Posted on by Dustin Albino

LOUDON, N.H. – Bubba Wallace’s weekend didn’t start off ideally. His motorhome didn’t make it to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, pushing him to a hotel room.

On Saturday morning, Wallace quickly changed his fortune, turning in the best qualifying effort of his career in fourth.

Come the green flag in Sunday’s Ambetter 301, Wallace wasn’t sure if he’d have race speed, despite Toyota having a solid outing at Gateway last month, a similar layout to New Hampshire. But he indeed did have a hot rod.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

In the opening stage, Wallace’s No. 23 car was the only one that could contend with Martin Truex Jr., though he was multiple seconds back of the No. 19 machine. He finished second, his best stage finish of the season on a non-superspeedway.

Wallace remained competitive in the second stage, dropping back to 10th after a rash of restarts. And after making his final stop – on a 92-lap run to the finish – the No. 23 car charged through the field, ending the race in third.

“It’s been a down season for us,” Wallace told a group of reporters after the race. “It’s finally good to come out on top. [We] finally have a good race to highlight besides the Daytona 500.”

The third-place finish marks Wallace’s best effort since finishing runner-up to Austin Cindric in the ‘Great American Race’. In the 18 races between Daytona and New Hampshire, the No. 23 team had just one additional top-10 result, coming at Kansas when he was the caboose of the top 10.

Bubba Wallace by his No. 23 car post-race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Meagan Thompson | NASCAR Digital Media

Speed hasn’t been a factor for the No. 23 team; Wallace has had plenty. Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, has said multiple times this year that this season is the best Wallace has ever driven in his racing career.

“We’ve had a lot of speed all year and we’ve had cars capable of that,” Wallace said. “It’s finally good to see that come to fruition. That’s what our races can be like if we continue to do that. Just take a page out of this book for everybody on the team to learn from.

“I’m sure we can do better; bring a better car and an all-around team. We did excellent today, I’m proud of everybody. You can always be better, right?”

The stat sheet would say it’s been a down year, as Wallace is now sitting 23rd in points with an average finish of 20.7, one full position behind last year’s pace of 19.7. It’s safe to say the team, which has had up to eight loose wheels this season, needed a good day’s work.

“You’ve got to crawl before you walk and we’ve been falling,” Wallace said. “We haven’t even been able to crawl. To finally get our feet underneath us and get a good finish, this is good momentum to build off of.”

Bootie Barker, crew chief of the No. 23 team, said of New Hampshire: “This is only our second clean race, unfortunately. We’re trying, but this is our second clean race.”

Knowing the team needs to win one of the final six regular-season races to be part of the postseason, Wallace believes his New Hampshire effort gives him momentum moving forward. His numbers aren’t stellar on road courses – there’s two of them in the final six races – and there’s races at Pocono and Michigan that loom as potential fuel mileage contests.

There’s also Daytona, where the No. 23 car will be among the pre-race favorites.

Based on the speed Wallace has shown this year, he believes he can claim the checkered flag in one of the final six events.

“We’ve had top-five speed in a handful of the races,” said Wallace, who claimed his first top-five finish with 23XI Racing in the second race of the Pocono doubleheader last season. “To use this and build off of and show up to Pocono next week, I’m excited for that place. I usually make the highlight reel there for whatever reason, and hopefully it’s for a win.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

LOUDON, N.H. — There’s perhaps no track on the schedule that would mean more to Martin Truex Jr. to win at than New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

And yet, it’s the one that eludes him most.

The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champ picked up his first Busch Light Pole Award for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday and carried that speed into the main event, clearly in possession of the best car for the majority of Sunday’s Ambetter 301 at the “Magic Mile.” Truex claimed the win in each of the first two stages — to add to his now series-leading seven — but a late pit strategy call in the final stage for two tires sunk him to the back of the top 10 after the ensuing restart and he had to claw his way back to finish an eventual fourth, despite leading a race-high 172 laps.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

“We restarted third and the 22 (of Joey Logano) got a bad jump in front of us,” Truex said on pit road following the race. “I tried to push him to get him going and the 4 (of Kevin Harvick) made us three-wide and I got put in a bad spot and lost a few spots but overall we recovered from that and just didn’t have anything to go forward on two tires. I mean, the car absolutely hated it so it was nothing like it had been all day long. And you couldn’t go anywhere, just had to ride it out and get what we could out of it.”

The northeast native has been itching to get his claws on, well, a pair of claws at the Granite State track for years, having competed here since some of his earliest days in racing. After winning the pole Saturday, he indicated that while a win Sunday would’ve essentially locked him into the playoffs, his first thoughts climbing out of his No. 19 Toyota would have been, “I just won Loudon!”

Instead, Truex’s old history of being snakebitten in races he dominates reared its ugly head once more.

“Just the Loudon curse for me, I guess,” Truex said. “I just don’t know how many times it’s gonna happen, you know? We lead all day and then we get beat on strategy or whatever it is so I don’t know. It’s just Loudon. It’s the way it’s been, you know, my whole career. It doesn’t matter how good we are, we can’t win.”

As frustrating as it is to once again miss out on hoisting a hefty crustacean in Victory Lane at Loudon — this is the fifth time he’s led 100-plus laps here and lost since 2016 alone, four of which came in consecutive races – there’s a bit more consternation for Truex and Co. to focus on at the moment.

Fellow JGR cohort Christopher Bell won Sunday’s race, ticking one more playoff spot off the board for winless drivers — such as Truex — to point their way into the playoffs. He remains second highest in the standings among those still seeking victory, but with six races left before the 16-driver field is set and 14 different winners already, Truex is by no means guaranteed a spot on points at this juncture. No driver is.

RACE REWIND: Best moments, highlights

Considering half of those six are a pair of road courses and Daytona, the potential for wild-card winners (or other title contenders such as Ryan Blaney and Harvick, who are also looking for their first win) to squeeze Truex out is very real.

“I’m very nervous about it,” team owner Joe Gibbs said during Bell’s post-race press conference. “I think all of us, I don’t think any of us would have dreamed when the year started and we would have, you know, (14) winners at this point. And so, yeah, that’s why we were pulling so hard for him to get it. And then of course, Christopher was in pretty much the same boat. And so thank goodness, Christopher was able to get it done. But we gotta give Martin everything we can give because we need that car. We need it in the playoffs. That’s for sure.”

Another thing Truex mentioned on Saturday after winning the pole — that he wasn’t nervous about making the playoffs.

The 42-year-old Cup mainstay is as unflappable as they come, but there was a clear tone change after the results of Sunday.

“I mean, it is what it is, you know,” Truex said. “Like, if another guy wins then we’re out. And, you know, that’s just the way it is. We race every week. Do the best we can to try to win races and obviously lately we’ve been capable. We’ve had cars capable winning this year. We have the most stage wins of anybody. And we haven’t won a race yet.

“You know, it’s just whatever for whatever reason, that third stage, we just muck it up, as James (Small, crew chief) can say, so we’ll just keep digging. We’ve got a great team, our guys at JGR are working really hard, our cars are fast obviously. We’re getting better, to run like this here today after our short-track season, it says a lot about all of our people. And you know for Christopher to win, it was a JGR-dominated day so that’s that says a lot and we can use that going forward. We just do all we can do. It’s all we can do.”

The Cup Series next heads to Pocono Raceway, where Truex has a pair of wins in 2015 and 2018.

Maybe that’ll do the trick, because the No. 19 ran out of magic at Loudon once again.

Posted on by Staff Report

Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski engaged in a wild, fender-scraping show of displeasure and retaliation during a mid-race caution period Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

After the yellow flag flew on Lap 163 for Kyle Busch’s solo spin in the Ambetter 301, both Dillon and Keselowski left pit road in close quarters. Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet veered up to bump Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing Ford on the backstretch. Keselowski paid him back with a more aggressive sideswipe that spilled onto the Turn 3 apron.

The contact forced Keselowski’s car to pit road with a flat left-front tire, but he rallied to grab a season-best seventh-place finish.

RELATED: Official results

“He was mad at me about something,” Keselowski told reporters post-race. “We very lightly got together off of (Turn) 2 during a restart. Shoot, half the field’s bouncing off each other. I didn’t even leave a mark on our cars, but I can understand why he was probably frustrated. Then, he came over and door-slammed me and cut tires down. Didn’t help any of our days. Ultimately, it probably didn’t make a difference for me. We were strong enough to recover and run seventh, but didn’t do any of our teams a favor, so moving on.”

Keselowski admitted to the rising tensions on a warm New England day. “When it’s hot in the cars, it ain’t no cooler in the helmets. We’re all probably guilty from time to time of letting our anger get to us.”

Dillon placed 23rd, one lap down. In his post-race remarks, he referenced a tangle with Keselowski last season at Michigan International Speedway, where his No. 3 Chevy was severely damaged.

“You guys saw it, right? I mean, it’s just hard racing, I guess,” Dillon told NBC Sports. “We’ve gone at it a couple times the last two years. One time, I hit really hard. Just don’t like the way certain people race me and probably not the right way to do it under caution.”

Asked if he planned to talk to Dillon to potentially mend fences, Keselowski said any discussion would take place outside of the public eye.

“We’ll figure that out outside the media … I hope,” Keselowski said.

Dillon was less optimistic: “Naw, I don’t talk to him.”

WATCH: Dillon sounds off on the 6 | Keselowski shares his perspective

Posted on by Holly Cain

Christopher Bell has quietly established himself as a New England force over the past three years coming up the NASCAR ranks and on Sunday afternoon, he convincingly earned his biggest triumph to date there, a victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter 301 and a ticket to the 2022 Playoffs.

Bell led the last 42 laps of the 301-lapper at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway, claiming the trophy – and the traditional lobster hoist in Victory Lane – with a massive 5.767-second victory over last week’s race winner Chase Elliott.

RELATED: New Hampshire results | At-track photos

It’s only the second NASCAR Cup Series win for the third-year driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota but oh, so significant as it launches the 27-year-old Oklahoman into a provisional postseason berth. The 14th different winner of the season came into the race ranked last among the top 16 drivers that would advance to the Playoffs. Now he has bolstered his hopes of a title run.

“Man, that one was much-needed right there,” said Bell, who won three consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track from 2019-2021 and was runner-up in last year’s NASCAR Cup Series race there.

“I tell you what, that was a helluva race from my viewpoint. It was so much fun racing with the 45 (Kurt Busch), the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 9 (Elliott). We were all running different lines. That was a blast. Just so happy to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing and so good to get that 20 car back in Victory Lane.”

Christopher Bell's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
James Gilbert | Getty Images

“Winning Cup races is hard,’’ he added with a smile, thanking the crowd. “Just seems like we’ve been close then we had fallen off a little bit last week. I was talking to my best friend and I told him, earlier in the year I felt like we were right on the verge of winning. Then the last couple of weeks I felt like we were pretty far away.

“But here we are today.’’

Elliott, who hasn’t finished worse than second in the last four races (including two victories), said he just didn’t have anything for Bell at the very end.

“I feel like just a poor run of execution on my end in the last run,’’ said Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “It took me a while to get past Joey (Logano) and the 45 (Busch) and I had to run harder than I wanted to.

“Just make a couple mistakes and couldn’t get much breathing room.”

The string of top-two finishes was of little consolation to the 2020 series champion.

“When you’re in position like we’ve been in, you need to finish it off,” he said.

Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, turned in a banner day at New Hampshire, finishing third – his second top-five effort of the season but first top-10 result since a 10th place at Kansas eight races ago.

“Just proud of the team, proud of myself and proud of everybody at the shop,’’ Wallace said, adding, “It’s been hell for me the last month so good to come out with a top five. This sport humbles you so there’s really no surprises. Have to keep the task at hand and be mindful of your surroundings and do your job.’’

Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick.

The pole-sitter Truex won both stages – his series-leading sixth and seventh of the year – and led a race-best 172 laps; including the first 95 consecutively to start the race.

His No 19 JGR Toyota seemed like the car to beat, but a two-tire stop for him – and for Harvick – with about 100 laps to go turned out to unsettle the car and he dropped briefly outside the top 10 before racing back to his first top-five since a fifth place at Talladega, Ala., in April.

JGR’s Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Trackhouse Racing’s teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez and 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Seventh place was Keselowski’s best finish of the season in his first year as co-owner/driver of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford.

MORE: Keselowski, A.Dillon crunch fenders

With Chastain’s 14th top-10 run and Ryan Blaney’s 18th-place finish, there was significant movement atop the Cup Series standings. Chastain has moved into second place, 67 points behind standings leader Elliott. Blaney – who is still looking for his first victory of the season – is now third.

Truex, who is also still racing for a playoff-securing victory is now in the 16th and final Playoff position – 68 points ahead of Harvick, who has not won in 2022 either.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400, scheduled next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Pocono Raceway.

Notes: Inspection in the Cup Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming Christopher Bell as the winner. … A multicar crash sidelined four drivers with just four laps complete, knocking out Alex Bowman, Ty Dillon, Josh Bilicki and BJ McLeod. … The green flag was delayed roughly 20 minutes by a mid-afternoon shower and lightning in the area.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find USA Network | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App | Watch on USA Network | Get the NBC Sports App | Watch on Peacock | FloRacing

Monday, July 18                                                                                                                                                             
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock

Tuesday, July 19
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay (2022 Season Recap), FS1
8 p.m., American Flat Track: New York short track race (re-air), FS2

Wednesday, July 20
6NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America Motormouths, Peacock
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (Best of Radioactive 2022 Season), FS1
11:30 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane, USA Network

Thursday, July 21
1 a.m., American Flat Track: Laconia race (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: 2022 Season Recap, FS1

Friday, July 22
7 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay: 2022 Season Recap (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Trucks (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (Race Hub Game Night: Truck Series Edition), FS1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive, 2022 Season (re-air), FS1
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features, 2022 Season (re-air), FS1
11 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay: 2022 Season Recap (re-air), FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice/Qualifying at Pocono Raceway, FS1
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice/Qualifying at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS1
10 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire Delivers 200 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
6:30 p.m., ARCA Menards Series:

Saturday, July 23
NASCAR RaceDay: 2022 Season Recap (re-air), FS1
1 a.m., American Flat Track: Laconia race (re-air), FS1
2 a.m., American Flat Track: Lima half-mile race (re-air), FS1
3 a.m., American Flat Track: New York short track race (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Practice/Qualifying at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Practice/Qualifying at Pocono Raceway, USA Network
11 a.m.,
11:30 a.m.,
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay: CWTS at Pocono, FOX
12 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway, FOX
12 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
12:30 p.m., IMSA: Lime Rock Park 120 (re-air), USA Network
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice/Qualifying at Pocono Raceway, USA Network
4:30 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway, USA Network
7 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire Delivers 200 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, USA Network

On MRN:
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice/Qualifying at Pocono Raceway
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway

Sunday, July 24
4 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire Delivers 200 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
6 a.m., The Relentless (re-air), FS2
6:30 a.m., The NASCARcade (re-air), FS2
7 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Whelen 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (re-air), USA Network
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Pocono Raceway, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Countdown to Green, USA Network
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway, USA Network
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Post-Race Show, USA Network
7 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
7:30 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
10 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway (re-air), FS2

On MRN:
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway

Posted on by Pat DeCola

LOUDON, N.H. — Things have never been better at JR Motorsports.

