Keselowski Takes New Hampshire Checkered Flag for his Third Cup Win of 2020

Charles Krupa/AP Photo

LOUDON, NH – RIS – Brad Keselowski won for the third time since NASCAR shut the series down in a Cup Race at New Hampshire’s one-mile track.  The 2012 Cup champion took the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, beating Hamlin by 1.647 seconds after trading the lead with him for most of the 301-lap race.

Keselowski and Denny Hamlin swapped stage wins, with Hamlin taking the initial one and Keselowski taking the second in a two-lap shootout.  The two drivers were often first or second all day in the 301- mile race.

“It’s so great to be racing back in front of fans again. It feels like forever, so welcome back, guys,” said Keselowski, who is in a contract year at Team Penske. “We’re just so glad to have them all back. It feels so weird to be racing without fans, but we’re glad you’re here. I hope you stay safe and thank you for being here.”

Hamlin has five victories this year, including last week in Kansas.

“It was fun racing those guys. They were very deserving today and I'm happy for them,” Hamlin said. “The two best cars finished 1-2 today and they got the better end of it. I was having a good time there.”

Martin Truex Jr. was third after working his way back from the rear of the field because of a penalty for a runaway tire in the pits. Joey Logano was fourth and Harvick fifth.

“When those things happen, you just have to buckle down and get what you can get,” Truex said. “Fortunately, we were able to come back from it.”

Kyle Busch was last after a flat front right tire on the backstretch sent him skidding into the wall after just 15 laps. The reigning Cup champion is a 12-time winner in New Hampshire, including three in the Cup series.

“About halfway down the backstretch I felt it go flat and tried to get slowed down enough without taking everybody else running over me behind me down the straightaway," he said. "Seems to be our luck with the Pedigree car here at New Hampshire. ... It’s still 2020, but sooner or later we have to turn this stuff around.”

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said last week that he expected about 12,000 fans to attend. A track spokeswoman said attendance would not be announced, but it appeared to be about 10% full.

The governor gave a brief welcome before the race and thanked fans for cooperating with the restrictions. Fans were required to wear masks when making their way around the track but could remove them in their seats.

Early on, Keselowski appeared to get the worst of a preseason staffing shuffle when he got the least accomplished of the three Penske crew chiefs. But Jeremy Bullins has focused on helping Keselowski win races and earn a contract extension.

“Talking to Jeremy Bullins, it was, ‘What do we need to do to get to the next level?' Go dominate a race, and that’s what we did today," Keselowski said. “Jeremy and this team has been a good kick in the butt."

Jimmie Johnson recovered from an early spin to finish 12th. The seven-time NASCAR champion finished the day 18th in the playoff race -- below the cut line -- and has only six races left to make up ground.

Johnson, who has said this will be his last year as a full-time Cup driver, was presented with a replica Revolutionary War musket as a parting gift, and “Thanks Jimmie 48” was painted on the inner wall. A trail on the property was named the Jimmie Johnson 5K trail for the fitness nut, who ran in the Boston Marathon last year.

Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie were sent to the back of the grid because of improperly mounted ballast that was discovered during pre-race inspection. Both crews were also docked 10 points in the driver and owner standings.

Jerry Baxter, the crew chief for Wallace’s No. 43 car, and Ryan Sparks, the crew chief doe LaJoie’s No. 32, were suspended for the race.

Wallace finished 23rd. He is also a free agent, and Richard Petty Motorsports co-owner Andrew Murstein said earlier Sunday that the team had offered Wallace an ownership stake as part of a proposed extension.

Unofficial Results, Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 4, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford, 301, 5, 1, 8, 184, 6, 56, Running
2) 2, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 301, 1, 2, 10, 92, 1, 54, Running
3) 11, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Sport Clips Toyota, 301, 2, 8, , , , 46, Running
4) 9, Joey Logano, No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford, 301, 8, 3, , , , 44, Running
5) 7, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 301, 3, , 1, 6, , 40, Running
6) 19, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 301, , 10, , , , 32, Running
7) 1, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford, 301, 10, 4, 1, 2, , 38, Running
8) 14, Cole Custer #, No. 41 HassTooling.com Ford, 301, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 3, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 301, , 9, 1, 9, , 30, Running
10) 13, Tyler Reddick #, No. 8 Feeding America Chevrolet, 301, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 16, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 301, , 5, , , , 32, Running
12) 20, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 301, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 23, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Freightliner Chevrolet, 301, , 7, 1, 3, , 28, Running
14) 31, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 301, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 8, Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam's Polishes Chevrolet, 301, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 30, Ryan Preece, No. 37 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet, 301, 9, , , , , 23, Running
17) 10, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 301, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 6, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Haas Automation Ford, 301, 7, 6, , , , 28, Running
19) 18, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Chicago Pnuematic Ford, 301, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Sylvania Ford, 301, 6, , 1, 5, , 22, Running
21) 22, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Guaranteed Rate Ford, 300, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 25, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 300, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 15, Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Cash App Chevrolet, 300, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 17, Erik Jones, No. 20 Toyota Camry Toyota, 300, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 24, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 300, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 37, * Daniel Suarez, No. 96 Genuine Parts & Service Toyota, 299, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 34, Brennan Poole #, No. 15 Remember Everyone Deployed Today Chevrolet, 299, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 35, Christopher Bell #, No. 95 Rheem/Watts Toyota, 299, 4, , , , , 16, Running
29) 29, JJ Yeley(i), No. 27 Ford, 299, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 26, James Davison, No. 53 Signing Day Sports Chevrolet, 298, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 27, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, 295, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 32, Quin Houff #, No. 00 Permatex Chevrolet, 294, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 38, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 CrashClaimsR.US Toyota, 294, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 28, Joey Gase(i), No. 51 Page Construction Ford, 293, , , , , , 0, Running
35) 33, Corey LaJoie, No. 32 Trump 2020 Ford, 262, , , , , , 2, Running
36) 36, John Hunter Nemechek #, No. 38 Citgard Ford, 212, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 21, Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Clover Chevrolet, 203, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 5, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Pedigree Toyota, 15, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 301 laps, 318.458 miles
1.058 mile paved
Time of Race: 3 hr, 10 min, 22 sec
Average Speed: 100.372 mph
Margin of Victory: 1.647 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 11, 19, 4, 95, 2, 12, 14, 22, 37, 10
Stage 2 Top 10: 2, 11, 22, 10, 24, 14, 3, 19, 9, 21

Comments: Brad Keselowski won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his 33rd victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 32, 43 (Inspection Penalty) and No. 3 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Caution Flags: 11 for 52 laps;
Laps: 17-21 (No. 18 Incident Turn 3 [51]);
32-34 (Competition Caution [20]);
64-67 (No. 14, 48 Incident Turn 2 [77]);
77-82 (Stage 1 Conclusion [51]);
94-100 (Weather - Rain [53]);
172-176 (No. 95 Spin Turn 2 [47]);
180-183 (No. 42, 1 Incident Turn 2 [43]);
187-191 (Stage 2 Conclusion [95]);
197-200 (No. 42 Incident Turn 3 [27]);
205-208 (No. 42 Incident Turn 3 [53]);
214-218 (No. 38 Incident Turn 3 [77]).

Lead Changes: 22 among 7 drivers;
A. Almirola 1-2;
B. Keselowski 3-57;
D. Hamlin 58;
B. Keselowski 59-60;
D. Hamlin 61-64;
R. Blaney 65-69;
D. Hamlin 70-97;
K. Harvick 98-103;
D. Hamlin 104-141;
B. Keselowski 142;
D. Hamlin 143-145;
B. Keselowski 146-172;
D. Hamlin 173;
A. Dillon 174-176;
B. Keselowski 177-183;
D. Hamlin 184;
B. Keselowski 185-191;
D. Hamlin 192-200;
B. Keselowski 201-204;
D. Hamlin 205;
C. Elliott 206-214;
D. Hamlin 215-220;
B. Keselowski 221-301.

American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Brad Keselowski, No. 2

Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Cole Custer, No. 41