Memorable moments at New Hampshire

There are plenty of reasons to celebrate when NASCAR visits New Hampshire Motor Speedway. From dramatic finishes to all-time performances, there is plenty of history in one of NASCAR's Northeast pillars. 

Scroll through the gallery to relive some of the best moments dating back to 1993.

July 11, 1993
Rusty Wallace rallied from a 33rd-place starting spot to win the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at what was then called New Hampshire International Speedway. Wallace, who led 106 laps to beat Mark Martin, received a laurel head wreath in Victory Lane. Lobsters would eventually become the norm in the winner's circle. It was Wallace's fifth victory, in what would be a 10-win season, and his only triumph at the New England track.

July 14, 1996
Ernie Irvan captured the win in the July race, making it one of the more emotional victories in NASCAR history. Irvan's victory came less than two years after he was involved in a near-fatal crash at Michigan International Speedway. Irvan led 38 laps and held off Dale Jarrett for the triumph.

Sept. 27, 2000
Jeff Burton's fourth and final win at New Hampshire came in a commanding performance in which he led all 300 laps. The now-NBC commentator is tied for the most wins of all drivers at the 1.058-mile track, notching his four victories over an eight-race span.

Sept. 19, 2004
The very first race of the playoffs was held at New Hampshire in 2004 as Kurt Busch completed the season sweep of the "Magic Mile" premier series races. Busch went on to win the championship that year as well.

Sept. 18, 2005
One of the best finishes at Loudon came in the first race of the 2005 playoffs. Tony Stewart had the dominant car for much of the day, but Ryan Newman went door-to-door with Stewart to the finish. Newman executed a nifty pass on the second-to-last lap and held the lead for the final mile, beating the soon-to-be champion by 0.292 seconds.

June 28, 2009
Joey Logano's first career premier series win came at New Hampshire. Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing at the time, Logano became the youngest winner in the series, a mark that still stands today at 19 years, 1 month and 4 days.

Sept. 25, 2011
In 2011, Tony Stewart famously said he didn't deserve a spot in the playoffs. He then promptly went out and won five playoffs races to secure his third championship. Stewart led only the final two laps of the race at New Hampshire -- after Clint Bowyer ran out gas -- and captured his second-straight victory.

July 14, 2013
Brian Vickers pulled off one of the most surprising wins in recent years, leading the final 16 circuits for the victory. This was also the last of seven wins for Michael Waltrip Racing, which closed its doors after the 2015 season.

Sept. 22, 2013
Matt Kenseth triumphed for the second straight week, becoming the third driver to win back-to-back playoffs openers (Greg Biffle in 2008 and Tony Stewart in 2011 are the others). The Loudon win was his seventh victory of 2013 in his first season driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

July 16, 2017
After starting eighth, Denny Hamlin led 54 laps and sailed to his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory at New Hampshire. The win punched Hamlin's ticket into the 2017 playoffs. It was also a good time for crew chief Mike Wheeler to antagonize his driver with a lobster in Victory Lane, a unique trophy awarded to every winner in Loudon.

July 22, 2018
Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were at the top of the standings for much of the 2018 season. The New Hampshire race produced their best on-track duel of the year with the two battling for the win and then Harvick did the ol' bump-and-run to his rival to take the lead for good on Lap 295.

July 18, 2021
Mired in one of his most challenging professional seasons to date, Aric Almirola — who entered the race 27th in points — held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell as the sun set on Loudon for his first victory since 2018.

June 23, 2024
After a lengthy red flag for inclement weather, NASCAR resumed the race under wet-weather conditions for the final 73 laps around 1.058-mile facility. The full distance was completed after an overtime restart with Christopher Bell taking his second Cup victory at the track.