Clint Bowyer took the win after Tony Stewart ran out of fuel on the last lap, then faced a penalty that cut his championship hopes.
The 2010 Sylvania 300 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on 19 September 2010 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. Clint Bowyer won by 0.477 seconds after Tony Stewart ran out of fuel, but NASCAR later penalised his team 150 points for unapproved bodywork changes.
Clint Bowyer won the 2010 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Richard Childress Racing after Tony Stewart ran dry two laps from the finish. Denny Hamlin was second and Jamie McMurray third. The win was soon overshadowed by penalties that took 150 points from the team and its driver.
What was the race and why did it matter?
The 300-lap race was the 27th of the 2010 Sprint Cup season and the opener of the ten-race Chase. It ran on the 1.058 mile oval at Loudon, one of ten intermediate tracks on the NASCAR schedule, with banking of two to seven degrees in the turns.
Hamlin topped the standings on 5,060 points, with Johnson one step back on 5,050. Harvick and Kyle Busch were level in third on 5,030 points, and Kurt Busch had 5,020. Mark Martin was the defending race winner.
A fuel-starved Stewart handed Bowyer the Loudon win, then a 150-point penalty tested the team's championship hopes.
What did the Chase drivers expect?
Several drivers went into the Chase believing they could win the title. Greg Biffle argued that he, Jeff Burton or Tony Stewart were capable of winning it, while Johnson, who already had eighteen Chase wins, said the ten-race stretch was a world of its own.
Hamlin said reliability was the thing his team needed to fix, because it had cost them three previous Chases. Ray Evernham also said Hamlin had the talent to win the title, with a veteran crew chief in Mike Ford, and that a Toyota with enough speed would make him a threat.
How did qualifying set the grid?
Brad Keselowski took his first Sprint Cup pole with a time of 28.515 seconds, and Clint Bowyer joined him on the front row. Stewart qualified third, McMurray fourth and Montoya fifth. Johnson qualified 25th and Harvick 27th.
Forty-five drivers attempted to qualify and forty-three could race. Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter failed to qualify. Keselowski later said he had given up time in the middle of both corners, but he had a plan and it worked.
How did the race open?
The race began at 1:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN in partly cloudy weather, with an air temperature of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). David Gilliland and Andy Lally had to start at the back after unapproved engine and transmission changes during the pace laps.
Keselowski held the lead into turn 1, but Stewart passed him on the next lap, and Montoya went by Keselowski for second. Stewart had more than a second in hand by lap 8, while Bowyer, who had dropped two positions early, climbed back to third.
What happened through the middle laps?
Scott Speed's wreck brought the first caution, and Robby Gordon briefly led one lap before pitting. Once the race resumed Bowyer regained the lead. A second caution came on lap 39 after Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose collided.
Bowyer led with McMurray 1.3 seconds behind, and his lead was over 3.5 seconds by lap 64. Johnson moved into sixth, and Earnhardt Jr. climbed to seventh by the 81st lap after passing Reutimann and Stewart.
Green-flag pit stops began a few laps later, and Bowyer briefly lost the lead before reclaiming it on lap 102. A debris caution on lap 147 erased his lead of more than seven seconds, although he kept the top spot on the restart.
How did the final laps play out?
Eight cautions were run in all. Martin's flat tyre on lap 206 brought the fourth, Hamlin spun on lap 213 for the fifth, and a sixth came on lap 221 after Kurt Busch, Johnson and Kyle Busch spun. Kenseth's spin brought the seventh.
Logano's crash into the outside wall on lap 241 brought out the pace car, and Stewart retook the lead on lap 247. Stewart led by 1.6 seconds on lap 269, and Hamlin moved into third on lap 290 after passing McMurray.
With two laps left Stewart and Jeff Burton both ran dry, which returned the lead to Bowyer, who won his first race of 2010. Hamlin was second, followed by McMurray, Earnhardt and Harvick.
Who finished where, and by how much?
Bowyer won by 0.477 seconds, in a race that lasted just under three hours. It was his third career win and moved him to second in the Drivers' Championship, thirty-five points off Hamlin and ten clear of Harvick.
Attendance was 95,000 and 3.68 million people watched on television. In the Manufacturers' Championship Chevrolet kept its lead with 197 points, ahead of Toyota on 165 and Ford on 123.
What penalties followed the win?
Bowyer's car had passed initial inspection, but NASCAR later found problems in a deeper check at its research and development centre. Three days after the race Richard Childress Racing was penalised for unauthorised rear bodywork alterations: a $150,000 fine, a six-race suspension for crew chief Shane Wilson and 150 points lost by Childress and Bowyer.
Whitney Motorsports was also penalised over engine exhaust valves that failed NASCAR's weight rules, with a $50,000 fine, a six-race suspension for Jeremy Lafaver and 50 points lost by McDowell and Dusty Whitney.
Bowyer argued that a 60-thousandths of an inch difference could not justify a 150-point fine, and that a wrecker had pushed the car to victory lane after it ran out of gas, which could have caused damage. The team lost its first appeal. On the final appeal Wilson's fine fell to $100,000 and suspensions for Wilson and car chief Chad Haney were cut from six races to four, but the points penalty stood.
NASCAR's vice-president of competition, Robin Pemberton, said the sanctioning body did not consider taking the win away, though he called a 150-point penalty with nine Chase races left a pretty hefty one.
Race results at a glance
| Measure | 2010 figure |
|---|---|
| Winner | Clint Bowyer, Richard Childress Racing |
| Second and third | Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray |
| Pole | Brad Keselowski, 28.515 seconds |
| Lead changes | 21 among eight drivers |
| Cautions | 8 |
| Margin of victory | 0.477 seconds |
| Race time | Just under three hours |
| Post-race penalty | 150 points, $150,000 fine, six-race suspension |
How did the drivers approach the Chase?
Johnson was candid about his performance, saying his team had a decent car and ran in the top five and top ten but did not finish there. Harvick was more upbeat, saying the fifth place said a lot about the team and that it would be in good shape if it kept finishing well on its bad days.
Hamlin set himself a goal of a top 15 finish at the start, then a top eight and then a top six, before realising the team could win the race. He reflected that the team had made a strong charge at the end.
What happened in practice and the first laps?
Stewart was fastest in the second practice ahead of Sam Hornish Jr. and McMurray, and Kurt Busch received a penalty for using extra tyres. Kyle Busch was 21st in the final practice ranking and Kenseth 30th, which underlined how tight the Chase field was.
Several drivers had problems during the early running. McDowell retired on lap 48 with engine trouble and Landon Cassill went to the garage with failing brakes. Johnson was forced to pit later with a loose wheel.
What did Bowyer and his crew say after the race?
Bowyer credited his crew chief, Shane Wilson, who had built a brand-new race car that was fast from the moment it unloaded. He said the team had a lot of confidence, and that it was the kind of performance needed to compete at that level in the Chase.
Stewart took his late loss with good humour and said he had run himself out of fuel. Stewart and Burton had both run dry in the closing laps, which handed the win to Bowyer.
Why did the penalties matter for the Chase?
A 150-point penalty with nine races left in the Chase was a large blow, because the points gap could decide the title. Stewart said the team had the resources to cover the setback, but that it was still a serious problem for Bowyer and the team.
Childress and Bowyer announced plans to appeal almost at once. The final appeal reduced some of the penalties but left the points loss in place.
What happened to the Chase contenders in the late laps?
Hamlin's spin on lap 213 dropped him from fourth to 22nd place, and Johnson fell to 24th after the wreck involving Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch. Kenseth then spun to bring out the seventh caution, which changed the order again.
Stewart kept the lead on the restart, but McMurray passed him a lap later. Bowyer passed McMurray for second in the closing laps. Newman passed Kyle Busch for tenth in the closing laps.
How did the team respond in the final result?
Bowyer's win moved him to second in the standings, even as his team prepared for its appeal. Hamlin and McMurray finished second and third, with Earnhardt fourth and Harvick fifth.
How did the leaders settle through the middle of the race?
Edwards passed McMurray for second, and Johnson passed Keselowski to take fifth. Earnhardt Jr. then edged into seventh.
Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton passed Reutimann for ninth and tenth later on, which kept the order changing behind the leaders.
What did NASCAR decide about the appeal?
Chad Haney was placed on probation until December 31, 2010, and was suspended from NASCAR until November 3, 2010. The team's appeal was the last step, and it reduced the crew chief's fine to $100,000.
Stewart described his fuel miss with good humour, saying he had run himself out of fuel, and the loss ended his chance to win.
Johnson's team was candid about the result, and Keselowski's pole run showed the early pace of his car.
