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RELATED: Updated Chase Grid | Complete Loudon results



Below is a breakdown of how the full 43-car field fared at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.



1. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing.  Kenseth pressured leader Kevin Harvick in the closing laps and was there to steal the victory when the No. 4 ran out of fuel on Lap 298. With the win, Kenseth qualifies for the next round in the Chase. | WATCH: Kenseth says, ‘Enjoy it while it’s here’



2. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The Chicagoland winner took the lead on Lap 219 and went on to score his second straight top-two finish of the Chase.



3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. The top-five result gives Logano a career season best in that category. He now has 17 top-fives in 2015 compared to 16 last year.



4. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing.  Biffle moved into first after he opted not to pit during the ninth caution period. He stretched his fuel window to earn his third top-five of the year. | RELATED: Keselowski flagged on restart with Biffle



5. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. The pole sitter rallied back after being penalized during the fifth caution period when his dump can stuck inside the car and left his pit stall. RELATED: Chasers find trouble at Loudon



6. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson made a strong recovery after cutting a tire and dropping from third early in the race. | WATCH: Tire issue sends Johnson to pit road



7. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon officially earned the Iron Man title after rolling off the grid 10th in his 789th straight Cup start. | MORE: Gordon claims Iron Man title



8. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. “Awesome job on pit road today,” Truex radioed his crew after the race. “You kept us in this thing. Thank you.” | WATCH: Stewart, Truex Jr. make contact



9. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports.  Kahne overcame a tight-handling condition that emerged in the closing laps to earn his ninth top-10 at Loudon.



10. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. A suspected vibration on Lap 140 turned out to be a non-issue for Newman, who currently ranks sixth in the Chase.



11. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing.  Stewart brought out the third caution flag after cutting a tire and getting into the wall on Lap 60. He later chose to stay out during the eighth caution flag and improved to fourth for the restart.



12. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski was black-flagged by NASCAR for jumping the Lap 242 restart. He was required to complete a pass-through penalty and return to the track, losing all hope of a win. Keselowski radioed his team, “I’ve got the wrong number on my door.”  | RELATED: Keselowski flagged on restart with Biffle



13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse improved three spots in the closing 10 laps to take his second-best Loudon finish as some competitors ran out of fuel.



14. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing.  McMurray started 23rd and raced as high as fourth on Sunday before stopping for right-side tires on Lap 239.



15. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing.  Menard took two tires and fuel during his Lap 239 stop under caution and held on to match his second-best Loudon result.



16. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. From earning the beneficiary pass during the fourth caution flag to running inside the top 15 with 70 laps to go, Bayne notched his best Loudon result on Sunday.



17. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson struggled after making his best Loudon start and was further stalled when he opted for four tires during a Lap 239 stop under caution.



18. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears picked up 22 spots on pit road during the fifth caution flag when he stopped for fuel only. But back on track, Mears reported high temperatures and was running 22nd when he missed the Patrick-Ragan mashup.



19. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch maintained his position inside the top 15 until the closing 57 laps when he ran out of fuel during the green-flag stretch.



20. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Old tires, thanks to not pitting during the final caution flag, cost Hornish in the long run.



21. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing.  The outside pole sitter led a race-high 216 of 300 laps and was pacing the field with two laps to go when he sputtered out of fuel.



22. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon worked with his crew on getting his car to turn better at the start of the race and tried to employ pit strategy to improve his track position in the final 100-lap stretch.



23. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing. Handling and track position were constant challenges for Allmendinger, who worked with spotter Coleman Pressley to find a faster line around Loudon’s oval.



24. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt briefly climbed to 13th after choosing not to pit during the eighth caution flag.



25. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt ran in the top 10 for most of the day but had to pit in the final laps to refuel.



26. Clint Bowyer, No. 15, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer cracked the top 10 after the seventh caution, but later had to make an unscheduled pit stop when the crew suspected his right-front tire was going down.



27. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Despite getting into the wall on Lap 211, Moffitt still scored his best Loudon result.



28. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland rolled off the grid 34th and scored his best result in the last three Cup races this year.



29. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Lapped shortly after the start of Sunday’s race, Annett was coached to try a line similar to that of the leaders.



30. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto matched his best Loudon start and went on to earn his best finish there.



31. Josh Wise, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. Making his BK Racing debut, Wise came within striking distance of his best Loudon result.



32. Ryan Preece, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. The 2013 Whelen Modified Tour champion made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut on Sunday.



33. Jeb Burton, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. After taking 41st at New Hampshire in July, Burton fared better on Sunday in his second career Loudon outing.



34. BJ McLeod, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. McLeod employed a conservative approach after lining up 39th in his Cup debut.



35. Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. Making his second career Cup start, Earnhardt initially worked through a tight-handling condition.



36. Timmy Hill, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports.  Hill was on pit road in the opening laps on Sunday after he noted his water temperature was 220.



37. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing.  “It’s killed. It’s killed,” Busch radioed his crew after losing his right-front tire and getting into the wall on Lap 159. His crash brought out the fifth caution flag and sent him behind the wall for repair. | MORE: Wreck weakens Busch’s grip on the Chase



38. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill’s car was smoking earlier in the race, and was briefly sidelined early by a power steering leak.



39. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier briefly improved his track position when he opted not to pit during the eighth caution flag, but smacked the wall 26 laps later and headed for the garage.



40. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing.  Patrick was running 12th on Lap 204 when she spun on the track and received subsequent contact from the No. 55. The incident prompted NASCAR officials to wave the red flag. | WATCH: Danica gets drilled after spin



41. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan was running 25th when he made contact with a wrecking Danica Patrick as she spun down track on Lap 204.



42. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing.  Bowman was running 30th when he reported that the throttle stuck and he crashed into the wall to bring out the fourth caution flag.



43. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports.  “That hurt,” Almirola radioed his crew as he got into the wall on Lap 36 and his car came to a rest to bring out the first caution flag.

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: NASCAR official: We believe we did our job today


LOUDON, N.H. — Race restarts have been a hot-button issue in NASCAR this season and ironically, one of the teams most vocal about restart officiating was penalized for an illegal start Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Team Penske driver — and Chase contender — Brad Keselowski was ruled to have jumped the restart on Lap 242 and penalized with a pass-through penalty that dropped him from second place at the time to 25th.

NASCAR officials say that video shows Keselowski’s Ford accelerating through the marked restart area ahead of then race leader Greg Biffle‘s Ford and called the decision to penalize Keselowski “very clear cut in our mind.”

“We did get 100 percent confirmation from our official that was on the ground as well as by all the data that was available to us,” said Richard Buck, NASCAR’s managing director of the Sprint Cup Series.

The 2012 Cup champ Keselowski said he felt like NASCAR was making an example of him saying he was “the first person to ever be penalized for jumping a restart when I don’t pass anyone, so that’s a new one.”

“But we moved on and we made the most of a good day with the Miller Lite Ford and got a solid finish that hopefully will make our Dover (race) a little bit easier, so that was good,” said Keselowski, who rallied to a 12th place finish.

Biffle, for his part after the race, seemed a little puzzled by the call as well.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t notice,” Biffle said. “I saw Brad kind of going a little bit and I waited until about the middle of the zone maybe. I didn’t go right at the two marker, but I maintained my speed and I didn’t speed up or slow down and I took off when I felt like it was time for me to go.

“I wasn’t really paying that close attention to the 2 (Keselowski) or what he was doing. We were pretty even getting down into (Turn) 1. I don’t knew what they called him for, but I’ll have to take a look back I guess.

“I feel bad for Brad. I wasn’t playing any games. I wasn’t doing anything. I just went in between those two marks like we’re supposed to.”

Keselowski recovered well from the penalty and is ranked eighth of the 16 Chase drivers with next week’s elimination round after Dover cutting the field to 12.

Still his team owner Roger Penske wondered what might have been on Sunday as Keselowski ran up front most of the afternoon.

