Denny Hamlin's march to the front of the field in the Slyvania 300 at New Hampshire has finally concluded - after just 93 laps on one of the toughest tracks to make passes in NASCAR racing. Hamlin, who said before the race in his interview with ESPN that the goal would be to reach the top-10 by lap 100, far and away exceeded that goal in one of the most impressive drives to the front of the field in recent memory. While Hamlin looks unstoppable right now, however, the race is only one third complete and anything can happen.
Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, runs second. Busch, the lone non-Chase driver inside the top-10 in the running order, had led a race-high 48 laps before surrendering the top-spot to Hamlin. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson (who made a push from 25th spot) round out the top-five.
On the backslide is Tony Stewart, who led 38 laps early but has struggled with the handling on his Chevrolet, falling just inside the top-10.