Several drivers tried hard to pass him, but Tony Stewart was unstoppable as he cruised to his third win of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season in a 300-mile race at New Hampshire International Speedway. Stewart has been on an impressive run to start the summer stretch with all three of his wins coming in the last four races. Today’s race, however, started less than hot for the field at NHIS. Rain poured down at the track just before the scheduled start of the event and the wet track resulted in a green and yellow flag start to the event as NASCAR looked to use the heat from 43 cars to dry the speedway. Finally, after six laps under the green/caution, the real start of the race came and the action was intense. Battles for position occurred throughout the field and within the first 27 laps, three cautions had already waved thanks to close racing and sheet metal banging. Plus, strategy was already beginning to play a huge part in the race as certain drivers were staying on track, taking fuel only, or taking two tires. The race entered a calmness after the fourth caution and the run following the fourth caution allowed Stewart to take the lead on lap 51. From there, it was all about the 2002 NNCS champion. The driver and team were unbeatable on every restart, on every run, and during every pit stop, which kept him in the lead for the middle runs of the race. However, the final runs weren’t easy for the Indiana driver. The Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, battled hard to take the lead after the restarts and Kurt even took the lead for a few laps thanks to the final restart of the race. Yet, Stewart’s car came back strong and he passed Busch for the lead on lap 246. When the checkered flag waved, he had led the final 55 laps of the event and led 232 in an utterly dominant performance. While the lead was held mostly by Stewart, today’s race was filled with thrills, crashes, and incredible racing. Every position was contested for all 300-miles and tempers flared at the start of the event in addition to the conclusion of the race. New Hampshire always provides amazing racing on its flat configuration and today’s New England 300 was memorable as the NNCS heads towards the Chase for the championship as these 5 stages of analysis show.
Stage 1:
Driver of the Day: Stewart Leads 232 Laps in Dominating Performance at the Magic Mile
Since Michigan last month, Tony Stewart has been the most impressive driver in the NNCS. At Michigan, he came home second after leading nearly 100 laps and he picked up some much-needed momentum. He won the next two races at Sonoma and Daytona in dominating fashion. Last weekend, he finished fifth at Chicagoland, which continued his recent string of Top 5 finishes. Today, though, Stewart wouldn’t be able to rely on his success in the past few races and he would have to perform at New Hampshire. From the start, he was determined to prove he could win for the second time in his career at New England. He rolled off 13th and strategically moved his way to the front of the pack thanks to restarts and strategy calls. After taking four tires under the third caution lap 27, he began to charge past drivers who stayed on track and on lap 51, he took the lead from Ryan Newman effortlessly. Shortly after he took the lead, the fifth caution of the race waved on lap 58 and Stewart came down pit road with the rest of the field, except for Scott Wimmer. When the race restarted, Wimmer managed to hold the lead for a couple of laps before Stewart’s fresher tires propelled him to the lead on lap 69. From there, Stewart and his Joe Gibbs Racing team were unstoppable. On every restart, he ran away from the pack and extended his lead throughout the entire run. When pit stops came, his team performed their service flawlessly and he returned to the track as the leader every time. As 100 laps to go came, though, a few drivers seemed to be gaining on the 2002 NNCS champion. On the restart following the eighth caution, Kyle Busch made several bold moves to take the lead, but he was unable to grab the top spot. When the ninth caution waved, Busch was poised to battle for the lead again and on the subsequent restart, he was able to get alongside Stewart, but the tenth caution quickly waved on lap 234. However, another restart meant Stewart would have to fight to maintain the lead. When the race did restart, Kyle Busch was overtaken by his brother, Kurt, and the elder Busch brother was able to drive past Stewart on the outside in turn 4 to take the lead. It looked like Stewart’s dominant day wouldn’t end in victory lane. Yet, the tenacious driver didn’t let up and by lap 246, he was back in the lead and running away from the field. Stewart ended up holding the lead for the last 55 laps without a caution or a challenge as he grabbed his third win in four weeks after leading 232 laps. Tony Stewart might have started the year struggling, but he has rebounded in the summer and shown the entire pack that he is a perennial championship contender.
