The 2011 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

motor race held on July 17, 2011, at

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway (formerly known as the New Hampshire International Speedway from 1989 to 2007, the Bryar Motorsports Park from 1965 to 1989, and as the 106 Midway Raceway from 1961 to 1964) is a oval track in Loudon, New Hampshir ...

Loudon, New Hampshire Loudon is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,576 at the 2020 census. Loudon is the home of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The main village in town, where 711 people lived at the 2020 census, is define ...

. Contested over 301 laps on the 1.058-mile (1.703 km) asphalt oval, it was the 19th race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Ryan Newman of

Stewart Haas Racing Stewart may refer to: People *Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (histo ...

, his first win of 2011. Newman's teammate and owner,

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...

finished second and

Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...

clinched third. There were 10 cautions and 21 lead changes among 14 different drivers throughout the race. Following the race,

Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards Jr. (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and a current analyst for ''NASCAR on Prime Video''. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No ...

led the Drivers' Championship with 652 points, seven ahead of

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

and eleven points ahead of

Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American auto racing driver. He is best known for competing in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2000–2022, last driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series ch ...

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

led the Manufacturer Championship with 127 points, 17 ahead of

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and 22 ahead of

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

. A total of 95,000 people attended the race, while 4.6 million watched it on television.

Report

Background

is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold

races; the others are

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is an inactive tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is currently own ...

, and

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...

as well as

Homestead Miami Speedway Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway (formerly known as Kansas International Speedway in initial planning and construction stages) is a tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The track, since its inaugural season of ...

Kentucky Speedway Kentucky Speedway is an inactive tri-oval intermediate speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) and ...

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...

, and

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...

. The standard track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a four-turn

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

track, long. The track's turns are banked at two to seven degrees, while the front stretch, the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at one degree. Before the race,

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...

led the Drivers' Championship with 624 points, and

stood in second with 620.

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for '' NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewa ...

was third in the Drivers' Championship with 614 points, eight ahead of

and nine ahead of

in fourth and fifth.

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. Most recently, he raced part-time in the Superstar Racing Exper ...

with 602 was 49 ahead of

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...

, as Ryan Newman with 538 points, was nine ahead of

, and eleven in front of

. In the Manufacturers' Championship,

was leading with 118 points, 12 ahead of

, with 99 points, was 27 points ahead of

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

in the battle for third.

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions are scheduled before the race; the first on Friday, which lasted 90 minutes. The second and third were both on Saturday afternoon, lasting 60 minutes each.

Clint Bowyer Clinton Aaron Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado ...

was quickest with a time of 28.379 seconds in the first session, around two hundredths seconds faster than Stewart. Newman was just off Stewart's pace, followed by

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger ...

Paul Menard John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who currently competes full-time in the Trans-Am Series, driving the No. 3 Ford Mustang for 3GT Racing. Menard is the 2024 Trans-Am ...

, and Kurt Busch. Regan Smith was seventh, still within a second of Bowyer's time. Forty-six cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Newman clinched the 47th

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

of his career, with a record time of 28.165 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the

grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Space partitioning * Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs ** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...

by Stewart.

David Reutimann Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World ...

qualified third, Kurt Busch took fourth, and

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, a te ...

started fifth.

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed "the Mayor", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is a member of the Burton racing family. He scored 23 career victories in the NASCAR ...

, Gordon,

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...

, Menard and

Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. Currently, K ...

rounded out the top ten. The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were

Tony Raines Floyd Anthony Raines (born April 14, 1964) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the American Speed Association and NASCAR Rookie of the Year#NASCAR Nationwide Series, 1999 R ...

Scott Riggs Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Early career Riggs was born in Bahama ...

, and

Dennis Setzer Dennis Setzer (born February 27, 1960) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has driven in all three of NASCAR's top series, scoring eighteen wins in the Craftsman Truck Series, and two wins in the Xfinity Series. Beginni ...

. Once the qualifying session completed, Newman commented, "This has been a track that's been really good for me for firsts and I'm looking for that first win again. It's extremely important here to start up front, it's a big track-position race, it's a relatively short race if you look at the mileage and the way the fuel stops work out. We've got a good start, we just need to have a good finish for the team. I want to get that victory on Sunday, that’s what I’m thinking about." In the second practice session, Stewart was fastest with a time of 29.487 seconds, less than five-thousandths of a second quicker than second-placed Bowyer. Keselowski took third place, ahead of Gordon,

Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE for Tricon Garage. He is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series ...

and Hamlin. Burton was only quick enough for the seventh position. In the third and final practice, Johnson was quickest with a time of 29.391 seconds. Montoya followed in second, ahead of Newman and Burton. Keselowski was fifth quickest, with a time of 29.490 seconds.

Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No.22 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for NASCAR operations of Tea ...

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...

, Truex, Hamlin, and Kurt Busch rounded out the first ten positions.

Race

The race, the 19th in the season, began at 1:00 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

. The conditions on the grid were dry before the race, the air temperature at ; clear skies were expected.

Results

Qualifying

Race results

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup , state=collapsed

Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series has been held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1993. The race is currently held as a 301 lap ( race. A second race in September was also formerly held at t ...

NASCAR races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway