NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the Granite State

Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

 

• The Time: 3 p.m. ET 
• TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET  
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio  
• Distance: 211.6 miles (200 Laps) 
• Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45) 
• Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90) 
• Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway today for the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio the 19th race of the year.

 

With only eight races left in the regular season, time is of the essence for competitors vying for a spot in the 12-driver Playoff field. New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the 34th NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 1.058-mile track. The Xfinity Series didn’t visit the Loudon, New Hampshire track last season due to COVID-19 protocols so this will be the first race back since 2019.

 

The previous 33 Xfinity races at New Hampshire have produced 26 different race winners and 19 pole winners.

 

Only nine races have been won from the pole position and that was most recently done by Kyle Busch in 2017.

 

The last time the series competed at New Hampshire in 2019, Christopher Bell won the race from the second starting position. There were five cautions for 28 laps and five lead changes. The average speed was 104.365 and the race was two hours, one minute and 39 seconds long. There were 1,059 green flag passes and the margin of victory was 4.068 seconds.

 

This stage is a proving ground.

The NASCAR #XfinitySeries takes on @NHMS Saturday at 3 PM ET. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yp0uY9v0zY

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 16, 2021

 

The last five Xfinity Series winners at New Hampshire are all from the Joe Gibbs Racing camp and are no longer in the Xfinity Series fulltime. Denny Hamlin won in 2015, Busch won in 2016 and 2017 and Bell won in 2018 and 2019. Bell is the only one of the three that will come back to the series and run this weekend.

 

This weekend’s Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 will be 211.6 miles and 200 laps. Stage 1 will end on Lap 45 and Stage 2 will end on Lap 90.

 

This weekend, Kaulig Racing teammates Jeb Burton will start on the pole and Justin Haley will join him on the front row. The starting lineup for the weekend was based on metric qualifying from the previous race. Gragson will start third, Cindric fourth and Allgaier will start fifth.

 

There are 40 cars in the field, 28 Chevrolets, three Fords and nine Toyotas.

 

 

source: NASCAR Media

Bowyer, DiBenedetto, Byron on Playoff Bubble at New Hampshire

As the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for the 20th event of the 2020 season, time is running out for drivers to solidify their positions in the Playoffs. With 10 drivers already locked in on wins - Denny Hamlin (five wins), Kevin Harvick (four wins), Brad Keselowski (two), Joey Logano (two), Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, and Cole Custer (each have one win) - there are still six spots up for grabs as the series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

As we head to the Magic Mile on Sunday, Aric Almirola (+134 points up), defending series champion Kyle Busch (+120) and his brother Kurt Busch (+119) all have comfortable point leads over 17th place Tyler Reddick – in the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff. But the drivers right below them in the standings – Clint Bowyer (+42) in 14th, Matt DiBenedetto (+35) in 15th, and William Byron (+10) in the 16th and final transfer spot are all feeling the pressure of clinging to their postseason contention chances by such small point margins.

You know the party after this one was huge. 😎

Tap below to catch the full broadcast of @ClintBowyer's first career NASCAR Cup Series victory from @NHMS at noon ET! 👇

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 30, 2020

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer, who jumped up one position after last week at Kansas and is now sitting in 14th in the Playoff outlook is 42 points up on the postseason cutline. This season, Bowyer has amassed two top fives and five top 10s. He finished 14th at Kansas Speedway last weekend and finished 20th last season at New Hampshire. In 26 series starts at New Hampshire, he has posted two wins (including his NCS career-first victory), four top fives and nine top 10s.

My grandma warmin up the tires on her walker 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/UsM2WBRJWh

— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) July 29, 2020

Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto is next in the driver standings and is having a career year, currently 15th in the Playoff outlook with just a 35-point cushion up on 17th place Reddick – the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff. This season DiBenedetto has collected two top fives and five top 10s in 19 starts. DiBenedetto has recorded one top five and one top 10 in eight starts at New Hampshire. Last season, he finished fifth for Leavine Family Racing, one of his best career finishes to date.

We battled hard last night at Kansas. Was off early with our handling but made significant improvements and put ourselves in a good spot late. Proud of that rally by @Hendrick24Team. Onto New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/EYiBjKx1Lh

— William Byron (@WilliamByron) July 24, 2020

Hendrick Motorsport’s driver William Byron is sitting in 16th - the final Playoff transfer spot - just 10 points up on Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick in 17th.

Byron will be making his third Cup Series start at New Hampshire on Sunday. Last season he posted his career-best New Hampshire finish (12th) in this event.