NASCAR Preview: New Hampshire 301
- Ashton Hughes
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Northeast for the penultimate race before the Chase begins.
Track Preview
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile oval located in Loudon, New Hampshire. It features progressive bankings of 2-7 degrees in the corners and 1 degree on the straightaways.
Nicknamed “The Magic Mile”, New Hampshire has been on the Cup schedule since 1993. Its layout of flat, tight corners demands precise car control. Tyre wear is a major topic in every race.
The race is scheduled to include 301 laps. Stage 1 will be 70 laps long, Stage 2 will have 115 laps and Stage 3 will span 116 laps.
Weather Forecast
The weather report indicates cloudy skies and a potential for rain during race time on Sunday, although the highest chances for precipitation are earlier in the day. Temperatures will be around 22 degrees Celsius.
The race is scheduled to begin on August 23 at 15:00 EST (12:00 PT, 20:00 BST).
The Storylines
Ryan Blaney is the defending New Hampshire winner and appears to be a favourite heading into the weekend. Sitting second in the points standings, his last 10 races have given him an average result of 9.4. He has won twice this season, including at Phoenix, another mile-long, relatively flat oval. Blaney has qualified in the top five each of the last three years at New Hampshire. If any driver can start near the front and stay there throughout the race, it is likely Blaney.
Blaney’s teammate Joey Logano is on a hot streak. Logano started 2026 with an average finish of 20.4 in the first 20 races. In the last five races, his average finish has rocketed to 5.6. Logano has found success at New Hampshire in the past, winning in 2009 and 2014. The former victory which made him the youngest Cup Series winner in history. Last year, Logano started on pole position and fresh off a win last week at Richmond. He is expected to be a top challenger again.
Denny Hamlin is once again in the conversation, boasting three wins and an average finish of 9.93 across 32 Cup races at New Hampshire. When those stats are coupled with his 8.2 average finish in 2026 so far, Hamlin looks to be a major threat for the win in Loudon, and, barring any incidents, will certainly be near the front.
Josh Berry may be an underdog story of sorts coming into New Hampshire. His only two Cup starts at the track have yielded excellent results, with a third place finish in 2024 and a runner-up finish last year. After a largely unremarkable first stint of the 2026 season, Berry’s team appears to be making a resurgence.
Berry only collected two top-10 results in the first 25 races, but finished seventh in Indianapolis, fourth in Iowa and eighth in Richmond. Berry’s future in the Cup Series is uncertain, and pulling off a mild upset this weekend could help his chances at keeping a ride.
Christopher Bell is another driver with strong performances at New Hampshire. Bell won at the track in 2024 and 2022, and was second in 2021. Last year he finished sixth. Despite no wins in 2026, Bell has been consistent, holding the unfortunate statistic of seven runner-up finishes this year. If he stays out of trouble, he could finally find victory lane again on Sunday.
Edited by Tarun Suresh
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