Observations: Loudon
That whole “better lucky than good” thing. That’s what Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was all about.
Joey Logano had not run near the front all day. All he did was run into Ryan Newman, cut two tires, spin and bring out a caution on lap 183.
But Logano’s misfortune put him on a different pit cycle than all the leaders. So when the rains came on lap 273, after everyone else on the lead lap had pitted, Logano was out front.
It seems like a shame to get your first win in those kind of circumstances, but all Logano needs to do is ask David Reutimann — he got his first win in similar fashion at Charlotte this year.
Reutimann was OK with it. I’m sure Logano is too, especially at the track closest to his Connecticut home.
The rain washed out what may have been a fantastic finish to a race that saw furious battles at the front for most of the day. Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart all took turns leaning on each other as they tried to take the lead.
Those five drivers had to settle for top-10s. Not a bad consolation prize.
Double-file restarts could take the credit for the tight racing. Drivers near the front had trouble deciding which lane — the outside or inside — to take on the restarts.
Kurt Busch never seemed to get it right, as Gordon bested him high and low all day. Actually, Gordon never lost a battle to turn 1 to anyone.
David Reutimann and Juan Pablo Montoya did their Chase for the Sprint Cup hopes a big favor Sunday. Both ran competitively all day, with Reutimann finishing fourth and Montoya leading a few laps before finishing 12th.
Montoya kept his spot in the Chase, and Reutimann is now just 12 points outside the cutoff.
Jeff Burton has a much tougher row to hoe. After being inside the top-12 for most of the year, Burton has suffered back-to-back bad finishes that have dropped him to 16th, 108 points behind 12th.
Burton credited his crew and team after getting knocked out of Sunday’s race in a multi-car accident. At least they were running good, he said.
Don’t look for Kentucky’s new race date to come at New Hampshire’s expense. The crowd on Sunday wasn’t a sell-out, but it was strong.
Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports which owns the two tracks and six others, certainly took notice. Because of that, two NASCAR dates in Loudon looks good for years to come.