LOUDON, N.H. (AP) - Mark Martin held off Juan Pablo Montoya on a late frantic restart to win the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It is Martin's series-best fifth victory of the season and spoiled what could have been a blockbuster day for Montoya. Making his 100th career start on his 34th birthday, Montoya led every practice session while setting the stage for his second career Sprint Cup Series victory.
Instead, Martin used pit strategy to take the lead, and after leading a race-high 104 laps, Montoya had to chase him down.
He came up short in a three-lap sprint to the finish, which ended under caution when AJ Allmendinger wrecked on the final lap.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement