Date: July 15, 2023
Event: Ambetter Health 200 (Round 18 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Note: Race extended six laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Sammy Smith of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
● Riley Herbst (Started 14th / Finished 20th, Running, completed 206 of 206 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 6th / Finished 22nd, Running, completed 205 of 206 laps)
SHR Points:
● Cole Custer (4th with 656 points, 74 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (11th with 457 points, 273 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Herbst earned his 10th top-20 of the season and his second top-20 in three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at New Hampshire.
● Custer finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points.
Race Notes:
● John Hunter Nemechek won the Ambetter Health 200 under caution to score his sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at New Hampshire.
● There were 10 caution periods for a total of 60 laps.
● Twenty of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Nemechek remains the championship leader after New Hampshire with an 33-point advantage over second-place Austin Hill.
Sound Bites:
“I wouldn’t say the results of this race were a positive, even with gaining points. I don’t know what I was doing when I got into the No. 10 car there. I thought there was some room there, and I just wasn’t clear. That really ruined our top-three day, and now we’ll finish 20th. It’s super frustrating. I apologize to Austin Dillon, the No. 10 team, and my guys for that incident. We go to Pocono next week though, and that’s a track that I won at in the ARCA series. Hopefully, we can build on that and park this No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang in victory lane.“ – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
“I got a decent start there on the last restart, and I just got tight. Off of Turn Four, the No. 2 tried to clear himself on me, and I was still there. Got loose and then got into him. Ultimately, it wrecked both of us. It just didn’t work out right for either of us. It wasn’t the right move. The No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang was so good, but I think we just needed a little bit more. I thought we could compete with anyone today. We’re digging. We have really fast cars, it’s just a matter of getting that little bit more.“ – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Pocono 225 on Saturday, July 22 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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