Posted on by Staff Report

Kaulig Racing announced Sunday morning that Nick Harrison, crew chief of the team’s No. 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series car, has died. He was 37.

A statement from team owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice read: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Nick Harrison, our beloved crew chief of the No. 11 car at Kaulig Racing. Please keep Nick’s family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”

No additional information was available.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of longtime crew chief Nick Harrison, and offer our thoughts, prayers and support to his family, friends and Kaulig Racing colleagues,” NASCAR said in a statement.

Harrison has been a fixture in the garage for the past decade-plus, serving as a crew chief in all three NASCAR national series since 2006. He was atop the pit box for 120 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races from 2010-14, and 184 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.

His Xfinity Series career includes a stretch with Richard Childress Racing that produced four of his five career victories — three with Austin Dillon and one with Paul Menard. Harrison also won atop the pit box with Kurt Busch in 2012.

“Words can’t describe how I feel about (Harrison),” Dillon tweeted. “The man was one of the first people to believe in me in the Cup Series. He gave me an opportunity to drive for James Finch, which gave me confidence to believe in myself at the top level.”

This was Harrison’s first year with Kaulig Racing, and he and driver Justin Haley had two top-five finishes and and 12 top-10 finishes in 17 starts together. Harrison was at the track Saturday when Haley finished 13th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“Not just a crew chief, but a friend to everyone who knew him,” Haley tweeted Sunday morning. “I, and everyone at Kaulig Racing are devastated. He will be greatly missed.”

Drivers were quick to offer their condolences:

Posted on by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

NASCAR makes its way to New England for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). This marks the fourth race of the Cup Series season at a short, flat track.

NHMS is a 1-mile oval with two straights followed by two 180-degree turns, with banking that slightly varies from two to seven degrees.

The factors that are statistically significant in my model this weekend are:

  • Long-run practice speed
  • Qualifying position
  • Overall flat track performance
  • New Hampshire performance

I’ll also give a special nod to performance at NHMS from 2013-2015 for longer-tenured drivers, because those years featured higher downforce levels than the 2016-2018 seasons.

RELATED: The Action Network’s Props Challenge advice | Updated odds for New Hampshire

It’s often tough betting favorites in NASCAR, and this weekend is no exception. I’m not thrilled with the odds currently posted across the industry for the top-five favorites.

As a result, I have only one longer-shot outright bet to win. I may post more bets to win, or some top-three,-five, and -10 futures to this piece as more books release lines Sunday morning.

*All odds as of 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. A quick explainer on the odds below: A $10 wager on +2500 would profit $250.

Kyle Larson +2500

Larson will be moving to a backup car after an incident in practice, which is the primary reason for his long odds. However, in 2017 Larson started dead last in 39th, and finished in second in the first of two New Hampshire races that year.

NHMS is also a good track for Larson. He has four top-three finishes at NHMS in nine career Cup Series starts at NHMS, including a third and second in 2014 when the aero package most closely resembled this year’s rule set.

If his backup car races as well as his primary, then practice was encouraging for the 26-year old. He was sixth in 10-lap average, but improved to second over 15 consecutive laps, leapfrogging superstars Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick as the lap counter increased.

Larson is available at William Hill at this price, but you can find lines close to this across the industry. I’d bet Larson down to +2000.

Additionally, keep an eye out for top-three and top-five bets on Larson. These will have a better chance of hitting. I’ll update this section if one of these types of bets presents enough value.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

LOUDON, N.H. – Uncle Paul was handing out life lessons to NASCAR’s youth Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Paul Menard, a 38-year-old full-time driver at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series level for more than a decade, took exception to some contact racing for position with Harrison Burton – less than half his age — in the Xfinity Series’ ROXOR 200. When it happened once, he let it slide.

A second brush from the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, however, and the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford decided to take matters into his own hands.

With a hair under 50 laps remaining, Menard intentionally bumped Burton from behind to send the No. 18 spinning and effectively end his race.

RELATED: Official race results

Burton went back out after multiple pit stops for repairs, but the team opted to park the No. 18, with no more positions to gain and the damaged car a handful to drive. “You guys didn’t deserve that. None of us did,” Burton told his crew before finishing 29th, 31 laps shy of the 200-lap distance. Menard finished fifth.

Burton – the son of NASCAR’s unofficial “mayor” of the garage in Jeff Burton – spent his childhood seeing post-race diplomacy play out over his father’s long career. As such, he calmly approached Menard on pit road to chat about the incident.

The pair was unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion, agreeing to disagree with a few profanities tossed at each other for good measure.

“He was mad that I ran into him in Turn 1 that one time,” Menard told reporters after he and Burton exchanged unpleasantries. “I was mad that he ran into me twice before that. It’s what it is. Some of these kids are really fun to race with and some of them just don’t get it. I think you’ve got to cut that (expletive) out at an early age.

“I race with (Chase) Briscoe and (Noah) Gragson … some of these kids have a lot of talent and they don’t have to run into you to try to pass you. Harrison, I’ve never met the kid before. I know his dad really well. Got a lot of respect for Jeff. Really good man. But the kid ran into me a couple of times so that was enough.

“As he races more in Xfinity and especially if he gets to the Cup level, they don’t put up with that stuff. I felt like it was my place to tell him that’s not cool. A lot of these kids are real smart, really clean racers and he kind of stood out from the crowd.”

Burton, of course, did not feel the dump was warranted.

“This isn’t F1 where if you touch someone you get a five-second penalty, this is NASCAR,” Burton said. “I barely touched him and I got wrecked. … I don’t know. He doesn’t care about anyone else but himself.”

The Xfinity Series is a part-time gig for each of them – Burton is currently fifth in points in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports – so they likely won’t cross paths on the race track again for some time.

When they do, however, Burton will be ready.

And he’s taking the high road.

“That’s all you can do is just beat people on the race track and show them that you’re going to outwork them. I’m fired up and ready to go for the next one.

“I don’t see it that way and he doesn’t see it my way, so that’s how it is. This sport is hard and everyone works their butt off and tempers flare. Mine’s pretty flared right now.”

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Reid Spencer

LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell got just what he needed on an uncharacteristically hot day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — a breeze.

That’s an apt description of Bell’s victory in the ROXOR 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday. In winning for the fifth time this season and the second time in as many starts at the Magic Mile, Bell led 186 of 200 laps and crossed the finish line 4.068 seconds ahead of runner-up Cole Custer.

RELATED: Race results | Weekend schedule

The race followed a familiar pattern. After each restart, Bell would pull away steadily as the drivers behind him contested second, third and fourth place. The only time the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota fell out of the lead was a pit stop on Lap 33, when seven other cars stayed on the track.

Bell restarted eighth on Lap 38 and drove up to second place before the first stage ended on Lap 45. Aside from that, the 24-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, was in full control. When Stage 2 ended, Bell had an advantage of more than six seconds over eventual third-place finisher Justin Allgaier.

“I just had a really good race car,” said Bell, who has a propensity for understatement. “I’m very thankful to be driving these Supras for Joe Gibbs Racing. All of our partners, man, they just provide really fast race cars, and I’m the lucky guy who gets to drive them.”

Custer’s recent victories on the 1.5-mile speedways at Chicagoland and Kentucky had engendered talk that Custer might be the favorite for the series championship this year. But Bell was reluctant to call his win at New Hampshire a statement victory, no matter how decisive.

“We knew we’d be good here,” said Bell, who earned his 13th win in 59 Xfinity starts. “Whoever the (championship) favorite is will be decided at Homestead.”

Custer’s car was fast enough to win the pole in qualifying but not strong enough to keep up with Bell on restarts.

“I wasn’t driving the car right at the start of the race, so I kind of got behind on adjustments,” said Custer, who lost the lead to Bell on a hotly contested first lap. “I wish we’d had another caution so we could catch up to him.”

Series leader Tyler Reddick ran fourth, followed by Paul Menard and Chase Briscoe. Ryan Truex, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones and Noah Gragson completed the top 10.

If Bell’s drive to the checkered flag was a breeze, that was hardly the case for his JGR teammate, Harrison Burton, who got the short end of an on-track spat with Menard, the only full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver in the field.

On Lap 153, Menard hit Burton’s Toyota in Turn 1 and sent it spinning. With his car damaged, Burton finished 29th. After the race, Burton approached Menard to get an explanation.

“He hit me twice, and I hit him once,” Menard said. “He was mad at me for hitting him that one time.”

MORE: Burton, Menard discuss altercation

Burton, however, didn’t think Menard’s retaliation was justified.

“We had a restart there (on Lap 148), the first thing he said he was mad about was I hit him on the restart,” said the 18-year-old Burton. “But I was on the apron, and he turned down across my nose. He got mad about that, and then I barely touched his door, and I got out of the gas because I didn’t want to hit him any harder than I did.

“Then I passed him clean, and he wrecked me. … He didn’t really seem to care, and that’s fine for him. I’m just going to go out and beat him on the race track. That’s all I can do to show these guys that I’m here to play. I’m not going to get pushed around anymore.”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ next race is the U.S. Cellular 250, scheduled next Saturday at Iowa Speedway, where Bell has won the last two races.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Reid Spencer

LOUDON, N.H. – It’s a good thing Kyle Larson enjoys the shifting challenges presented by New Hampshire Motor Speedway, because he’ll need all his skills to salvage a strong finish after starting from the rear in Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In Saturday morning’s practice at the “Magic Mile,” Larson locked up the brakes on his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet entering Turn 1 and slammed into the outside wall. Damage to the right front of the car dictated a switch to a backup for Sunday’s race.

“I just locked up the brakes,” Larson said. “Simple as that — locked ‘em up.”

RELATED: Starting lineup | Larson: I have contract for 2020 with Ganassi

Since he will be driving a backup car, Larson must give up the 15th-place starting spot he earned during time trials Friday and drop to the rear of the field for the beginning of the race. That will give him plenty of opportunity to test his talent as he tries to move forward.

It will also test his team’s ability to keep up with a track that changes throughout the 301-lap event.

“It’s a fun place because it’s definitely changing quite a bit,” Larson said. “There is a lot of VHT (traction compound) put down at this track and, with it being flatter, I also feel like it wears out more so than other race tracks.

“That’s fun to keep up with, especially during the race where you have to adjust your line throughout the race to keep up with the changing track conditions. I think, being a dirt-track guy, that benefits me a little bit.”

Given his starting spot in the relatively short race, Larson will need all the help he can get.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

LOUDON, N.H. – Kevin Harvick set the tone for Friday’s question-and-answer sessions at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a simple, frank comment.

“If you drove like this 10 years ago, you’d have had a fist in your mouth,” Harvick said in response to a question about the current level of aggression in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing. “What changed were the rules and when every spot becomes that much more difficult to achieve, you have to defend the spots that you have because you know that you might not get it back, and you know that you have to block.”

RELATED: Starting lineup for Sunday’s race | Keys to getting around New Hampshire

With the constant battles to gain and hold positions, restarts have become more important and consequently more frenetic.

“Yeah, it feels like restarts are the craziest they’ve been ever since I’ve been in the Cup Series, just because the cars are so draggy,” Ryan Blaney said. “That’s the easiest spot to kind of make a move, and you can just drive these cars so hard, it’s just about driving harder than someone else a lot of the time. Your right-foot commitment is way higher, I feel like.

“As far as the aggressive level, I think people see that because you’re seeing a lot more blocking and cutting off runs now, just because you have to do it. I’ve thrown big blocks this year on mile-and-a-half race tracks. That’s just how it is and you kind of expect it.

“Have I expected to get punched in the mouth a couple of times this year? Yeah, but at the end of the day you realize that that person would make the same move that you do and vice versa.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also thinks job security (or lack thereof) might be a factor.

“We’re all super-aggressive,” Stenhouse said. “I enjoy it, especially when I have a car capable of doing what I want it to do. I could see Kevin (Harvick) saying that, because I feel like that was the mentality of the garage for a long time, and I think every sport changes, and I feel like now you’ve got a bunch of us that feel like we’re racing for our job every lap, so we go out and put it all on the line.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

LOUDON, N.H. – Throughout the NASCAR weekend, William Byron has had a running battle with the outside wall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

In Friday’s qualifying session, Byron grazed the barrier with the right rear of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, but not severely enough to do irreparable damage.

On Saturday, however, the wall won.

Byron’s car broke loose in Turn 1 and clobbered the SAFER barrier, crumpling the entire right side of his Chevrolet. Crew chief Chad Knaus had no choice but to call for a backup car, and Byron will drop to the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“We’ve just been really loose, and I tried to drive through it and see if it would come to me better, and it didn’t,” Byron said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. “It was even looser yet, and that was kind of the story, just got loose. Hopefully, tomorrow we can have a good, solid day and go from there.”

RELATED: New Hampshire starting lineup

Byron indicated the Saturday accident was unrelated to what happened during qualifying.

“No, I was just making laps,” he said. “Trying to find grip and speed and just wasn’t able to do it.”

The Hendrick team suffered another major blow later in final practice. Already in a backup car, thanks to a broken drive shaft during Friday’s qualifying, Alex Bowman took a hard hit against the outside wall roughly 20 minutes into the session.

The team promptly rolled out Jimmie Johnson’s backup car, which will be rewrapped in Bowman’s livery for Sunday. Having posted no time during qualifying, Bowman already was set to start from the rear of the field.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Brad Keselowski is on the pole for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does the 2012 champion merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at New Hampshire:
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kyle Busch
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Erik Jones
5. Ryan Blaney
Garage: Kurt Busch

RELATED: Odds for Kentucky | 10-lap averages | Weekend preview

Analysis: Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Truex have been pretty strong here in recent years. That trio anchored my initial lineup and I’ve seen nothing to move away from that. Jones and Blaney have been particularly impressive this weekend — each topping the second and third practices (as well as the 10-lap board in those sessions), respectively. Jones is in a great spot for stage points and Blaney has been a bit under the radar after a quiet two months or so.

My garage pick is going to be a move to ride the hot hand of Kurt Busch. He won last week, qualified third, had the seventh-best 10-lap average in final practice and helps me break up my glut of Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske cars. With only two uses left (and waiting to make sure I have him for Bristol), we’ll start him in the garage. But if he uses his starting spot to score some stage points, I’ll evaluate where he stacks up against the rest of my lineup around the end of Stage 2.

My other garage considerations were Aric Almirola, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson. I stayed away from those coming from the back — mainly because this is a shorter race so I feel like a start at the back is a huge disadvantage for Stage 1 stage points. Of the group coming from the back due to practice or qualifying incidents — Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Alex Bowman, William Byron and Larson — Larson would be my pick to play from that group. I’m holding Kevin Harvick back at two uses left — earmarked for Michigan and Darlington. I’m going with Keselowski in Stage 1 followed by Kyle Busch in Stage 2 and for the win.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Need Props help? The Action Network has you covered | Play the Props Challenge today

1. O/U 138.5 total points for Hendrick Motorsports. Maybe this seems like low hanging fruit given that two of their four-car group will be coming from the back — Byron and Bowman, but they seem a little down on speed as an organization at New Hampshire compared to others. With two in the back, that in theory limits how much Hendrick can get in stage points and for this number to be hit, someone would likely have to strike big in stage points. Chase Elliott — starting 12th could — he did last year, but I’m playing the odds that this is a no, so UNDER for me on this one.

2. Kyle Larson’s career average finish at New Hampshire is 10.7. Does he finish in the top 10? Larson has top-10 speed based on final practice, but he will be coming from the back. I like the three runner-up finishes he has had here and I also like the recent strong runs he has had this season, so I’m saying YES to a top 10.

Posted on by Staff Report

Alex Bowman’s weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway received a second dose of misfortune Saturday with a crash during the final Monster Energy Series practice.

Bowman was already using a reserve No. 88 Chevrolet after a drive shaft failure in Friday’s Busch Pole Qualifying damaged his primary entry for Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Saturday, Bowman’s No. 88 slid out of the groove entering Turn 1 and clouted the outside retaining wall midway through the final session.

RELATED: Byron brings out backup after wreck | Weekend schedule

Bowman’s crew went to work preparing the backup car of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for Sunday’s 301-lapper.

“It’s certainly more difficult here, obviously, but honestly we’ve got a great crew of guys,” said Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition. “Unfortunately we’ve been putting them through a lot the last couple of days in this heat, but we’ll get through it and we’ll line up and go racing (Sunday). Been a tough day, but we’ll get through it.”

Johnson shared a humorous outlook about the situation on Twitter and used it as a teaching moment for his children and others.

The incident was the latest in a rash of crashes during practice at the 1.058-mile track. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman crashed late in Friday’s opening practice, and Kyle Larson and Bowman teammate William Byron were also forced to reserve cars after making contact in Saturday’s earlier practice session.

Posted on by Staff Report

That’s a wrap for practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Ryan Blaney penned the fastest speed with a 133.572 mph lap around the 1.058-mile oval during the third and final practice Saturday. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford is seeking his first victory this season Sunday in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Denny Hamlin, though, was right behind Blaney at 133.226 mph. Kyle Busch was third at 132.739 mph. Kevin Harvick (132.688 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (132.646 mph) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

RELATED: Final practice results | 10-lap averages | New Hampshire starting lineup

Alex Bowman’s backup ended up needing a backup, as his second No. 88 Chevrolet made contact with the wall and sustained enough damage that he’ll have to use a teammate’s car for the rest of the weekend. Hendrick Motorsports ultimately decided to bring out Jimmie Johnson’s backup from the hauler for Bowman. Johnson came in 10th at 132.475 mph, while Bowman was 18th with 132.057 mph.

Matt DiBenedetto blew two tires during during the afternoon practice alone, too. He ended up 20th with a speed of 131.560 mph.

Blaney’s No. 12 team, the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford of Paul Menard, No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet of Chris Buescher and the No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet of Landon Cassill all served 15-minute penalties for being late to inspection. Daniel Hemric’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet failed inspection twice, so his team was also docked 15 minutes of practice time.

Byron, Larson go to backup cars as Jones tops second practice

Erik Jones zoomed to the top of Saturday’s morning practice leaderboard at New Hampshire, clocking a best lap of 133.427 mph.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be looking for his first win of the season Sunday. He’ll have to fend off pole-sitter Brad Keselowski, who had the second-best performance with a fast lap of 133.394 mph. Aric Almirola was third at 133.366 mph, followed by Busch (133.240 mph) and Blaney (133.138 mph) rounding out the top five in order.

RELATED: Practice 1 results | 10-lap averages | Full New Hampshire schedule

Not everyone’s practice went as well.

William Byron hit the wall early on and has to switch to a backup car for any further action. Kyle Larson also clipped the wall immediately after and swapped out cars as he had front and right rear damage.

That means five teams will be driving a backup car on race day: Byron, Larson, Bowman, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman.