New Hampshire Cup Series race postponed until Monday

The NASCAR Cup Series race originally scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET has been postponed because of rain forecast throughout the day in Loudon, New Hampshire.

The Crayon 301 was rescheduled for noon ET on Monday, airing live on USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell will lead the field to the green flag after winning the Busch Light Pole Award on Saturday. Teammate Martin Truex Jr. will join him on the front row.

With seven races left in the regular season, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron leads the standings by 21 points over Truex. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is third, followed by Bell and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain to round out the top five.

Bell is the defending winner of the New Hampshire race. Last year, his victory helped him qualify for the playoffs. In 2021, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola also made his way into the playoffs with a win at New Hampshire.

Kevin Harvick is the active leader with four victories at New Hampshire. Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the season, last won on Loudon’s 1.058-mile track in 2019.

NASCAR officials had scheduled a test for Monday and Tuesday at the Loudon oval, but made the decision Friday to scrap the sessions in light of the dreary weather forecast. The two-day session to test a rules configuration for potential use in the Cup Series on short tracks and road courses in 2024 was moved to July 31 and Aug. 1 at Richmond Raceway.

This marks the third consecutive Cup race that has been affected by weather.