The NASCAR Cup season reaches its halfway point with Sunday’s race in New Hampshire, the 18th of 36 points races.
This weekend, USA Network will provide complete coverage. Ryan Blaney became the tenth driver to secure a playoff position with his win at Iowa Speedway last weekend.
There are now six slots available based on points. Here’s a look at where each Cup organization is heading into this weekend.
23XI Racing — Good News: Bubba Wallace, who occupies the final playoff berth, is one of four active drivers to finish in the top ten at both New Hampshire races in the Next Gen car. Wallace ranked third in 2022 and eighth in 2023. Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr. are the only three active drivers who have finished in the top ten in both races. Tyler Reddick has started in the top ten for the last five points races. The bad news is that Wallace is one of two drivers in the playoffs who has no playoff points. The other is Alex Bowman.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Todd Gilliland’s 12th-place finish at Iowa marks his sixth consecutive top-20 finish — his longest such streak in his Cup career. … Michael McDowell has nine top-10 starts this season. He had eight such starts all of last year. Bad News: The organization has never had a top-10 finish at New Hampshire.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Chase Elliott is leading the points for the first time since October 2022. … Elliott’s average finish this season is a series-best 9.1. … Kyle Larson has three runner-up finishes at New Hampshire. Bad news: Alex Bowman has only one top 10 in 12 Cup starts at New Hampshire. He is entered in the Xfinity race to get some extra laps at the track. … William Byron has never finished in the top 10 in six New Hampshire Cup starts. … Hendrick Motorsports’ last win at New Hampshire was in July 2012 by Kasey Kahne.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner at New Hampshire. … Truex has won all four stages at New Hampshire in the Next Gen car. … JGR has had a car finish in the top two in the last 12 races at New Hampshire. The last time a JGR car did not finish first or second at New Hampshire was September 2014. … Denny Hamlin has finished first or second in nearly a third of his starts at New Hampshire. … Christopher Bell has wins in Cup (one), Xfinity (three) and Trucks (one) at New Hampshire. Bad news: There’s only one race a year at New Hampshire. … Ty Gibbs has gone three races in a row without a top-10 finish.
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