LOUDON, N.H. — With about 70 laps to go in his back-and-forth battle against Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin radioed in to his team: “This is awesome racing.”
Imagine how Keselowski felt.
The 2012 Cup champion took the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, beating Hamlin by 1.647 seconds after trading the lead with him for most of the 301-lap race.
The two swapped stage wins and held the lead a combined 18 times before Keselowski claimed his third victory since the sport returned from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, along with the now-traditional prize of a 18-pound, live lobster. Martin Truex Jr. was third after working his way back from the rear of the field because of a penalty for a runaway tire in the pits. Joey Logano was fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth.