Previewing the Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire – Motorsports Tribune

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

New England here we come.

A week removed from a thrilling showing on the high banks at Atlanta, the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to a flat oval this weekend for Sunday’s running of the Ambetter 301, as the march to the end of the regular season continues on.

First joining the Cup Series circuit in 1993, the 1.058-mile oval that has progressively banked turns from two to seven degrees is one of the more difficult tracks on the schedule as the flat nature of the track makes track position key with passing at a premium.

Thus far this season, the Next Gen car has been hit or miss on the flatter tracks, so how it will perform this weekend is somewhat of an unknown.

Just seven races remain until the end of the regular season with three Playoff spots still up for grabs and a number of winners from last season still winless at this point in the year. Among those are some of the previous winners at New Hampshire, including Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola, who stole a win at this track in 2021 to punch his ticket to the postseason.

301 laps on Sunday will tell the tale on how everything will shake out at the Magic Mile.

By the Numbers

What: Ambetter 301, NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 20 of 36

Where: New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, New Hampshire (First race: 1993)

TV/Radio: USA Network, 3:00 pm ET / PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90

Track Size: 1.058-mile oval

Banking: 12 degrees in turns, 2 degrees on straightaways

Race Length: 301 laps, 318.46 miles

Stage Lengths: First stage: 70 laps; Second stage: 115 laps; Final Stage: 116 laps

July 2021 Race Winner: Aric Almirola – No. 10 Ford (Started 22^nd, 25 laps led)

Track Qualifying Record: Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Ford (27.090 seconds, 140.598 mph – 09/21/2014)

Top-10 Highest Driver Ratings at New Hampshire:

1. Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 104.0
2. Brad Keselowski – No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford – 102.3
3. Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing Ford – 99.6
4. Kyle Busch – No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 98.1
5. Martin Truex, Jr. – No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 94.8
6. Christopher Bell – No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 93.9
7. Chase Elliott – No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 91.9
8. Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Team Penske Ford – 90.6
9. Kyle Larson – No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 88.8
10. Kurt Busch – No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota –…