Brad Keselowski won the pole position, although he was almost immediately passed by Tony Stewart at the start of the race.

Many Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, including Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, and Hamlin, were in the top ten for most of the race, although some encountered problems in the closing laps.

The result advanced Bowyer to second in the Drivers' Championship, thirty-five points behind Hamlin and ten ahead of Kevin Harvick, although he fell to twelfth in the standings after receiving a post-race penalty.

[12] A number of drivers competing in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup entered the race optimistic about their chances of winning the championship.

The people act and react differently under pressure, and for the last four years we have done a great job in that environment.

[14] During the first practice session, Stewart was fastest, placing ahead of Edwards in second and Marcos Ambrose in third.

[15] David Ragan, Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Biffle, and Hamlin rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.

[17] Stewart qualified third, Jamie McMurray took fourth, and Juan Pablo Montoya started fifth.

[17] Johnson, one of the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, qualified twenty-fifth, while Harvick was scored in twenty-seventh.

When I ran the lap I knew I gave up a little bit of time right in the middle of both corners but I had a plan going into it and stuck to it and it worked.

[18] McMurray paced the final practice session, with Jeff Gordon and Johnson following in second and third respectively.

[20] Hamlin was scored seventh, Kahne eighth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ninth, and David Reutimann tenth.

[20] The race, the twenty-seventh of a total of thirty-six in the 2010 season, began at 1:00 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on ESPN.

[21] Jonathan DeFelice, president of St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, began pre-race ceremonies with the invocation.

Anthony Gargiula performed the national anthem, and Mark Corcoran, VP of Industrial and Commercial Sales for Sylvania, gave the command for drivers to start their engines.

Paul Menard, who started in eighth, fell to eleventh position by lap twelve.

[21] Earnhardt, who began the race in thirty-second, had moved up ten positions to twenty-second by lap 22.

Scott Speed spun sideways and collided with the wall four laps later, causing the first caution of the race.

Three laps later, Kyle Busch, in seventh place, collided with the wall, but escaped with minor damage.

Two laps later, Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton passed Reutimann for ninth and tenth respectively.

During lap 90, Earnhardt passed Keselowski for sixth, as Johnson claimed fourth from McMurray.

[21] On lap 241, the pace car came out for the eighth and final caution, after Joey Logano collided with the outside wall.

With two laps remaining, Stewart and Burton both ran out of fuel, handing the lead back to Bowyer.

Bowyer appeared in Victory Lane to celebrate his first win of the season in front of 95,000 people who attended the race.

"[23] In the subsequent post-race press conference, Hamlin said, "First thing I asked is how many cars on the lead lap, because I wanted to see how bad our day was going to be.

"[23] Bowyer was delighted with his victory: "[Crew chief] Shane [Wilson] built a brand new race car and we came here and we were fast right off the truck, and everybody had a lot of confidence, a pep in their step.

[28] Richard Childress Racing's penalty, for unauthorized alterations to the rear bodywork of Bowyer's car,[29] included a $150,000 fine and a six race suspension for Wilson, and the loss of 150 owner and driver points for Richard Childress and Bowyer respectively.

[28] RCR's car chief, Chad Haney, was placed on probation until December 31, 2010, and suspended from NASCAR until November 3, 2010.

[28] Whitney Motorsports' penalty was for engine exhaust valves that did not meet NASCAR's weight requirements.

"[29] Bowyer did not lose the victory title for the race itself; NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton commented, "We don't consider taking away the win.