Post by jkelly57 on Jul 16, 2006 20:44:07 GMT -6
Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR News Wire
LOUDON, N.H. -- It's difficult to calculate fuel mileage when a race goes eight laps beyond its posted distance.
But Kyle Busch had enough gas to make it to the finish line Sunday in a green-white-checkered finish. In winning the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 -- or more aptly, the Lenox 308 -- at New Hampshire International Speedway, Busch jumped four positions to fourth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings.
Driving a car nicknamed "The Punisher," Busch, 21, collected his first NASCAR Nextel victory of the season and the third of his career. Points leader Jimmie Johnson's ninth-place finish gave him a 68-point lead over second-place Matt Kenseth, who was 14th Sunday.
Carl Edwards finished second and Greg Biffle third. Mark Martin was fourth and Kevin Harvick came home fifth, edging rookie Denny Hamlin, who ran out of gas (while running third) 100 yards short of the finish line.
"It's great that we moved from eighth to fourth," Busch said. "But what you have to look at is the difference between fourth and 10th (113 points). Who's to say that we might not make a mistake and lose some positions in the next race."
A crash involving Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and Travis Kvapil brought out the 11th caution of the race on lap 299, forcing the overtime. The field was set for a restart three laps later, but Michael Waltrip and Kvapil collided on the backstretch while weaving to keep gas flowing to their fuel pickups, and it took three more caution laps to clean up the mess.
That ensured that Hamlin and Elliott Sadler, who came to the line for the Lap 306 restart in fourth place, wouldn't have enough fuel to complete the race under power. Sadler drifted back to a 25th-place finish.
Busch took control during the final third of the race. On Lap 240, he passed Sadler for the top spot and held the lead for the final 69 laps.
"The biggest thing for us was to work on the racecar throughout practice and throughout the race," Busch said. "We worked to try to make it turn better through the middle of the corner. During the race, we just started out biding our time."
Edwards was strong at the end of the race but couldn't catch the No. 5 Chevrolet. It had taken the No. 60 Ford too long to pass Hamlin's No. 11 Chevy for second place.
"It was fun," said Edwards, who won Saturday's Busch Series race at NHIS. "If I could have gotten around Denny, we might have gotten to Kyle."
The entire landscape of the race changed dramatically on Lap 91 when polesitter Ryan Newman, running on fresh tires from a Lap 81 pit stop, tried to regain a lap from race leader Tony Stewart, who had made a two-tire stop on Lap 21.
Newman's No. 12 and Stewart's No. 20 entered Turn 3 side by side, with Newman to the inside. Newman's tires lost grip, and the Alltel Dodge slid up into Stewart's Chevy, spinning Stewart nose-first into the outside wall.
Stewart, who lost 23 laps while his front end and radiator were repaired, had a simple explanation for the wreck.
"The 12 took us out," said Stewart, who finished 37th. "He doesn't give anybody else a break, so I wasn't about to give him a break. It's amazing how he expects you to let him by, when he doesn't show anybody else that same courtesy."
Stewart wasn't the only Chase contender to take a hit in the points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired to the pits on Lap 135 with engine problems and finished last.
"I didn't get any warning -- the motor just snapped," Earnhardt said. "It was just some kind of freak deal."
This story was produced by the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service, a free content provider for newspapers. For information on how to subscribe, please email nascarwire@sportingnews.com.
Sporting News NASCAR News Wire
LOUDON, N.H. -- It's difficult to calculate fuel mileage when a race goes eight laps beyond its posted distance.
But Kyle Busch had enough gas to make it to the finish line Sunday in a green-white-checkered finish. In winning the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 -- or more aptly, the Lenox 308 -- at New Hampshire International Speedway, Busch jumped four positions to fourth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings.
Driving a car nicknamed "The Punisher," Busch, 21, collected his first NASCAR Nextel victory of the season and the third of his career. Points leader Jimmie Johnson's ninth-place finish gave him a 68-point lead over second-place Matt Kenseth, who was 14th Sunday.
Carl Edwards finished second and Greg Biffle third. Mark Martin was fourth and Kevin Harvick came home fifth, edging rookie Denny Hamlin, who ran out of gas (while running third) 100 yards short of the finish line.
"It's great that we moved from eighth to fourth," Busch said. "But what you have to look at is the difference between fourth and 10th (113 points). Who's to say that we might not make a mistake and lose some positions in the next race."
A crash involving Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and Travis Kvapil brought out the 11th caution of the race on lap 299, forcing the overtime. The field was set for a restart three laps later, but Michael Waltrip and Kvapil collided on the backstretch while weaving to keep gas flowing to their fuel pickups, and it took three more caution laps to clean up the mess.
That ensured that Hamlin and Elliott Sadler, who came to the line for the Lap 306 restart in fourth place, wouldn't have enough fuel to complete the race under power. Sadler drifted back to a 25th-place finish.
Busch took control during the final third of the race. On Lap 240, he passed Sadler for the top spot and held the lead for the final 69 laps.
"The biggest thing for us was to work on the racecar throughout practice and throughout the race," Busch said. "We worked to try to make it turn better through the middle of the corner. During the race, we just started out biding our time."
Edwards was strong at the end of the race but couldn't catch the No. 5 Chevrolet. It had taken the No. 60 Ford too long to pass Hamlin's No. 11 Chevy for second place.
"It was fun," said Edwards, who won Saturday's Busch Series race at NHIS. "If I could have gotten around Denny, we might have gotten to Kyle."
The entire landscape of the race changed dramatically on Lap 91 when polesitter Ryan Newman, running on fresh tires from a Lap 81 pit stop, tried to regain a lap from race leader Tony Stewart, who had made a two-tire stop on Lap 21.
Newman's No. 12 and Stewart's No. 20 entered Turn 3 side by side, with Newman to the inside. Newman's tires lost grip, and the Alltel Dodge slid up into Stewart's Chevy, spinning Stewart nose-first into the outside wall.
Stewart, who lost 23 laps while his front end and radiator were repaired, had a simple explanation for the wreck.
"The 12 took us out," said Stewart, who finished 37th. "He doesn't give anybody else a break, so I wasn't about to give him a break. It's amazing how he expects you to let him by, when he doesn't show anybody else that same courtesy."
Stewart wasn't the only Chase contender to take a hit in the points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired to the pits on Lap 135 with engine problems and finished last.
"I didn't get any warning -- the motor just snapped," Earnhardt said. "It was just some kind of freak deal."
This story was produced by the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service, a free content provider for newspapers. For information on how to subscribe, please email nascarwire@sportingnews.com.