NSCS: Kevin Harvick Victorious at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Kevin Harvick stole the show at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Harvick had some work to do when the green flag dropped as he started the 300-lap event in 19th. He would slowly but surely work his way through the field to crack into the top 10 by lap 64.

“I just want to thank all our sponsors and everyone at the shop who works on the Stewart-Haas Racing cars,” said Harvick after the race. “Man, that worked out really good. The car was pretty good on the restarts. Once we got clean air there at the end, it wound up being really good up front. I’m just really proud of our team. They did a great job.”

The win today marks Harvick’s third win of the season and will automatically punch his ticket into the next round of the Chase. Harvick has momentum going into this year’s Chase as he scored the championship in 2014.

“Yeah, that was a game of inches last week,” continued Harvick. “We wound up getting a lap down there and I had a good car. I had a fifth of sixth place car, and just wound up not being where we needed to be. But all in all, we wound up where we should have been last year, this year.”

The series veteran will go into the next weekend with 14 top five and 22 top 10 finishes through 28 races this year. Harvick now holds 34 victories in the series since making his debut in 2001.

Matt Kenseth will leave the 1.058-mile oval with the runner-up spot. Kenseth started the day in eighth and went on to lead 105 of the 300 laps. The native of Wisconsin led the field two different times throughout the afternoon.

Kenseth will leave New Hampshire with five top five and 13 top 10 finishes through 28 events. He will need a good finish next weekend at Dover if he wants to advance into the second round of NASCAR’s playoffs.

Dover, a one-mile oval that emulates Bristol Motor Speedway, has been kind to Kenseth in the past. The veteran racer holds three victories, 16 top five and 23 top 10 finishes through 35 starts at Dover. One of those wins came earlier this year back in May of 2016.

Kyle Busch rounded out the top three when the checkered flag waved at Loudon. Busch started the afternoon in 12th and quickly worked his way into the top 10. The reigning Sprint Cup Series champion will leave the track with 12 top five and 18 top 10 finishes.

Martin Truex Jr. dominated the field in the Bad Boy Off Road 300 on Sunday afternoon in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.  Truex led 141 of the 300 laps but restarts were the issue in the latter stages of the event. Truex would fall back to seventh when the race ended.

The New Jersey native is already locked into the next round of the Chase with his win last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Truex now holds six top five and 14 top 10 finishes. He holds three victories through 28 races in 2016.

Kasey Kahne was the highest finishing non-Chase driver in ninth. Kahne qualified ninth but started the race at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments. The Washington State native has two top five and 10 top 10 finishes in 2016.

The next race for the Sprint Cup Series will be next Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Coverage will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET. on NBCSN. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM Channel 90 will have live radio coverage.    

Brett Winningham
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