“I didn’t see it, but his car was ahead of the 16 (Biffle) at the second line and I guess that’s how they called it,” Penske said. “He (Keselowski) didn’t pass him, so I thought he was all right. I’ve got to go back and look at it. The race is over; there’s nothing we can do about it.

“I don’t think he tried to jump it all. The way it looked in the box and they’re going to call it when the first car doesn’t cross the second line ahead. We’ll just have to deal with it. Brad did a great job. The car ran well. We were running second at the time, with the 4 (Kevin Harvick) running out of fuel it would have been interesting. We’re still in decent shape going into the next phase.”


WATCH: Keselowski black-flagged after restart


Buck spoke with reporters after the race to further explain NASCAR’s position on the restarts. He said there has been a lot of communication about the standard and the punishment. He said officials even warned teams on the radio during the race when it looked like the start was in position to be compromised.

“We have made the rules very clear to everybody in the last couple drivers meetings and made sure everyone was informed,” Buck said. “In fact today during the race, we reminded them before the race and during each restart of the rules.

“If we saw something creeping toward the end we informed the spotter and crew chief so they knew what we were seeing and that’s what brought us to the decision.

“We’re very clear and the drivers agree. The language is: there is a double red mark on the wall and a single red mark on the wall. The leader is the control car and has the right to restart the race and he must restart the race in that zone. The 16 was the leader at that point. The 2 car restarted before the 16 did.”

While NASCAR felt confident in its decision, it took some criticism from others on social media during the race.

Ricky Craven, a NASCAR analyst for ESPN and a former Cup driver called the ruling “a horrible decision” because Keselowski did not ultimately pass Biffle on the start.


Keselowski actually brought up the subject of restarts two weeks ago in the pre-Chase media availability.

“I have said it before but I still view restarts as rock-paper-scissors and you have to counter the moves of the person next to you,” Keselowski said prior to the Chicagoland Chase opener last week. “As has happened it starts with the leader and the zone not being allowed to dictate it. If the guy in second place is lagging back then the only defense to that is to go early, both of which are illegal by the definition. Neither of which have been consistently called as an infraction. If one guy lags back and beats you when you do everything legal, then you have to defend it. That is your job.

“I felt like as the leader at Darlington, I probably had half a dozen or more attempts at controlling the restart and I kept the lead the majority but not 100 percent of the time. The few times where I lost the lead it was very obvious that the car next to me had lagged back significantly and there was no call made. That forces your hand the next time you have the lead to do something to react to it. In a sense it is kind of vigilante justice. That is just how you have to play it.”

This time, however, Keselowski overcame the penalty and is still in good shape for the postseason.

“I’m really proud of my guys to come back and get a top-12 out of that without getting another yellow or catching any other breaks after the black flag,” Keselowski said. “I’m really proud of my guys.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

RELATED: Chase Bubble Watch | Complete results from Loudon

 

LOUDON, N.H. – Kevin Harvick‘s NASCAR Sprint Cup championship defense took another hard blow Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when the reigning champ’s race-leading No. 4 Chevy ran out of gas with three laps remaining in the Sylvania 300.


An understandably frustrated Harvick exited his car, walked quickly from pit road through the garage area staring straight ahead and refused to speak to anyone. His crew chief Rodney Childers also declined to talk to reporters in the garage following the race.

 

About a half hour after the race, Harvick posted on Twitter: “Fast car. Great day. Bad ending.”

 

It was gut-wrenching outcome for sure for Harvick, who finished 42nd in the opening race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff last week at Chicago after cutting a tire and getting into the wall. He badly needed a win at New Hampshire, or next week at Dover, Del., to advance to the next elimination round.

 

By all accounts, it looked like Harvick was on his way to Chase redemption. He qualified on the front row, and his No. 4 Ditech Chevy led a dominating 216 of the race’s 300 laps.

 

His car was so good that at various points during the afternoon he paced the competition by wide margins. He held a usually unheard of seven-second lead over third place and a 12-second lead over fifth place midway through the race.

 

WATCH: Harvick falters on fuel, Kenseth gets the win

 

Ultimately he was scored 21st after pitting for a quick splash of fuel.

