Story By: SHANNON STEPHENS / NHMS – LOUDON, NH – Fans headed to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) for New England’s only NASCAR weekend are in for a wicked good time at “The Magic Mile” as drivers take to the track for three full days of action-packed racing this Friday through Sunday, June 21-23.
From one driver’s chance to go back-to-back in his final battle with “The Magic Mile” to a few drivers pulling double duty, there will be no shortage of thrilling, white-knuckle excitement for fans to enjoy.
Here are five must-watch storylines headed into the weekend:
BACK-TO-BACK?
2017 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) champion Martin Truex Jr. returns to “The Magic Mile” this weekend for the final time with a chance to earn back-to-back New Hampshire wins. The defending NHMS race winner announced his retirement Friday, June 14, just one week prior to what will be his final appearance for New England race fans. Truex finally captured Loudon the Lobster last year in his 30th attempt after rain pushed the race to Monday. A strong showing of race fans witnessed the dominant performance, which included Truex leading the field through 254 of 301 laps. This win stands as Truex’s most recent unless he can go back-to-back at “The Magic Mile” this Sunday at the USA TODAY 301.
DOUBLE DUTY
NCS driver and 2022 NHMS winner Christopher Bell seems to have figured out the secret for winning at “The Magic Mile.” He started on the pole last year as the defending race winner and came up one spot shy in the rain-shortened 2021 race. In four NCS starts at Loudon, he’s earned an average finish of 15.0 with one win and two top-fives. His NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) career at NHMS includes an average finish of 1.0 after he found himself in victory lane after all three starts. Bell will take on the 1.058-mile oval twice this weekend, first at the SciAps 200 NXS race on Doubleheader Saturday and then at the USA TODAY 301 NCS race on Sunday.
Similar to Bell, fellow NCS regular Alex Bowman will race in both the SciAps 200 NXS race and USA TODAY 301 NCS race this weekend at “The Magic Mile.” Unlike Bell, Bowman has struggled at NHMS and is taking advantage of the extra seat time to help with his ultimate goal of earning Loudon the Lobster on Sunday. After 12 NHMS starts, Bowman has an average finish of 23.4 with only one top-10 and two DNFs.
In addition to competing in Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 NCS race, Chase Briscoe will start the weekend off at The Flat Track in an attempt to defend his title in the Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) feature at SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels Friday night. Last year, Briscoe was the first NASCAR driver to compete in a SCoNE event and weaved his way through the field from eighth by lap 13. He led the remainder of the race and took home the checkered.
Three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) champion Justin Bonsignore is not only set to defend his NHMS crown in the Mohegan Sun 100 Saturday evening, but also make his NXS debut in the SciAps 200 that afternoon. Driving the No. 51 Chevrolet for Kenneth Massa Motorsports in the NWMT, Bonsignore has one win and five top-five finishes so far in 2024 to sit second in the NWMT point standings, 16 points behind Ron Silk, the defending series champion. The 36-year-old from Holtsville, N.Y. outdueled Silk and six-time Tour champion Doug Coby in a thrilling finish last season to score his second victory at “The Magic Mile.” As for the NXS opportunity, Bonsignore is getting behind the wheel for one of the sport’s top organizations – Joe Gibbs Racing – driving the No. 19 Toyota, which has seen a revolving door of drivers so far this season. Other pilots of the No.19 Toyota this year include Aric Almirola, Josh Bilicki, Taylor Gray, Ty Gibbs, Brett Moffitt and Ryan Truex.
WHO’S GOT THE MAGIC?
Only six active full-time NCS drivers have won at NHMS – Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. Busch and Hamlin each have three wins, which means a trip to victory lane this Sunday puts them three-wide at the top of NHMS’s winningest drivers list alongside Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, both of whom have since become commentators for NBC and FOX respectively. Logano and Keselowski have two wins apiece while Bell and Truex each have one. Of these drivers, only Hamlin, Bell and Keselowski are locked in the NASCAR Playoffs with wins. Adding another Loudon the Lobster to their collection will be the playoff security Busch, Logano and Truex are desperately searching for.
PLAYOFF PRESSURE
With only nine races left in the regular season, the pressure is increasing each week for those drivers without a win. Martin Truex Jr., who currently sits 11th in the playoff standings, is one of the favorites coming in to Sunday’s USA TODAY 301. He’s the defending race winner and although he’s got a 122-point cushion above the cut line, he’s looking for a victory to secure a spot in his final NASCAR Playoffs opportunity.
Bubba Wallace, who’s currently without a checkered flag and grasping at the final playoff spot with points, has earned two top-10 and one top-five finish in his last two showings at NHMS. A win this Sunday will not only be his first New England win, but his ticket to the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs.
Three-time NHMS winner Kyle Busch is two spots outside of the playoff picture with hopes to find his way to victory lane to put him in the running for another championship. The two-time Cup Series champion has struggled this season with only two top-fives and five top-10s. Can he earn another Loudon the Lobster and continue his streak of earning a win each season since 2005?
RETURNING HOME
This weekend’s races will serve as a homecoming for at least 13 drivers, giving fans a strong possibility of witnessing a New Englander – or three – landing in victory lane in front of a hometown crowd. Anthony Alfredo (Ridgefield, Conn.), Parker Kligerman (Westport, Conn.) and C.J. McLaughlin (Framingham, Mass.) will compete for the win in Saturday’s SciAps 200 NXS race before Doug Coby (Milford, Conn.), Melissa Fifield (Wakefield, N.H.), Jake Johnson (Rehoboth, Mass.), Stephen Kopcik (Newton, Conn.), Sam Rameau (Westminster, Mass.), Ron Silk (Norwalk, Conn.) and Matt Swanson (Acton, Mass.) step onto their largest stage of the season for the Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race. Kaz Grala (Westborough, Mass.), Joey Logano (Middletown, Conn.) and Ryan Preece (Berlin, Conn.) will fight to be the first to the checkers on Sunday so they can take home the 24-pound lobster named Loudon after Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 NCS race.
