LOUDON, N.H. _ Kevin Harvick took the lead late in the race, then held off Matt Kenseth to win the Bad Boy Off Road 300 NASCAR Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.
The victory means Harvick will join Martin Truex Jr. _ who won the first race of the Chase last week and finished seventh Sunday _ when the second round of the Chase begins in two weeks at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Harvick took the lead after a restart on Lap 295 of 300. He started alongside Kenseth, who had led for 105 laps, on the front row and quickly pulled away.
Kyle Busch, who closed in on the leaders late in the race, finished third, with Brad Keselowski ending up fourth. Truex led a race-high 141 laps, but dropped several spots from second during a late restart.
Four drivers in positions 13-16 in points _ Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher _ will go to next week's race at Dover facing elimination from the Chase unless one of them can win or any of them can move into the top 12.
