LOUDON, N.H. — If Red Auerbach had been in attendance for Saturday’s Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he would have lit up his cigar on lap 136.
The legendary Boston Celtics coach traditionally began to puff on his stogie when victory was a sure thing. When Tony Stewart, in the all-conquering No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, passed Carl Edwards three laps after the final restart, it was cigar time.
The Gibbs entry had already won seven times with four different drivers, so it was evident the rest of the field had little chance of changing the outcome. In fact, the field had no chance at all.
Careful to observe Bill France, Sr.’s first commandment, “Thou shall not stink up the show,” Stewart never pulled away, but kept a comfortable second or two ahead of Denny Hamlin to become the 22nd different winner in 22 races for the former Busch Series at the former New Hampshire Int’l Speedway.
Kyle Busch, who led 53 laps, completed Toyota’s first Nationwide Series podium sweep, finishing third. It marked the 12th victory in 18 races for Toyota and the 11th for one of the Gibbs entries. Stewart, Hamlin and Busch are, of course, all Gibbs contract drivers, but Hamlin was racing for Braun Motorsports on this occasion.
Kevin Harvick broke the string by taking fourth for Chevrolet, with Carl Edwards and David Ragan fifth and sixth in Fords. David Reutimann (Toyota), Mike Bliss, Clint Bowyer and Brad Keselowski (all Chevy) rounded out the top 10. Bowyer extended his point lead to 182 over Reutimann.
“We were a top-five car all day and we could lead for a little bit, but we would get too tight and the guys behind us would catch up and go by,” said Stewart, explaining the choice by crew chief Dave Rogers to take two tires, which led directly to the victory. “To be able to get track position and to be able to stay up front and not have to overdrive the car or abuse the tires was the key to the win.”
With rain reported in the area, track-position strategies were the order of the day when the caution flag waved for debris on lap 129. Roush Fenway Racing chose fuel only for Edwards and Greg Biffle. Stewart, Harvick, Hamlin and Ragan did the two-tire option, while most of the rest took four Goodyears. 
Biffle faded, but Edwards hung on gamely after losing the lead to Stewart and second to Hamlin. When Busch relieved Edwards of third on the 142nd circuit, the podium was set.
In fact, the top 10 never changed from lap 150 to 199. Biffle, racing Keselowski for 10th, spun and tapped the wall after Stewart took the white flag. By rule, that meant a finish under caution rather than a green-white-checkered situation.
Landon Cassill won his first pole knowing he would start last due to an engine change before qualifying. He advanced to the top 15 before being assisted into the first-turn wall by Bobby Hamilton, Jr. on lap 47, allegedly a payback for an incident earlier in the season.
Stewart, who posted his fifth triumph of the season in the series, won nearly $50,000 from the $1.2 million purse, leading 75 laps, including the last 65. Five caution flags for 22 laps held the average speed to 109.025 miles per hour after Cassill turned just under 128 mph on his pole run.