Stage 2:
Comeback of the Race: Kurt Busch Battles Back from Early Spin and Terrible Pit Stops to Finish Second
After 300 miles of hard fought racing today, Kurt Busch undeniably proved why he is not only deserving of his NNCS championship from last year, but is destined to win even more titles. Busch fought back from endless adversity to claim a second-place finish, which was almost a win as he gave Stewart a run for the victory late in the race. Busch started the race in fifth and in the early runs of the event, he was consistently in the Top 5. While he wasn’t battling for the lead, he was showing plenty of speed for later in the race. However, Busch’s race took a turn for the worst following the third caution on lap 27. Busch came down pit road for four tires with several other drivers while nine teams decided to stay on track. The move put him deeper in the pack than he had been, which set-up the potential for chaos. On the restart, he began to move past drivers around him when trouble struck on lap 35. While running eleventh, Busch received a bump from Bobby Labonte in turn 4 and spun up the track. He did an excellent job of keeping his car off the wall and he came to a stop with the field driving past. Busch was lucky to avoid damage, but he lost all his track position and would restart deep in the field. When the race started again, he moved up several spots with his fast Ford Fusion before the fifth caution waved on lap 58 and brought pit stops for the field. Again, Busch managed to find more adversity. When he pitted, he drove through his box and his team had to push him into the stall before performing service. Then, his Jackman fell and didn’t jack up the car enough, which prevented the front tire changer from performing the tire change. When the car was finally jacked up fully, the team had lost a ton of time and still needed to change tires on the other side. The left side went cleanly and Busch returned to the track, but he fell all the way back to 34th with a ton of track position to make up. On the restart, Busch was on a mission and he methodically passed cars in the next run. When the sixth caution waved on lap 116, Busch had moved all the way up to eleventh with an incredibly fast racecar. Yet, his bad luck wasn’t finished for the day. When he came down pit road during the caution, his team had another slow stop and when he left his box, he slammed into Joe Nemechek. Busch didn’t have enough damage to return to the pits, but he had lost even more spots on track. Again, he was prepared to move to the front and during the subsequent restarts, he passed many more cars in his pursuit for the lead. After pit stops during the eighth caution on lap 216, Busch was sitting in third with a race winning car. He wasn’t able to make any moves on the next two restarts, but when the race went back green after the tenth caution on lap 234, he shot past his brother on the outside and passed the leader, Stewart, in turn 4. For six laps, Busch looked to be in control of the race, but he couldn’t hold off a hard charging Stewart and he lost the lead. However, he didn’t drop back and when he crossed the finish line, he brought his Roush Racing Ford home in second place. Finishing second with a fast racecar is always disappointing, but Busch and his team fought back from countless problems to take an impressive finish as they look to win consecutive championships.
Stage 3:
Rivalry Ignited: Kenseth Bumps McMurray, Resulting in Frustration from the Missouri Driver
Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray are two of the most unassuming drivers in the NNCS garage. Kenseth, who won the 2000 NNCS champion, has been a quiet competitor who makes sure his talking is done on the track. McMurray is only in his third season in the Cup Series, but he has shown speed and been quietly consistent for Chip Ganassi’s team. However, every driver can lose their temper or get a little frustrated on track. Thanks to the tight racing and single groove at New Hampshire, Kenseth raced aggressively and McMurray showed some rare frustration. The action between the two drivers began early in the event. Kenseth rolled off 16th while McMurray started in 17th, which put the two drivers in close proximity to begin the event. As the laps clicked by, the two competitors stayed close to each other and on lap 27, they were still together and battling for sixteenth position. Entering turn 3, Kenseth bumped McMurray while trying to set up a pass for the spot. The contact sent McMurray spinning up the track and he slammed into the outside wall with his rear end and driver’s side door. He slid to a stop on track with heavy damage, but he wanted to restart his car immediately. Once his engine fired to life, McMurray waited at the top of the track for a minute before pulling right in front of Kenseth on track. He blocked him through turn 4 at caution pace and when Kenseth passed him, McMurray attempted to spin him out before thinking better of it and pulling down pit road. McMurray drove to the garage and his team performed repairs on his car, but he lost a lot of laps. He did return to the track, but he ended up finishing 40th after a difficult day. Kenseth fought back from the contact on track to take a tenth-place finish. While there were no punches thrown or wrecks under caution, the entire field saw a different side of Jamie McMurray as he looked to seek revenge on Matt Kenseth. Ironically, the two drivers will be teammates next year at Roush Racing, which will probably bring an end to the rivalry created by the incident today. However, the tricky turns at the Magic Mile once again frustrated a driver and showed how drivers always need to keep their tempers in check.
