Date: Sept. 21, 2014
Event: Sylvania 300 (Round 28 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske in a green-white-checkered finish (Ford)
SHR Finish:
Kevin Harvick (Started 3rd, Finished 3rd / Running, completed 303 of 303 laps)
Danica Patrick (Started 18th, Finished 19th / Running, completed 303 of 303 laps)
Tony Stewart (Started 28th, Finished 30th / Running, completed 301 of 303 laps)
Kurt Busch (Started 15th, Finished 36th / Running, completed 268 of 303 laps)
SHR Points:
Kevin Harvick (3rd with 2,090 points, 7 out of first)
Kurt Busch (15th with 2,047 points, 50 out of first)
Tony Stewart (26th with 609 points)
Danica Patrick (28th with 578 points)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Designate a Driver Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by finishing third in the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was Harvick’s 10th top-five of 2014 and his sixth top-five in 28 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1.058-mile oval.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 19th to earn her fourth straight top-20 result.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 30th after spinning while racing in traffic on lap 299.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for SHR, finished 36th after a cut tire sent him into the wall and then to the garage for repairs. The team was able to repair the damage, and Busch finished the race several laps down.
Joey Logano won the Sylvania 300 to score his seventh career Sprint Cup victory, his fourth of the season and his second at New Hampshire.
Rookie Kyle Larson finished 1.15 seconds behind Logano in the runner-up spot, while Harvick, Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five. Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were 15 caution periods for 63 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 303-lap race, which was extended three laps by a green-white-checkered finish.
Harvick and Busch are representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and they entered the second race of the 10-race Chase ranked fourth and ninth, respectively, among the 16 Chase drivers. Harvick leaves New Hampshire in third, seven points behind Chase leader Keselowski. Busch leaves New Hampshire in 15th, 50 points out of first.
With eight races remaining before a champion is crowned after the season finale Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-16 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:
1. Brad Keselowski (2,097 points) +/-0 positions
2. Joey Logano (2,096 points, -1) +1
3. Kevin Harvick (2,090 points, -7) +1
4. Jimmie Johnson (2,080 points, -17) +4
5. Kyle Busch (2,077 points, -20) +2
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,077 points, -20) -1
7. Jeff Gordon (2,070 points, -27) -5
8. Matt Kenseth (2,057 points, -40) +2
9. Carl Edwards (2,057 points, -40) +3
10. AJ Allmendinger (2,056 points, -41) +4
11. Kasey Kahne (2,055 points, -42) +/-0
12. Ryan Newman (2,055 points, -42) +1
13. Denny Hamlin (2,049 points, -48) -7
14. Greg Biffle (2,049 points, -48) +1
15. Kurt Busch (2,047 points, -50) –6
16. Aric Almirola (2,045 points, -52) +/-0
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the third race of the 10-race Chase – is the AAA 400 on Sept. 28 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a prerace show at 1 p.m.
