Christopher Bell sweeps NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire: Christopher Bell continued his dominance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway claiming a sweep of the NASCAR race weekend, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver really had to earn that “broom” in Sunday’s weather-challenged USA Today 301. The 29-year-old Oklahoman beat Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe to the finish line by 1.104-second in overtime in a race that lasted six hours including a two-hour-plus rain delay and ultimately ended with the field on damp surface tires; only the second time in NASCAR history a points-paying race used the newly-developed tires. [Read More]
#20-Christopher Bell won the USA Today 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The win is his 3rd win of the year, 2nd at New Hampshire and 9th career win.
#14-Chhase Briscoe finished 2nd followed by #4-Josh Berry, #5-Kyle Larson, #17-Chris Buescher, #45-Tyler Reddick, #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #19-Martin Truex, Jr., and #1-Ross Chastain.
The start of the race was pushed up 30 minutes due to the threat of rain. It was able to be run until 82 laps remaining when rain began. The race was red flagged for 2 hours and 15 minutes before resume on wet weather tires. #20-Bell took the lead from #45-Reddick with 59 laps remaining and held on the rest of the way including an overtime finish.
Pole sitter #9-Chase Elliott ran in the top 10 most of the day but was caught in an accident with #22-Logano at the start of the final stage and struggled the rest of the day. He finished 18th.
Stage 1 was won by #20-Christopher Bell. Stage 2 was won by #11-Denny Hamlin.
There were 6 lead changes among 5 drivers and 14 cautions for 85 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 84.832mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – New Hampshire:
Christopher Bell won the USA TODAY 301, his ninth victory in 162 Cup Series races.
This is his third victory and 11th top-10 finish in 2024.
This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in five races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Chase Briscoe (second) posted his second top-10 finish in four races at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2024.
Josh Berry # (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Josh Berry (third) was the highest finishing rookie.
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after New Hampshire:
Race 18 of 26 in the regular season
1) #5-Kyle Larson [3 wins], 620 [points leader]
2) #11-Denny Hamlin [3 wins], 580
3) #20-Christopher Bell [3 wins], 555
4) #24-William Byron [3 wins], 548
5) #9-Chase Elliott [1 win], 620
6) #45-Tyler Reddick [1 win], 560
7) #12-Ryan Blaney [1 win], 526
8) #6-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 507
9) #99-Daniel Suarez [1 win], 368
10) #2-Austin Cindric [1 win], 345
11) #19-Martin Truex, Jr., 572, -48
12) #1-Ross Chastain, 510, -110
13) #54-Ty Gibbs, 499, -121
14) #48-Alex Bowman, 476, -144
15) #17-Chris Buescher, 467, -153
16) #22-Joey Logano, 430, -190
Below the cutoff:
17) #23-Bubba Wallace, 417, -203
18) #14-Chase Briscoe, 405, -215
19) #8-Kyle Busch, 385, -235
20) #38-Todd Gilliland, 347, -273
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag: #20-Bell wins over #14-Briscoe, #4-Berry, #5-Larson, and #17-Beuscher.
White flag – #20-Bell leads.
Lap 304 – Green for the first overtime attempt. #20-Bell on the outside of the front row, #14-Briscoe on the inside. #4-Berry behind #20-Bell.
Lap 300 – Caution is out with two to go. #6-Keselowski spins and can’t get the car restarted. Will have an overtime finish. #20-Bell, #4-Berry, #14-Briscoe, #5-Larson, and #17-Buescjher are the top five.
Lap 298 – Three to go. #20-Bell leads #4-Berry by .4 second.
Lap 297 – Green flag with 4 to go. #20-Bell is the leader. #4-Berry choose the inside front row.
Lap 294 – New top 5 are #20-Bell, #5-Larson, #4-Berry, #14-Briscoe, and #51-Haley.
Lap 293 – Caution right back out in turn 2. #12-Blaney and #34-McDowell, who were running second and third, spin in tandem.
Lap 293 – Green flag with 9 to go.
Lap 290 – Will go green with less than 10 laps to go. #20-Bell, #12-Blaney, #34-McDowell, #4-Berry, and #5-Larson the top 5.
Lap 289 – NASCAR now says it will reopen pit road and teams must put on one more set of wet weather tires.
Lap 286 – NASCAR says it will be a quickie yellow and teams cannot change tires.
Lap 284 – Caution for #77-Hocevar spinning in turn 3.
Lap 282 – 20 laps remaining. #20-Bell leads #12-Blaney by 1 second. #5-Larson, #34-McDowel,, and #4-Berry round out the top 5.
Lap 275 – Back to green with 27 to go. #20-Bell, 12-Blaney, #5-Larson, #45-Reddick, 4-Berry, #34-McDowell, #14-Briscoe, #17-Buescher, #51-Haley, and #9-Elliott the top 10.
Lap 271 – Pit road is open and all drivers come down for new tires.
Lap 268 – NASCAR says that once pit road is open there will be non-competitive pit stops. All drivers must come down and put on new wet weather tires and will leave pit road in the same position.
Lap 265 – Caution again. This time for #10-Gragson, #43-Jones, #71-Smith, #23-Wallace, #2-Cindric, and #3-Dillon who crash in turn 1. #10-Gragson lost it in the corner and came back up the track into traffic.
Lap 263 – Green flag with 39 laps to go. #20-Bell leads #12-Blaney.
Lap 261 – Pit road is open but LaJoie is the only one to come down.
Lap 257 – Caution out for a spin by #7-Lajoie. 45 laps remaining. NASCAR says teams still cannot change tires under this caution.
Lap 252 – 50 laps remaining. #20-Bell leads #12-Blaney by 3 seconds. Then #5-Larson, #17-Buescher, and #45-Reddick.
Lap 243 – #20-Bell takes the lead from #45-Reddick.
Lap 242 – Back to green. #45-Reddick, #20-Bell, #5-Larson, #12-Blaney, and #38-Gilliland.
Lap 238 – Pit road is open. NASCAR says teams cannot change tires yet, so most stay out. Those that did pit and changed tires must come back down and put the same tires back on.
Lap 235 – Caution is out for a spin by #1-Chastain.
Lap 232 – 70 laps to go. #45-Reddick with a 1.7 second lead over #20-Bell.
Lap 320 – #45-Reddick holds the lead on the restart.
Lap 229 – Green flag with 73 laps to go. #45-Reddick, #12-Blaney, #11-Hamlin, #38-Gilliland, and #51-Haley the top 5.
Lap 228 – Restart waved off at #7-LaJoie spun on the backstretch.
Lap 224 – #8-Busch made contact with the wall under caution. He will be done for the day. NASCAR will have to tow the car off the track.
Lap 223 – Pit road is open. Leaders stay out.
6:47pm/et – Red has been lifted. Back to yellow. Red flag time was 2 hours, 15 minutes.
6:43pm/et – Engines have been re-fired!
6:35pm/et – Drivers need to be in their cars by 6:40pm/et and engines will be re-fired at 6:43pm/et.
6:20pm/et – NASCAR expects to have the track ready to restart around 6:45pm/et.
6:09pm/et – NASCAR says the race will continue with the wet weather package as soon as possible and team and start the process of switching over.
6:57pm/et – Rain has stopped and NASCAR is going to start track drying procedures.
5:45pm/et – Rain has picked up considerably and lightning continues.
5:20pm/et – Yet another lightning strike.
5:14pm/et – Another lightning strike. Clock resets.
5:07pm/et – There has been a lightning strike within 8 miles of the track. Everything will be on hold for at least 30 minutes.
4:57pm/et – 25 minutes into the red flag, rain has picked up slightly.
Lap 220 – Heavier rain reported in turn two. Cars will be brought to pit road for a red flag at 4:32pm/et.
Lap 219 – Under caution it’s #45-Reddick, #12-Blaney, #11-Hamlin, #38-Gilliland, #51-Haley, #34-McDowell, #5-Larson, #2-Cindric, #20-Bell, and #10-Gragson. Light rain reported all the way around the track, but no change to the surface yet.
Lap 217 – Caution car reporting rain on the backstretch.
Lap 216 – Caution out as #8-Busch wrecks again. Some reports of rain now.
Lap 215 – #12-Blaney to second behind #45-Reddick.
Lap 215 – Green flag back out again. 87 laps remaining but rain continues to close in.
Lap 210 – Caution out again. Hard contact by #19-Truex in turn 4. #45-Reddick leads. #11-Hamlin now second, with #12-Blaney, #34-McDowell, and #5-Larson rounding out the top five.
Lap 209 – #5-Larson is battling #45-Reddick for the lead. Rain potentially 10-15 minutes away.
Lap 206 – Green flag back out. Drivers racing to the rain. With no lights at the the track and it taking well over an hour to try the track on a good day, any rain is likely to end the race.
Lap 204 Still under caution. The edge of the rain is just over 8 miles from the track.
Lap 202 – Caution for a spin by #7-LaJoie on the backstretch. #45-Reddick continues to lead. #5-Larson is now second, then #34-McDowell, #11-Hamlin, and #38-Gilliland.
Lap 200 – Back to green. 102 laps remaining. #45-Reddick, #34-McDowell, #5-Larson, #38-Gilliland, and #2-Cindric the top five. Rain as close as 20 minutes away.
Lap 194 – Caution out for contact between #9-Elliott and #22-Logano in turn 2. They both have damage.
Lap 194 – Green flag for the final stage. 108 laps remaining, but rain on the way. #45-Reddick and #34-McDowell stayed out and restart up front. Reddick’s crew chief says rain will hit before they are out of gas.
Lap 189 – Most leaders back on pit road for what could be the final stop of the day if rain hits. #5-Larson off pit road first, then #38-Gilliland, #10-Gragson, #2-Cindric, #8-Busch (all with 2 tires), #11-Hamlin, #20-Bell, #12-Blaney, #9-Elliott, and #22-Logano.
Lap 186 – Caution out for the end of stage 2. #11-Hamlin wins it. Then #19-Truex, #22-Logano, #20-Bell, #12-Blaney, #38-Gilliland, #5-Larson, #4-Berry, #9-Elliott, and #1-Chastain. Rain (and possibly lightning) reported 30-40 minutes away at the current pace.
Lap 182 – #48-Bowman is done for the day and will finish 36th.
Lap 172 – #11-Hamlin leads #19-Truex by a half second. 14 laps left in stage 2.
Lap 160 – Green flag with 26 laps left in stage 2. There is rain starting to enter the area that could impact the race before the scheduled end.
Lap 158 – Under caution it’s #11-Hamlin, #22-Logano, #19-Truex, #20-Bell, #12-Blaney, #38-Gilliland, #7-LaJoie, #9-Elliott, #5-Larson, and #4-Berry.
Lap 155 – Caution for a wreck by #8-Busch and #10-Gragson. Busch appears to have slipped up the track and spun out, collecting Gragson.
Lap 152 – Race is more than halfway complete and official. It will end today.
Lap 149 – Back to green with just three of laps left until halfway. #11-Hamlin, #22-Logano, #7-LaJoie, #19-Truex, and #20-Bell the top 5.
Lap 147 – #48-Bowman goes to the garage for repairs. Possible engine issue.
Lap 145 – Most drivers come to pit road for service. #11-Hamlin #22-Logano, and #7-LaJoie stay out.
Lap 142 – Caution is out for a spin by #31-Hemric in turn 2. #38-Gilliand still leads.
Lap 139 – #19-Truex has passed #20-Bell for second.
Lap 135 – #38-Gilliland leads but has not pitted yet. Then #20-Bell, 19-Truex, #11-Hamlin and #22-Logano. Truex is running about .3 second behind #20-Bell.
Lap 125 – Green flag pit stops are beginning.
Lap 121 – #20-Bell leads #19-Truex by 2 seconds. Third place #4-Berry is 4.6 seconds back. Drivers will have to make a pit stop before the end of this stage.
Lap 101 – 100 laps complete in just under one hour. #20-Bell leads #19-Truex, #4-Berry, #22-Logano, and #11-Hamlin. 29 drivers on the lead lap. 51 laps until the race is official. Nothing in the immediate area on the radar.
Lap 78 – Back to green for the start of the second stage. 74 laps until the race is official. The second stage will end after 185 laps.
Lap 74 – Leaders come to pit road for tires and fuel. Off pit road: #20-Bell, #22-Logano, #19-Truex, #4-Berry, #9-Elliott, #12-Blaney, #11-Hamlin, #1-Chastain, #38-Gilliland and #34-McDowell. McDowell penalized for removing equipment from his pit. #2-Cindric too fast on pit road.
Lap 71 – Caution for the end of stage 1. #20-Bell wins it. He’s followed by #9-Elliott, #22-Logano, #12-Blaney, #4-Berry, #19-Truex, #11-Hamlin, #1-Chastatin, #48-Bowman, and #54-Gibbs.
Lap 61 – Ten laps left in stage 1. #20-Bell leads #9-Elliott by 2.3 seconds.
Lap 56 – The race has been green the whole way and just reached the time of the originally scheduled green flag.
Lap 51 – #20-Bell, #9-Elliott, #22-Logano, #12-Blaney, #4-Berry are the top 5 after 50 laps.
Lap 43 – #20-Bell takes the lead from #9-Elliott. 31 drivers on the lead lap.
Lap 39 – #20-Bell has closed to within .7 second of leader #9-Elliott. He was over two seconds back a few laps ago.
Lap 26 – With 25 laps complete, #9-Elliott still leads. #20-Bell, #22-Logano, #4-Berry, and #12-Blaney round out the top 5.
Lap 6 – #9-Elliott has lead the first 5 laps. He’s jumped ahead of now second-place Bell by 2.1 second.
2:06pm/et – Green flag at New Hampshire. #9-Elliott and #12-Blaney on the front row. First stage is 70 laps.
1:56pm/et – Engines have been fired. USA will have TV coverage at the top of the hour.
1:47pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
1:35pm/et – Still no cars to the rear today.
2:06pm/et – One hour until green flag. Weather still looking good to get started on time. Odds improving all the time to get the race in today. Halfway looks very doable, and good chances to go the whole way.
12:50pm/et – Radar still looking good for the race. Some occasional mist at the track but on schedule for an on time start if conditions don’t change.
12:30pm/et – Cars have been pushed out to pit road. Still a bit of mist at the track, but not enough to be causing problems. Race prep continues.
11:45am/et – It has been lightly misting much of the morning but track drying is continuing. The radar currently looks good.
• Today’s green flag is now scheduled for 2:06pm/et. Weather is likely to have an impact at some point. As of 6:30am/et, the National Weather Service forecast is: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 3pm, then a slight chance of showers between 3pm and 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Race Details:
Broadcast: USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 301 laps / 318.46 miles
Stages: 70 / 185 / 301 (race official after 151 laps)
Average time of race: 3:10:15
Pit road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 50 mph
Fuel Window: 100 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Invocation: 1:47:20 p.m.
Canadian Anthem: 1:48:00 p.m.
National Anthem: 1:49:10 p.m.
Command: 1:56:00 p.m.
Green Flag: 2:06:00 p.m.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: none reported
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the USA Today 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole sitter #9-Chase Elliott chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #12-Ryan Blaney took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the New Hampshire Pit Stall page.
#9-Chase Elliott will start from the pole for Sunday’s the USA Today 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after qualifying was rained out Saturday.
#12-Ryan Blaney will start second followed by #24-William Byron, #20-Christopher Bell, #48-Alex Bowman, #22-Joey Logano, #19-Martin Truex, Jr., #1-Ross Chastain, #6-Brad Keselowski, and #4-Josh Berry.
The lineup was set by the rule book.
See the complete USA Today 301 Starting Lineup.
NASCAR Cup Series pre-race inspection is complete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. No multiple failures.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the USA Today 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is over. The results:
#77-Carson Hocevar 127.533
#34-Michael McDowell 127.314
#6-Brad Keselowski 127214
#24-William Byron 127.163
#71-Zane Smith 127.125
Notes: Practice only lasted five minutes before rain returned, forcing the cancellation of the remainder of the planned 30 minute session.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the USA Today 301 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the USA Today 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some notes: #15-Kaz Grala, #16-Ty Dillon.
See the full entry list on the USA Today 301 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race rules and information:
