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Lenox Industrial Tools 300 - New Hampshire International Speedway
Hamlin Holds Off Gordon to Win at Loudon
For the better part of this season, Denny Hamlin and his pit crew have struggled to prevent one or the other from making a mistake.
Sunday, at New Hampshire International Speedway, things came together for both and Hamlin held off a hard charging Jeff Gordon to win the LENOX Industrial Tools 300 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race.
Hamlin, who had not led a lap all day and had not won a race this season, took advantage of his pit crew's two-tire stop to win the 300-lap event before a capacity crowd.
His crew put him back on the track first when a caution fell with 256 laps, prompting a final stop for the closely-matched field. He stayed there the rest of the way but it took every ounce of driving skill Hamlin could muster to hold off the determined Gordon.
NASCAR’s former champion, racing without his regular crew chief, drove the final laps like a man possessed and might have overtaken Hamlin had the race not ended when it did.
Trailing Gordon was Martin Truex Jr., the hottest driver on the circuit in recent weeks.
Truex's teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., was fourth and Gordon’s teammate Jimmie Johnson, also without his regular crew chief, finished fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 finishers were Jeff Green, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.
Carl Edwards, one of the race leaders and a potential winner, saw his hopes erased when a faulty jack during a pit stop cost him two laps.
Gordon needed only 25 laps to make his way from eighth to second behind pole winner Dave Blaney. On the 30th lap, the four-time champion pushed his Chevrolet past Blaney's Toyota for the lead.
The elder Busch brother, Kurt, maintained third with Reed Sorensen and Earnhardt Jr. right behind.
After several more laps, Blaney continued to slip back. At 60 laps, Blaney was 13th.
Gordon held a 2.7-second lead over Earnhardt, with Busch third, then Sorensen, Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Edwards and Truex.
Earnhardt took the lead after the pit stops for fuel and was still in front when the second caution of the day came out on lap 96 for debris.
Busch came out of the pits first, Johnson was next and Earnhardt was third.
Earnhardt brought the crowd of more than 100,000 fans to its feet when he charged past Busch for the lead on lap 105.
Another caution slowed the field on lap 126. On the restart, Johnson led a few laps before Kyle Busch and Earnhardt passed him. There was plenty of action behind the frontrunners with veteran Jeff Burton and Earnhardt teammate Truex racing their way into the top six spots.
At the halfway point (150 laps), the top 10 included: Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Edwards, Johnson, Truex, Burton, Gordon, Hamlin, Stewart and Harvick, with Juan Pablo Montoya 11th.
Blaney Gives Toyota First NEXTEL Cup Pole
Dave Blaney won the Bud Pole for the LENOX Industrial Tools 300 with a lap of 29.426 seconds, 129.437
mph. This is his second Bud Pole 250 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.
This is his fourth top-10 start in 2007.
This is Blaney’s first Bud Pole and second top-10 start in 15 races at New Hampshire International
Speedway.
This is the first time since Daytona last July (Boris Said) that a driver that had to qualify on time won the Bud
Pole.
This is the first Bud Pole for Toyota on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit. Toyota had four previous top-10
starts this season – three by Blaney.
Kurt Busch (second) posted his seventh top-10 start in 13 New Hampshire races. It is his best starting
position here and his sixth top-10 start this season.
Reed Sorenson (third) posted his career-best starting position and his second top-10 start in 2007.
Johnny Sauter (fourth) posted his career-best qualifying effort and his first starting position better than 30th in
three New Hampshire races.
Juan Pablo Montoya (fifth) was the fastest qualifying rookie. This is his third top-10 start in 18 career
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.
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