Date: Sept. 22, 2013
Event: Sylvania 300 (Round 28 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Winner: Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Finish:
Ryan Newman (Started 1st, Finished 16th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
Mark Martin (Started 18th, Finished 23rd / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
Danica Patrick (Started 21st, Finished 27th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
SHR Points:
Ryan Newman (9th with 2,064 points, 47 out of first)
Danica Patrick (26th with 514 points)
Tony Stewart / Mark Martin (not applicable)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by finishing 16th in the Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Mark Martin, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 23rd.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 27th. Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished three spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 24th.
Matt Kenseth won the Sylvania 300 to score his 31st career Sprint Cup victory, his series-best seventh of the season and his first at New Hampshire.
Kyle Busch finished .533 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Martin Truex Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were seven caution periods for 37 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 300-lap race.
Newman is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and entered the second race of the 10-race Chase eighth among the 13 Chase drivers, 28 points behind Chase leader Kenseth. Newman leaves New Hampshire ninth in the standings, 47 points behind Kenseth.
With eight races remaining before a champion is crowned after the season finale Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-13 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:
1. Matt Kenseth (2,111 points) +/-0 positions
2. Kyle Busch (2,097 points, -14) +/-0
3. Jimmie Johnson (2,093 points, -18) +/-0
4. Carl Edwards (2,075 points -36) +1
5. Greg Biffle (2,073 points, -38) +6
6. Kevin Harvick (2,072 points, -39) -2
7. Kurt Busch (2,071 points, -40) -1
8. Jeff Gordon (2,069 points, -42) -1
9. Ryan Newman (2,064 points, -47) -1
10. Clint Bowyer (2,063 points, -48) -1
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,049 points, -62) +2
12. Joey Logano (2,042 points, -69) +/-0
13. Kasey Kahne (2,040 points, -71) -3
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the third race of the 10-race Chase – is the AAA 400 Sept. 29 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.
