Race Highlights:  

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished eighth (Jeff Burton), 20^th (Kevin Harvick) and 22^nd (Paul Menard) in the SYLVANIA 300.
• Following the event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Harvick is sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 39 markers behind the leader, while Menard is 16th and Burton moved up three positions to 19th.
• The No. 29 Chevrolet SS team ranks sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 27 team 18th in the standings and the No. 31 team 21st.
• According to NASCAR's Post-Race Loop Data Statistics, Burton ranked 10^th for Laps Run in the Top-15 with 217 circuits in that position.
• Burton completed 66 Green-Flag Passes, while Menard made 62 and Harvick had 61 during the 300-lap race.
• Matt Kenseth earned his seventh victory of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season and was followed to the finish line by Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 29. The 29

^th

race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN beginning at

1 p.m.

Eastern Time, broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Menard Finishes 22nd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Starting from the seventh position, Paul Menard and the No. 27 SYLVANIA/Menards team faced handling issues throughout the 300-lap event, earning a 22^nd-place finish when the checkered flag flew at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After slipping back several positions in the early laps of the race, Menard was scored in 13^th on lap 25 when he communicated to crew chief "Slugger" Labbe that the No. 27 machine was tight on entry and loose exiting the corners. The pit crew made a variety of adjustments during pit stops on laps 32 and 109 in hopes of remedying the issue. The Eau Claire, Wis., native maintained a position within the top-20 and at lap 156 he was scored in 19^th, running lap times as fast as the leader. A two-tire pit stop on lap 202 allowed Menard to gain valuable track position, lining him up 15^th for the ensuing restart. The Richard Childress Racing driver methodically worked his way up to 11^th before coming to pit road one final time on lap 246 for left-side tires, fuel and wedge and air pressure adjustments. Restarting in 11^th, Menard was caught in the middle going three-wide into the corner and shuffled back to 19^th at lap 263. Struggling with a tight condition for the remaining 37 laps of the event, Menard ultimately finished 22^nd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Menard maintained his position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings and sits in 16^th heading to Dover International Speedway.

Start - 7                      Finish - 22                     Laps Led - 0            Points - 16th

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

"It was a rough day for the No. 27 SYLVANIA/Menards crew. We struggled with handling issues for the majority of the day, especially there at the end. That last set of tires made us really tight and we just couldn't gain any track position. My guys never gave up and made a variety of adjustments all day to try and get the car to handle better. We'll keep our heads up heading into Dover (International Speedway) next week."

Burton Finishes Eighth in the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Jeff Burton started the SYLVANIA 300 in 25^th at the one-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Once the initial green-flag waved over the Granite State-facility, Burton encountered a condition of loose in the entry and middle of the turns on the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet. A pre-determined competition caution on lap 30 coincided with a spin in Turn 4. This allowed crew chief Luke Lambert to bring Burton down pit road taking on four tires, fuel and making a track bar adjustment. Restarting 25^th, Burton began his methodical climb through the scoring ranks. By lap 50, he was 17^th when the caution waved one lap later. During this break, Lambert radioed to Burton that he felt like the track conditions were working in their favor. That became evident through the next four cautions and the halfway point when Burton first entered the top-10 ranks. Taking only two right-side tires under caution on lap 166, then two left-side tires on lap 202 helped keep Burton in the top-15. He re-entered the top 10 on lap 245 and remained there for the rest of the race to finish eighth, earning his sixth top-10 finish in 2013. He also moved up three positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings to 19^th place.

                Start - 25     Finish - 8       Laps Led - 0        Points Position - 19th

Jeff Burton Quote:

"We just got too tight there at the end to gain any more positions. We had great pit stops during the entire race, so my hat is off to the No. 31 Cheerios team today. That was a great Chevrolet we had, we just should have finished much better than we did. But, we'll take that top-10 and head to Dover (International Speedway) and do it again."                                                     

RCR PR

It wasn’t exactly like the curious case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for Ryan Newman at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but it was close.

Newman, the driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), battled an ill-handling car Sunday afternoon that just two days earlier sat on the pole for the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman overcame a late-race pit road miscue and also maneuvered the car with a split personality to bring home a respectable 16^th-place finish.

“I still don’t understand what happened with the car,” Newman said. “It just never drove the same after we won the pole on Friday afternoon. Even in practice on Saturday. Glad we got back up to 16^th after the deal on pit road, but I don’t know. We’ll head to Dover and see what we can get.”

When the green flag dropped, Newman led the first two trips around the 1.058-mile oval before surrendering the lead to Kasey Kahne on lap three of the 300-mile race, eventually settling into a rhythm in fourth place for the first several laps. While he maintained a top-five running position, Newman reported the car was loose entering and exiting the turns. He also was having a hard time with the car’s front splitter hitting the track. Those problems persisted for the entire race.

The handling problems were compounded by a pit stop miscue during a caution on lap 200. In an effort to improve the handling, the pit crew was directed to make a wedge adjustment while changing left-side tires and adding fuel. But the team went the wrong way with the chassis adjustment, making the car’s handling even more unstable and dropping Newman to 25^th place in the running order.

A lap 245 caution presented the team with the opportunity to tackle the handling on the Quicken Loans Chevy. Crew Chief Matt Borland directed a series of adjustments trying to get the car back to the setup that existed at the start of the race. More importantly, he called for a four-tire stop while a number of teams running at the front of the field chose two-tire and fuel-only stops. Newman was in 26^th place when green-flag racing resumed and put in a workman-like effort during the closing laps to position the No. 39 Chevy in 16^th when the checkered flag waved.

Mark Martin, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 23^rd.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 27^th. It was Patrick’s 38^th career Sprint Cup start and her second at New Hampshire. Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished three spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 24^th.

Matt Kenseth won the Sylvania 300 to score his 31^st career Sprint Cup victory, his series-best seventh of the season and his first at New Hampshire.

Kyle Busch finished .533 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 37 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 300-lap race.

Newman is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and entered the second race of the 10-race Chase eighth among the 13 Chase drivers, 28 points behind Chase leader Kenseth. Newman leaves New Hampshire ninth in the standings, 47 points behind Kenseth.

TSC PR

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 27^th in the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

Patrick, who started 21^st, was in 17^th place for the race’s final restart on lap 256 but fell to 27^th.

“I’m not sure if I got hit or just got really loose on the last restart,” said Patrick, who made her 38^th Sprint Cup start and her second at New Hampshire. “The car just went sideways, and I lost a ton of spots. It’s disappointing. It’s something to learn from and put in the notebook for next time. The car just never felt ‘in’ the track today. It wasn’t for a lack of effort by the Tony Gibson and the guys, but it just wasn’t quite were we needed it to be. We took two tires on the last stop, but that last restart hurt us and we lost a lot of spots. It’s disappointing, but we’ll move on.”

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished three spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 24^th. She remained 26^th in the point standings and has 514 points, nine behind 25th-place David Ragan.

Patrick’s teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, finished 16^th.

The third member of SHR, Mark Martin, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 23^rd.

Matt Kenseth won the Sylvania 300 to score his 31^st career Sprint Cup victory, his series-best seventh of the season and his first at New Hampshire.

Kyle Busch finished .533 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 37 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 300-lap race.

Newman is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and entered the second race of the 10-race Chase eighth among the 13 Chase drivers, 28 points behind Chase leader Kenseth. Newman leaves New Hampshire ninth in the standings, 47 points behind Kenseth.

TSC PR

Mark Martin, driving in place of the injured Tony Stewart, found some bright spots in his 23^rd-place finish in the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

Track position proved to be Martin’s nemesis throughout the 300-lap contest around the 1.058-mile oval. He started 18^th in the 43-car field, and with a racecar that was loose into the corners and tight in the middle, Martin had to fight to stay among the top-20.

A caution period on lap 30 allowed for crew chief Steve Addington to make the first of many tweaks to Martin’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. Another caution on lap 56 allowed for another series of adjustments.

The cumulative adjustments helped, and so did Addington and Martin’s attempts to gain track position via pit strategy.

Their second pit stop on lap 56 allowed them to go further on a tank of fuel than many of their counterparts. During a green-flag run that lasted 105 laps, Martin rose to as high as second. And with a Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy operating in clean air, the handling issues that plagued the car early in the race dissipated.

But with no caution in sight, Martin was forced to pit under green. The stop was smooth, but with the rest of the leaders running at full speed on the racetrack, Martin went a lap down.

Nonetheless, the team fought on, racing their way into the lucky dog spot as the first car one lap down. When the caution flag waved on lap 202, Martin was back on the lead lap.

After a stop for four tires and fuel, Martin was in 26^th for the lap 206 restart. When the caution came out again for David Gilliland’s spin in turn one, Addington called for a fuel-only pit stop on lap 247 that vaulted Martin from 22^nd to 12^th when the race restarted on lap 251.

But the track position came at a price. The old tires Martin had under him were no match for the newer tires on the racecars of those around him. When the green flag dropped, so did Martin. He quickly fell to 20^th, and when Kasey Kahne spun to bring out the race’s final caution on lap 254, Martin hit pit road to grab four fresh Goodyears.

He restarted in 23^rd, and with track position again an issue, he stayed there through the checkered flag.

“It was a frustrating day,” Martin said. “We just could never get track position. But we also had some bright spots in that the changes we made to the car were good changes, and some of our strategies would’ve worked had a caution come out at the right time. It wasn’t the ideal race, but we’ll take the good things and continue to build on those.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for SHR, finished 16^th after starting from the pole and leading the race’s first two laps.

Newman is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and entered the second race of the 10-race Chase eighth among the 13 Chase drivers, 28 points behind Chase leader Matt Kenseth. Newman leaves New Hampshire ninth in the standings, 47 points behind Kenseth.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 27^th. Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished three spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 24^th.

Kenseth won the Sylvania 300 to score his 31^st career Sprint Cup victory, his series-best seventh of the season and his first at New Hampshire.

Kyle Busch finished .533 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 37 laps, with five drivers failing to finish.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the third race of the 10-race Chase – is the AAA 400 on Sept. 29 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.

TSC PR

The first half of Sunday's Sylvania 300 had trouble written all over it for Greg Biffle.

But rallying to finish third and leapfrogging from 11th to fifth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings has put an entirely new perspective on the No. 16 team's final eight races.

"It was a miracle," said Biffle upon climbing from his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. "That was the most fun I've had in a long time, even though we finished third."

Biffle was mired mid-pack for much of the race, sitting 17th 150 laps into the 300-lap event. He started the day 10th and was still only 10th with 75 laps to run.

Having entered the race 31 points behind series leader Matt Kenseth, Biffle knew he was on the verge of falling out of contention two races into the Chase, particularly on a track where passing was at a premium.

But Biffle closed with a rush to salvage his top-three finish. Although he still lost ground to Kenseth, he didn't lose complete contact, remaining within 38 points of the series leader and moving to within two points of teammate Carl Edwards, who also finished strong to place ninth and move up one rung in the standings to fourth.

"Greg did a heckuva job," crew chief Matt Puccia said. "I'm really proud of him and all of these guys after the weekend we had at Chicago (16th in the first race of the Chase). They redeemed themselves with a good run today and I'm looking forward to the next eight."

Most importantly for Biffle, by race's end, he had a car he felt he could win with.

"We didn't pass anybody in the pits," Biffle said. "We passed them all on the race track. We just got good at the end and our car really, really took off. We were able to drive by those guys to get up to third. When the sun went down and it cooled off, my car picked up a lot of speed."

Biffle and Puccia could only wish the 300-lap race was 15-20 laps longer.

"(This race) was about to (get) good," Biffle said. "The 18 (Kyle Busch) was gonna catch the 20 (Kenseth) in the next few laps and I was probably gonna get to the 18's bumper. I just wish it was a 325 instead of a 300."

Said Puccia: "Who knows what would have happened if we had a few more laps? I think we were a little faster than the 18 and 20, but we ran out of time."

Biffle hasn't exactly been on a roll. He had finished no better than eighth in any of the previous 11 races. And he's led only two of the last 12 races for a total of 30 laps.

