NASCAR results: Martin Truex Jr. dominates at New Hampshire, sweeps all three stages
In his 17-year NASCAR Cup Series career, Martin Truex Jr.'s white whale has been New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The "Magic Mile" is one of few tracks Truex Jr. had never won at coming into Monday's rain-postponed Crayon 301, despite leading more than 900 laps at the track.
After qualifying second alongside Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell on Saturday, Truex Jr. dominated the race Monday, leading 254 of 301 laps in a commanding victory. Truex Jr. has now led 1,170 laps at New Hampshire, the most of any active driver.
The win was emotional for Truex Jr., who grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, and watched his father race at the track growing up, a story he recounted to the USA broadcast crew.
"I sat in Turn 1 with my mom and my little brother was still drinking out of the bottle," Truex Jr. said. "It's the first big track I ever came to with my dad and the first time I saw Cup cars in person ... it's just been a special place for us."
Crayon 301 results
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Newman (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Noah Gragson (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Cole Custer (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Crayon 301 TV, streaming, radio schedule
All times Eastern
Saturday
12:05 - 12:50 p.m.: Practice (USA, NBC Sports app, PRN)
1 - 2:15 p.m.: Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports app, PRN)
Sunday2 - 2:30 p.m.: Pre-race show (USA)2:30 - 5:30 p.m.: Crayon 301 (USA, NBC Sports app, PRN)
Monday
Noon - 3:30 p.m.: Crayon 301 (USA, NBC Sports app, PRN)
Crayon 301 starting grid
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Nyoah Gragson (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Ryan Newman (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Cole Custer (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Crayon 301 details
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.056-mile oval), Loudon, New Hampshire
Length: 301 laps for 318.458 miles
Banking: Turns – 2-7 degrees | Straightaways – 1 degree
Last year’s winner: Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
Top drivers and best bets for the Crayon 301
Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas have won six of the last 11 races at Loudon and as such are well-represented among the favorites according to BetMGM. Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin all enter the weekend with better than 10-to-1 odds to visit Victory Lane.
Best odds to win
• Christopher Bell +600
• Martin Truex Jr. +600
• Denny Hamlin +800
• Kyle Larson +900
Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote earlier in the week on the betting outlook for Loudon and suggests staying away from the fourth JGR driver Ty Gibbs (+3500). Gibbs has only driven in one national series event at Loudon – last year’s Xfinity race – and turned a second-row start into a 21st-place finish.
Bromberg points to 2021 series champion Chase Elliott (+1200) and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (+1600) as good mid-tier value bets. Elliott finished second at New Hampshire last year while Blaney has been remarkably consistent there with an average start of 10.5 and average finish of 12.8 in 10 career entries.
Ryan Newman leads list of part-timers
Ryan Newman – who drove full-time in the Cup Series from 2002-2021, winning 18 races – will make just his second start since stepping away from the series when he drives the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford entry this weekend. Cole Custer will make his second-straight start in the No. 15 Ware Racing machine while BJ McLeod makes his 12th start in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford as he continues to split time with Josh Bilicki and Anthony Alfredo.
Crayon 301 entry list
Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Ryan Newman (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Noah Gragson (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Cole Custer (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Crayon 301 weekend weather forecast
Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for the entire weekend, including an 84% chance of rain Sunday. NASCAR does have a wet-weather package that includes brake lights, windshield wipers and grooved tires that allow the cars to race on a damp track, but not anything more than a drizzle.
Green flags:
Sat:
Xfinity-USA-3:19p ET
Mods-Flo-6:00p ET
Sun
Cup-USA-2:49p ET
Sundown: 8:23p ET
Cars are equipped with wipers, de-foggers, rear flashing lights and rear rain flaps and wet-weather tires available to race in the damp (not for steady rain but if damp).
Any… https://t.co/S6BJLEdt9h— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 13, 2023
Given NASCAR’s protocols (see above) for moving race start times combined with the predicted deluge, a postponement to Monday afternoon seems most likely.