While there might not be any wizards or witches casting spells this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, fittingly nicknamed the ‘Magic Mile,’ but there will be some enchanting short track racing and a dinosaur-sized lobster awarded in Victory Lane, in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the USA TODAY 301 (on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this Sunday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET).
The property that is now New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally a 1.6-mile road course that opened in 1964 called Bryar Motorsports Park. Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was August 13, 1989. The 1.058-mile paved oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres and the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.
The first NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was on July 11, 1993, and the inaugural race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace driving a Team Penske Pontiac (105.947 mph, 02:59:45). The event saw 13 leads changes among six leaders, and Wallace led 106 laps, taking the lead the final time with 30 to go.
There have been 52 NASCAR Cup Series races held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 1993; one per year from 1993 through 1996 and two per year from 1997-2017. In 2018, the series reverted back to visiting the track just once a season.
One thing that makes New Hampshire Motor Speedway unique is its 1.058-mile layout, the only of its kind on the schedule, but even more so is the giant lobster the track awards the race winner in Victory Lane.
“I’ve always wanted to hold the lobster (in Victory Lane) ever since I was a kid,” said reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney. “The area is great. I love the fans. I love the weather up there. It’s nice this time of year. … that place (New Hampshire Motor Speedway) is awesome, and I feel like it’s a good test for Phoenix.”
All of the NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will begin with practice followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying on Saturday, June 22 at 12:35 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Magic happens at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sometimes it just takes a little magic, and this weekend’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway is notorious for longshot winners and shaking up the Playoff field. A NASCAR Cup Series driver has started outside the top-20 and went on to win the race at New Hampshire 10 different times (19.2% of the total races).
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is tied with Charlotte Motor Speedway for the third-most winners starting outside the top-20 in the NASCAR Cup Series (with 10 each); behind only Daytona International Speedway with 14 and Richmond Raceway with 13.
The 2021 New Hampshire winner, Aric Almirola, started from the 22nd position, and six of the last 11 winners at New Hampshire have started outside the top-10.
Looking for a win in a magical place, New Hampshire
Heading into this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, there are six former Magic Mile winners entered in the field, led by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch with three victories each.
| Active New Hampshire Winners | Wins | Seasons |
| Denny Hamlin | 3 | 2017, 2012, 2007 |
| Kyle Busch | 3 | 2017, 2015, 2006 |
| Brad Keselowski | 2 | 2020, 2014 |
| Joey Logano | 2 | 2014, 2009 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 2023 |
| Christopher Bell | 1 | 2022 |
Of the six former New Hampshire winners entered this weekend, three are still looking for their first win of the season – Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. Both Busch and Logano are currently ranked below the Playoff outlook cutline. Truex, who recently announced his retirement from fulltime racing at the end of the season, is the defending winner of this race, and is riding a 33-race winless streak dating back to this race last season.
One driver that will be tough to beat this weekend will be Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, all three of his wins this season have come on tracks 1-mile in length or shorter (Bristol, Richmond and Dover). New Hampshire is one of Hamlin’s better tracks, in 30 starts he has put up three wins, 11 top fives (both his wins and top fives are tied with Kyle Busch for most among active drivers) and 19 top 10s (most among active drivers).
Quickness in qualifying pays dividends at New Hampshire
While wins can happen from anywhere on the starting grid at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, starting up front has proven to be fortuitous as well.
The 52 NASCAR Cup Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have produced 23 different pole winners and 27 different race winners. The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the NASCAR Cup Series field at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, producing more winners (six) than any other starting position at 1.058-mile track.
| Winners From The Pole | Date |
| Kyle Busch | Sunday, September 24, 2017 |
| Ryan Newman | Sunday, July 17, 2011 |
| Clint Bowyer | Sunday, September 16, 2007 |
| Kevin Harvick | Sunday, September 17, 2006 |
| Ryan Newman | Sunday, September 15, 2002 |
| Jeff Gordon | Sunday, August 30, 1998 |
Ryan Newman leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with seven (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011 sweep, 2013). Brad Keselowski leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with four (2010, 2013, 2014, 2019).
This weekend, four of the 23 NASCAR Cup Series pole winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway are active.
| Active New Hampshire Pole Winners | Poles | Seasons |
| Brad Keselowski | 4 | 2019, 2014, 2013, 2010 |
| Kyle Busch | 3 | 2017, 2014, 2012 |
| Martin Truex Jr | 2 | 2022, 2017 |
| Christopher Bell | 1 | 2023 |
Last season, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell won the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his first at the 1.058-mile track and the organization’s 10th. The pole tied Joe Gibbs Racing with Team Penske for the series-most poles at New Hampshire with 10 each.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. returns to New Hampshire to defend last season’s win
Last season, New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the third win of the year for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr.’s season, the last win to this day he would get to enjoy. Since then, the New Jersey native, has been riding a winless streak that has spanned 33 Cup races, and this weekend he would like nothing more than to snap the streak and become the fifth driver all-time to win consecutive Cup races at the 1.058-mile track; joining Jimmie Johnson (2003 sweep), Kurt Busch (2004 sweep), Matt Kenseth (2015 fall, 2016 spring) and Kevin Harvick (2018, 2019).
Truex has made 30 NASCAR Cup Series career starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway posting two poles, one win, nine top fives and 15 top 10s. He is one of just four drivers all-time to lead more than a 1,000 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1,170 – most among active drivers), and his average finish at 1.058-mile track is 11.3 – third-best among active drivers.
Chase for a Regular Season Championship
Just nine races to go and the battle for the top spot in the regular season points is heating up. For the first time since 2022, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings but does so with just a slight eight point edge over his Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson in second. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is in third in the points (-38 from Elliott) and Elliott’s HMS teammate William Byron (-54) is in fourth and JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. (-61) rounds out the top five in the driver standings with just nine races to go in the regular season.
Not only is Elliott looking to take home the Regular Season Championship trophy and bank the 15 Playoff bonus points that come with it, but he would also like to become just the third driver since the introduction of the Regular Season Championship to win more than one; joining Martin Truex Jr. (2017, 2023) and Kyle Busch (2018, 2019). Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season title in 2022.
In total only five drivers have won the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship – Martin Truex Jr. (2023, 2017), Kyle Busch (2019, 2018), Chase Elliott (2022), Kyle Larson (2021) and Kevin Harvick (2020).
Nine races to go, Playoffs loom with just six spots still open
When drivers and teams start doing the math, a Playoff appearance isn’t adding up for many unless they win a race over these last nine events on the regular season schedule.
A total of 10 different drivers have secured their spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a win this season, leaving just six spots open on points as the series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend.
| 2024 Driver Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 17 – Drivers Without Wins | ||||||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Wins | Stages | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | 530 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 122 |
| 12 | Ross Chastain | 479 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 71 |
| 13 | Ty Gibbs | 478 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 70 |
| 14 | Alex Bowman | 474 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | 435 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 |
| 16 | Bubba Wallace | 414 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 17 | Joey Logano | 408 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -6 |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | 383 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -31 |
| 19 | Chase Briscoe | 370 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -44 |
| 20 | Todd Gilliland | 317 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -97 |
| 21 | Josh Berry # | 314 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -100 |
| 22 | Michael McDowell | 309 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -105 |
| 23 | Carson Hocevar # | 302 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -112 |
| 24 | Noah Gragson | 287 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -127 |
| 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 268 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -146 |
| 26 | Erik Jones | 255 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -159 |
| 27 | Ryan Preece | 249 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -165 |
| 28 | John H. Nemechek | 247 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -167 |
| 29 | Corey LaJoie | 242 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -172 |
| 30 | Justin Haley | 234 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -180 |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | 234 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -180 |
| 32 | Austin Dillon | 229 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -185 |
| 33 | Harrison Burton | 185 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -229 |
| 34 | Zane Smith # | 158 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -256 |
Of the six former NASCAR Cup Series New Hampshire Motor Speedway winners entered this weekend, three of them are looking to lock themselves into the Playoffs this season with a win – Martin Truex Jr. (11th in the Playoff points outlook, +122 points up from the cutline), Joey Logano (17th in the Playoff points outlook, -6 points from the cutline), and Kyle Busch (18th in the Playoff points outlook, -31 points from the cutline)
NASCAR’s history in New England
Among the six states that make up New England (Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire), the NASCAR Cup Series has competed in four of them for a total of 120 races.
| Tracks in New Hampshire | ||||||
| Track Name | City | Cup | Xfinity | Truck | Combined | First Year |
| New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Loudon | 52 | 36 | 20 | 108 | 1990 |
| Tracks in Connecticut | ||||||
| Track Name | City | Cup | Xfinity | Truck | Combined | First Year |
| Thompson Speedway | Thompson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1951 |
| Tracks in Maine | ||||||
| Track Name | City | Cup | Xfinity | Truck | Combined | First Year |
| Oxford Plains Speedway | Oxford | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1966 |
| Tracks in Massachusetts | ||||||
| Track Name | City | Cup | Xfinity | Truck | Combined | First Year |
| Norwood Arena | Norwood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1961 |
First-time winners happen at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
New winners are always a fan favorite, and this season we have yet to see one, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen this weekend. The NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track that is home to five driver’s first-time wins in the series; including Connecticut’s Joey Logano.
| First-Time Winners at New Hampshire | Date |
| Joey Logano | Sunday, June 28, 2009 |
| Clint Bowyer | Sunday, September 16, 2007 |
| Ryan Newman | Sunday, September 15, 2002 |
| Robby Gordon | Friday, November 23, 2001 |
| Joe Nemechek | Sunday, September 19, 1999 |
Looking to this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 12 different drivers entered in the USA TODAY 301 are looking for their first career Cup win – Josh Berry, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Carson Hocevar, Corey Lajoie, John H. Nemechek, Ryan Preece, and Zane Smith.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry is coming off a top-10 finish last weekend at Iowa Speedway (seventh) and is looking to carry the momentum to this week at New Hampshire, another track he feels confident about.
“It just has a short-track feel,” said Josh Berry. “It is obviously bigger, but the way I approach that track is similar to a short track and it usually opens up to have multiple grooves in the race, which creates good racing. For me, the options of other lanes and choosing where to run and how to make passes, the creativity of it all, is what makes that place fun for me.”
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: USA TODAY 301
The Place: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, June 23
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,876,911
TV: USA Network, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 318.46 miles (301 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 301)
NASCAR PR
