New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a favorite on the NASCAR schedule. The sport’s best drivers take on Ambetter 301 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), heading to the Magic Mile for the only time this season, and the Playoff bubble adds extra tension this year. Just three Playoff spots remain for drivers without a win with just seven races to go.
Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell are the only three drivers ahead of the Playoff cutline without a win, and Bell is only 19 points to the good. Seven drivers in the field have won at New Hampshire, and Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Aric Almirola are previous winners on the outside looking in on the standings chart. Those drivers have four, two, and one win respectively.
Kyle and Kurt Busch, as well as Denny Hamlin, have three wins at the track, while Joey Logano has won twice. Still, drivers like Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney carry momentum of their own: Bell finished runner-up last year, and Blaney has four top tens in the last five races as well as a non-points win in the All-Star Race.
All this sets the stage for more chaos at an already hectic track. Chase Briscoe said: “You’re definitely going to see more aggression. I think New Hampshire is going to be a handful, just from how rough the racetrack is in this car.” He also added “New Hampshire is definitely my worst racetrack by a lot,” a sentiment echoed by plenty of other drivers.
Ross Chastain called the track “humbling,” saying he’d “watched races there and I thought it was nice and simple short track, but that’s not the case.” However, he said he’s “put effort in to improving my racecraft there.”
Veteran drivers, on the other hand, look forward to the race. Kevin Harvick, who’s won four times at the track, said that “the flat-track stuff definitely has been good for us, and we’re going there knowing we’re going to have some options to move around the racetrack and be able to kind of hunt for a line that works” thanks to the Next-Gen car. His team has the race circled as a chance to earn a win into the Playoffs.
Another driver with the track circled as a chance to win is Brad Keselowski. His Roush Fenway Keselowski team needs a win, with Keselowski sitting 30th in the Playoffs after early-season struggles. “It’s a good track for me,” said Keselowski, who’s won twice. “I really like going to New Hampshire and it has some unique challenges as to how you drive the racetrack.”
Qualifying is set for Saturday at 12:20 p.m. ET. There will be two rounds of single car time trials televised beginning at noon on USA Network.
Xfinity Series looks for a fresh winner at New Hampshire
No driver in the Xfinity Series this year has ever won at New Hampshire in the series heading into this weekend’s Crayon 200 (2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Cup Series driver Christopher Bell won the last three races, and while he’ll be hoping to translate that success on Sunday, he won’t be in the field this year, opening up a shot at victory lane.
Justin Allgaier has the most experience of all active drivers, and he’s been successful at the track. In ten starts, he has seven top tens, two top fives, and finished second in last year’s race. But points leaders AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs need good results too and will bring the elbows out.
Playoffs are on the mind of Xfinity Series drivers, too. Seven drivers have a berth in the twelve-driver bracket, with nine races to go, and twelfth-place Landon Cassill has an 80-point advantage over Anthony Alfredo for the final spot.
Practice for the race is Friday at 5:05 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET and will be televised on USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports app.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Ambetter 301
The Place: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, July 17
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,102,088
TV: USA Network, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 318.46 miles (301 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 301)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Crayon 200
The Place: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, July 16
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,175,214
TV: USA Network, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 211.6 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)
- Christian Eckes makes history in dominant Truck Series win at Nashville - June 28, 2024
- Ross Chastain and others look to upset Hendrick dominance at Nashville - June 27, 2024
- Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry impress for soon-to-close SHR - June 23, 2024