Gibbs team dominant
Hamlin, Jones, Truex deliver strong efforts
LOUDON, N.H. – Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing took the checkered flag in yesterday’s Foxwoods 301, but Joe Gibbs Racing carried the day.
Harvick fended off a furious challenge from Joe Gibbs driver Denny Hamlin, operator of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, to secure his record-tying fourth victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Gibbs drivers dominated the event, with four placing their Toyota Camrys in the top 10. In addition to Hamlin finishing runner up, Eric Jones was third, Martin Truex Jr. was sixth and the Joe Gibbs flag bearer, Kyle Busch, was eighth.
“We were all strong, especially Denny in a backup car,” said Jones, who posted his second top-10 finish in four races at NHMS. “That was a really strong run for him in an old car.
“We all had strong cars and we were all capable of running in the top five. That’s a big improvement from last year here, so it was a big step getting us all running up there.”
Busch led the race for 118 laps and picked up 10 driver points for winning the first stage. Hamlin led 113 laps and Jones led four. Busch is second to reigning Monster Energy Series champion Joey Logano (783) with 780 driver points. Hamlin is fifth with 627.
Bowman rising
Alex Bowman experienced a weekend of tragedy and triumph that concluded with a 14th-place finish in the Foxwoods 301.
Bowman had things go from bad to worse staring with the qualifying run on Friday afternoon. Driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet for Hendricks Motorsports, he was blindsided by drive shaft failure that sent his primary ride to the garage.
Bowman crashed his backup car during his final practice run on Saturday morning, which left Hendricks scrambling for a replacement ride. Hendricks stripped down Jimmie Johnson’s backup No. 48 Chevrolet, transferred the number and decals and gave it to Bowman.
Bowman began the race in the back of the pack and weaved his past regulation vehicles to pick up crucial driver points. Meanwhile, Johnson’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet lost his power steering near the midway point of the race and endured an extended stay on pit road.
Pick up pace
The main thing to be aware of when driving the pace car for the Foxwoods 301 is who is behind you.
Bruins winger Chris Wagner of Walpole was made aware that Row 1 drivers are prone to give the celebrity pace car operators a little bumper to bumper encouragement to exceed the 45 mph speed limit.
Wagner had the two most mischievous wheelmen on the Monster Energy tour, Brad Keselowski and Busch, in his rearview mirror. Wagner was informed that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was repeatedly bumped when he paced the race in July of 2014. Busch and Johnson were the point men in that race while Keselowski took the checkered flag.
Former Bruins Tim Schaller and Brad Park have been pace drivers on the Magic Mile.
“I hear guys are going to bump me, so I’ll be ready for it,” Wagner said. “I heard they had bumped Edelman, but everybody that’s done this says it’s fun.”
Wagner said his injured right arm has healed and he’s getting ready for training camp.