The powerhouse Xfinity Series team is fresh off Justin Allgaier’s strong victory Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Chevrolet-backed organization’s sixth victory since late April and series-best seventh on the season. All four teams are communicating data intimately, all four are in the championship hunt inside the points standings’ top eight, and if you added any more proverbial cylinders to the mix, they’d probably be clicking on all those, too.

The blend of people from those turning wrenches on the shop floor to those turning left and right on Saturdays is just working, and it has been a long time in the making for the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Kelley Earnhardt Miller joint operation.

“Trying to find the right way to fit those pieces together is always a fun challenge,” Earnhardt said after Allgaier’s win, the No. 7 driver’s third of the season. “And I think our lineup of drivers is as strong as it has ever been. I think our lineup of crew chiefs are working better together than they ever have. We’ve had some great crew chiefs like Dave Elenz and other people in our organization that were tough to see go but you know, when they work together, they can be stronger as a group. And so there’s a lot of great information going from car to car and we’ve got great engines. Really, really great engines from Hendrick. Our support from Hendrick when it comes to resources, engineering and sim and all those things, that river’s never flowed as smooth and as current as it does now. And so everything’s working well.”

MORE: Allgaier claims ‘Magic Mile’ | Full race results

Then again, are they perhaps working too well?

We’re at the point of the season where Cup Series rides of all sorts are starting to become available as drivers and teams play musical chairs with eyes cautiously looking ahead to the 2023 and 2024 seasons while keeping a keen focus on this year’s impending NASCAR Playoffs.

Given how dominant JR Motorsports is at the moment and the variety of talent the four-car team boasts, it’s not unreasonable to think one — or more — of them could be pilfered up to Cup by a team looking to capture lightning in a bottle with a driver on the rise. And JRM offers an enticing menu of options for other teams to potentially take a look at, from the veteran guile of 30-somethings Allgaier and Josh Berry, who look like they could hop into a Cup car tomorrow and make it competitive, to young, aggressive upstarts Noah Gragson and Sam Mayer, who ranked fifth and ninth, respectively, among our 23-and-under prospect rankings from this year’s preseason.

MORE: Power Rankings: Top 10 young prospects

With a few Silly Season shakeups this past week alone — Tyler Reddick and Ty Dillon leaving their respective rides — there are rumblings Gragson could be among the favorites to land one of those opportunities.

Not only can this be considered a good problem to have, according to Earnhardt, it’s actually a situation and environment Junior himself has cultivated — to make JRM a stepping stone to Sundays, even if it means part of the family has to move on.

“The one thing I’ll say is that I can’t wait for the phone to ring for any of our four guys to get a call. I want to know about it as soon as it happens, and I can’t wait to help them make the decision of whether that’s a smart move for them or not,” the Hall of Famer said. “That was such a great day (when Aric Almirola called to tell me he was leaving to drive the No. 43 full-time). I was standing in the house, standing in the lobby or the foyer of my house, when Aric Almirola called me and he said I got some tough news. He said, ‘Richard Petty has called me to see if … ‘ and I was like, ‘You gotta go.’ I didn’t even let him finish the sentence. I was like, ‘That’s it. That’s what we do this for.’ Like, this is your chance, you know? And I was so happy. You know, because that’s like a win. That’s like a trophy. That’s like what happened today to get a call. It’s kind of like getting pulled up from the minors. And it could happen any minute right in the middle of the year.

“And so yeah, I’m excited anytime that happens and the potential for Noah had that opportunity. I’m waiting. I’m waiting to hear that phone ring any second for him for any of our guys.”

Until that happens, the gregarious team owner is content to just keep winning races, celebrating in Victory Lane with his racing family and focusing on the next race ahead from now through Phoenix while enjoying the ride.

“We’re taking advantage of it and enjoying it for sure,” Earnhardt said. “We go home and have beer toasts and everybody, the morale in the shop, I don’t think could be better.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

LOUDON, N.H. — When the checkered flag flew in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brandon Brown thought he finished fifth. Turns out, with both the cars of Landon Cassill and Noah Gragson getting disqualified, the No. 68 car finished a season-best third.

RELATED: New Hampshire results | Justin Allgaier wins

Brown hovered inside the top 20 for the opening half of the race, earning six stage points in the opening stage when crew chief Doug Randolph chose not to call the No. 68 car to pit road when a caution flew inside of 10 laps remaining in the stage. On a four-lap dash to the stage end, he dropped three positions from second to fifth.

Buried in traffic on the restart, Brown finished the second stage in 19th. But he was able to stay out of trouble in the second half of the race when many others were not, as there were six yellow flags in the final stage alone.

The pivotal point for Brown was when Akinori Ogata blew an engine on Lap 175. With just 17 cars on the lead lap, Randolph brought the No. 68 Chevrolet to pit road for four fresh tires. Over the 21-lap sprint to the finish, Brown was able to race to as high as fourth position but dropped to fifth when the race was complete.

“That last stint was all attack mode, give it everything that I had and push as hard as I could every single lap,” Brown said. “I was trying my hardest not to break the grip and break the plane to where I started sliding and tearing up the tires. But I did it just one too many times.”

When the race concluded, Brown radioed his crew, telling them he had a winning car. He had just made too many mistakes to catch race winner Justin Allgaier.

“With the (new) tires, it had the chance to win,” Brown said. “It just needed the driver to make the right moves. Maybe just one more caution would have been great.”

The eventual third-place finish was needed for Brandonbilt Motorsports. In the first 17 races of the season, the team had just a pair of top-10 efforts, with the most recent of those coming at Richmond Raceway back in early April.

Over the last few weeks, Brown had consecutive DNFs at Road America and Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the former, he totaled the car in the massive 13-car pileup. He then made a mistake at Atlanta, getting into the wall after battling inside the top 10 early and even finishing fourth and third, respectively, in the first two stages.

“This is everything to our team because we’ve had very minimal media time up until now,” Brown said. “(That) really hurts for a team like us, especially with the sponsorship hunt and how hard it can be.

“Everyone knows how hard I hustle for sponsors. It means everything for us to get back up and get these strong runs and show these brands and companies, ‘Hey, Brandon Brown is in there and he’s going to put you in a chance to win.’ We’re out here to compete.”

With Cassill being awarded just one point for his disqualification, Brown gained 39 points on the cutline, now just 61 markers behind with eight races remaining.
While it may take some more good fortune for Brown to increase his chances of making the postseason for the second time in three years, he has a fighter’s chance.

“I think it’s obtainable,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of work and a ton of strategy calls like that. We really need to take advantage of every opportunity given to do this and not choke anything away.”

Posted on by PJ Walsh

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

I really like NASCAR racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

This isn’t because of a big betting win or memorable on-track racing, but because after growing up in North Carolina, I moved to the Boston North Shore in 2011.

North Carolina offers plenty of options for NASCAR fans to attend races in person, while the greater Boston area does not.

However, New Hampshire Motor Speedway was just a two-hour drive from where we lived, so before the craziness of having kids, we made plenty of treks to the tracked dubbed the “Magic Mile” and had a blast every time.

So whether you’re attending Sunday’s Ambetter 301 or watching from home, here are two bets I like for the race at New Hampshire.

RELATED: Weekend results from New Hampshire | Betting odds

NASCAR Picks for New Hampshire

*Odds as of Sunday morning

Kyle Busch (+750) to win

Busch struggled in qualifying — posting just the 17th-fastest speed during time trials — but I’m giddily buying this price discount.

The driver of the No. 18 Toyota has been extremely fast on tracks similar to New Hampshire this season, especially on the tire combination that will be used Sunday afternoon.

In three previous races (Phoenix Raceway, Richmond Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway) on this tire this season, Busch has the second-best average finish, has run the second-most fast laps, has the second-best average running position and has posted the second-best driver rating.

Busch backed up that speed in practice Saturday, ripping off the best 10-lap average, so this car is plenty fast heading into Sunday’s race.

Chase Briscoe (+100) for a top-10 finish

Buying low, you say? I’m doing it once again with Briscoe.

Sure, Briscoe was very disappointing in qualifying, but his 29th-place starting position isn’t enough to scare me away from his speed in race trim.

First off, Briscoe won at Phoenix earlier this season on this tire combination, and that speed carried over to this weekend at New Hampshire, evidenced by his second-fastest 10-lap average in practice.

It should be hard to pass this afternoon at New Hampshire, so I’m wary of betting Briscoe to win. However, maneuvering his way into the top 10 by the end of the race is very manageable and something I expect him to do more than 50% of the time, which is what his +100 price implies.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Entering the weekend, many industry insiders believed the same drivers who ran well earlier in the year at Phoenix Raceway, Richmond Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway would stand out at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Team Penske was an outlier, however, with none of its cars making the final round of qualifying. On the flip side, Kurt Busch found speed he hasn’t had in recent years at the “Magic Mile” and has therefore soared up my fantasy board.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Martin Truex Jr.
Starter 2: Ryan Blaney
Starter 3: Kevin Harvick
Starter 4: Kurt Busch
Starter 5: Christopher Bell
Garage pick: Joey Logano

NEXT IN LINE: Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson

RELATED: Complete New Hampshire weekend results | Betting odds

RISING: Kurt Busch’s speed at Gateway seems to have correlated over to New Hampshire in Saturday’s qualifying session at New Hampshire, as the No. 45 car will start third on Sunday. As he put it, he found a unicorn prancing across Turns 1 and 2 of his first round run, which is reasonable to think due to his lack of success recently at the “Magic Mile.”

Chase Elliott admitted Saturday morning he has struggled at finding a feel for New Hampshire since joining the Cup Series in 2016. But his No. 9 Chevrolet was fast in practice (sixth) and will start on the front row for the race. Odds are, Elliott is one of your most-used drivers. If that’s the case, save him for one of the final six regular-season races.

FALLING: To many betting websites, Ryan Blaney is listed as the favorite for Sunday’s race. However, the No. 12 car missed the final round of qualifying – as did his two Team Penske teammates – and will start 11th. Blaney told the media that he was surprised by the lack of speed and how far off his car was. But looking at Gateway and recent flat tracks, Blaney should be in your lineup.

Speaking of Team Penske, Joey Logano was the quickest car on paper at Gateway. He will make up Row 6 with Blaney for the green flag, as he qualified 12th. More concerning is the No. 22 car was 24th in practice, though tied for the most laps run with 29.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Ryan Blaney vs. Chase Elliott: Ah, two besties fighting it out in fantasy. Based on recent success at New Hampshire, Blaney would be the choice this weekend. But with Elliott having his best qualifying effort ever at the 1.058-mile track, and bettering the No. 12 car in practice, theories would suggest picking Elliott. Tough selection, but don’t count out the Fords. My choice, as my lineup states, is Blaney.

Alex Bowman vs. William Byron: As noted in Fantasy Fastlane earlier this week, both of these drivers have struggled in the past at New Hampshire. However, Byron was quickest in practice and will start sixth while Bowman lines up in 27th. Byron is the clear favorite in this teammate battle, as his results since Martinsville Speedway isn’t a true indicator of the speed the No. 24 car has shown.

Ross Chastain vs. Denny Hamlin: We love igniting fuel to this flame, don’t we? Chastain’s 18th-place qualifying position is among his worst of the 2022 season, though Hamlin’s lap wasn’t much better in 14th. Just on experience alone, the No. 11 car gets the advantage, as Hamlin is one of the most successful drivers ever at New Hampshire with three victories.

Aric Almirola vs. Austin Cindric: Almirola enters the weekend as the defending winner at New Hampshire, which was arguably the biggest upset in the 2021 Cup season. Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018 – and even dating back to his days at Richard Petty Motorsports – Almirola has a knack for running well on small, flat tracks. Cindric, meanwhile, will start 28th.

Posted on by Brandon White

LOUDON, N.H. — When the field came off Turn 4 to take the checkered flag in the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Anthony Nocella found himself running in the fourth position.

Rather than settle for a Top 5, Nocella instead celebrated his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory after race leaders Patrick Emerling and Eric Goodale crashed on the frontstretch while battling for the win.

Nocella has worked tirelessly during the past several years to stay competitive with the top drivers on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and was overwhelmed to finally break through in his own car at the series’ most prestigious venue.

“I’ve ran [the Whelen Modified Tour] off and on over the years,” Nocella said. “We’ve been close to getting some wins and have worked very hard, but just hadn’t gotten one yet. It’s awesome to finally get a win [at New Hampshire] of all places, especially in my family-owned car.”

RELATED: Race results from the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 at New Hampshire

Prior to his triumph on Saturday, the closest Nocella came to a victory was in 2017 at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway, where he finished second to six-time series champion Doug Coby.

Nocella put together that performance while driving his family-owned car, which he was piloting Saturday evening for the first time since 2020 after spending most of the past two seasons driving for Danny Watts Jr.

Nocella’s familiar No. 92 showed speed from the opening laps. Nocella managed to mix it up with the leaders and briefly led early before gradually fading to the rear during a long green flag run.

Once the caution came out for Tommy Catalano’s expired engine with less than 20 laps left, Nocella knew that he had an opportunity to charge back up to the front if he made the right moves on the restarts and in the draft.

“We had a great car at the start but got too loose and faded back,” Nocella said. “This motor didn’t really like getting bogged down, but I knew we had a shot with the short run. I expected [Goodale and Emerling] to drive it in hard and wash up. That’s exactly what happened and thankfully we were in the right lane.”

Nocella watched as Emerling sailed his car around Goodale in Turn 3 on the final lap to take the lead. Goodale attempted to cross Emerling over, but ended up turning him around, allowing Nocella to slip under both of them to narrowly claim the win ahead of Kyle Bonsignore.

Once the shock of how the race ended subsided, Nocella made sure to appreciate the magnitude of obtaining his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory at New Hampshire.

In the series’ history at the facility, names like Coby, Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik, Reggie Ruggiero, Ryan Newman, and many more have all visited the track’s Victory Lane. Nocella dreamed of joining those drivers one day, but never imagined that accomplishment would also serve as his first Tour win.

Nocella plans to celebrate his New Hampshire win with his family and crew for as long as possible before going right back into the shop to make sure he can add more victories to his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour résumé.

“This is a big one for sure,” Nocella said. “We’ve been working hard for this and it’s awesome to finally get it at [New Hampshire].”

RACING REFERENCE: Career NASCAR stats for Anthony Nocella

With Kyle Bonsignore placing second, the damaged cars of Emerling and Goodale crossed the finish line in third and fourth, respectively. Jon McKennedy completed the top-five, which helped him gain precious ground on Ron Silk in the battle for the series championship after Silk was involved in an early crash.

Rounding out the top-10 were Ryan Preece, Coby, Donny Lia, Corey LaJoie and Craig Lutz.

A replay of the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway can be seen on the USA Network on Friday, July 22 at noon.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action on Friday, July 29 for the Clash at Claremont 150 at New Hampshire’s Claremont Motorsports Park. The race will be streamed live on FloRacing.