Matt Kenseth leads Toyota to victory in the New Hampshire NASCAR Sprint Cup

Matt Kenseth confirmed his place in the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup after he was handed the victory by Kevin Harvick. After he led the Sylvania 300 for most of the afternoon, Harvick inexplicably ran out of fuel on lap 298 of 300 which gave Kenseth the top spot in the standings and an easy victory in the closing stages of the race. Kenseth’s victory ensured that he will join team-mate Denny Hamlin as an automatic qualifier for the next round.

Cred: Ann M. Wilson - Speedway DigestHarvick led for 216 laps on Sunday and the defending champion will now head to Sunday’s Chase race at Dover knowing that only a victory will guarantee his spot in the next stages of the competition. Harvick has never won at that track before and he must secure the victory to escape the Challenger Round of the Chase in order to keep his title hopes alive.

Kenseth was the man who would profit from Harvick’s misfortune after he opted to pit for fuel and tires on lap 239. It was his fifth victory this season, which ranks at the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup in terms of wins and put him at +600 in the odds in mid-September. This was his second victory at the Magic Mile and a 36th win of his career. Despite the late overtake, Kenseth cruised to victory and finished almost nine seconds ahead of second-placed Hamlin after his team-mate managed to scrape a runner-up finish despite a late problem with the right front wheel.

Kenseth and Hamlin race for Joe Gibbs Racing and the team secured their 13th win of the season in Sunday’s main event. The team have won 10 of the last 13 Sprint Cup events and are beginning to hit top form at the perfect time. Meanwhile, Joey Logano managed to secure a close third place ahead of Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Biffle was the only non-Chase driver in that particular group and this was just his third top-five result of the campaign.

Dale Earnhardt Jr was another driver who fell short on fuel in the closing stages and, although he performed like a top-10 driver on the day, he was left frustrated and finished 25th in the standings. His situation is incredibly precarious ahead of next week’s race in Dover and there is no margin for error. He is currently 12th in the leaderboard – which is the final position that will survive elimination next Sunday but is just a point ahead of Kyle Bush and Paul Menard.

Credit: Getty Images for NASCAROn Sunday, Busch blew one of his tyres midway through the race and was credited with a 37th-placed finish. However, he wasn’t impressed with this despite his unfortunate start to the race. Meanwhile, Harvick ended up finishing 21st but was incredibly frustrated after the race. Harvick produced an excellent performance but was unable to squeeze the final 88 laps out of the car at the 1.058-mile track.

And in the closing stages, Kenseth began to motor up the standings and began to pressure Harvick, who is now 15th in the standings and sits 23 points behind Earnhardt in the cumulative rankings. Hamlin remains second to Kenseth in the standings, however, and it could be an interesting race at Dover on Sunday.