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Mark was "speechless" after winning the first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship and his first race
at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in his 26th career start.
Mark's victory — his fifth of the season — allowed him to assume a 35-point lead over three-time defending
champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished fourth on Sunday."That was awesome right there," Mark said. "You're unbelievable," crew chief Alan Gustafson said to his driver."It's unbelievable how good you are." Gustafson called the race-winning decision to pit early from the lead on Lap 243. The gamble enabled Mark to regain the point 28 laps later. But the quest to Mark's 40th career Cup victory was delayed by three cautions in the final 23 laps, with the final restart earning the ire of Juan Pablo Montoya. With three laps remaining on the final start, Montoya lined up on the inside with Hamlin behind. Mark maintained the lead and chose the outside line with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson in tow. When the race went green, Montoya refused to give Mark space and accused the No. 5 of slowing in the apex of the corner which bottled up traffic. That move enabled Mark to sail away. "He always runs very clean, so I was kind of surprised when he did that," Montoya said. "I know it's the Chase and everything, but you just learn from it. I would have done the same thing. I think you've got to do it to somebody that you trust is not going to knock you out, because I think if I would have done — if the second place guy wasn't me — I think somebody else would have been a little bit more aggressive. "Did I get screwed, yeah, because I got (Denny Hamlin) beside me the last three laps and he drove away." Hamlin, who finished second followed by Montoya, Johnson and Kyle Busch, saw the move differently. "(Montoya) was in a bad spot," Hamlin said. "Even though his car may have been quicker, it didn't matter because (Mark) had position on him and (Mark) used it to his advantage. He just kind of held the 42 low, and when he did that, there's just no gripping your race car." Mark admits he "fought hard" for the win and maintains he battled with honor. "My car was not fast into the corner, so it probably felt, especially to him — we made all our time through the center and off the corner and kind of had to get into the corners easy, and once you got the lead, you need to make sure you don't drive it in there and turn it sideways, slide up to the top of the racetrack. I mean, how stupid would I look then?" Prior to the race, Mark accused of Montoya of being the most dangerous contestant in the Chase. The driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet found the declaration ironic. "He's the most dangerous guy," Montoya said of Mark. "He's the guy with the most experience here. He hasn't won a championship, and he wants one pretty bad. I mean, I know the 48 is going to be there every week and everything, same thing as always, but if somebody wants it really bad, it's (Mark)." |
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