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.
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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.
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