Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race: Foxwoods Resort Casino 301
Date: August 2,2020
No. 2 Wester Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 4th
Stage 1: 5th
Stage 2: 1st - Sixth stage win of the 2020 season
Finish: 1st – Third win of the 2020 season
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 301/301
Laps Led: 184
Point Standings (behind first): 2nd (-81)
Notes:
- Brad Keselowski scored his third win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season in dominating fashion Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Keselowski led the most laps,won Stage 2,and crossed the finish line -nearly two seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin to score the victory. The driver of the Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang grabbed his second victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He is second in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings,81 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.
- Keselowski started fourth and was a part of some fiercely close racing throughout Stage 1. He was running second when he pitted during a caution on lap 63,just 12 laps from the end of the segment. After restarting 12th,Keselowski rallied over the final eight green flag laps to score a fifth-place stage finish.
- The driver of the No. 2 Mustang ran inside the top-five throughout Stage 2. He and Denny Hamlin raced hard for the lead throughout the segment. He cleared Hamlin for the lead on lap 146 and began to pull away,building up a three-second lead as the stage drew to a close. A caution on lap 179 set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Keselowski and Hamlin raced hard for the stage win,with Keselowski edging his rival by a car length for the stage win,his sixth of the 2020 season.
- Once again crew chief Jeremy Bullins made call to stay on the track during the stage caution. Keselowski was leading when he pitted during a caution on lap 205 for four tires and fuel. A mix of strategies shuffled him back to 10th for the restart on lap 208 but quickly worked his way through the field.
- He passed Hamlin for the lead on lap 221 and led the final 81 laps,steadily pulling away from the field. The race stayed green and Keselowski remained out front,collecting his 33rd-career Cup Series victory.
Quotes: "I'm really proud of my Western Star/Alliance Parts Ford Mustang team and the effort that they gave today. Thank you to everyone at Team Penske. It's so great to be racing back in front of fans again. I'm just really thankful. I'm in a great spot here and hungry for more wins. I think this is my fifth straight year with three wins,but I don't want to stop there. I want us to keep going and I know this team can do it."
No. 12 Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney
Start: 12th
Stage 1: 6th
Stage 2: 20th
Finish: 20th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 301/301
Laps Led: 5
Point Standings (Behind First): 4th (-118)
Notes:
- Ryan Blaney started 12th and finished 20th in Sunday's Foxwoods 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang battled all day for the track position he desperately needed late in the event.
- Blaney started 12th and ran there until the first caution on lap 15. Crew chief Todd Gordon opted to pit for four tires and a significant track bar adjustment. Blaney would work his way to eighth prior to the competition caution on lap 30.
- He would remain on-track,restart fourth and run as high as second behind teammate Brad Keselowski. A late-stage caution would set up an eight-lap run to the Stage 1 conclusion,and despite restarting first,Blaney would finish in the sixth position.
- After driving up 14th in Stage 2,another caution would see Blaney remain on-track during pit stops. Restarting second,he would steadily fall back through the field and was forced to make a pit stop on lap 170 under green for tires and fuel. A timely caution would allow Blaney to get the wave-around,finishing Stage 2 in the 20th-position.
- During the final stage break,Blaney remained on-track and restarted from the 17th-position. After a quick cycle back up to the top-five with pit stops,Blaney would make it his final stop of the day on lap 214. Restarting 22nd,the High Point,NC native would get to as high as 16th before the ill-handle Ford Mustang would fall to 20th at race's end.
- Blaney now sits fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings,118 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.
Quote: "It was a tough day for our Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang. We struggled with the balance and our strategy did not work out. We will put it behind us and focus on the Michigan double-header next week."
No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang – Joey Logano
Start: 9th
Stage 1: 8th
Stage 2: 3rd
Finish: 4th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 301/301
Laps Led: 0
Point Standings (Behind First): 6th (-150)
Notes:
- Joey Logano started ninth and finished fourth in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang. Logano and the No. 22 Ford team ran a solid race all afternoon despite a setback on the first pit stop of the race,consistently running lap times as fast as the race leaders.
- Logano moved forward early in the race,reaching the second position before the lap 30 competition caution. A slow pit stop when the air hose got hung up on an electrical box resulted in a major track position loss for the team with Logano restarting in the 23rd position. Just prior to the stage break,the team would again pit under caution,ultimately finishing the stage in the eighth position.
- As the second stage began,Logano reported he was struggling with corner entry security,so at lap 97 the team elected to make further air pressure adjustments on the AAA Insurance Mustang. Logano worked into the second position behind race leader Denny Hamlin with persistent pressure from teammate Brad Keselowski running in third. Logano ultimately finished in the third position.
- Logano would begin the final stage feeling confident in the handling of the AAA Insurance Mustang,hoping the team had corrected braking issues by pulling tape on the cooling ducts. Logano reported only one time during the final stage that the brakes were getting soft,while he continued to run inside the top-five.
- The final stage featured a long green flag run with Logano settling into the fourth position. The fourth-place finish was Logano's second top-five in the last three races. The series moves next to Michigan International Speedway where Logano has three NASCAR Cup Series victories and is the defending race winner of the FireKeepers Casino 400.
Quote: "This has been a challenging racetrack and to be able to kind of work through it and have a solid run,I feel good about that. We pitted when we probably shouldn't have. We made a fuel-only stop to get our track position back and then the run went long,so the fuel-only made us loose. I was really hoping for a caution there at the end,but,overall,it was a solid day for our AAA Insurance Ford Mustang."