Posted on by Pat DeCola

LOUDON, N.H. — “Game on.”

That was the message Ty Gibbs radioed to his team while spun around on track, sitting idly in his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota while waiting for a tow in Stage 2 after a run-in with championship-seeking teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

It might as well be a rallying cry for the 12 remaining NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers, who capped a wild and tension-filled weekend of racing in New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s return to the postseason Sunday.

Hamlin’s level of patience — or perhaps lack thereof — with his non-playoff teammate, who had been racing him and Bell exceptionally hard during the Mobil 1 301, was surprising to see, given what was on the line. How Hamlin responded — by punting the No. 54 out of the way with urgency after several laps of working to get past him cleanly — was not.

MORE: Teammates tangle at Loudon | Hamlin on brush with Gibbs

“Does Ty know we’re going for a championship? What the (expletive)?” Hamlin boomed over the radio. ” … What the (expletive) is he doing? Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel like. They’re just scared of him.”

The playoffs may have begun over Labor Day Weekend in Darlington, South Carolina, but they’ve officially arrived in the crisp, autumnal postseason atmosphere New England fans have grown accustomed to.

*****

Bright and early on Saturday morning at 9 ET in the track’s media center, Bell was officially awarded his race-winning trophy (a 20-something-pound “Loudon the Lobster” lacquered and mounted on a plaque for eternity, of course) from last year’s New Hampshire victory. Smiles, photos, chuckles about accidentally leaking major news here last year, etc.

From that moment on, the smiles stopped and the tone of the weekend shifted entirely and palpably, with tension thicker than that undersea behemoth’s meaty, crustaceous claws. Clearly.

RELATED: Race results | Playoff standings

It wasn’t just that particular Stage 2 incident between JGR’s teammates, however.

When drivers came in for their media appearances before and after qualifying on Saturday, several remained in full playoff mode, answering the questions they were asked but still, obviously, locked in and in the zone, solely focused on Sunday’s checkered flag at all costs.

“I’m not worried about Phoenix right now,” 2020 champ Chase Elliott succinctly and abruptly responded to a prompt about what he might be able to learn for the similarly laid-out Phoenix Raceway, host of the 2025 Cup Series Championship Race.

Minutes earlier, Elliott had qualified 27th in what appeared to be a crucially important race for Hendrick Motorsports. The only thing on his mind? Figuring out how to fix that on Sunday.

Same thing with a typically gregarious Austin Cindric, instead stone-faced and serious after landing a P22 starting spot — with his fellow playoff teammates earning front-row honors.

“That was pretty terrible, actually,” Cindric said. “It’s a track-position race track, and it’s frustrating to not quite get a good enough lap to set us up well for points. We kind of needed to maximize every stage of the game here, and we’ve been behind compared to the competition.”

The edginess that accompanies the intensity that the playoffs bring was more than apparent on Saturday, and on Sunday it only ratcheted up once there were 36 cars out on the race track.

cup championship tropgy in foreground with track in back
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media

But that edginess comes from the pressure they’re all feeling, which also has a way of filtering out who’s able to lock in — and who could be sent packing from the playoffs at the end of the Round of 12. And for perhaps a foreshadowing of who that might be: Elliott and the No. 9 team scratched and clawed the entire 301 laps on Sunday to land inside the top five, just his third such Loudon finish in 12 starts. Cindric inched up a bit to finish 17th, but watched one of his teammates win the race (Blaney) and the other (Logano) score the second most points to vault to 24 points above the cutline after opening the day below it.

“That’s just part of the playoffs. There’s pressure. There’s expectations that you should run well. Expectations with yourself. Expectations from the outside world. It’s just, how do you handle that and how do you just clear all that stuff out and just go race at the end of the day?” Blaney said after collecting a third 2025 win to match a career-high. “That’s how I’ve always tried to think about it, like just go racing and go do the best job that you can. That’s what I judge my team off of. Did we do a great job collectively? Did we communicate well through the week, through the weekend? Did we do a good job on pit road? Did I do my job on the race track? That’s what I think we did a great job of today.

“Yeah, it’s a lot of pressure. This is your season. This is your year, everyone’s year, that can go win a championship. It’s nice that we could rise to the occasion today. Hopefully, we can continue to do it.”

The agita only ramps up from here, too, as the Round of 12 continues Sunday at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). And that goes beyond any barbecue-induced indigestion in Kansas, which has a history showcasing extreme playoff drama of its own.

That includes even Team Penske, which, sure, came alive in New Hampshire and has one driver sleeping easy this week — but two more to sweat slotting into the Round of 8.

MORE: Ford fires back in Round of 12 opener

“I said earlier my stress has been reduced by one-third,” said Michael Nelson, Team Penske president of NASCAR. “We’ve got two more to try to get in here these next couple weeks. No, this goes a long way. It’s really good to see this team get the win. They’ve had the fastest car quite a bit here recently. It’s good to bring it home for them just for the win’s sake, but also it’s huge to obviously have a little bit of breathing room for the next round.”

From this point on — and, really, since Bristol shook everyone’s expectations to close out the Round of 16 — the only thing we know is that we don’t know what to expect.

“I think this weekend is proof. You can’t take anything for granted,” said Cindric after his 17th-place run. “But I don’t think we’re in a position to be desperate. We’ve just got to go out the next two weekends and do better than we did this weekend. If we have a repeat of this weekend, it’s not gonna be enough to make it through. We’re capable of it, and I believe in that. I feel good about Kansas.”

In fact, things are so intense, electric and shrouded in mystery … that expectations within the same shop don’t even align.

“No, I don’t feel good about Kansas at all,” No. 22 crew chief Paul Wolfe told NASCAR.com. “That was why today was big for us. The win would have been really good for that, but I think we scored enough points that hopefully we can get through Kansas without killing ourselves, and then the (round-closing Charlotte) Roval we’ve been able to manage pretty well there in the past. So I don’t feel terrible about that, but Kansas will be a struggle.”

Game on.

Posted on by Brandon White

Every Late Model Stock competitor in the Southeast has one event circled on their calendar every year; the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

The event has served as the discipline’s equivalent to the Daytona 500 since its inaugural running in 1995. Each running regularly attracts more than 70 competitors from across the region and beyond with the goal of claiming a prestigious grandfather clock.

Previous winners of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 comprise Late Model Stock legends and drivers who would later progress into one of NASCAR’s national touring divisions. That list includes Timothy Peters, Dennis Setzer, Lee Pulliam, Peyton Sellers, Philip Morris and Josh Berry, among others.

For a select few on the entry list, the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown is also up for grabs at Martinsville on Saturday evening. Earning a grandfather clock and/or Virginia Triple Crown will require drivers to survive the unpredictability the ValleyStar Credit Union 30o brings and shine under the lights on Late Model Stock racing’s biggest stage.

Below is everything to know about the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Martinsville Speedway
Many of the best Late Model Stock competitors in the country will descend upon Martinsville Speedway for a shot at a grandfather clock. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

What TV channel is the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on?

Qualifying for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will air live on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Regional properties.

FloRacing will broadcast Saturday’s on-track activity, which will also be streamed live on the NASCAR Channel, which is available on Tubi, The Roku Channel, Xumo Play, Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video and more.

Below is the complete broadcast schedule for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Date Event Start time How to watch
Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 qualifying 7 p.m. ET FloRacing
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 2:45 p.m. ET FloRacing/NASCAR Channel

Complete schedule for the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300

On-track activity for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will take place between Sept. 26-27, 2025.

The event is headlined by the 200-lap Late Model Stock feature, with four 25-lap qualifying races setting the field for the main event.

Below is the complete schedule at Martinsville Speedway (all times ET).

  • Friday, Sept. 26
Time Event
9 a.m. Ticket booth opens
1 p.m. Parking opens
2:30 p.m. Fan gate opens — Main gate only
3-6 p.m. Practice
7 p.m. Qualifying
  • Saturday, Sept. 27
Time Event
9 a.m. Ticket booth opens
10 a.m. Parking opens
12:30 p.m. Fan gate opens — Main gate and Turn 1 gate only
12:45-2:30 p.m. Autograph session on the frontstretch
3 p.m. First qualifying race (25 laps)
To follow Second qualifying race (25 laps)
To follow Third qualifying race (25 laps)
To follow Fourth qualifying race (25 laps)
5-5:20 p.m. ValleyStar Credit Union 300 hot laps
5:30-6:30 p.m. Martinsville Speedway Track Events (Pre-race/Driver intros)
6:35 p.m. All cars on the line (Race line-up)
7 p.m. Feature race (200 laps)

Race format

The field for Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will be set by a combination of qualifying and the four 25-lap qualifying races. Competitors will first qualify on Friday evening, with the fastest qualifier earning a $5,000 bonus.

Connor Hall and Matt Waltz are the only two drivers locked into the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. They earned their starting positions by winning the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway and Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway, respectively. Hall was the winner at South Boston, while Waltz won at Langley.

Starting positions for the 40-car field are determined by the qualifiers. The top 10 finishers in each qualifying race will secure a place in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. There will not be a last chance qualifier.

If Hall and Waltz fail to race their way in, the first two qualifying races will have 10 transfers into the feature with the last two only having nine. Should only one of those two not finish top 10 in their respective qualifier, just the fourth qualifying race will have nine available transfer spots.

The 200-lap feature race includes three segments: 100 laps, 75 laps and 25 laps. Each segment winner receives a $1,000 bonus.

In the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 feature, the leader of each lap receives $25, with $5,000 available in the laps led bonus pool. If the race extends beyond the scheduled distance, there will be unlimited attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. The winner also takes home a $32,000 paycheck to go along with a grandfather clock.

Martinsville Speedway
Last year, Carson Kvapil joined a notable list of names won have won the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

ValleyStar Credit Union 300 entry list

The current entry list for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 features 74 cars.

Headlining the stacked group of competitors is Connor Hall, who currently leads the Virginia Triple Crown point standings with an average finish of 1.5. A two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National champion, Hall is still searching for his first ValleyStar Credit Union 300 win, with his best finish being a 12th-place effort in 2022.

Joining Hall on the JR Motorsports roster for Martinsville is Caden Kvapil, the younger brother of 2024 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner Carson Kvapil. Caden has competed in a handful of Late Model Stock events for JR Motorsports throughout 2025, but will look to make a strong impression in his maiden ValleyStar Credit Union 300 appearance.

Four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National champion Lee Pulliam returns to Martinsville after finishing 13th last year, which was his first Late Model Stock race since 2020. The car Pulliam is driving in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 this year will resembles the one he drove during his first of two Martinsville triumphs in 2012.

Pulliam is one of six former winners on the 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 entry list. The other previous Martinsville victors joining Pulliam at the track this weekend are Peyton Sellers, Trevor Ward, Landon Pembelton, Mike Looney and Jake Crum.

Reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski is utilizing the off weekend to make his second ValleyStar Credit Union 300 start after his first attempt in 2022 ended behind the wall. Majeski is teaming up with Chad Bryant Racing on Saturday, the same organization he earned two consecutive South Carolina 400 victories with in 2020 and 2021.

Other names set to battle for a grandfather clock at Martinsville include Bobby McCarty, Matt Waltz, Landon Huffman, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Doug Barnes Jr., Tate Fogleman, Tristan McKee, Max Reaves and Carson Loftin.

Below is the complete 2025 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 entry list.

(Drivers in bold are eligible for the Virginia Triple Crown)

Car No. Driver Hometown Car Owner
0 Landon Pembelton Amelia, VA Brian Pembelton
1 Andrew Grady Youngsville, NC Tony Grady
1 Jamie York Reidsville, NC James Jason York, Sr.
1 Lee Pulliam Alton, VA Lee Pulliam
2 Matt Waltz Smithfield, VA Waltz Racing LLC
2 Brandon Pierce Kernersville, NC Justin Carroll
3 Trey Williams Powhatan, VA Ray Williams Jr.
4 Kyle Dudley Roanoke, VA Kyle Dudley
4 Kade Brown Lincolnton, NC Marcus Richmond
5 Dexter Canipe III Conover, NC Dexter Canipe Jr.
6 Bobby McCarty Madison, NC Bobby McCarty
7 Cory Pack Ridgeway, VA Cotton Rigney
7 Dylan Ward Walkertown, NC Dylan Ward
7 Connor Branch Lewisville, NC Connor Branch Racing
7 Tristan McKee Kannapolis, NC Matt Piercy
7 Blayne Harrison Bastian, VA Harrison Motorsports
8 Caden Kvapil Mooresville, NC Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8 Tate Fogleman Durham, NC JFG Motorsports
8 Conner Weddell Centerville, MD Weddell Motorsports
8 Thomas Scott Burlington, NC Thomas Scott
12 Jake Crum Hiddenite, NC Mike Darne
13 Chase Murphy Walkertown, NC Dylan Ward
14 Jared Fryar Trinity, NC Jimmy Mooring
15 Adam Murray Abingdon, VA VanDyke Racing
16 Cody Kelley Hartsville, SC Kendall Sellers
17 Daniel Silvestri Blacksburg, VA Kenneth Packer
17 Jason Myers Hurt, VA Jason Myers
17 Stacy Puryear South Boston, VA Stacy Puryear
17 Bryan Reedy Daleville, VA Bryan Reedy
19 Jessica Cann Kernersville, NC Bill Petroff
22 Carson Loftin Clemmons, NC Barry Nelson
23 Matt Leicht Asheville, NC Marvin Thomas
24 Diego Mendeztorres Huntersville, NC Justin Carroll
25 Jacob Borst Elon, NC Justin Borst
26 Peyton Sellers Danville, VA Bert Sellers
28 Landon S. Huffman Connelly Springs, NC Pinnacle Racing Group, Inc.
29 Stuart Crews Long Island, VA Stuart Crews
31 Cole Bruce Fredericksburg, VA Sylvia Bruce
33 Dillon Harville Kernersville, NC Zane Anthony
40 Ryan Millington Statesville, NC Bob Saville
41 Woody Howard Chesapeake, VA Woody Howard
41 Mason Diaz Manassas, VA Hedgecock Racing
44 Conner Jones Fredericksburg, VA Mike Darne
44 Dylan Newsome Goldsboro, NC Jack Newsome
50 Riley Neal Walkertown, NC Ross Dalton
50 Chuck Wall Lexington, NC Ross Dalton
51 Ryan Matthews Topping, VA Michael Matthews
57 Landon Huffman Claremont, NC Carroll Speedshop
57 Chase Johnson Midlothian, VA Richard Johnson
62 Ronnie Bassett Jr. Lexington, NC Shane Wilson
71 Parker Eatmon Mooresville, NC Hettinger Racing
73 Jimmy Mullins Bassett, VA Patrick & Henry Community College
74 Steve Zacharias Myrtle Beach, SC Mitchell Mote
75 Cory Dunn Salem, VA Larry Dunn
77 Trevor Ward Winston-Salem, NC Trevor Ward
77 Darren Krantz Jr. Huntington, NY Chad Bryant Racing
77 Blake Stallings Danville, VA Steve Stallings
81 Zack Clifton Walkertown, NC Zack Clifton
87 Mike Looney Catawba, VA Billy Martin
88 Connor Hall Hampton, VA Dale Earnhardt Jr.
88 Doug Barnes Jr. Wellington, FL Lee Pulliam
95 Sam Yarbrough Myrtle Beach, SC Cumberland-Elliott Racing
97 Michael Bumgarner Taylorsville, NC Keith Bumgarner
98 Ty Majeski Kaukauna, WI Chad Bryant Racing
98 Donovan Strauss Mooresville, NC Kendall Sellers
00 Chase Burrow King William, VA Chase Burrow Motorsports
01 Camden Gullie Durham, NC Jason Gullie
01 Thomas Beane Hudson, NC Jody Chandler
09 Riley Gentry Easley, SC Riley Gentry

Virginia Triple Crown point standings

Driver South Boston finish Langley finish Martinsville finish Average finish
Connor Hall 1 2 – 1.5
Ronnie Bassett Jr. 5 8 – 6.5
Woody Howard 9 4 – 6.5
Darren Krantz Jr. 2 13 – 7.5
Kade Brown 11 5 – 8
Brandon Pierce 8 10 – 9
Ryan Millington 4 15 – 9.5
Carson Loftin 14 6 – 10
Parker Eatmon 3 18 – 10.5
Doug Barnes Jr. 7 16 – 11.5
Trevor Ward 19 9 – 14
Peyton Sellers 24 7 – 15.5
Daniel Silvestri 23 11 – 17
Chase Burrow 16 20 – 18
Tate Fogleman 6 31 – 18.5
Matt Waltz 38 1 – 19.6
Deac McCaskill 28 17 – 22.5
Justin Carroll 20 27 – 23.5
Landon Pembelton 30 19 – 24.5
Blake Stallings 21 33 – 27
Jonathan Shafer 27 28 – 27.5
Trey Williams 36 25 – 30.5
London McKenzie 37 24 – 30.5
Mason Bailey 32 30 – 31
Bobby McCarty 29 35 – 32

 

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

After 301 hard-fought miles around New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Cup Series playoff picture took a major swing.

Sweeping the first-round races, Joe Gibbs Racing struggled Sunday at the “Magic Mile”, opening the door for Team Penske to reassert itself into the championship picture. Before the Round of 12 moves on to a high-stakes race at Kansas Speedway next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), see who put together good days in Loudon and who’s on the back foot going to the Sunflower State.

WINNER

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Team Penske had the cars to beat with Blaney and Joey Logano starting on the front row and owning Saturday’s session. Technical alliance teammate Josh Berry (Wood Brothers) was also among the fastest cars of the day, placing second and giving the No. 12 driver everything he had in the closing laps. It’s the fifth consecutive season Blaney has reached the semifinal round, and he’ll have three favorable tracks (Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville) to set himself up for his third consecutive berth to the Championship 4.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Loudon

WHO’S HOT?

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Logano is teasing championship pace right now, nabbing a third consecutive top-five finish, which he hasn’t accomplished since the spring of 2019. The three-time titleholder won the pole Saturday, took a Stage 2 win and led a race-high 147 laps before settling for a fourth-place result at New Hampshire. Kansas is next as Logano looks for four straight top fives for the first time since 2017.

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Entering Sunday’s race, it looked like Hendrick Motorsports would struggle on pace. Elliott started 27th but slowly crept his way through the field and tallied a massive fifth-place result. A call from crew chief Alan Gustafson to stay out after a Lap 255 caution placed vital track position to keep the 2020 series champion toward the front to close the day strong. Kansas will have some question marks for the No. 9 camp as they finished 15th earlier in the spring.

WHO’S NOT?

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota. Base hits in the Round of 16 turned into a “golden sombrero” for Wallace at New Hampshire as the No. 23 team struggled to find speed all weekend. Wallace finished worst of the title-eligible drivers remaining — one lap down in 26th. With no stage points and minimal points to coincide with the finish, Wallace will need to find the speed in his Toyota that earned him a victory in the 2022 Kansas playoff race.

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Penske and Wood Brothers had the speed to run up front, but Cindric was the lone wolf outside the top 10 among the four cars. Crew chief Brian Wilson tried taking a big swing with a two-tire call during the Stage 2 yellow, but it was all for naught as Cindric immediately lost spots and ultimately finished 17th at the “Magic Mile.”

BUBBLE WATCH

RANKDRIVER+/-
4Christopher Bell+29
5Denny Hamlin+27
6Joey Logano+24
7Chase Elliott+14
8Chase Briscoe+12
CUTLINE
9Ross Chastain-12
10Austin Cindric-19
11Tyler Reddick-23
12Bubba Wallace-27

NASCAR INSIGHTS

One of the key playoff story lines recently has been the suspect execution of Hamlin and the No. 11 crew on pit road. That wasn’t the case Sunday as they were the best on pit road at New Hampshire, according to NASCAR Insights. However, the lack of speed and a pedestrian 22nd in restarts deemed a perfect day on pit road null and void as Hamlin finished outside the top 10. Why is this key? Kansas awaits, and in last year’s playoff race at the 1.5-mile oval, the No. 11 had one of its worst days on pit road despite finishing inside the top 10. We will see if Hamlin and co. can keep up the momentum in the stall heading to the Sunflower State.

QUOTABLE

“That was the longest day I’ve had in a race car in a long time. Just a head-scratcher and that’s how it really was (since) the start of the weekend. In practice, I didn’t really know which way to handle the balance. I thought we were neutral, and we obviously fired off and didn’t really have much to speak for. So I hate that. It looks like our whole team struggled just to find the speed and the feel that we needed. This is a tricky place, but to be that far off, it kind of caught off all of us by surprise. — Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, on trying to find pace at New Hampshire.

NEXT RACE

The Cup Series Playoffs continue next Sunday as the circuit returns to Kansas for its annual playoff race. Kyle Larson walloped the field in the spring as he led 221 of the 267 laps. Don’t underestimate Ross Chastain, however. The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver played spoiler in the Kansas playoff race last year as he took the checkered flag and will look to repeat his triumph in hopes of clinching a Round of 8 berth.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

LOUDON, N.H. — The empire has struck back, so to speak.

With Joe Gibbs Racing sweeping the Round of 16 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opening round — decisively — and opening the Round of 12 at a track at which it had won three straight, it appeared on paper that the Toyota powerhouse would be dining on seafood once again after Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Put away those bibs, boys, because race winner Ryan Blaney and Team Penske are a force of nature.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The “Star Wars” superfan Blaney and his pole-winning, New England native teammate Joey Logano combined to collect both stage wins, the race win and 263 laps led at the “Magic Mile,” with the closely aligned Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry landing P2 with 10 laps led of his own. Austin Cindric, also chasing a championship in the No. 2 Penske Ford, struggled a bit throughout the weekend but rallied back for his best Loudon finish since his rookie season of 2022.

“Massive props to all of Team Penske, Wood Brothers. Really great job leading up to this race and preparing for practice, qualifying and the race car’s really fast. And as a whole company, that’s something they should really be proud of,” Blaney said in his post-race press conference. “I’m just in the fortunate situation I get to drive a fast race car, you know? But, yeah, it speaks volumes of the hard work that they’ve done. And I think for us to run first, Josh run second with Joey fourth with a stage win, like, that’s a great day. And so yeah, just huge, huge props to them. And couldn’t be prouder of them. And it’s nice to be able to capitalize on having such guys.”

All the talk leading into Saturday’s on-track action was, understandably, Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing’s manhandling of the playoff field in the postseason’s first three races. Coming to Loudon, where Toyota had won all three races, all six stages and led 83% of the laps at New Hampshire in the Next Gen era to follow? Forget about it.

But that wasn’t how the Penske shop saw it, and that was not at all how it played out.

“Yeah, I mean, I think when you look at Loudon, you expect us to run well, and overall, it was a solid weekend, right? A pole, a race win, two stage wins, if you look at Team Penske as a whole there, so that’s a good day,” the two-time NHMS winner and Connecticut product Logano said on pit road after his third straight top five.

“… overall, I’m proud of the execution. We obviously got a ton of points today. I think we got a second and a first in the first two stages and a top-four finish, so we did what we needed to do. We’re plus to the cutline. I’d rather win. That’s just the greed in me, especially when it’s home.”

No. 22 crew chief Paul Wolfe told NASCAR.com on Saturday — before practice and qualifying, when Logano put his Ford on the pole, mind you — that he saw “no reason to think we shouldn’t be a contender tomorrow.” It certainly helped that Logano was one of just three drivers to test here in July.

Wolfe’s confidence was backed up — and then some.

“Well, I knew this was going to be a strong track for us, like I said yesterday, with the test and what we’re able to come up with there. Obviously, it played out today just like that, which was nice to see,” the championship-winning crew chief told NASCAR.com on pit road following the race. “Obviously, we had the best cars here, and I’m glad one of our cars got the win and we scored a lot of points. We were in contention all day, and go out of here with a good bit above the cutline. So not the win that obviously we want, but as good a spot, as you could say, aside from winning, as we head to Kansas. … There’s no mistakes. We’re operating at a high level right now.”

On the flip side, what exactly happened to Toyota? The results sheet will still show the three JGR drivers landing inside the top 12 — not catastrophic by any means — but seeing Penske flat-out dominate while “Magic Mile” masters Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin combine for exactly zero laps led, with the 23XI Racing playoff drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace not even cracking the top 20 has to be disheartening. Especially after Bell was also one of the three drivers to test at Loudon.

And especially because the championship will be decided at Phoenix Raceway, a similarly flat 1-mile track that Penske has had dialed in for three straight titles, split between Logano (two) and Blaney.

“I think the biggest thing you’ve got to take away from today is, with this aero package, with the same tire as Phoenix at a 1-mile race track, the Penske cars are completely untouchable again,” JGR competition director Chris Gabehart said. “So, I know what it’s like to be untouchable. We’ve been fortunate enough to be on the right side of that. But the reality is, we got a lot of work to do with this package, and that’s the focus.

“While this is the aero package and the tire we’ll run at Phoenix, this is not Phoenix. It’s Loudon. And they have different race track tendencies. And when we were at Phoenix, the last time they were on the other side of the race track, and when we finished the race, we finished first. So you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater here. But the reality is, it’s playoff season, and here come the yellow cars, with subpar metrics along the way, but those guys know how to get it done when it counts. And, you know, we’ll just have to race them the rest of the year and see how it goes, I guess.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

LOUDON, N.H. — Team Penske Fords were fast in practice, fast in qualifying and fastest in the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when it counted Sunday afternoon, with Ryan Blaney taking a 0.937-second victory over fellow Ford driver Josh Berry in the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12.

It marked a distinct competitive turn in this year’s championship with three Fords finishing among the top five and three Chevrolets among the top seven at the 1-mile New Hampshire track after a Toyota sweep of the playoffs’ opening three-race round.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford — which started on the outside of the front row — led 116 of the race’s 301 laps, including the final 39 laps, holding off the Wood Brothers Racing driver Berry, who had rallied back in his No. 21 Ford after a spin on Lap 82.

“Probably the hardest 20 laps I drove,” Blaney, 31, said of the race’s closing laps. “Was trying to bide my stuff and he [Berry] really started coming. He started to get super free, and it was all I could do to hold him off. It was good racing. Clean racing, and I appreciate Josh not throwing me the bumper when he could have.”

Blaney’s victory cashes the popular 2023 series champion’s ticket into the Round of 8 in pursuit of his second Cup Series title. Important both Sunday and likely further in the playoffs as the season’s three-race winner can expect fierce competition from his Penske teammate, three-time and reigning series champ Joey Logano, as the playoffs intensify.

SHOP: Ryan Blaney winner gear

The two were quickest throughout preparation for Sunday’s race and maintained that edge throughout the day — combining to lead 263 of the 301 laps.

The polesitter, Logano, led the most laps (147) and finished fourth. He crossed the line just behind another playoff-eligible driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, whose teammate, Chase Elliott, turned in an inspiring comeback performance with a fifth-place showing after a 27th-place starting position.

“We ran well, we just weren’t the fastest car,” Logano said. “The 12 [Blaney] was fastest in practice, and he showed that again in the race. Our only chance to beat him was on pit road and beat him on details. But they were able to make up their track position when they put four [tires] on. That last restart I could have started behind him and finished third in the race, but if I was behind the 12 [Blaney] I wasn’t going to win.”

It perhaps marked a significant turn in competition — early in this round, at least — with the top Toyota driver, the race’s defending winner Christopher Bell, leading that manufacturer with a sixth-place finish Sunday. He won just a week ago, capping a three-race Toyota winning sweep in the opening playoff series.

Hendrick’s Kyle Larson (also a playoff driver) was seventh, followed by Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell and playoff drivers Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing) and Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing).

JGR’s veteran driver Denny Hamlin, who ran top-10 most of the day and was involved in an incident with his teammate Ty Gibbs mid-race, dropped from the championship lead coming into New Hampshire to now fifth place in the points with a 12th-place run. The season’s five-race winner had no comment, however, about the contact with Gibbs that put the young third-year driver into the wall and out of the race while they both raced among the top 10.

Blaney’s victory — the 16th of his career — automatically moves him into the next round of the playoffs. Byron is now second in the standings, 47 points above the cutline. Larson is 41 points up, and Bell is 29 points to the good.

“The Penske cars were super-fast, kind of in another zip code,” said Byron, whose third-place finish marks his first career top-10 showing in eight New Hampshire races.

“If we can just build on this, all our short tracks are coming together,” said Byron. “It’s no breathing room because you have to go out there and execute every week and keep your foot on the gas in this deal. But hopefully we can go to Kansas and be up front, contending for a win.

“… Definitely wasn’t expecting to be this strong here, so hopefully we can go to Kansas and be really good.”

Hamlin is now fifth in the standings with a 27-point cushion on the elimination line, followed by Logano (plus-24), Elliott (plus-14) and Briscoe, who holds a 12-point advantage over Chastain for the eighth and final playoff position to advance following the Kansas race next week and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval race on Oct. 5.

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (minus-19) and 23XI Racing teammates Tyler Reddick (minus-23) and Bubba Wallace (minus-27) are also below the playoff line heading to Kansas. Cindric finished 17th Sunday, Reddick was 21st and Wallace was 26th.

The Cup Series moves to the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway for next Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Chastain is the defending race winner.

NOTE: Inspection was completed in the NASCAR Cup Series garage with no issues, confirming Blaney as the winner. No cars were taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Posted on by Chris Murdock

LOUDON, N.H. — Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs battled both on the race track and via their team radios Sunday. Contact between the two drivers on-track following tense racing resulted in Hamlin sending Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota into the wall, a flurry of profanities on the scanner and lingering questions on how the team moves forward following the Round of 12 opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The high from JGR’s sweep of winning the opening three postseason races was a distant memory as tensions boiled over in Stage 2 between title hopeful Hamlin and Gibbs, who did not qualify for the postseason this year.

Battling for 11th at Lap 110, the Toyota drivers made contact exiting Turn 4, before Hamlin, a four-time winner this season and championship contender, sent Gibbs spinning into the Turn 1 wall. The incident came after several laps of tight racing between the two and fellow JGR driver Christopher Bell, as Hamlin and Bell were attempting to pass Gibbs for position with what appeared to be quicker cars.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Frustrations tipped in real time for Hamlin as he keyed up to his team on the radio, questioning the decisions made by his young teammate in the laps before their contact.

“Does Ty know we’re going for a championship? What the [expletive]?” Hamlin radioed to his team. “Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel like — they’re scared of him.”

Gibbs and his No. 54 Camry rested in the bottom lane of the track while waiting for a tow back to the garage. The team assessed the damage and returned to the track briefly before Gibbs hit the wall again, and the No. 54 crew determined the car was too beaten to continue, ending Gibbs’ race early.

The 22-year-old is the lone driver under the Joe Gibbs Racing banner not competing for the Bill France Cup after failing to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Speaking with USA Network from the infield care center, Gibbs — who radioed “game on” after his car came to a rest — brushed off questions specific to the incident.

“It’s unfortunate, but I’m excited to go race next week,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. We’ll have a good race next week.”

Hamlin expressed his frustrations after the race, noting that he made a mistake in initiating contact and wanted to step back and let others handle the fallout moving ahead.

“Well, I made a mistake in Turn 1. I would have made a mistake with anybody in that position,” Hamlin said on pit road. “I was trying to get by him; that was a task in itself.

“I’ll let leadership kind of quarterback it, however they’d like to. Obviously, us, [Bell and Chase Briscoe], are all trying to win a championship for their family. So it’s crazy unfortunate why we’re racing the way we are.”

MORE: Hamlin on crash: ‘Super unfortunate’

Team owner Joe Gibbs, still carrying the moniker of “Coach” from his days as a Super Bowl-winning football coach, spoke briefly after the race and indicated he plans to let the drivers handle their issues.

“Those guys are the ones driving the cars,” Joe Gibbs said. “Those guys will get together on their own and figure it out. It’s hard for me. It’s not me, it’s the drivers. That’s how I’ve always looked at this.”

Competition director Chris Gabehart also falls under the leadership and is tasked with overseeing all four cars in the operation.

Hamlin’s former crew chief, known for his ability to “rally the troops” when times are tough, will once again attempt to mend fences before the team treks to Kansas Speedway next weekend.

“I think all of their viewpoints are going to be a little bit different,” Gabehart said. “The 54 (of Gibbs) and the 20 (of Bell) were in a tight space, and Denny was behind that and probably saw that circumstance and was confused by it. And then when they run the 54 back down, you know, [Hamlin] probably was looking for more of a break than he got. That’s what I would guess. That’s what I saw.

“The hard part is the 54 is trying to win races and make a name for himself as well. So everybody needs more space than they have.”

WATCH: Blaney’s perspective on racing teammates

When asked how the upcoming conversation will play out, Gabehart is hopeful that it will promote unity, where each driver can thrive in their own environment.

“This is the type of conversation that when you run well, you’re fortunate enough to have to have every so often,” Gabehart continued. “We’ll have to have that conversation again. But, you know, I think there’s a reasonable etiquette to follow, where everybody can get what they need out of it.

“But at the same time, you can’t create an atmosphere where everybody just has to roll over and play nice all the time either, or you won’t hang as many banners as Joe Gibbs Racing has hung over the years.”

Posted on by PJ Walsh

The NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 12 gets underway with Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Following a very strong practice and a second-place qualifying effort, Ryan Blaney is the race favorite according to updated NASCAR odds for New Hampshire.

And while I’m not necessarily ruling out betting on Blaney right now, we first need to discuss tires again.

No, we won’t have an extremely high tire-wear race like we did last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, but curiosity comes due to a new right-side tire combination.

This is the same tire that teams already ran at Bowman Gray Stadium, Martinsville Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway, but it’s the first time it will be on cars for New Hampshire.

In order to get my betting card rolling for New Hampshire, I’m getting down on a driver with unmatched success at this track who may also have an advantage when it comes to the new right-side tire.

Let me explain.

NASCAR Odds, +950 Pick for New Hampshire

*Odds as of Saturday night

Blaney, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are among the betting favorites for Sunday’s Mobile 1 301.

However, a little further down the odds board is Christopher Bell, who has absolutely dominated this track throughout his career.

Since the Next Gen was introduced in 2022, Bell has two Cup Series wins in three races at New Hampshire.

Tack on one Craftsman Truck Series win and a whopping four Xfinity Series wins, and we have a circuit that just fits Bell’s driving style.

Going back to the new right-side tire, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was one of three cars that participated in a Goodyear tire test back in July, so this team should have plenty of data regarding how the tire will perform throughout Sunday’s race.

Now, I have to point out that Bell didn’t necessarily set the world on fire in practice and struggled to a 19th-place qualifying effort.

But earlier this week, Bell was priced at +300 at some sportsbooks, and now we get a chance to buy back the best driver at New Hampshire in recent history at +950 odds with plenty of bankroll left over to add more outrights?

I’m in.

NASCAR Pick: Christopher Bell (+950) to Win — FanDuel

Posted on by Nathan Solomon

Editor’s note: Projection updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, Ryan Blaney overtook Christopher Bell as the new winner.

On Sunday, quaint Loudon, New Hampshire — population approximately 6,000 — takes front and center of the NASCAR world as the Cup Series makes its first playoff stop at the “Magic Mile” in eight years (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). A field of 16 NASCAR Cup Series title contenders has been trimmed down to 12, and with a new round of the playoffs on the horizon, anything is bound to happen in 301 laps.

That said, a familiar face is expected to return to Victory Lane and hoist the iconic lobster. Racing Insights projects that Christopher Bell, winner last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, will win for the fifth time in 2025 and defend his victory in the “Granite State.”

RELATED: New Hampshire weekend schedule | Cup Series Playoffs standings

Bell and Joe Gibbs Racing’s recent numbers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway are nothing short of incredible. The organization is three-for-three in the Next Gen car at the one-mile flat track, with Bell winning twice and Martin Truex Jr. scoring the victory in 2023 — his last Cup Series win. JGR has led 661 of 907 laps run in this current car, amounting to 73%, with the organization responsible for every stage win in that time frame. Dating back even further, at least one JGR Toyota has finished inside the top two in the last 13 Loudon events.

Add in the organization’s wicked hot start to the playoffs — a sweep of the first three races — it’s no doubt that JGR is the team to beat Sunday in Merrimack County. Racing Insights predicts Denny Hamlin, winner of the last flat track race at Gateway, to finish second, while Chase Briscoe, the Southern 500 winner, to finish eighth. Briscoe finished runner-up last year in a race decided by tire management in wet-weather conditions and has top 15s in the last three Loudon events, while Hamlin is pretty much a threat wherever the series goes. He’s a three-time Loudon winner, but it’s been since the 2017 summer race.

Don’t forget about 23XI Racing, either. Bubba Wallace, who earned the most stage points and third most points overall in the Round of 16, has a pair of top-10 finishes in three Next Gen races. Tyler Reddick has finished sixth in each of his last two trips to Loudon, boding well for the No. 45 driver as he begins the Round of 12 seeded last on the playoff grid.

Widening the scope even further, Toyota, who’s led 83% of the laps over the last three races at New Hampshire and 78% of the laps so far in the playoffs, has had four drivers in the top nine or better in every Loudon event since 2022.

Shifting gears, Team Penske is a team that continues to perform well at flat tracks, although Loudon is a minor exception. Ryan Blaney is projected to finish third on Sunday, but has finished outside the top 15 in all three Next Gen starts. However, he’s riding a streak of eight top 10s in his last nine races (the best in the series), so could it finally be Blaney’s time to conquer New England? Joey Logano, a two-time NHMS winner, finished outside the top 20 in two of his last three starts there (with a runner-up sandwiched in between).

With Loudon serving as the final flat-track race before the championship at Phoenix Raceway, it’s the final opportunity for the organization to tune up this package in hopes of bringing home a fourth consecutive title to Ford and Roger Penske.

Finally, that leads us to Chevrolet, and specifically, Hendrick Motorsports. Limping through the first round of the playoffs and losing one of its drivers to elimination (Alex Bowman), it’s felt like an eternity since HMS has tamed the “Magic Mile.” Kasey Kahne is responsible for the organization’s last win there in 2012, and since then, Hendrick has won 114 times at 28 different tracks, claimed four championships and finished in every position inside the top 15 at Loudon except first. Their four drivers — Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Bowman — had just one combined national series start at the time of Kahne’s victory.

As the playoffs march on, the margin of error gets thinner for those fighting for the Bill France Cup. The championship certainly can’t be won at New Hampshire, but a bad outing Sunday could put teams well behind the eight-ball toward advancing to the Round of 8.

FANTASY: Set your lineup | Make a 36 for 36 pick

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Last week’s winner at Bristol has gone to Victory Lane in seven of his 11 national series races at Loudon, including twice in Cup and four times in four Xfinity Series starts. Excluding Josh Berry with just one Loudon start, Bell has the best average running position at 8.4. He heads to New England with 16 top 10s this season, tied for the best in the series.

KYLE LARSON: The 2021 series champion has finished runner-up at New Hampshire three times, but has not managed to score a victory. He’s led just 22 laps there over his career and six in four starts with Hendrick Motorsports, but with the team working to improve on flat tracks, maybe Sunday will be the day Larson gets to raise the lobster.

WILLIAM BYRON: The Regular Season Champion enters the Round of 12 on his second slide of the season, finishing outside the top 10 in each of the last five races. He’s never finished inside the top 10 at New Hampshire — the only track on the schedule that he hasn’t — and has just nine laps led. Although he’s 24 points above the cutline, a strong showing in the northeast would go a long way toward securing a spot in the semifinal round.

AUSTIN CINDRIC: It’s been a bit tougher for Cindric at Loudon in the past, finishing no better than 13th in three starts. But his win at Gateway last year shows that he can hang with the rest of the Team Penske crowd at flat tracks, and his fifth-place finish at Richmond Raceway last month could translate to a strong run at New Hampshire.

BRAD KESELOWSKI: A two-time Loudon winner, Keselowski has top 10s there in five of the last six races. He’s riding a stretch of nine top 10s in the last 17 races and nearly caught Christopher Bell in the final corner for the win last weekend at Bristol. If any non-playoff driver were to spoil the party, don’t be surprised if it’s the RFK Racing co-owner, as he searches for his first win in 52 races.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR MOBIL 1 301

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula incorporates current track, track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to predict a projected winner and provide full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.

FinishCar No.Driver
112Ryan Blaney
220Christopher Bell
322Joey Logano
411Denny Hamlin
524William Byron
65Kyle Larson
79Chase Elliott
86Brad Keselowski
921Josh Berry
1045Tyler Reddick
1119Chase Briscoe
1277Carson Hocevar
1323Bubba Wallace
1448Alex Bowman
1517Chris Buescher
1654Ty Gibbs
171Ross Chastain
182Austin Cindric
1916AJ Allmendinger
2071Michael McDowell
2160Ryan Preece
223Austin Dillon
2399Daniel Suárez
247Justin Haley
2543Erik Jones
2642John Hunter Nemechek
278Kyle Busch
2847Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2988Shane van Gisbergen
304Noah Gragson
3138Zane Smith
3234Todd Gilliland
3341Cole Custer
3410Ty Dillon
3535Riley Herbst
3651Cody Ware

 

Posted on by Holly Cain

LOUDON, N.H. — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner-driver Stewart Friesen made his return to the garage this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after a nearly eight-week absence recovering from serious injuries he incurred while racing in a Super DIRTcar Series race in Canada.

A popular figure in the sport, he smiled and conceded it’s been a warm welcome back. Still using crutches and undergoing treatment for a fractured pelvis and multiple breaks in his right tibia, Friesen has a long recovery ahead, but being trackside at New Hampshire was good therapy for the soul.

RELATED: Truck Series standings | At-track photos

“It’s good,” he smiled, acknowledging the greeting he’s received. “I’m at least mobile enough to be here, it’s only four hours from home and it’s great to be back and see all these guys, not necessarily on our team, even, but the people I’ve met in the last 10 years doing this. It’s good to see everyone in the garage. So many people have reached out and said they were thinking of us. It’s been so cool to have the support of the racing community.

“It’s very, very humbling knowing how many people are thinking of us and supporting us. The people at Toyota have been awesome. Makes me feel proud to know we’re in a community like this that supports each other.”

Friesen qualified for the 2025 driver’s championship with a victory at Michigan — only four weeks before his crash. Now, however, Kaden Honeycutt is driving the Halmar-Friesen Racing No. 52 Toyota truck. Honeycutt had qualified for the driver’s championship on his own merits and his effort also keeps Friesen’s truck competitive for the owner’s title.

MORE: Friesen elects not to pursue waiver for Truck Series Playoffs eligibility

Honeycutt’s seventh-place run in Saturday afternoon’s race was good enough to advance both he and Friesen’s No. 52 truck to the next round of playoff competition.

Honeycutt is ranked eighth in the driver’s standings, and the No. 52 truck is ranked seventh in the owner’s championship.

While Friesen is clearly happy to be back for a NASCAR race weekend, he was hesitant to commit to much of the remaining schedule at this point in his recovery, although he said he’d like to be trackside at Phoenix Championship Weekend in November. He has no timetable for his return to the cockpit, however, while working through the rehab and managing the pain he still suffers from.

“I’m doing everything they say to do,” Friesen said, “I’ve got great, strong guys behind me and I’m so grateful.”

Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will pit this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series
Pit stalls for New Hampshire.

Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on USA Network

NASCAR Craftsman Series

View of Loudon pit road.

Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday (noon ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on FS1