By Ryan - Posted on June 30, 2010
In a day filled with late-race bumping and nudging, Jimmie Johnson moved Kurt Busch out of the way, took the lead a lap from the end, and won his 5th race of the season. The win ties him with Denny Hamlin for the most wins on the circuit this year.
In some ways, the race at Loudon was unusual. There was a 201-lap stretch of green flag racing between the first caution and the second. This was the longest stretch without a caution ever at New Hampshire. In other ways, it was a typical short-track race, complete with cautions brought out by motors blowing up (Kasey Kahne) and cars being taken out (Juan Montoya) by lapped cars.
The end of the race, however, was undoubtedly “short-track racing”. With Jimmie Johnson in the lead, Kurt Busch pushed Johnson’s car up the track in Turn 3 on lap 294. This did not sit well with Johnson, who said after the race, "When we got going on the restart, Kurt knocked me out of the way, and I thought, 'I don't care if I win this race or not -- I don't care if I finish this damn thing -- I am running into him and getting back by him one way or another.
And that is just what he did. Johnson followed Busch for the next few laps, then bumped him – a couple of times – to move him out of the way on lap 299. Johnson scooted by Busch, and finished the race nearly eight-tenths of a second ahead of the field.
Busch acknowledged that the bump-and-run incidents between him and Johnson were simply a result of ordinary, short-track racing. He said, “Our car was good on the short run, and once four or five laps got on the tires, I knew we were going to have a hard time holding them off and he was still going to be right there. We didn't just flat out wreck them. We didn't cut his tire. We didn't drive over him. It was just a nice nudge that we are all used to seeing and appreciating on short tracks."
For a time, it looked as if Jeff Burton might win, which would be his first victory in two years. With 17 laps left, he was the only driver on the lead lap who did not pit. He spun into Kyle Busch, which took them both out of contention for the win.
Following Johnson to the checkered flag was Tony Stewart, who passed Busch for 2nd, Busch in 3rd, Jeff Gordon in 4th, and Kevin Harvick in 5th. The top ten was rounded out by Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, and A.J. Allmendinger.
This win, Johnson’s 52nd in his NASCAR career, brought him closer to Harvick in the point standings. He is in second place, 105 points behind Harvick.
