NASCAR at New Hampshire 2014 Results: Winner, Sprint Cup Standings, Highlights

Joey Logano battled through adversity and a total of 15 cautions at the Sylvania 300 in New Hampshire, but he came away with a pivotal win. The victory means Logano has secured a spot in the Contender Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup along with teammate Brad Keselowski.     

NASCAR's official Twitter account noted what the win meant for Logano:

The driver known as "Sliced Bread" has put his stamp on the season and is now doing the same in the Chase. He led a total of 73 laps in the victory and clinched his fourth win of the season on Sunday with a dominant run.

His win also breaks a streak of different drivers taking a checkered flag in New Hampshire, via NASCAR Stats:

Logano's burnout was equally as sweet as the win, per NASCAR:

Kevin Harvick, who came in third on Sunday afternoon, was not happy about the way things turned out. While he remains third in the Chase standings, Harvick shared his frustration over the final restart, per Geoffrey Miller of Athlon Sports:

For those counting at home, Logano's win leaves Penske with two spots in the next round and nothing guaranteed for Hendrick. But not all was lost for Hendrick, as both Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had strong runs and are in the top six of the Chase standings.

But with both Logano and Keselowski already into the Contender Round, the pressure is firmly on the Hendrick drivers to perform in Dover, Delaware. Luckily, Johnson has already won a race at Dover and will be looking for a sweep next weekend.

Here's a look at the results from New Hampshire and the Chase standings.

Pos.	Driver	Laps Led
1	Joey Logano	73
2	Kyle Larson	0
3	Kevin Harvick	104
4	Jamie McMurray	0
5	Jimmie Johnson	0
6	Aric Almirola	0
7	Brad Keselowski	78
8	Kyle Busch	0
9	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	0
10	Brian Vickers	15
11	Austin Dillon	0
12	Martin Truex Jr.	0
13	AJ Allmendinger	0
14	Clint Bowyer	0
15	Paul Menard	0
16	Greg Biffle	0
17	Carl Edwards	0
18	Ryan Newman	0
19	Danica Patrick	0
20	Justin Allgaier	0

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	Brad Keselowski*	2097	5	12	15
2	Joey Logano*	2096	4	12	17
3	Kevin Harvick	2090	2	10	15
4	Jimmie Johnson	2080	3	9	17
5	Kyle Busch	2077	1	6	11
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2077	3	11	17
7	Jeff Gordon	2070	3	10	18
8	Matt Kenseth	2057	0	10	17
9	Carl Edwards	2057	2	6	11
10	AJ Allmendinger	2056	1	2	4
11	Kasey Kahne	2055	1	3	10
12	Ryan Newman	2055	0	2	10
13	Denny Hamlin	2049	1	6	12
14	Greg Biffle	2049	0	3	10
15	Kurt Busch	2047	1	6	8
16	Aric Almirola	2045	1	2	7

*Full race results can be found at NASCAR.com. 

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What started out as a bright day for Denny Hamlin ended in disaster.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was up front for the majority of the race, leading 32 laps and looking like a solid contender. Coming in at sixth on the Chase Grid, Hamlin was looking for a victory to secure a berth in the next round.

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Unfortunately, those plans fell apart, as Hamlin was involved in a late accident. Martin Truex Jr. got loose and collected several drivers, including Hamlin, sending the JGR driver to the garage.

Hamlin spoke about the poor finish, per Marty Smith of ESPN:

Nate Ryan of USA Today also notes what the finish does to Hamlin's championship chances:

Hamlin will have to hope for a good race in Dover, a track where he finished fifth earlier this season. But the bad luck didn't end there for Joe Gibbs racers.

Matt Kenseth was in a battle for sixth with Paul Menard when the two drivers spun out coming around a turn. Kenseth was forced to go to the pits and get his car repaired, but he fell a considerable amount of spots due to the crash.

Smith shared comments from Kenseth's teammate Hamlin prior to the accident:

Richard Allen of RacinWithRich.com also passed along his thoughts on the slew of contenders getting caught up in accidents:

Both JGR drivers will need great runs in Dover to move on to the next round but might also need some help. With the two currently on the bubble in the Chase picture, a title for either driver looks like a long shot with just one race before the Contender Round.

Kyle Busch was also involved in a crash, but he was the lone Joe Gibbs driver to have a strong finish. He remains in contention for a spot in the next round, but his teammates were not quite as lucky.

It was all part of a wild day in New Hampshire with a new season high in caution flags, as Ryan notes:

Another championship hopeful who experienced issues on the track was Jeff Gordon. The Hendrick driver praised rookie Kyle Larson last week, but he was not happy with the 22-year-old in New Hampshire.

A conversation between Gordon and his crew was shared on the driver's official Twitter account:

It appears the honeymoon phase is over between these two competitors. Nothing came of the comments on the track, but it's clear that Larson and Gordon could have a budding rivalry after battling on Sunday.

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Larson was the least of Gordon's worries at the end of the race, however, as the No. 24 machine experienced issues. Just eight laps remained when Gordon had a right front tire go down. He shot up into the wall, sustaining huge damage.

Fox Sports: NASCAR explains the situation for the driver:

Unlike the JGR drivers, Gordon is still holding onto a strong chance of securing a spot in the next round of the Chase. Now, he has to have a strong run at Dover and be nearly perfect moving forward to claim a title.

Just one race remains in the Challenger Round for Sprint Cup drivers to earn a bid into the next phase of the Chase. The NASCAR circuit will make a trip to Dover where Johnson won back in June.

In the last five events at Dover, J.J. has three victories and four top-five finishes. Having an average finish of 8.36 at the track, Mr. Six-Time should be the favorite to secure another checkered flag at the track.

Earnhardt Jr. finished just behind his Hendrick teammate last season at Dover and should once again be a contender. Both drivers have three wins, but a visit to Victory Lane in Dover would be a significant boost to their championship chances.

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