Mark Martin Extends Chase Lead With New Hampshire Win

The 2009 Sylvania 300 was the first race in the 2009 Chase for the Cup. Mark Martin came into the race as the number one Chase seed. Martin battled through a series of late race double-file restarts to claim the win and extend his Chase lead.

Qualifying

The top five qualifiers were all Chase contenders lead by Chevy drivers Juan Montoya and Tony Stewart on the front row. The rest of the top five was made up of three different manufacturers with Kurt Busch's Dodge, Denny Hamlin's Toyota and Carl Edwards' Ford completing the top five.

Drop Of The Green

Tony Stewart got a good run on the outside and lead lap one by half a carlength. Juan Montoya passed him going into turn one on the second lap to take over the lead. Montoya went on to lead the next 36 laps when Stewart passed him back on lap 38.

Storylines

This was race number one in the 2009 Chase for the Cup. The twelve drivers that are battling for the Championship were all looking for a solid start to their Chase.

Two drivers didn't get off to the start that they had hoped for.

Kasey Kahne blew his engine just 66 laps into the race. Kahne was credited with 38th in the final running order and is now twelfth in points.

Tony Stewart was running fourth when he made a long pit stop to repair an axle problem. Stewart returned to the track on the lead lap in 26th place. Stewart spent the rest of the day battling in the pack and ended up fourteenth. Tony lost four spots in the standings and is now sixth, 74 points behind Martin.

Chasing The Checkers

Mark Martin took a risk on pit strategy and had to take his final pit stop under green while leading. Fortunately his luck held and the caution didn't come out until pit stops had cycled through for the rest of the leaders.

The final restart came with 3 laps to go. Mark Martin restarted on the outside lane with early race leader Juan Montoya along side. Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson were third and fourth.

Martin and Montoya were door-to-door the entire first lap until Martin was able to inch ahead and close the door. Montoya slipped back into a battle with Denny Hamlin for second which allowed Mark Martin to get away by a few carlengths and claim the win.

Top Ten

1. Mark Martin
2. Juan Montoya
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Kyle Busch
6. Kurt Busch
7. Ryan Newman
8. Elliott Sadler
9. Greg Biffle
10. Clint Bowyer

The Points

Mark Martin came into New Hampshire as the point leader by virtue of his top Chase seed. By winning today Martin extended his lead slightly. Martin is now 35 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin who are tied for second.

The top twelve are now:

1. Mark Martin
2. Jimmie Johnson -35
3. Denny Hamlin -35
4. Juan Montoya -55
5. Kurt Busch -65
6. Tony Stewart -74
7. Ryan Newman -79
8. Brian Vickers -90
9. Greg Biffle -92
10. Jeff Gordon -102
11. Carl Edwards -110
12. Kasey Kahne -161