Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch’s day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ended early after a crash at the end of Stage 1 in Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Busch had started at the rear of the field after a wreck in Saturday’s qualifying session and had moved up only slightly after the green flag of the Crayon 301. As the opening stage drew to a close on Lap 70, Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet clobbered the Turn 1 wall. Corey LaJoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevy followed suit, also scraping the outside barrier.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: NHMS

Busch was running in 27th place at the time of the wreck, and LaJoie was in 31st. Busch limped around to pit road and made an additional lap before the No. 8 crew determined that the damage was terminal.

“I’ve been lacking right-rear grip the whole time we’ve been here,” Busch told NBC Sports after a quick check at the infield care center. “Just couldn’t get the right-rear feel in the race track. You’re just going along, trying to keep it under you as much as you can. It was getting late in the run, and I was trying a different line, and it was just too high. I didn’t like to be that high on entry. I couldn’t give it wheel and have the right-rear stick with the lateral grip that you need.”

MORE: 2023 Cup Series standings

Busch placed last in the 36-car field, snapping a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes. He entered the New Hampshire race ranked third in the Cup Series standings, with three wins already this season but slipped to fifth in the rankings after the DNF.

LaJoie continued after his wall contact and met the minimum-speed requirement at the start of Stage 2 before heading to the garage. He spent extensive time off the track for further repairs but was running at the finish to place 33rd — 125 laps in arrears.

Posted on by Staff Report

William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. seem to be set for a tug of war at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series standings down the stretch, and that battle could continue on Monday in the Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Noon ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). However, in order for one of them to take control of the situation, some statistical hurdles will need to be cleared.

Despite leading the series with four victories this season, including his latest “W” last weekend at Atlanta, Byron has never led at New Hampshire and has never finished in the top 10 in five starts there. Meanwhile, Truex, who is in the middle of a comeback campaign himself, also has the dubious honor of being the driver to lead the most laps at Loudon (916) without ever securing a victory.

FANTASY LIVE: Set your roster | Weekend schedule

While a breakthrough could be at hand for Byron and/or Truex, if they can’t turn the tables on the history books, then one of Truex’s teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, Christopher Bell, could be the one to pull out a slight upset.

Bell has probably the craziest stat working in his favor this weekend — only one finish outside the top two in eight national series starts at New Hampshire. Bell won this race last year and won all three of his Xfinity Series starts at New Hampshire, too, which is amazing to think about.

Racing Insights originally picked Byron to roll to his fifth win of the season, but then changed to Truex after practice and qualifying on Saturday. Be sure to tune in to see who wins the tug of war on Monday at New Hampshire.

OTHERS TO WATCH

KEVIN HARVICK: The veteran Stewart-Haas Racing driver has won three of the last eight New Hampshire races, and his crew chief, Rodney Childers, leads all crew chiefs with four wins at Loudon.

DENNY HAMLIN: So much for being afraid of lobsters. The Joe Gibbs Racing ace has three wins and six runner-up finishes at New Hampshire.

ARIC ALMIROLA: He could be a sleeper pick, like in 2021 when the Stewart-Haas wheelman won at New Hampshire. Almirola has led laps in four of the last five New Hampshire races, and he’s coming off an Atlanta race where he consistently ran in the front of the pack.

RYAN NEWMAN: Hey, don’t forget that the “Rocket Man” is making his second start of the 2023 season this weekend. Newman has seven poles and three wins in his Cup Series career at New Hampshire. He’s driving for Rick Ware Racing this time.

Projections as of Monday, July 17.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE CRAYON 301

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.

FinishCar NumberDriver
119Martin Truex Jr.
224William Byron
312Ryan Blaney
420Christopher Bell
54Kevin Harvick
68Kyle Busch
711Denny Hamlin
822Joey Logano
95Kyle Larson
109Chase Elliott
116Brad Keselowski
121Ross Chastain
1345Tyler Reddick
1423Bubba Wallace
1517Chris Buescher
1610Aric Almirola
1716AJ Allmendinger
1899Daniel Suárez
1914Chase Briscoe
2048Alex Bowman
2141Ryan Preece
222Austin Cindric
2331Justin Haley
2443Erik Jones
2534Michael McDowell
2654Ty Gibbs
2747Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
283Austin Dillon
297Corey LaJoie
3038Todd Gilliland
3151Cole Custer
3221Harrison Burton
3377Ty Dillon
3415Ryan Newman
3542Noah Gragson
3678BJ McLeod

Posted on by Staff Report

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.

RELATED: New Hampshire schedule | Standings

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.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

LOUDON, N.H. — William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch rank first, second and third in NASCAR Cup Series points with seven races remaining in the regular season. With four, two and three race wins, respectively, all three drivers are sitting pretty with their projected playoff standings.

Yet none are comfortable.

RELATED: Monday’s starting lineup | Weekend schedule

The Cup Series regular-season champion will be celebrated for the seventh consecutive year in 2023. He will receive a massive trophy and bragging rights, but all contenders agree the title is a crucial target for a different reason.

“It’s a big deal for all of us; 15 points is a lot of bonus points, so that’s really what we’re all after,” said Truex ahead of Monday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Noon ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Added Busch: “I was looking at [points] about race two or three. I think you always try to keep a pulse on it.”

Byron echoed the sentiment: “Obviously it’s a big deal. We just have to control it with the way we perform. Certainly those bonus points are really important.”

The driver who wins the regular-season title will earn 15 bonus points — the equivalent of three race wins — toward his playoff total. That provides a hefty advantage when the Round of 16 begins Sept. 3 at Darlington Raceway, and the boost can extend throughout the playoffs if the driver continues to advance.

Truex, for example, used the 2017 regular-season title to propel himself to his first Cup Series championship. There was no point during that year’s 10-race playoff stretch when Truex did not lead the standings. Of course, his four playoff race wins to match his four regular-season victories helped the cause.

Busch also understands the value of bonus points having won the 2019 Cup Series championship in the wake of his regular-season title.

Including Kyle Larson in 2021, three of the six drivers who were celebrated as regular-season champs and awarded the bonus points went on to win the overall title. Those who did not were Busch (2018), Kevin Harvick (2020) and Chase Elliott (2022).

The value of the regular-season championship is clear even if the current top three contenders differ on how to earn it.

Busch said his Richard Childress Racing team needs to focus over the next several races on stage points.

“I was doing a points study earlier this week, and we’re 120 stage points [behind] William Byron,” he said. “And if I had half of that, I’d be leading the points by 20. That’s what it’s going to come down to.

“We know our weaknesses. We’re still trying to figure out how to improve [and] make it so we don’t have weaknesses.”

Truex noted steadiness as his key to remaining part of the regular-season title chase. He said he and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team need to “be smart” about their strategy while simultaneously “grinding it out” against tough competition.

“You have to run up front consistently to be in that conversation,” Truex said. “You’re not going to take big risks to try to throw Hail Marys or anything like that.”

Byron’s approach with his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team doesn’t change in the face of the potential incentives that come with a regular-season championship. They already have their figurative gas pedal touching the floor.

“We don’t really try any harder; we’re trying as hard as we can every week,” Byron said. “[Truex] has been strong, so we just need to keep up our effort and performance.”

All Cup Series title contenders are aware Monday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire might re-shuffle the standings. Christopher Bell, who rests just one point behind Busch for third in the standings, earned the Busch Light Pole Award. He also punched his playoff ticket last season with a victory at New Hampshire.

Truex will start alongside his JGR teammate on the front row Sunday. Byron battled steering issues in practice but managed to qualify seventh. Busch crashed during the final round of qualifying.

Multiple unknowns are in play. While Busch downplayed the impact, nobody knows for sure how a new tire setup will modify both the racing and the strategy in the Crayon 301. Bell said the car felt completely different Saturday than it did on the same tire setup during a test in the spring.

And, naturally, for the summer, rain is a possibility for a race in which wet-weather equipment will be available.

The formula points to potential chaos in the standings.

