{"id":30650,"date":"2020-08-02T21:26:51","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T02:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=30650"},"modified":"2020-08-02T21:27:20","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T02:27:20","slug":"brad-keselowski-wins-in-dominating-fashion-at-new-hampshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/02\/brad-keselowski-wins-in-dominating-fashion-at-new-hampshire\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Keselowski wins in dominating fashion at New Hampshire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Western Star\/Alliance Parts Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

With two wins in his pocket heading into Sunday\u2019s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski was already in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but it was this third win of 2020 that came in the sort of dominating style the championship contender hoped would show his team\u2019s readiness to challenge for the season title.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Western Star\/Alliance Parts Ford, races Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Hometown Original Ford, during the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Keselowski, 36, led a race best 184 of the 301 laps around the \u201cMagic Mile\u201d and held off runner-up Denny Hamlin by 1.647-seconds to hoist his 33rd career NASCAR Cup Series trophy and mark the fifth consecutive season he\u2019s had at least three wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of great races this year with the 2-car, but we just hadn\u2019t really gone out and dominated a race, you know,” Keselowski said. \u201cI was talking with [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and we were like maybe that\u2019s what we need to get to the next level. We\u2019re right there. We need to just go and dominate a race and that\u2019s what today was for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of my team and the effort they gave today and great race car. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Keselowski\u2019s No. 2 Team Penske Ford certainly topped all the important statistics, Hamlin  and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota kept him honest for most of the day. The two accounted for 18 of the race\u2019s 23 lead changes, with Keselowski ultimately passing Hamlin and holding the point for the race\u2019s final 81 caution-free laps.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Western Star\/Alliance Parts Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Maddie Meyer\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe just kind of were second there to the two (Keselowski),” the five-race winner Hamlin conceded. \u201cWe could really do well on restarts and we were going back-and-forth. Wow, that was some really, really good short track racing there. Hopefully the fans liked what they saw there with me and the two (Keselowski) for most of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome great side-by-side racing. We treated each other fair and it\u2019s good that we got one-two out of it.”<\/p>\n

Hamlin\u2019s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. finished third, followed by Keselowski\u2019s teammate Joey Logano and the season\u2019s championship leader Kevin Harvick. Matt DiBenedetto, Aric Almirola, rookie Cole Custer, Chase Elliott and rookie Tyler Reddick rounded out the top 10.<\/p>\n

It marked Almirola\u2019s series-best ninth consecutive top-10 finish. And was the second time in the last four races that at least two rookies finished inside the top-10.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Western Star\/Alliance Parts Ford, celebrates with the American flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Maddie Meyer\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harvick\u2019s fifth-place finish was good enough to hold onto an 81-point advantage over second place Keselowski in the series driver standings.<\/p>\n

Jimmie Johnson finished 12th to keep his Playoff hopes alive in the seven-time champion\u2019s final fulltime season in the series. The result represented a huge rally on the day for Johnson, who was involved in an incident with Clint Bowyer early in the race. In earning his seventh top 10, he crept closer to the all-important top 16 in the standings that will represent the Playoff field. <\/p>\n

He trails 16th place William Byron \u2013 his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, by 25 points. Reddick is 15 points behind Byron with only six races remaining to decide the Playoff challengers.<\/p>\n

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch suffered more bad luck in what\u2019s been a frustrating season for his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Busch\u2019s car had a tire go down only 15 laps into the race \u2013 while he was running among the top five – and it put his car hard into the wall.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Western Star\/Alliance Parts Ford, poses for a photo with Loudon the Lobster in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Busch has three runner-up finishes (at California, Atlanta and Darlington, S.C.) this season but hasn\u2019t won a race since his championship-clinching victory in the 2019 season finale at Homestead. He arrived in New Hampshire ranked ninth, but his last-place finish (one of four finishes of 30th or worse) leaves him ranked 10th in the standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWay too early in the going for anything to be wrong or even to build enough brake temp or brake heat,” a clearly disappointed Busch said. \u201cI don\u2019t know. Just hate it for our Pedigree team and the fight that we\u2019ve been having this year seems to be continuing.”<\/p>\n

The series moves to the two-mile Michigan Speedway for a Saturday-Sunday double-header next weekend.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Brad Keselowski – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NCS_NHMS_BKeselowski_080220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jeremy Bullins – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NCS_NHMS_JBullins_080220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NCS_NHMS_DHamlin_080220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr. – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NCS_NHMS_Truex_080220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – 28th Annual Foxwoods Resort Casino 301<\/b><\/p>\n

New Hampshire Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Loudon, New Hampshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, August 2, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n

               1. (4)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               2. (2)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 301.<\/p>\n

               3. (11)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 301.<\/p>\n

               4. (9)  Joey Logano, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               5. (7)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               6. (19)  Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               7. (1)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               8. (14)  Cole Custer #, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               9. (3)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               10. (13)  Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               11. (16)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               12. (20)  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               13. (23)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               14. (31)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               15. (8)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               16. (30)  Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               17. (10)  Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 301.<\/p>\n

               18. (6)  Clint Bowyer, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               19. (18)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               20. (12)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 301.<\/p>\n

               21. (22)  Ryan Newman, Ford, 300.<\/p>\n

               22. (25)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

               23. (15)  Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

               24. (17)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 300.<\/p>\n

               25. (24)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 300.<\/p>\n

               26. (37)  Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 299.<\/p>\n

               27. (34)  Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 299.<\/p>\n

               28. (35)  Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 299.<\/p>\n

               29. (29)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 299.<\/p>\n

               30. (26)  James Davison, Chevrolet, 298.<\/p>\n

               31. (27)  Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, 295.<\/p>\n

               32. (32)  Quin Houff #, Chevrolet, 294.<\/p>\n

               33. (38)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 294.<\/p>\n

               34. (28)  Joey Gase(i), Ford, 293.<\/p>\n

               35. (33)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, 262.<\/p>\n

               36. (36)  John Hunter Nemechek #, Ford, Accident, 212.<\/p>\n

               37. (21)  Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, Accident, 203.<\/p>\n

               38. (5)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 15.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  100.372 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 10 Mins, 22 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.647 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  11 for 52 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  22 among 7 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   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.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Brad Keselowski 8 times for 184 laps; Denny Hamlin 10 times for 92 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 9 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 6 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 5 laps; Austin Dillon 1 time for 3 laps; Aric Almirola 1 time for 2 laps.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,19,4,95,2,12,14,22,37,10<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,11,22,10,24,14,3,19,9,21<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service With two wins in his pocket heading into Sunday\u2019s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski was already in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but it was this third win of 2020 that came in the sort of dominating style the championship contender hoped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":30658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[79,16,466],"class_list":["post-30650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-brad-keselowski","tag-nascar","tag-new-hampshire-motor-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NCS_NHMS_Celebrate_080220-scaled-e1596421378591.jpg?fit=640%2C426","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-7Ym","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30650"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30663,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30650\/revisions\/30663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}