The 2017 Winston Cup Series: Hamlin wins at New Hampshire

Denny Hamlin gets his 30th career at New Hampshire, and his first of 2017. Hamlin becomes the 8th driver to win at least three Cup races at New Hampshire.

     It was another great race for Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson, but Denny Hamlin held on during the race's final laps for his 30th career win. Larson seemed to have a real shot at catching Hamlin but couldn't reel him in, and finished runner-up for the second straight week. The Overton's 301 was overall a clean race, aside from a wreck by rookie Erik Jones early on. It also featured a 35-lap green flag run to the finish, something I love to see. 

     Notable finishes include Daniel Suarez, with an impressive 6th place. Kyle Busch had a great car but came in 12th, blowing his chance with two pit road speeding penalties. Earnhardt Jr. led briefly, but was passed by multiple cars with fresh tires and ended up 18th. Dale Jr.'s nephew, Jeffrey Earnhardt finished four laps down in 33rd. Joey Logano suffered mechanical problems and finished 37th, the only driver doing well in points to have a bad day. 

Hamlin leads the closing laps of the Overton's 301, in front of Kyle Larson.

     It's a real shame that New Hampshire is about to lose one of its two race dates on the schedule. The Cup cars have been making two trips there since 1997. New Hampshire doesn't have the most action-packed races, but the flatter turns give the track a different feel than everywhere else. It's almost like a big short track. There's been some great races here, and it'll be a shame to only see it once a year. But the decision is obviously based on money.

     Here's a look at the standings after New Hampshire. The big loser this week was Kyle Larson, taking a 35-point hit in the standings for a penalty after the Kentucky race. This is where points get a little tricky... In a setting where drivers can reach as many as 60 points per race, as opposed to 45, a 35-point penalty isn't as debilitating. I have a feeling NASCAR wouldn't have given Larson a 35-point penalty under the "classic" point system, more likely it would've been 25. For now I'm counting it here as 35, we'll see later on if those 10 points make a difference. Either way, it cost Larson the point lead to Martin Truex Jr. Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Hamlin round out the top five.

     Now it's on to Indianapolis next week! Jimmie Johnson has four wins at Indy, only one behind the Cup record of five, held by Jeff Gordon. Several veterans have never won the Brickyard 400, including Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Truex Jr., and Hamlin.