30/0 | 301 | Running |
| 15 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | MyClassicGarage.com / Aaron’s | 29/0 | 301 | Running |
| 16 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 29/1 | 301 | Running |
| 17 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Quaker State / Menards | 27/0 | 301 | Running |
| 18 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal / Lenox | 26/0 | 301 | Running |
| 19 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | DEWALT | 25/0 | 301 | Running |
| 20 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / NRA Museum | 24/0 | 301 | Running |
| 21 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Wheaties | 23/0 | 301 | Running |
| 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil-AAA | 0 | 301 | Running |
| 23 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Kingsford | 21/0 | 301 | Running |
| 24 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 21/1 | 299 | Running |
| 25 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 19/0 | 299 | Running |
| 26 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 18/0 | 298 | Running |
| 27 | David Gilliland | Ford | Glory Foods | 17/0 | 298 | Running |
| 28 | Aric Almirola | Ford | U.S. Air Force | 16/0 | 298 | Running |
| 29 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 15/0 | 297 | Running |
| 30 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 14/0 | 297 | Running |
| 31 | Ken Schrader | Ford | Federated Auto Parts | 13/0 | 294 | Running |
| 32 | Stephen Leicht * | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com | 12/0 | 293 | Running |
| 33 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | CarportEmpire.com / TMone.com Call Centers in America | 11/0 | 229 | Out of Race |
| 34 | David Ragan | Ford | MHP / 8 Hour Alert | 10/0 | 139 | Out of Race |
| 35 | David Stremme | Toyota | Stock Car Steel and Aluminum | 9/0 | 101 | In Pit |
| 36 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 8/0 | 91 | In Pit |
| 37 | Josh Wise * | Ford | MDS Transport | 7/0 | 82 | In Pit |
| 38 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 0 | 71 | In Pit |
| 39 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 5/0 | 68 | In Pit |
| 40 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 4/0 | 63 | In Pit |
| 41 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 3/0 | 32 | In Pit |
| 42 | Kelly Bires | Ford | Team Kyle / Bestway Disposal | 0 | 19 | In Pit |
| 43 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | Robinson-Blak-eney Racing | 1/0 | 4 | Out of Race |
* Denotes Rookie
STANDINGS : Race 19 of 36
|
RANK |
+/- |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
STARTS |
POLES |
WINS |
TOP 5 |
TOP 10 |
| 1 | — | Matt Kenseth | 707 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| 2 | — | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | -16 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 14 |
| 3 | — | Greg Biffle | -40 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| 4 | — | Jimmie Johnson | -51 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| 5 | +2 | Denny Hamlin | -79 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 10 |
| 6 | — | Kevin Harvick | -85 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 7 | -2 | Tony Stewart | -89 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | — | Martin Truex Jr. | -90 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 9 | +1 | Clint Bowyer | -93 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 10 | -1 | Brad Keselowski | -94 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 11 | — | Carl Edwards | -140 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 12 | +4 | Kasey Kahne | -160 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| 13 | -1 | Kyle Busch | -162 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 14 | +1 | Ryan Newman | -171 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 15 | -2 | Paul Menard | -173 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | -2 | Joey Logano | -174 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 17 | — | Jeff Gordon | -183 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 18 | +1 | Marcos Ambrose | -212 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | -1 | Jeff Burton | -214 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 20 | — | Jamie McMurray | -221 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | — | Juan Montoya | -255 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | — | Aric Almirola | -260 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | +1 | Bobby Labonte | -299 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | -1 | AJ Allmendinger | -307 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 25 | — | Kurt Busch | -321 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | — | Regan Smith | -330 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | — | Casey Mears | -349 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | — | Mark Martin | -366 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 29 | — | David Ragan | -385 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | — | David Gilliland | -396 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | — | Travis Kvapil | -409 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | — | Landon Cassill | -434 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | — | David Reutimann | -444 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | — | Dave Blaney | -452 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | +2 | Brian Vickers | -572 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 36 | — | David Stremme | -582 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | -2 | J.J. Yeley | -585 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | — | Michael McDowell | -613 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | +1 | Ken Schrader | -621 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | +1 | Josh Wise* | -627 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | -2 | Michael Waltrip | -632 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 42 | — | Terry Labonte | -641 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | — | Tony Raines | -646 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | +1 | Stephen Leicht* | -653 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | -1 | Brendan Gaughan | -657 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | — | Scott Speed | -671 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | — | Scott Riggs | -676 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | — | Boris Said | -692 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | — | Bill Elliott | -693 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | — | Hermie Sadler | -694 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | — | Robby Gordon | -696 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | — | Tomy Drissi | -701 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | — | Stacy Compton | -702 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | — | David Mayhew | -703 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | — | Chris Cook | -705 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | — | Trevor Bayne | -707 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 57 | — | Sam Hornish Jr. | -707 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | — | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | +1 | Austin Dillon | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | -1 | Mike Bliss | -707 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | +1 | Elliott Sadler | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | -1 | Robert Richardson Jr. | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | +1 | Joe Nemechek | -707 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | -1 | Reed Sorenson | -707 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | — | Danica Patrick | -707 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | — | T.J. Bell | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | — | Cole Whitt | -707 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | — | Mike Skinner | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | — | Kelly Bires | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | -1 | Timmy Hill | -707 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | -1 | Tim Andrews | -707 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | -1 | Brian Simo | -707 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | -1 | Jeff Green | -707 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | -1 | Mike Wallace | -707 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | -1 | Kenny Wallace | -707 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Denotes Rookie
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