But Sunday, Biffle was particularly strong on restarts and made a particularly bold move on the race's final one, vaulting past Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. to charge from sixth to third. He held off Johnson for position the rest of the way.

"I was doing all I could to try and gain spots," Biffle said. "I was three-wide on the bottom and got that to work a couple of times. (But) it's so hard to get a run off the bottom. The 48 (Johnson) was underneath me and he just couldn't get the throttle down on the bottom.

"The 48 was probably faster than me that first 15 laps (of the final run). He was all over my rear bumper but couldn't really do anything. After his tires leveled off, I was able to drive away from him. I'm sure he's not happy right now, not being able to get by me, having what appeared to be a little faster car."

New Hampshire Motor Speedway has never been one of Biffle's best tracks.

His only career win in 23 career starts at NHMS came in 2008, when he won the first two races of the Chase. Biffle finished 15th at Loudon in the July race.

"This is a track we usually struggle at, but we've been working hard on our short track program, so we'll take it and move on to Dover," Puccia said.

And 38 points behind the series leader, Biffle knows he's still in the hunt.

"I've won the first two Chase races before and then didn't win the championship," he said. "Anything can happen."

Matt Kenseth turned in another dominating performance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.

"I just keep taking it one week at a time," Kenseth said. "I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be standing here."

He led 106 laps in the second half of the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on his way to his seventh win of the season. It was Kenseth's second straight victory two races into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"This guy -- he's done an incredible job this year," Kenseth's crew chief Jason Ratcliff said. "This has been an incredible season for us."

Kyle Busch finished second to Kenseth for the second straight week to give Joe Gibbs Racing its second consecutive one-two finish. Busch took the second spot on a restart that followed a caution with 55 laps remaining in the 300-lap race, and the teammates ran first and second the rest of the way.

"There's a reason we think we're the best, and we're showing it the last two weeks," Busch said.

Greg Biffle finished third, Jimmie Johnson was fourth, and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five.

"We didn't pass anybody in the pits," Biffle said. "We passed them on the race track. We got really good on restarts there at the end."

Martin Truex Jr. dominated the first half of the race, leading 98 laps before losing the top spot to Kenseth on lap 153. Kenseth lost the lead to Jeff Gordon during a caution that came out on lap 164 when Gordon, along with a handful of other drivers, took two tires and Kenseth took four.

Gordon remained up front until a debris caution with 100 laps to go. Johnson and Kenseth got off pit road first and second to restart on the second row behind

Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose, who stayed out, while Gordon was shuffled back to 22nd after sliding through his pit stall.

Kenseth got up to second on the restart and then took the lead from Bowyer a few laps later. Johnson followed him through to second. Kenseth remained up front for the remainder of the race, joined by Busch in the final 50 laps.

"We needed traffic," Busch said, explaining why he was unable to pass Kenseth for the lead in the final laps. "He wasn't good in traffic, but we didn't get traffic."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recovered from a pit road issue early in the race to finish sixth. During the first caution on lap 30, Earnhardt had to make a second stop to tighten lug nuts. Already mired back in the field, he pitted for fresh tires while the front runners stayed out during a lap-51 caution. Earnhardt then stayed out several laps after everyone else cycled through green-flag pit stops around lap 110.

After the rest of the field cycled through stops, Earnhardt inherited the lead, giving up the position to pit on lap 130. He fell back through the field again with the stop but gained position back with a two-tire stop during a lap-153 caution. He remained in the top-10 for the remainder of the race and finished sixth.

Brian Vickers finished seventh, Jeff Burton was eighth, Carl Edwards ninth and Truex finished 10th.

NOTES: Sunday's race at New Hampshire was Kenseth's 500th in the Sprint Cup Series.... Only two other drivers have ever opened the Chase with two straight wins -- Biffle in 2008 and Tony Stewart in 2011.... The win was the first for Kenseth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.... Teammates Kenseth and Busch are also first and second in the points standings.... There were 19 lead changes among 11 different drivers.... The yellow flag waved seven times for 37 laps.