After the rain passed through New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski dominated the Foxwoods ResortCasino 301, leading 184 of the 301 laps. This win marks Keselowski’s third win of the season and his second at New Hampshire.
“We’ve had a lot of great races this year with the No. 2 car, but we haven’t really gone out here and dominated a race. I was Talking to Jeremy Bullins and that’s what we needed to get to the next level, and we were right there” Keselowski said to NBC Sports in a post-race interview
When asked about why he and Bullins have been so good, Keselowski said, “It’s been good, I’ve had a good career and probably needed a kick in the ass. Jeremy and this whole team have been a kick in the butt for me and it made me a little better.”
Aric Almirola started the race on pole, his third random draw pole since the return from the COVID-19 break. Almirola pulled away on the initial start, but it didn’t take Keselowski long to steal the lead from him.
Traction compound was added to the racetrack on the bottom and outsides lines and it proved to be very challenging early, as multiple drivers including Ryan Blaney and William Byron, overshot the corners and put them out of the racing line.
The cautions began on lap 16 when Kyle Busch made hard contact with the outside wall after puncturing a tire from debris on the racetrack. He made contact with the wall a few laps earlier, but Goodyear discovered it was a debris puncture and not caused by damage on Busch’s car.
The competition caution flew on lap 31 and allowed the drivers to pit for tires and fuel. Tires proved to be very crucial throughout the race as many drivers had tire issues.
After the caution, a battle between Keselowski, Blaney and Denny Hamlin emerged which Keselowski was able to prevail from. Shortly after the battle concluded, Jimmie Johnson lost control of his car after contact with Clint Bowyer in turn two, bringing out the caution.
Denny Hamlin was able to steal the lead back after the caution, and go on to win Stage One.
Stage One:
- Denny Hamlin
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Christopher Bell
- Brad Keselowski
- Ryan Blaney
- Clint Bowyer
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Preece
- Aric Almirola
Shortly after going green in stage two, precipitation began over the racetrack. The rain did not change the track, so no red flag was needed and the cars were able to go back green within a few laps.
After drivers pitted under the caution, Kevin Harvick stayed out and took the lead but Hamlin made his march back up to the front, taking back the lead on lap 104.
Everywhere Hamlin went, Keselowski seemed to follow as Keselowski took back the lead on lap 146 after a short battle that resulted in Hamlin tapping the wall on the exit of turn two.
Harvick, who ran well thus far, had to make a green flag pit stop for fuel and tires after not pitting under the previous yellow. Harvick lost two laps on pit road but made his way back up to the front in no time.
On lap 171, Christopher Bell had a right-rear tire go down after running top-ten most of the race to this point; this was the sixth caution.
When they went back green, Matt Kenseth lost control of his No. 42 Camaro, keeping it off the wall with no damage. This set up for a two lap shootout for the stage win and Keselowski was able to win by a car length over Hamlin.
Stage Two:
- Brad Keselowski
- Denny Hamlin
- Joey Logano
- Aric Almirola
- William Byron
- Clint Bowyer
- Austin Dillon
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Chase Elliott
- Matt Dibenedetto
After both Keselowski and Hamlin stayed out under caution, a battle ensued for the race lead until the caution flag flew once more. Kenseth was the cause of the yellow as he hit the wall with a tire down.
Less than ten laps later, Kenseth’s nightmare of a race got worse, as he had another tire go down which sent him to the garage, as well as it brought out the 10th caution of the race.
The last caution of the race came out on lap 214 when John Hunter Nemechek slammed the outside wall with a tire issue.
When the race returned to green, Keselowski took the lead from Hamlin once more and from there, he didn’t look back.
Harvick, who was two laps down at one point, marched his way back to the front, passing Matt Dibenedetto with only a few laps to go.
Nobody seemed to have anything for Brad Keselowski as he was able to cruise to victory with a 1.647 second gap over second-place, Denny Hamlin.
Results:
- Brad Keselowski
- Denny Hamlin
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Dibendetto
- Aric Almirola
- Cole Custer
- Chase Elliott
- Tyler Reddick
Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for a doubleheader weekend. The FireKeepers Casino 400 is on Saturday, August 8th at 4:00pm EST with the Consumers Energy 400 closing out the weekend on Sunday, August 9th at 4:30pm EST. You can catch both races from Michigan on NBCSN.