Stage 4:
Terrible Luck: Gordon Loses Impressive Finish Thanks to Brake Failure
After the first ten races of the 2005 season, Jeff Gordon was sitting second in points with three wins and a renewed championship form. Since Darlington in May, though, Gordon has struggled significantly. He has four DNF’s in the last eight races and his best finish in that stretch was a seventh at Daytona. Because of his bad runs, he dropped out of the Top 10 in points and came into today’s race outside of making the Chase for the championship. Despite all the bad luck, Gordon’s team came into New Hampshire today with motivation to finish well and move up in the points. Gordon started the race in 21st with a good many positions to gain before he could hope to redeem himself in the Chase points. Early on, he moved past drivers and began to make his way towards the front of the pack. As he moved through the field, he was also keeping his nose clean and making sure to save his equipment for the end of the race. By halfway, he was in the Top 10 with his sights set on a fourth win of the season. In the next run, he began to push towards the Top 5 and Gordon looked like the four-time Cup champion again. After the eighth caution on lap 216, he pitted with the field and came out around the sixth position. In the next two restarts, he remained there and when the race restarted for the final time, Gordon began to make his late race charge. He slid into the Top 5 and with about twenty-five laps to go, he was sitting in fifth looking to pass Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and others to crack the Top 3. However, the team’s terrible luck popped back up at the worst time. With about fifteen laps to go, he reported to his crew chief, Robbie Loomis, that the brakes on his car were beginning to soften and weren’t working properly. Even though New Hampshire isn’t a short track by nature, the track requires heavy braking to enter the sweeping turns and keep the car under control. Because of his brake issues, Gordon slowed down to minimum speed so he wouldn’t crash hard in the treacherous turns. The move was good for safety, but he dropped position after position just trying to make it to the checkered flag. He was able to make it to the conclusion of the event, but he lost a lap to the leader and fell all the way back to 25th after such a promising day in the late runs of the event. Gordon’s terrible luck in the summer of 2005 hasn’t ended yet, but the champion driver will be prepared to rebound in the coming weeks as the Chase nears.
Stage 5:
Wild Wreck: Sadler Ends Up with Destroyed Racecar After Great Run
Elliott Sadler isn’t typically considered a championship contender, but his 2005 campaign for Robert Yates Racing has been an impressive showcase of the Virginia driver’s talent. Coming into New Hampshire today, Sadler had nine Top 10’s in 18 races and he found himself fifth in the points with a considerable margin ahead of the tenth place cut line for the Chase. Still, he would have to be competitive in New England to keep his momentum up. He started the race in third and on the start, he was battling in the Top 5 with his fellow competitors. As cautions began to fly early, strategy started to become a topic of conversation. When the third caution waved on lap 27, nine of the lead lap drivers stayed on track while the rest of the field pitted. Sadler and his team decided to take fuel only and he won the race off pit road. However, the drivers with fresh tires began to pass him as various strategies battled on track. Yet, as the drivers that stayed out began to drop back, Sadler maintained his spot in the Top 10 and looked to be poised for an excellent points day. When the sixth caution waved on lap 116, though, Sadler’s good day began to change. When the field pitted during the caution, Sadler’s stop went smoothly, but Kasey Kahne exited his pit stall and bumped into him. The contact damaged Sadler’s front nose and resulted in a second stop under the caution, which dropped him back in the field for the restart. Yet, the team didn’t give up and Sadler began to fight his way back on the next two restarts. As 100 laps to go approached, though, he was still stuck in the snarling pack. As cautions began to wave, the restarts gave Sadler a chance to move up a few positions. However, on the restart after the ninth caution on lap 234, he found himself in a tough position with drivers beating and banging around him. When he drove into turn 3, Mark Martin bumped into him and sent him spinning up the track. Sadler backed straight up the track and piled hard into the outside wall his rear end. He slid to a stop on track with the rear end of his car completely flattened by the huge accident. Sadler had an impressive run destroyed by a wild wreck where his Ford was left undriveable. He ended up finishing 39th today, which dropped him all the way to ninth in the points with the Chase looming in seven races. After a violent wreck today, Sadler and his Yates Racing team will look to rebound next week at Pocono and continue to hold its position in the Chase for the championship.
Following tight racing at the Magic Mile in New Hampshire, the NNCS heads to Long Pond, Pennsylvania, for a 500-mile shootout on one of the most unique tracks on the circuit. Pocono Raceway only has three turns, but the track’s moniker as “The Tricky Triangle” is fitting for the 2.5-mile triangle. When the Cup Series heads to the track, the 43-car field can expect three distinct turns filled with trouble, endless strategy decisions, and intense restarts with drivers running five-wide into turn 1. As the start of the Chase looms, each team will be hoping for excellent runs to secure their positions in the championship battle. In addition to the potential storylines the track creates, the contingent of drivers has some stories heading into the 20th event of the season. Tony Stewart has been the hottest driver in the NNCS in the past few weeks, but he hasn’t finished in the Top 25 at Pocono since he won the June race in 2003 and he needs to keep up his confidence heading into the Chase. Jimmie Johnson was quiet in today’s race in New England, but he is still the points leader and he needs to stay strong heading into the Chase with a hungry field of drivers behind him. Jeff Gordon has been having bad luck since his three wins earlier in the year, but Pocono is a track where he has three victories in his career and the potential to rebound. Finally, Robert Yates Racing teammates, Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett, are in the final two spots to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup, but a hungry group of drivers sit outside the cut line waiting to take advantage of their opportunity to run for a title. Today’s race at New Hampshire was filled with constant battles for track position, hard racing, and an overall dominant performance by Tony Stewart as the 2005 NNCS season heads down the final stretch.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 1- NASCAR started the race under the green and yellow flags due to rain at the speedway earlier in the day.
2nd Caution: Lap 10- Rusty Wallace bumped Jeff Green in turn 2 after Green slid up in front of him. Green ended up spinning without receiving damage while Robby Gordon spun trying to slow down.
3rd Caution: Lap 27- Matt Kenseth bumped Jamie McMurray entering turn 3, which caused McMurray to spin up the track and slam the outside wall hard with his rear end and driver’s side door.
4th Caution: Lap 35- Bobby Labonte bumped Kurt Busch in turn 4 after the field stacked up in front of the two drivers. Busch spun around twice on the frontstretch, but he didn’t hit the wall and kept going.
5th Caution: Lap 58- Rain began to fall around the race track.
6th Caution: Lap 116- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 4.
7th Caution: Lap 163- Debris from Jeremy Mayfield’s blow tire was spotted on the track in turn 1.
8th Caution: Lap 216- Robby Gordon had a tire blow out in turn 3, which littered debris on the track.
9th Caution: Lap 229- Mike Wallace spun and slammed the outside wall in turn 3 after a bump from Robby Gordon.
10th Caution: Lap 234- Elliott Sadler spun and backed hard into the outside wall in turn 3 after receiving a bump from Mark Martin.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: None
3rd Caution: None
4th Caution: None
5th Caution: None
6th Caution: Bobby Hamilton Jr.
7th Caution: Dave Blaney
8th Caution: Kyle Petty
9th Caution: Jeremy Mayfield
10th Caution: Mike Bliss
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Tony Stewart
2nd: Kurt Busch
3rd: Bobby Labonte
4th: Kyle Busch
5th: Greg Biffle
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Kasey Kahne
7th: Ryan Newman
8th: Rusty Wallace
9th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10th: Matt Kenseth
12th: Carl Edwards
13th: Jimmie Johnson
15th: Mark Martin
16th: Dale Jarrett
17th: Michael Waltrip
22nd: Kevin Harvick
25th: Jeff Gordon
34th: Sterling Marlin
39th: Elliott Sadler
40th: Jamie McMurray
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2005_New_England_300/W
-Image:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/348606827394020744/
-Full Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhHZW7dbRSQ&t=839s
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