Childers also took to Twitter about an hour after the race, reiterating what a good car Harvick had all day and explaining what happened.

 

 

Harvick is now ranked 15th among the 16 Chase drivers. Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, who have won the first two races of the Chase, plus any third Chase driver who wins at Dover will advance to the Contender Round, along with the other drivers in the top 12. Harvick is now 23 points behind 12th place Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

Harvick has never won at Dover’s “Monster Mile” but has 13 top-10 finishes in 29 previous starts. He was runner-up in the race there in May and started on the pole in the 2014 Chase race there.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LOUDON, N.H. — Furniture Row Racing announced Sunday morning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that it will begin fielding Toyota Camrys beginning with the 2016 season.

The team also said it has picked up the option year on driver Martin Truex Jr.’s contract, ensuring he will be with the team through next season. And Furniture Row executives say they hope to eventually work out a longer-term deal with the driver, who won a race this season and is ranked 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings entering Sunday’s Sylvania 300. It marks a return to Toyota for Truex, who drove the make for Michael Waltrip Racing during the 2010-13 seasons.

As part of the relationship with Toyota, Furniture Row will have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. Furniture Row will get its engines from Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and its chassis from JGR and share in a technical support alliance with the two organizations, although the exact details of that agreement are still being finalized.

“It’s been 10 years that we’ve been racing and trying to make our way in Sprint Cup and part of the progression trying to expand our team is to find a platform that would continue our growth, and Toyota gives us this platform,” said Joe Garone, president and general manager of Furniture Row Racing.

“There is a proven record of performance that fits perfectly, really, with where we want to go.”

And, Garone said, he hopes the new relationship with Toyota will be the bridge to the team expanding to two cars in 2017.

In the meantime, Toyota gains a team for next year as it is losing its original entry with Michael Waltrip Racing announcing it would cease operations at the end of 2015.

David Wilson, President of Toyota Racing Development said the deal with Furniture Row was completely independent of the MWR situation, however.

“We’ve been talking to Joe [Garone] and [team owner] Barney [Visser] for a couple years now,” Wilson said. “We got to know each other very naturally through our mutual participation. Looking at our camp and with the contraction that’s going to happen next year, certainly it was more important, but we would be here today anyway, even if Michael Waltrip Racing was still going to be here.”

The Denver-based single-car Furniture Row team has been competing in the Cup ranks since 2005, and this is the second season it has qualified for the Chase — also including 2013 with driver Kurt Busch. It is currently using Chevrolet engines and partnered in a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing.

Garone was careful to show his appreciation for the tenure, “The support from Chevrolet and RCR has helped our growth pattern,” he said.

While Chevrolet has nine cars in the 16-car Chase field, the top four ranked drivers all steer Camrys.

“For them [Furniture Row] to have the courage to make the change is something,” Wilson acknowledged. “This is now the second time they have made the Chase. It puts a lot of pressure on us to perform. It’s a real leap of faith because you could say, ‘Why make the change?’

“It’s the belief we collectively share in how we can be even better yet.”

Garone agreed with the impetus to switch manufacturers even as the team is currently enjoying success.

“Because we think we can do greater,” Garone said with a smile. “And we think these partners will be able to help.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Watch live at 1 p.m. ET | Sources: Stewart to step away after ’16

 

Stewart-Haas Racing has called a news conference Wednesday with driver and team co-owner Tony Stewart at 1 p.m. ET, the team announced Sunday night. Multiple sources confirmed to NASCAR.com that the driver will announce he is stepping away from NASCAR at the end of the 2016 season.

The event will have video live-streamed — bookmark NASCAR.com/presspass to tune in.

Stewart, a three-time champion and 48-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series, currently ranks 25th in the Sprint Cup driver standings. He placed 11th Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, just missing his third top-10 finish of the season.

Stewart became a team owner through a partnership with Gene Haas starting in 2009; since then, the Stewart-Haas team has grown from a two-car to a four-car operation. Two of the team’s drivers — defending series champion Kevin Harvick and former series champ Kurt Busch — qualified for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.

