NASCAR is back in New England.
The Cup Series will make its annual trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for a 301-lap race around the track known as the “Magic Mile.”
Who is racing in New Hampshire? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win on Sunday?
Here’s everything you need to know for the USA Today 301:
NASCAR in New Hampshire entry list
Thirty-six drivers will race in New Hampshire – the 34 full-timers, plus two others.
Kaz Grala will pilot the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort. Then there’s veteran Ty Dillon, who will make his fourth Cup start of the season.
Here’s the entry list for New Hampshire:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Kubota Tractors |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Autotrader |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | Miner |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | BuildSubmarines.com/Boston Red Sox |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Schluter Systems |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | FICO |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Overstock |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Yahoo! |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Menards |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Zep |
| 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing | Meat N’ Bone |
| 16 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Car Bravo |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Fastenal |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Reser’s Fine Foods |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Motorcraft/Quick Lane |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Hunt Brothers Pizza |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | DraftKings |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Valvoline |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Poppy Bank |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Long John Silver’s |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Grillo’s Pickles |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mohawk Northeast |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Family Dollar |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | SiriusXM |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Kroger/Kleenex |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Fraternal Order of Eagles |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Monster Energy |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Focused Health |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Delaware Life |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Choice Privileges |
When is the NASCAR race in New Hampshire?
The USA Today 301 is set for Sunday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday. The 36 drivers will be split into two groups (found here) with each 18-car group getting 20 minutes of free practice.
Then, the field will compete in two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:
- The two practice groups will remain the same for qualifying.
- Each driver will make one lap in the first round, with the five fastest drivers in each group advancing.
- In the final round, the remaining drivers each get one lap to set the top 10 starting order, with positions 11 through 36 set based on first round times.
What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?
Rick Allen (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for NBC all weekend. Marty Snider, Kim Coon and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters.
Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:
Saturday, June 22 (USA Network and streaming)
Sunday, June 23 (USA Network and streaming)
NASCAR New Hampshire past winners, race history
Just six of the 36 drivers in the field are past winners in New Hampshire.
Busch and Hamlin lead the way with three wins apiece, just one behind the recently retired Kevin Harvick and NBC analyst Jeff Burton for the all-time record.
Joey Logano, hailing from Middletown, Connecticut, and Brad Keselowski, racing a Red Sox-inspired car on Sunday, each have two wins at NHMS.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell (2022) and Martin Truex Jr. (2023) scored their first wins at New Hampshire in the past two seasons, respectively.
NASCAR in New Hampshire picks, favorites, drivers to watch
When NASCAR comes to New Hampshire, you can usually eliminate one manufacturer from victory contention.
Ford and Toyota drivers have won 17 of the last 18 races at NHMS dating back to 2012. Chevrolet’s lone win came in 2016 with Harvick. To narrow it down even more, three organizations – Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing – have won 15 straight NHMS races.
Hamlin leads all drivers with a 9.4 average finish and 19 top-10s in 30 NHMS starts. Truex leads all drivers with 1,170 laps led in 30 NHMS starts. Both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers should be strong on Sunday.
Beyond those two, the drivers with the best NHMS average finish include Keselowski (9.8 in 23 starts), Larson (11.8 in 13 starts), Reddick (12.5 in 4 starts) and Blaney (13.6 in 11 starts).
Hendrick Motorsports, which leads all teams with seven wins this season, has traditionally struggled in New Hampshire. The organization hasn’t won at NHMS since 2012 (Kasey Kahne).
What is the weather in Loudon, New Hampshire for NASCAR?
It could be a rainy weekend in New Hampshire. As of Thursday afternoon, NBC Boston is predicting a 67% chance of rain on Saturday and a 61% chance of rain on Sunday in Loudon. Scattered thunderstorms on Sunday morning could become more widespread in the afternoon as temperatures reach 80 degrees.
NASCAR is unable to race in the rain, but cars can be equipped with wet-weather tires for racing on a damp track. The tires successfully debuted earlier this season at Richmond Raceway.