As if these drivers aiming for a regular-season championship weren’t uncomfortable enough.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

In recent seasons, Toyota has obliterated the field in laps led at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The caveat, however, is the manufacturer hasn’t always won the race. In fact, Ford has been victorious in four of the last five races at the 1.058-mile track. This year, Toyota took up half of the top eight starting positions in qualifying. They also will start shotgun on the field as Ty Gibbs had a massive moment in qualifying, getting loose through Turns 1 and 2.

RELATED: Starting lineup | New Hampshire odds

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Christopher Bell
Starter 2: Martin Truex Jr.
Starter 3: Brad Keselowski
Starter 4: Kevin Harvick
Starter 5: Joey Logano
Garage pick: Ryan Blaney

NEXT IN LINE: Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola. 

RISING: With how strong Team Penske has run at New Hampshire in recent years, Blaney’s statistics sometimes get overlooked. It could be because he’s yet to win at the “Magic Mile,” but he’s sure spent time at the front with four top-10 efforts in the last six races. The No. 12 car was quick on Saturday, as he was sixth on 10-lap averages in practice and qualified one spot better in fifth. 

Admittedly, New Hampshire is not one of Michael McDowell’s favorite racetracks. He said as much to the Performance Racing Network after practice on Saturday. He surprised himself by having a superb practice session where the No. 34 team posted the quickest overall lap and was second on 10-lap averages. Another solid points day on Monday would do wonders for McDowell. 

FALLING: Hendrick Motorsports continues to struggle at New Hampshire. The team hasn’t won in the Granite State since 2012, and it might be a far cry to win this year’s 301-lap race. Alex Bowman said he put additional emphasis on this weekend, as did Kyle Larson, though he too hasn’t always performed up to par at the track. Just William Byron made the final round of qualifying from HMS, and Larson was the best of the bunch on long-run speed.

It was a day at the race track for Kyle Busch on Saturday. The No. 8 car got loose in practice and smacked the wall. He gained his composure and still put up a lap in qualifying quick enough to make the final round. Then it got bad. The Chevrolet snapped on him in the middle of the corner and was fenced. The team will repair the primary by replacing the rear bumper, rear fascia and underwing. Still, Busch has dropped from my lineup.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:  

William Byron vs. Chase Elliott

Pick your poison with this one. Neither driver stood out on Saturday and Elliott was particularly frustrated with how his car was handling. Byron looks to have more pace and made a solid qualifying run, considering HMS’ recent struggles at New Hampshire. That leaves me to believe the No. 24 car will run better.

Kyle Busch vs. Denny Hamlin

With the eventful weekend Busch has had thus far, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him race from the rear of the field to have a good finish. Hamlin is starting mid-pack after a disappointing qualifying run. The No. 11 Toyota had good speed in practice on the long run, so I’ll bank on that.  

Ross Chastain vs. Joey Logano

The No. 22 team has been a mystery this season. Typically, Logano is strong at New Hampshire; such is the case this weekend. Chastain had a lackluster qualifying run, as he commented on being too loose and will start 31st. Chastain has consecutive top 10s at New Hampshire, but Logano could contend for the win. At Gateway, the series’ most recent visit to a track like New Hampshire, Logano earned a top-five finish. 

Tyler Reddick vs. Martin Truex Jr. 

Truex will tell you that he isn’t owed anything by anyone, but with how dominant he’s been at New Hampshire, leading more than 80 laps in six of the past nine races, including last season, a win at the track must be coming soon. It took him a while to conquer Richmond and Martinsville, and once he did, it was hard to stop him. Reddick was one of the fastest Toyotas on Saturday as well, but don’t think the No. 45 car will outrun the No. 19 once the race begins. This might be the toughest call of the four battles this weekend.

Posted on by Tadd Haislop

Mohegan Sun 100

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

  • Race results:
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 100  –
2 7 Doug Coby Mayhew Tools 100 0.045
3 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine & Future Homes 100 0.289
4 64 Austin Beers Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew James Interiors 100 0.721
5 7 Patrick Emerling Bonesteel Aerospace 100 0.966
6 19 Anthony Sesely Wanick Construction, Inc. 100 1.19
7 1 Corey LaJoie Celcus 100 1.267
8 89 Matt Swanson Cervado Auto 100 1.557
9 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 100 1.913
10 3 Jake Johnson* Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks 100 2.907
11 17 Chase Dowling Start Finish Production/S&S Paving 100 2.973
12 99 Ronnie Williams Tony’s Competition Engines 100 3.182
13 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing/Riverhead Building Supply 100 3.358
14 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises/Eastport Feeds 100 3.53
15 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Driling/MUSCO Lighting 100 3.782
16 46 Anthony Nocella Riverhead Building Supply 100 4.19
17 77 Max McLaughlin Curb Records/Mowhawk Northeast 100 4.3
18 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 100 4.576
19 6 Woody Pitkat Koopman Lumbar 100 8.424
20 20 Edward McCarthy, Jr. McCarthy’s Marine Sales 100 10.278
21 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprera 100 11.472
22 4 Tim Connolly* Connolly Companies, LLC 100 30.406
23 43 Matt Kimball* J&M Towing Recovery/Poodlack Wealth Mgmt 99 1 Lap
24 21 Anthony Bello* Bello Motorsports/SKM/JB Mgmt 98 2 Laps
25 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 98 2 Laps
26 97 Bryan Dauzat Brother-In-Law Motorsports 96 4 Laps
27 44 Bobby Santos, III Harshaw Paving/Olivas Market 82 18 Laps
28 1 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 22 78 Laps
29 26 Max Zachem Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply/L.I. Wood Heat 18 82 Laps
30 82 Craig Lutz Horton Ave Materials 4 96 Laps
Posted on by Tadd Haislop

LOUDON, N.H. — Early in Saturday’s Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers were racing against Mother Nature as much as each other. The rain arrived and caused a long delay before the event resumed, at which point darkness became a third factor racers had to fight.

Justin Bonsignore defeated all three, and he did so in breathtaking fashion.

After a slow pit stop with 25 laps to go sent the three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion back to 10th, he battled his way through the field and found himself jostling with Doug Coby and Ron Silk in the closing laps for the race win.

On the final corner, Bonsignore dove low to block Silk and drifted back high to cover Coby, who attempted a cross-over move. Holding firm on the outside of Coby, Bonsignore beat his rival to the finish line in a near-photo finish.

RELATED: Complete results from New Hampshire

The victory marked Bonsignore’s second at New Hampshire, which on an annual basis hosts what many consider the biggest Modified Tour race of the year. His other New Hampshire victory came in 2016.

“I knew all week that if I was leading at the white I was going to come off [Turn] 2 and do what I did,” Bonsignore said. ‘But I didn’t anticipate either thing that happened, of Doug staying on the outside of me and Ron having enough room to go inside of me.

“I hung a good left to continue the block, and you get down to [Turn 3] and you’ve got no angle in the corner, and Doug was able to cross me over. He was really clean about it where he didn’t just [run me into the wall], and Ron backed out of it. … That’s the respect I think we all have for each other.

“And then the drag race off of [Turn] 4, kind of had to give [Coby] a bit of a bar to kind of slow his momentum. I could tell I was building a little gap to the checkered. It was awesome.”

Bonsignore earlier Saturday evening had hoped to claim the victory when inclement weather red flagged the race on Lap 69. Bonsignore, who started on the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole after recording the best lap in Friday’s qualifying session, had built a hefty lead over second-place Tyler Rypkema by the time the race’s first caution flew for rain.

The passing shower was quick, though, and track officials were able to get the surface dried before darkness fell over the Magic Mile.

“Obviously we would have been pretty happy if it would have just ended with the rain delay,” Bonsignore said. “I was nervous we just wouldn’t be able to get ourselves back out away from the pack.”

But he did just that just in time for the closing laps.

While Bonsignore was celebrating in Victory Lane, Coby walked by and gave his friend/rival a playful shove. When asked about the exchange, Bonsignore said it was all in fun. He expanded and explained how the racing to the checkered flag Saturday night was all about respect.

“We’re really good friends,” Bonsignore said of Coby. “I can’t wait to see the texts between [Ryan] Preece, him and I. There’s a lot of respect between us. He could have just got back underneath me and throttled up and went straight into the fence off of [Turn 4] and just got rid of me. He chose to drag race me.

“That’s something you’ll remember the next time you’re here. Even next week if the roles are reversed. As much as he wanted to win, he did it the clean way, and that’s very commendable.

“There’s talk about where the respect’s at in this series, but I think among the top guys — sometimes we take it to the limit, but we all respect each other.”

Beyond the caution and eventual red flag for rain, there would be only one more yellow in Saturday’s race; Bobby Santos III smacked the wall hard on Lap 83.

Silk finished third behind Coby. Austin Beers and Patrick Emerling finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Anthony Sesely, Corey LaJoie, Matt Swanson, Andy Seuss and Jake Johnson rounded out the top 10.

A condensed broadcast of the Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire will air on CNBC on Saturday, July 22 starting at 10 a.m. ET.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour takes a couple weeks off before returning to action Saturday, July 29 for the Clash at Claremont 150 at New Hampshire’s Claremont Motorsports Park. The race will start at 8:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FloRacing.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

LOUDON, N.H. – Justin Allgaier was looking to join some elite company at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, hoping to join Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell as the only drivers to win consecutive Xfinity Series starts at the “Magic Mile.”

He had the car to do it.

By the end of the second lap, Allgaier emerged with the lead from his fourth starting position. Throughout the opening stage, he traded it back and forth with eventual winner John Hunter Nemechek – also trading paint in the process.

“[I was] just minding our own with [Nemechek],” Allgaier said of the opening stage. “He had to get to my bumper and move me to get by me, even when we were just riding and we were able to get the lead back. I felt our car was really good.”

RELATED: Race results | Weekend schedule

Allgaier cruised to the opening stage victory. It’s his fifth of the season, tying Cole Custer for the most in the Xfinity Series through 18 races.

Then it all went wrong. Allgaier slid through his pit stall, and his No. 7 team began working on the car when it was still outside of the pit box. That resulted in a penalty that forced him to drop to the rear of the field for the restart.

“I was trying to get him back [in the box] to hold the track position,” James Pohlman, Allgaier’s crew chief, told NASCAR.com. “Unfortunately, we jacked the car and if you start service, then you have to do it. We came back down to put lefts on. That’s just part of the game.”

After tracking inside the top 20, another caution flew. On the next restart, there was a stackup at the front of the field which led to a pileup in the middle of the pack. Parker Kligerman, Ryan Sieg and Anthony Alfredo may have gotten the worst of it (all DNFs), but there was Allgaier spun around on the frontstretch, with damage on all four corners of his Chevrolet.

Another yellow flag emerged with a handful of laps remaining in the second stage. Pohlman kept Allgaier on the track while most front-runners pitted. The No. 7 car finished sixth, earning five stage points with a battered car.

Allgaier powered on during the second half of the race, remaining a viable top-10 threat. He was able to crack the top five at times, but ultimately finished sixth.

He was left disappointed after the 206-lap race.

WATCH: Chaos on restart leads to pileup

“I feel like we gave one away today,” he said. “Jim Pohlman did a fantastic job with the pit strategy and what we needed to do. The guys did a good job with the repairs. Really aggravated with how the race ended; the calls on some of the timing lines. You work your guts out all day to get back up there and to have it all taken away for no reason. Pretty frustrating, pretty aggravated.”

In what could have been a much bigger hit to his regular season championship hopes, Allgaier lost just six points to Nemechek, who dominated the race by leading 137 laps. With Cole Custer getting caught up in an overtime restart, Allgaier gained a position in the standings, moving up to third.

“These guys just fought hard all day,” Pohlman said. “That’s a testament to this team; the no-quit attitude in them. We just keep fighting. … We keep hanging tight with these guys that are leading the points. We got a [playoff] point out of today which is good. We lost a little bit overall. John Hunter is starting to pull away, which is frustrating for us because we feel like we’re doing the right things and not getting the results to show for it.”

The series heads next week to Pocono Raceway, where Allgaier has three consecutive top-10 finishes.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LOUDON, N.H. – John Hunter Nemechek completed the first back-to-back victory effort of his career, convincingly winning Saturday’s Ambetter Health 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to answer a big victory last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, too.

Nemechek held off rookie Chandler Smith on an overtime restart, leading a race-best 137 of the 206 laps in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and becoming the winningest driver in the series this season with four victories – upping his career total to six. The 26-year-old second-generation star Nemechek now leads the championship run by 33 points over Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill, a three-time race winner in 2023 and the third-place finisher on Saturday.

RELATED: Race results | Weekend schedule

“They’ve had dominant JGR Supras the last couple years and I had to hold up my end of the bargain,’’ said a smiling Nemechek, who at one point led the field by more than four seconds. “It’s nerve-wracking for sure [the final restart], so I’m so proud of this No. 20 team and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,’’ Nemechek added, “I think our first clean race of the year and hats off to all our guys.

“I love coming up here and shout-out to a driver who is one of the masters up here,’’ he said with a smile, conceding “The Master” was Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series pole-sitter and JGR teammate Christopher Bell. “I was a little worried there with the last restarts. We kept getting really good launches and were able to clear them but I didn’t know who was saving what. I was trying to save for Cole [Custer], he really pushed us there.”

The runner-up finisher Smith, who earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series pole position on Friday for this race, led only the first lap but stayed in contention and kept the front pack honest throughout the day. Unfortunately for the 21-year-old Kaulig Racing driver, there was a malfunction with his cool suit on the steamy summer New England afternoon and he was treated with IVs at the care center after the race, but reported in good shape overall.

The race on the 1.058-mile oval included 10 caution periods – the last forcing an overtime finish. Nemechek had just rolled under the white flag signaling the last lap, when a pair of his closest challengers on the day – Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed – crashed behind him dueling for third place. The incident froze the running order and ended the race.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Custer – the youngest winner in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history when he won at New Hampshire in 2014 at the age of 16 – collided with RCR driver Creed while vying for third place. Custer, a two-time winner this season, had run among the top three for much of the race. Creed is still racing for his first victory of the season.

Behind Nemechek, Smith and Hill, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and JGR rookie driver Sammy Smith rounded out the top five. Smith earned his first career stage win, taking the Stage 2 flag and leading 18 laps on the day.

JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier finished sixth after leading 27 laps early in the race and winning Stage 1, tying him with Nemechek for most stage wins (five) on the season.

Allgaier was Nemechek’s toughest challenger early, leading 27 laps in winning Stage 1 but his early strength was short-circuited when his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was tagged with a penalty for pitting outside the pit box when he overshot his stall in the stage intermission. He was scored in 27th place for the start of Stage 2, then later was snared in a nine-car stack-up as the field jammed up on a Lap 71 restart.

MORE: Xfinity field stacks up on restart, multiple cars wreck

Allgaier continued with damage and rallied to finish sixth, but Anthony Alfredo, Parker Kligerman and Ryan Sieg were all sidelined. Sieg was critical of Nemechek’s restart approach after he was checked and released from the infield care center.

Jeb Burton, who won earlier in the season at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, finished seventh, followed by Josh Williams, the owner-driver collecting the 11th top-10 finish of his career and the first back-to-back top 10s of the season. Brett Moffitt and Mason Massey rounded out the New Hampshire top 10. It marked Massey’s first top-10 effort of 2023 as well.

As for Nemechek, he is currently riding a massive streak of career accomplishment.

“Now it’s time to keep clicking off these victories,’’ Nemechek said.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday with the Pocono 225 at Pocono Raceway (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM).

Note: Post-race inspection was completed in the Xfinity Series garage at New Hampshire with no issues, confirming Nemechek as the winner.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Dustin Albino

LOUDON, N.H. — Six races ago, Bubba Wallace was sitting pretty, with the No. 23 team on an upward trajectory of having three consecutive top-10 finishes (four straight including a runner-up result at the non-points All-Star Race). That tied the longest streak of his career.

Over the last handful of races, however, Wallace has a best finish of 15th (Nashville Superspeedway), which includes three finishes of 25th or worse. On that list is Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend, when he was caught up in the incident that turned out to be the caution that ended the race. Soon after Wallace’s spin with Ryan Preece, rain halted the event.

Wallace was credited with 25th position, earning just 17 points for the evening.

RELATED: What to Watch: Loudon | Weekend schedule

With Daniel Suárez, AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell – all drivers running near the playoff cutline – earning top-five finishes, Wallace fell below the playoff cutline for the first time since early May after the 400-mile event at Kansas Speedway. He enters New Hampshire 17th on the playoff grid, three points below Suárez and McDowell. In the last two races, he’s lost 33 points to the bubble.

“We had a few mistakes that started off our weekend bad,” Wallace said Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I guess you could say that’s in the cards, so we don’t deserve to be in right now with the way we’re performing and executing.

“This week was a big reflection week for everybody on the [No.] 23 team on how we need to execute. Mistakes like this at this point in the season, there’s no excuse for it. Whether it’s my fault on track or the crew’s fault in preparation. We need to be better as a team moving forward to even think about playoffs.”

Reflecting on this week meant the No. 23 team needed to take a step back and look at what it was doing during that May run. Collectively, Wallace said he believes the team needed to take a breather and approach the rest of the season where it’s “beneficial for everybody.”

“One mistake affects everybody on the team,” Wallace said. “You have to be aware of everything that goes on to be competitive at this level.”

Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, said the No. 23 team has had its fair share of problems recently. He said he knows the organization needs improvement.

“They’re running OK,” Hamlin said. “Certainly, would like to see a little more performance, a little more execution on the team’s part. The team has its fair share of growing that they need to do. The drivers, as long as they do their part, then it’s up for us to make sure the team executes. They let him down in some spots, for sure. We all have to get better.”

With seven races remaining before the playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway, Wallace is poised to make a postseason run. He has yet to make the playoffs as a driver in five full-time Cup Series seasons. He raced in place of Kurt Busch last season to compete for the owner’s championship in 23XI’s No. 45 entry, and he ultimately won the second race of the playoffs at Kansas.

Should a new driver or two– not named Wallace — currently below the playoff cutline capture a checkered flag before the playoffs begin, it would throw a wrench into his plans. For that reason, he said his team needs to find Victory Lane quickly.

“We want to win,” Wallace said. “We know we have to win. We can’t point our way into a championship, so we need to win. We need to win early enough to lock ourselves in. If we can’t do that, it would be unfortunate, but we have to point our way, too. Mistakes don’t create points, so we have to eliminate mistakes to get points.”

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Some of Wallace’s competitors who he’s battling near the cutline believe that he can win, too. McDowell gained 22 points on the bubble last weekend at Atlanta and moved to the last spot currently in.

“When I look at the guys around us, I’m definitely nervous because we know Bubba has some great tracks coming up and the Toyotas have been fast,” McDowell said. “AJ is super strong on road courses; I feel strong on road courses as well. It’s hard to bet against AJ on those. If you look at the guys we’re racing, Suárez as well, he’s good at the same tracks that I’m good at.”

First up is New Hampshire, where Wallace scored 10 stage points and finished third last season. At the time, it was his first top-five effort on a non-superspeedway in over a calendar year.

The No. 23 team ranked fifth in practice on one-lap speed and qualified eighth. He doesn’t necessarily believe that the run from 2022 will carry over to this weekend.

“A little bit of a nice stat,” Wallace said of the third-place effort last year. “But it brings confidence with the weekend that we had and the speed that we had in our cars. We’re looking at redoing that and backing that up.”

Compared to this time last year, it’s been a solid improvement for Wallace, who was 178 points below the cutline entering New Hampshire last season — a deficit magnified by the Cup Series having two additional winners with provisional playoff berths at this point last year.