Posted on by Staff Report

A solid day for Danica Patrick turned sour as Sunday’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway entered the final 100 laps when a heavy crash caused a red flag and ended her race early.
 
The Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Chevrolet of Patrick, who was running on the fringes of the top 10, was turned sideways on Lap 203 after contact from the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman. Newman and Jeff Gordon were in close quarters to her inside, and their tight battle spilled over into Patrick’s racing line.
 
Patrick’s car slid down off the Turn 1 retaining wall directly into the path of David Ragan‘s No. 55 Toyota, which careened off the rear deck of Patrick’s No. 10.
 

“I got really, really hit,” Patrick told her crew, who tried to explain to her that Gordon was at fault as much as Newman.

“It’s such a shame,” said Patrick, who finished 40th. “We were having a good race and the car was definitely pretty decent. We took two tires on that last stop and it was definitely a little bit too loose, but I was kind of waiting for it to come to me and Newman has always been super fair and I know that he was working to get by me. But, it sounds like maybe Jeff got into him, or something. It’s that time of year. It’s the Chase and people are racing hard and they want everything they can get, and maybe Jeff couldn’t see exactly where he was in relationship to the No. 31 (Newman) and me. But I did not get the good end of the stick.”


The contact and extensive spray of debris forced the race under red-flag conditions for 6 minutes and 4 seconds, after 204 of a scheduled 300 laps. The track was littered with impact-absorbing foam after contact pried open the right-side sheet metal on Ragan’s car.

Ragan, who wound up 41st in the 43-car field, said he had little chance to avoid Patrick’s car as it slid down into his path.

“I don’t know what happened to her, but typically when you hit the wall you hold onto the brakes, you lock it down — you try not to come back across the track.” Ragan said. “I saw her coming back down and I was trying. I didn’t want to lock my brakes up because I knew I would hit her, so I was trying to just get it as low as I could and just couldn’t get it as low as I needed to. Unfortunate to get involved in a wreck like that. I really hate it from our Michael Waltrip Racing Aaron’s Toyota team. We had a rocky start to the race with a loose wheel and unscheduled green flag pit stop, but we had kind of gotten back our mojo that last run and got back on the lead lap.

“Just one of those deals. I hate it for everybody that works on these race cars. We needed a good finish today, but I wish that she would have locked her brakes up and would have stayed up on the wall.”

Patrick was able to drive away from the crash, but reported to the infield care center on her own, primarily to check her carbon monoxide levels.

“I feel like for a month now I have been asking about it because sometimes after the race I get a headache,” Patrick said. “I just talked to the doctor in there and they said that could happen very easily from dehydration. It seemed like a little bit more than that to me, but it makes sense. We sweat like crazy in these cars. Just got to take my hydration game up a notch, I guess. I feel fine.”

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See the updated Chase Grid | Stats for Chase drivers

Advancing: Matt Kenseth waited in the wings for leader Kevin Harvick‘s dwindling fuel cell to go dry. When Harvick ran out of fuel, Kenseth stretched out front, leading the final three laps to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup‘s Challenger Round. Kenseth’s victory punches his ticket to the Contender Round.

This marks Kenseth’s second career trip to Victory Lane at Loudon, his last win coming in 2013.

Four in, four out: Here’s the bubble picture following Loudon. The four drivers below the line would not advance to the next round (Contender) if the Challenger Round ended today. (Note: The Challenger Round ends next week at Dover International Speedway.)

9. Martin Truex Jr. (14 points ahead of 12th-place driver)
10. Jeff Gordon (+11)
11. Jamie McMurray (+1)
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (–)
———–
13. Kyle Busch (1 point behind 12th-place driver)
14. Paul Menard (-1)
15. Kevin Harvick (-23)
16. Clint Bowyer (-39)

Reason for hope: Jimmie Johnson rallied from a cut tire to earn a solid sixth-place result at Loudon. Now sitting fifth in the Chase standings, Johnson heads into a track that he’s tamed on more than one occasion: Dover International Speedway. “Six-Time” — who won at Dover earlier this season — leads nearly every category at the Monster Mile, including the most all-time wins with 10 trips to Victory Lane.

Reason for worry: Kyle Busch‘s Chase outlook darkened at Lap 159, when his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota smacked the wall between Turns 3 and 4. “It’s killed,” Busch said, immediately heading to the garage. While Busch was able to make it back out on the track, his 37th-place result sets him back to 13th in the Chase field — putting him in a more desperate situation at Dover.

Up next: AAA 400, 2:30 p.m. ET, Oct. 4 at Dover International Speedway (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM)

Who it favors
Most wins: 10 — Jimmie Johnson
Best driver rating: 122.3 — Jimmie Johnson
Best average finish: 5.9 — Jimmie Johnson

Who it hurts
Fewest top 10s: 3 — Paul Menard (in 16 starts)
Worst driver rating: 68.8 — Paul Menard
Worst average finish: 19.3 — Denny Hamlin, 19.2 — Jamie McMurray

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series are at Dover International Speedway this week, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series practices, qualifying sessions and races can be watched on NBC Sports Live Extra. All events for the Camping World Truck Series can be found on FS1 and FS2. Check out the full schedule below.


All times are ET

SUNDAY, OCT. 4:



PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
— 12:30:00 p.m.: NSCS Driver Crew Chief Meeting (NKNPS-E Garage Tent)
— 2:00:00 p.m.: NSCS Drivers Introductions with NASCAR Special Awards
— 2:30:00 p.m.: Intro Presentation of Colors: Dover Air Force Base Color Guard
— 2:30:10 p.m.: Invocation: Pastor Dan Schafer, Calvary Assembly of God in Heightstown, NJ 
— 2:30:45 p.m.: Intro National Anthem
— 2:31:00 p.m.: National Anthem: Sam Harris, X Ambassadors
— 2:37:30 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Actress & Philanthropist Rosie Perez
— 2:45:00 p.m.: Start of the AAA 400  (400 Laps, 400 Miles)



ON TRACK: DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
— 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 (400 laps, 400 miles), NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (WATCH LIVE)
— 5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race


FRIDAY, OCT. 2:


ON TRACK: DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
— 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN/Live Extra (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER)
— 1:30-3:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN/Live Extra (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER)
 — 3:45 p.m: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/Live Extra (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER) (Lineup)
GARAGECAM (WATCH LIVE)
— 10:30 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER)
— 1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER)

PRESS CONFERENCES (WATCH LIVE)
— 9:45 a.m.: Joey Logano
— 10 a.m.: JRM/One Main Financial announcement
— 10:15 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
— 10:30 a.m.: Kyle Busch
— 12 p.m.: Matt Kenseth
— 12:25 p.m.: Clint Bowyer
— 1:30 p.m.: Jeff Gordon


SATURDAY, OCT. 3:


ON TRACK: DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
— 8:35-9:20 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, CNBC/Live Extra (CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, CNBC/Live Extra (Results) 
— 12:15 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/Live Extra (CANCELED) (Lineup)

–12:30 p.m.: K&N Pro Series East race

— 2-2:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)
— 3:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200 (200 laps, 200 miles), NBCSN/Live Extra (Results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (WATCH LIVE)
— 10:30 a.m.: Comcast announcement
— 5:15 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race


ON TRACK: LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
— Noon-2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS2 (Results)
— 7:05 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2 (Results)
— 10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rhino Linings 350 (146 laps, 219 miles), FS1 (Results)





Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule | NBC Sports Live Extra


All times ET

Monday, Sept. 28
6 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
8 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lap (re-air), NBCSN
Noon, NASCAR 120, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2

Tuesday, Sept. 29
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, Sept. 30
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR America: Scan All 43 Special (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
2 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2

Thursday, Oct. 1
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (tape), NBCSN
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FS2

Friday, Oct. 2 (Note: Friday’s on-track activity at Dover canceled by rain)
6 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
7 a.m., NASCAR America (re-air), NBCSN
11 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (re-air), NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America Scan All 43 Special (re-air), NBCSN

Saturday, Oct. 3
8:35 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, CNBC—CANCELED DUE TO RAIN
11 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, CNBC
11 a.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Road Atlanta, FS2
Noon, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FS2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
2:30 p.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Road Atlanta, FS2
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
3:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2
8:30 p.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Road Atlanta, FS2
10 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rhino Linings 350, FS1

Sunday, Oct. 4
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Day, FS1
1:30 p.m., TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Road Atlanta, FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America Sunday, NBCSN
2 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Countdown to Green, NBCSN
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lap, NBCSN
12:30 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Full results from New Hampshire | Updated standings
MORE: See the new Chase Grid


LOUDON, N.H. — Kevin Harvick clarified his championship status on Sunday — but not the way he had planned.
 
After dominating the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for most of the afternoon, Harvick ran out of fuel while leading on Lap 298 of 300, handing the top spot and the victory to Matt Kenseth, who joined teammate Denny Hamlin as an automatic qualifier for the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
 
Despite leading 216 laps on Sunday, Harvick, the defending series champion, heads to next Sunday’s Chase race at Dover almost certainly needing a victory at a track where he has never won in order to escape the Challenger Round of the Chase and keep his title hopes alive.
 
Kenseth, who came to pit road for fuel and tires on Lap 239, triumphed for the fifth time this season (tops in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series), for the second time at the Magic Mile and for the 36th time in his career. He finished 8.941 seconds ahead of Hamlin, who nursed his car to a runner-up finish despite a late-race issue with the right front wheel.
 
“It feels great to win here — a lot of great race fans here at New Hampshire,” Kenseth said. “We had a great car today — Kevin definitely had the field covered and (Kenseth’s crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) did a great job on pit strategy there, and those new tires paid off better than we thought to get up through the field.
 
“And I was able to keep the pressure on enough and he came up a little short.”
 
The victory was the 13th of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing, which has won 10 of the last 13 Sprint Cup events.
 
Joey Logano ran third, followed by Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr. The only non-Chase driver of that group, Biffle posted his third top-five result of the season.
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a consistent top-10 car all afternoon, until he, too, ran short of fuel with two laps left and finished 25th. Earnhardt goes to Dover with no margin for error. He’s 12th in the standings, the final position that will survive elimination next Sunday, and just one point ahead of both Kyle Busch and Paul Menard.
 
Busch blew a right front tire on Sunday, pounded the Turn 3 wall on Lap 159 and was credited with a 37th-place finish.
 
Harvick, who finished 21st and declined comment after the race, came to pit road for the last time on Lap 212 and couldn’t squeeze the last 88 laps at the 1.058-mile track out of his fuel cell. Restarting third on Lap 243 after the ninth and final caution (for Justin Allgaier‘s wreck in Turn 3), Harvick passed Biffle for the lead on Lap 252.
 
Twenty laps later, Kenseth got past Hamlin for second and tried to pressure Harvick, who left Loudon in 15th place, 23 points behind Earnhardt in 12th.
 
“Jason kept saying he (Harvick) was low on fuel, but you never know unless they really run out,” Kenseth said. “I was trying to run hard, but I was trying to save a little bit. I got racing Denny pretty hard, and I wanted to save the tires a little bit, but I also know I needed to get by him to pressure the 4 (Harvick).
 
“That was as hard as I could run. I was planning on running up there and trying to pass him. I just couldn’t get there. Kind of resigned to finish second with about four or five (laps) to go there. I couldn’t get much closer, and he ran out with a couple to go.”
 
Second to Kenseth in the standings, six points out of the Chase lead, Hamlin also acknowledged JGR’s good fortune on Sunday.
 
“Really, I don’t feel like we were dominant today by any means,” Hamlin said. “Yeah, our cars finished 1-2, but I’m not sure that we had 1-2 cars most of the day.
 
“So I think we’ve been very fortunate with some strategies and things that we’ve played that’s worked out in our favor. You’ve got to just keep working. That’s the only way you can stay on top is to not rest.”