NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Find New Hampshire Victory Lane?
The flat mile of asphalt in Loudon, New Hampshire plays host to this weekend’s NASCAR action. For the Cup Series on Sunday, 301 laps stand between one team and hoisting the lobster trophy. A few drivers in particular are standout favorites heading into New England. Can The Magic Mile provide a 13th different winner for 2023? The past two years at New Hampshire have seen a driver find their first victory of the season. Here are some drivers to watch out for in the Granite State.
Christopher Bell
Few drivers have a better record at any one track than Christopher Bell does at new Hampshire Motor Speedway. Across eight NASCAR starts in New England, Bell has only been worse than second once. This stretch includes a Truck victory, three-straight Xfinity wins and last year’s Cup Series triumph. Already a winner this year at Bristol Dirt, Loudon provides another excellent chance for Bell. Team 20 hopes to join the 2023 multi-win club this weekend.
“I love going up to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it’s been a really good racetrack for me in the past,” Bell said. “The track is really unique in the fact that turns one and two are really smooth, and three and four are very rough. It’s very flat everywhere but has a little more banking running up the track in lane two and three. There’s nowhere else in the country that’s like it.”
After April’s win on the Bristol Dirt, Christopher Bell spent a few weeks as the points leader. The time since has seen the 20 tumble as low as seventh in the standings. Bell has slowly clawed his way back up to fourth in the standings though. Can the 20 team make up more lost ground at arguably their best track? Bell does enter New Hampshire as the odds-on favorite for a reason.
Kevin Harvick
Making his final start in Loudon is four-time winner Kevin Harvick. Tied with Jeff Burton as New Hampshire’s all-time winningest Cup driver, Sunday could see Harvick move into an exclusive club. Four years ago, Loudon marked Harvick’s first victory of 2019. No stranger to success up north, Harvick hopes to leave this weekend one lobster richer from one of his best tracks.
“Flat tracks have always been really good for me in my career,” Harvick said. “When you look at SHR and the things we’ve been able to accomplish at Loudon and Phoenix, they’ve kind of followed that same trend. A lot of that goes back to that open test time we had at Milwaukee and Nashville. Those are the places where we would practice and practice and practice. Our guys have done a great job of having a good short-track, flat-track program. Loudon is a place that has followed along with Phoenix and the success that we’ve had there. We’ve been able to capitalize on that success and continue it at another track.”
“It’s definitely a racetrack that we’re looking forward to going to. I can’t wait to finally, hopefully, get to victory lane. After Nashville, having the fastest car and having a tire go flat, and Phoenix and a couple of the other places where it just seems like it all hasn’t come together, we’re ready to finish off a weekend with a win. My guys are doing a great job of putting fast cars on the racetrack. Loudon is one of those places that checks a lot of boxes for us to go up there and have a good weekend.”
Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick’s only finished outside of the New Hampshire top-10 three times. Much like in 2019, Harvick’s first half of 2023 has been nothing to write home about. The 4 only has nine top-10s in 19 races, placing him ninth in points. Not at risk of missing the Playoffs, New Hampshire is the first of a few tracks where Harvick could end up back in victory lane.
Denny Hamlin
Another sneakily great driver at New Hampshire is three-time victor Denny Hamlin. The FedEx 11 rides an active streak of four-straight New Hampshire top-10s, including two runner-up results. Fresh off of winning the SRX season-opener in Stafford Spring, Connecticut, Hamlin hopes to continue his winning ways in Loudon.
“New Hampshire is a great track that we’ve been fortunate to have had some success at over the years,” Hamlin said. “I’m optimistic about this weekend and our chances. It’s going to be very important to qualify up front and stay there. We’ll have to execute all day long to give ourselves a shot.”
Hamlin’s season has seen very mixed results since his Kansas win from May. The 11 only has two top-fives in the eight races since then. Hamlin’s last New Hampshire win from 2017 is remembered for him being scared to hold the lobster trophy. Should Hamlin find victory lane again, he will gladly overcome his Kabourophobia on Sunday.
Kyle Busch
Dating back to Darlington in May, Kyle Busch has seven-straight top-10s. This stretch has seen the RCR No. 8 team rise from 12th in points to third. Knocking on the door of the regular season title fight, Loudon could give Busch a fourth win of 2023.
“Racing in New Hampshire is challenging just because of the difficulty to pass,” Busch said. “The aero tendencies are very difficult. The track is kind of narrow where there’s one favorite lane. Going too far down on the flat doesn’t really bode well for guys. Going up into the third lane is just too far around and you don’t make up any time doing that so lane two is the preferred lane. We’ll see if they put any resin down or spray the track because that always kind of throws a little bit of a loophole for how you drive the track.”
Despite three career wins at Loudon, Busch has not had the best recent memories from The Magic Mile. Early crashes have taken Busch out of two of the last three races here. Both 2020 and 2021 in New Hampshire saw Rowdy run less than 30 laps combined. New Hampshire is very much a rhythm racetrack with unique corners. This description also applies to Gateway, a track that was very kind to Busch and the 8 crew last month.
Brad Keselowski
After being within sight of victory lane in Atlanta, Brad Keselowski hopes for a strong New Hampshire bounce back. Driver 6 has hoisted a pair of lobster trophies, most recently in 2020. Even with 2022 being a down season for Keselowski, he still managed a seventh-place run in Loudon.
Being 100 points above the cut line, Keselowski is among the favorites to find victory lane next in 2023. With four-straight New Hampshire top-10s including the 2020 win, the 6 should not be overlooked on Sunday.
Martin Truex Jr.
While a teammate took the win, New Hampshire’s most laps led last year went to Martin Truex Jr. A Stage-sweeping day from the pole only ended with a four-tire call setting the 19 back late. MTJ would only rally to finish fourth after leading 172 laps. Still winless across 29 Cup starts in Loudon, Truex wants to plant his flag in this track.
“New Hampshire is a big part of my career and our family’s racing history,” Truex said. “When my dad got his win there it was his first big win and I was 12 when that happened. I grew up going up there for races and seeing the Busch car and the Cup cars there for the first time ever. The only time I got close to those cars was up there until I moved to North Carolina to race for a living. A lot of special memories there and that place was a big reason I finally got the opportunity to move south.”
“I think, for me, the coolest part of Loudon is that I’ve been going there for a long time. I got to watch my dad race there when I was growing up in the old Busch North Series. It’s one of those tracks that I really, really want to win at in the Cup Series. I’ve won in every other series I’ve raced there. Loudon was a big part of me growing up in racing and me being able to work my way up through the ranks. Winning there when I was 19 years old really set my career off. That always makes it special to go back there.”
Joe Gibbs Racing should bring four of the best cars to New Hampshire. For Truex especially, a win would be a huge career highlight with his lengthy Loudon history. Truex does consider New Hampshire one of his home tracks, and it’s the only one where he’s still winless. Expect the 19 to have prime opportunity to change that stat on Sunday.
The technical, line-sensitive and flat confines of New Hampshire are not unlike Phoenix Raceway. Sunday could provide a glimpse into who’s on track for a potential championship-winning drive in November’s finale. The Crayon 301 will go green at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Along with a few past Loudon winners needing a victory, drama is aplenty for 301 laps.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images for NASCAR
