NASCAR results at New Hampshire: Kevin Harvick picks up first win of season in Foxwoods Resort Casino 301

Thomas Schlarp

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NASCAR results at New Hampshire: Kevin Harvick picks up first win of season in Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 image

The race was certainly blazingly hot, but a 21-race drought was finally ended.

Kevin Harvick held off Denny Hamlin down the final stretch, with multiple points of contact, to win the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, his first win of the season. The win came in large part due to a bold pit strategy from the No. 4, as he opted to bypass the final cycle of pit stops in order to gain track position

Harvick was the defending champion of this race, but at this point last year, it was his sixth victory of the season. Despite Harvick's failure to win a race this season, however, he was third in the Cup Series standings entering the race.

MORE: Watch the NASCAR live & on demand with fuboTV (7-day trial)

Kyle Busch led a race-high 113 laps and won Stage 1, but a collision with the wall on Lap 214 halted the No. 18 from being any real threat for the rest of the race. Busch finished eighth.

Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top five. Aric Almirola, who led 12 laps, won Stage 2 and picked up valuable points for a driver sitting squarely on the playoff bubble.

The Cup Series returns to Pocono Raceway for the second time this season on Sunday, July 28 for the Gander Outdoors 400.

Sporting News tracked lap-by-lap updates and highlights from the Foxwoods Resorts Casino 301. Follow along below.

NASCAR at New Hampshire: Results, highlights from Foxwoods Resort Casino 301

(All times Eastern.)

Caution flags: 9

Lead changes: 13

Lap leaders: Kyle Busch (118), Denny Hamlin (112), Kevin Harvick (41), Brad Keselowski (12), Aric Almirola (11), Erik Jones (4)

Foxwoods Resort Casino 301: 2019 winner, top 20 order of finish

Finish Driver Team (Car No.) Laps led
1. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas (4) 41
2. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing (11) 113
3. Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing (20) 4
4. Ryan Blaney Team Penske (12)
5. Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing (95)
6. Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing (19)
7. Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing (6)
8. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing (18) 118
9. Joey Logano Team Penske (22) 1
10. Brad Keselowski Team Penske (2) 12
11. Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas (10) 12
12. William Byron Hendrick Motorsports (24)
13. Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing (21)
14. Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports (88)
15. Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing (37)
16. Ty Dillon Germain Racing (13)
17. Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports (34)
18. Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing (1)
19. Daniel Suarez Stewart-Haas (41)
20. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing (14)

6:21 p.m.: Kevin Harvick barely holds off Denny Hamlin to win.

6:16 p.m.: Just 10 laps left. Harvick's lead is still about the same.

6:13 p.m.: Nineteen laps to go and Harvick leads Hamlin by half a second. Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney are battling for third.

6:09 p.m.: Hamlin quickly dives to the inside of Erik Jones to pass him for second.

6:08 p.m.: Green flag with 29 laps to go. Kevin Harvick is in first, looking to capture his first win of the year.

5:59 p.m.: The ninth caution of the day is out. It's Kyle Larson again, due to a flat tire. 36 laps left.

5:56 p.m.: Blaney's team is telling him to pull back just a little in order to conserve fuel.

5:50 p.m.: Fifty laps left and Hamlin has a two-second lead over Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski.

5:44 p.m.: Not something you hear very often, but Ryan Newman's team was able to fully repair his engine during the race, and he is in 13th.

5:39 p.m.: Green flag with 77 laps to go and Hamlin in the lead.

5:32 p.m.: The restart is immediately halted for another caution as Kyle Larson spins out.

5:31 p.m.: The winner of this race gets a 22-pound lobster, per NBC Sports.

5:27 p.m.: Caution is out as Kyle Busch gets loose and smacks the wall.

5:24 p.m.: Ryan Newman fears he may be down a cylinder. Not what a driver on the playoff bubble wants.

5:20 p.m.: 100 laps to go as crews and drivers begin chatting about pit strategies.

5:14 p.m.: Daniel Suarez is pitting under green with a loose wheel.

5:10 p.m.: Kyle Busch has already made his way back to eighth. Hamlin has a lead larger than a second over Harvick.

5:03 p.m.: Alex Bowman is in a backup car and was penalized for speeding, but he is all the way up to sixth.

4:59 p.m.: Stage 3 is underway. Harvick and Hamlin lead the pack. Kyle Busch had to get new tires and will restart 14th.

Stage 2 winner: Aric Almirola

4:51 p.m.: Almirola takes the stage, followed by Joey Logano and Ryan Newman. Jimmie Johnson lost his power steering in the closing moments.

4:50 p.m.: Back green with just two laps left.

4:47 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse is done for the day. It's his third DNF.

4:45 p.m.: That didn't last long. Caution for Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex colliding.

4:45 p.m.: Restart with seven laps left in the stage.

4:42 p.m.: Busch, Harvick and Keselowski all opted to pit. Almirola stayed out.

4:40 p.m.: It's going to be interesting to see who pits as drivers weigh stage points versus winning the race.

4:37 p.m.: Caution as Ricky Stenhouse blows a tire and hits the wall really hard.

4:33 p.m.: The Suarez and Hemric crash may have been caused by the cars slipping on fluid from Elliott's leaking car.

4:27 p.m.: Green flag with Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin in the front row. Neither put up much of a fight as Kyle Busch passes them.

4:24 p.m.: Big problem for Chase Elliott as he reports no water pressure. His car is missing a belt, so his crew is running over to Chris Buescher's team to get one.

4:21 p.m.: Caution. Daniel Suarez wipes out Daniel Hemric.

4:15 p.m.: Fifty laps left in Stage 2, and this top three looks a heck of a lot like last week's finish.

4:11 p.m.: Austin Dillon's No. 3 has been taken to the garage. He will be allowed to return.

4:05 p.m.: Back under green, and it's the same front row that started the race.

Stage 1 winner: Kyle Busch

3:59 p.m.: Kyle Busch claims his seventh stage of the season. Erik Jones and Aric Almirola take second and third, respectively.

3:57 p.m.: Another flat for Austin Dillon. No caution.

3:56 p.m.: For the second time today Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer make contact.

3:55 p.m.: Kyle Larson had to pit with just seven laps left in Stage 1 due to a loose wheel.

3:51 p.m.: Very close to another caution as somehows Daniel Suarez hangs on after making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

3:46 p.m.: Back under green as Kyle Busch passes Erik Jones for the lead.

3:40 p.m.: First caution of the race as Austin Dillon blows a tire and hits the wall. About 30 laps left in Stage 1.

3:39 p.m.: Truex keeps getting dangerously close to passing Keselowski on the inside.

3:35 p.m.: Contact as Keselowski edges by Busch for the lead. Busch than allows Martin Truex Jr. to take second.

3:30 p.m.: Kyle Busch has begun lapping the back of the field, but it's allowing Brad Keselowski to close the gap.

3:25 p.m.: Paul Menard rear-ended Daniel Suarez at the start and may have cracked the nose of his No. 21 car. Worth monitoring to see if this becomes an issue.

3:20 p.m. Kyle Larson has already improved 13 positions in the first six laps.

3:18 p.m.: Green flag with Kyle Busch leading Lap 1.

3:11 p.m.: Cars are rolling!

3:05 p.m.: A quick breakdown of the race layout.

Thomas Schlarp