RYAN NEWMAN WINS RAIN SOAKED NEW HAMPSHIRE 300!
Loudon, NH - After an hour rain delay, Ryan Newman led the first 20 laps before the race at New Hampshire International Speedway was red flagged due to rain. The engines came alive again just over an hour and a half later with no one sure if the race would make it to the halfway mark.
Ryan clung to the lead, but after 67 laps, Johnny Benson was able to get by, taking over the top spot. It appeared that Benson could win the race as the black clouds headed back towards the track threatening rain once again. But as the rain held off, crew chiefs began trying to figure out whether or not to bring their drivers in for green flag pit stops. The word up and down pit road indicated that the rain was a mere 5 miles away. Once the halfway point was reached, drivers began making their stops.
Then, the real battle began. Johnny Benson was wrestling with lapped traffic when Ryan caught a break and dived under the #10 Valvoline Ford. Kurt Busch followed. The #97 Rubbermaid Ford hung onto the rear bumper of the #12 Alltel Ford for about 30 laps. After Kurt made several attempts to get by Ryan, the yellow flag came out signaling that the rain had come back.
It was clear that there would not be enough daylight left to dry the track again, so NASCAR threw out the white flag indicating the last lap of the race. Ryan Newman took the checkered flag to win his first NASCAR Winston Cup race!
Much of the race ran in one groove and there was very little side by side racing. Rusty Wallace was passing Kyle Petty when Kyle came down the track and they got together. The #2 Miller Lite Ford climbed up the left side of the #45 Sprint Dodge doing considerable damage. Rusty finished 19th and held onto his 6th place position in points.
The race ended with a new leader in the Championship standings. Mark Martin struggled throughout the race. The #6 Viagra Ford had a tire go down on lap 146 and a bad pit stop caused him to lose several positions on the track. He finished the race in 16th. But due to the poor performance of other drivers in the battle for the Championship, Mark took the lead a mere 6 points ahead of Sterling Marlin. The #40 Coors Light Dodge finished 21st.
Tony Stewart was the only driver in the top 5 that did well in the race. He was on the move to the front when the race was called due to the rain. He finished 3rd, but remained 4th in points, just 59 points back. Jimmie Johnson finished 9th in the race and moved to 3rd in points. Jeff Gordon had another terrible day and came in 14th. He fell to 5th in the points.
With only 8 races remaining, the points race is tighter than it has ever been.
It looks like we're in for some exciting battles to finish out the season.
Send us an email to let us know who you think has the best shot to win the 2002 Championship.
Article by S. Kipple
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