The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ran the 2nd of 10 races in the chase for the Sprint Cup Championship on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.  Denny Hamlin would take the checkered flag for his 5th victory of 2012 and his second at NHMS. Hamlin actually pulled a Joe Naimath by guaranteeing a victory earlier in the week on his twitter page.

Denny Hamlin would take over the lead at lap 185 and never looked back basically driving his #11 like he stole it. At one point he would have a 5.5 second lead over Jimmie Johnson. Double J would take the 2nd place finish followed by his teammate Jeff Gordon. Clint Bowyer would finish fouth and Kasey Kahne would round out the top 5.

Kyle Busch's season of bad luck would continue on Sunday as at one point would have the lead but would soon have engine problems that would put him off the pace.

Jimmie Johnson with his strong finish now takes over a slight lead over Brad Keselowski  in the Chase standings. Here are the current unofficial standings following the race:

1. Jimmie Johnson 2096 pts.

2. Brad Keselowski 2095

3.  Denny Hamlin 2089

4.  Tony Stewart 2086

5. Kasey Kahne 2081

6. Clint Bowyer 2081

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2070

8. Kevin Harvick 2065

9. Greg Biffle 2063

10. Martin Truex Jr. 2062

11. Matt Kenseth 2061

12. Jeff Gordon 2051

Race 3 in the Race for the Chase happens next Sunday. It's the AAA 400 at the Dover International Speedway in Delaware.  TV coverage will begin at 1pm on ESPN.

 

More From 104.5 THE TEAM