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.