Christopher Bell tames the Magic Mile securing first win of 2022 at Hew Hampshire Motor Speedway: 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 one-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.[Read More](7-17-2022)
#20-Christopher Bell won the Ambetter 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The win is his 1st win of the year, 1st at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and 2nd career win.
#9-Elliott finished 2nd followed by #23-Wallace, pole winner #19-Truex, Jr., #4-Harvick, #11-Hamlin, #6-Keselowski, #1-Chastain, #99-Suarez, and #45-Busch.
Bell took the lead for the first time with 41 laps remaining and pulled away from Elliott to win by more than 5 seconds.
The race started 20 minutes later than scheduled due to a brief rain shower early in the afternoon.
Stage 1 and 2 were both won by #19-Truex, Jr.
There were 8 lead changes among 7 drivers and 9 cautions for 52 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 98.113mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.
Race Fast Facts – New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
Christopher Bell won the 30th Annual Ambetter 301, his second victory in 92 Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2022.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in three races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (finished second last year).
Chase Elliott (second) posted his third top-10 finish in nine races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It is his 14th top-10 finish in 2022.
Bubba Wallace (third) posted his first top-10 finish in five races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Austin Cindric (13th) was the highest finishing rookie.
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
Race 20 of 26 in the regular season. 7 races remaining until the Playoffs.
1) #9-Chase Elliott [3 wins], 734
2) #1-Ross Chastain [2 wins], 667
3) #22-Joey Logano [2 wins], 582
4) #24-William Byron [2 wins], 536
5) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 441
6) #5-Kyle Larson [1 win], 616
7) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win], 594
8) #20-Christopher Bell [1 win], 570
9) #48-Alex Bowman [1 win], 510
10) #2-Austin Cindric [1 win], 489
11) #45-Kurt Busch [1 win], 485
12) #99-Daniel Suarez [1 win], 479
13) #8-Tyler Reddick [1 win], 474
14) #14-Chase Briscoe [1 win], 465
15) #12-Ryan Blaney, 656, +105 ahead of 17th
16) #19-Martin Truex Jr., 619, +68 ahead of 17th
Below the Playoff cutoff:
17) #4-Kevin Harvick, 551, -68 behind 16th
18) #10-Aric Almirola, 490, -129 behind 16th
19) #43-Erik Jones, 465 -154 behind 16th
20) #3-Austin Dillon, 421, -198 behind 16th
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: none
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Ambetter 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole winner #19-Truex, Jr. chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #9-Elliott took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway Pit Stall page.
#19-Martin Truex, Jr. won the Busch pole for the Ambetter 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with speed of 127.113mph for his 1st pole of the year, 2nd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and 20th of his career.
#9-Elliott will start second followed by #45-Busch, #23-Wallace, #20-Bell, #24-Byron, #10-Almirola, #5-Larson, #6-Keselowski, and #4-Harvick.36 teams were entered so everyone made the race.
See the complete qualifying results and the Ambetter 301 Starting Lineup.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Martin Truex Jr. won the Pole Award for the 30th Annual Ambetter 301 with a lap of 29.964 seconds, 127.113 mph.
This is his 20th pole in 605 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and seventh top-10 start in 2022.
This is his second pole in 29 races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Chase Elliott (second) posted his 11th top-10 start of 2022 and his sixth in nine races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Kurt Busch (third) posted his 25th top-10 start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It is his sixth in 20 races this season.Todd Gilliland (26th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR)
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Ambetter 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is over The session was broken into two 20 minute groups:
#24-Byron 127.482
#18-Busch 127.371
#14-Briscoe 127.222
#5-Larson 127.091
#19-Truex, Jr. 127.010
Slowest: #51-Ware 120.140
Most laps run: #10-Almirola & #22-Logano, 29 laps
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 25 drivers): #18-Busch, 126.600
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Ambetter 301 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Ambetter 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #15-Yeley, #16-Allmendinger, #77-Bilicki.
See the full entry list on the Ambetter 301 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
TandemDraft Stats-Cup Series: New Hampshire