08/24/2026
Back to Blaney; Ryan Blaney wins Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Story by Souza Media staff member Geoffrey Souza
LOUDON, NH -- Facing a closing Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney was able to hold on to win his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory backs up Blaney’s win last year at “The Magic Mile” in New Hampshire and is his third win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota led the field to the green flag, on rain tires, a rare sight on an oval in Cup Series. Before Reddick could finish lap 1, he spun coming off Turn 4, collecting Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford. Once the caution period ended, the drivers raced on every inch of the track surface available, searching for moisture to keep their rain tires from overheating.
Lap 40 brought a competition caution, giving teams the ability to switch out their rain tires for slicks, which led to more cautious driving with wet spots remaining on track. The No. 47 Hyak Chevy of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun on lap 53, setting up a 15-lap dash to the end of Stage 1.
Staying out in his No. 5 Hendrick Chevy, Kyle Larson took over the lead from the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevy of Shane Van Gisbergen. Larson managed to fend off battles by former New Hampshire winner Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, to win Stage 1.
New England native Ryan Preece, No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford, took over the lead, leading the first 17 laps of Stage 2. The No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford driven by Josh Berry, took over the lead, for the first time, from Preece on lap 92. Lap 148 was the first lap that eventual race winner Ryan Blaney took over the lead, passing his Penske-affiliated teammate Josh Berry. Blaney went on to win Stage 2, followed by Berry, Wallace, Preece and Stage 1 Winner Kyle Larson.
The start of Stage 3 saw the lead swapped between Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry, broken up by a caution involving the No. 77 of Carson Hocevar on lap 204. Ryan Blaney would take back the lead for the final time on lap 228, before William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Chevy lost a tire, drawing a caution.
Blaney led the field to the final green flag on lap 239 and quickly began to stretch his lead. With the help of lap traffic and his fresher tires, Bubba Wallace started to chase down Blaney but came up short of the win by a margin of 0.586 seconds.
Blaney’s win is his second and Team Penske’s fourth in the last six races. With only next week’s race at Daytona International Speedway remaining before “The Chase” for the championship begins, Blaney has positioned himself as the #2 Seed, with Denny Hamlin clinching the #1 Seed with his 7th place finish today.
Full Results:
1. #12 Ryan Blaney
2. #23 Bubba Wallace
3. #21 Josh Berry
4. #20 Christopher Bell
5. #5 Kyle Larson
6. #54 Ty Gibbs
7. #11 Denny Hamlin
8. #45 Tyler Reddick
9. #60 Ryan Preece
10. #4 Noah Gragson
11. #6 Brad Keselowski
12. #2 Austin Cindric
13. #38 Zane Smith
14. #22 Joey Logano
15. #48 Alex Bowman
16. #71 Michael McDowell
17. #7 Daniel Suarez
18. #17 Chris Buescher
19. #77 Carson Hocevar
20. #97 Shane Van Gisbergen
21. #34 Todd Gilliland
22. #41 Cole Custer
23. #16 AJ Allmendinger
24. #33 Austin Hill
25. #9 Chase Elliott
26. #19 Chase Briscoe
27. #10 Ty Dillon
28. #47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
29. #51 Cody Ware
30. #24 William Byron
31. #40 John Hunter Nemechek
32. #3 Austin Dillon
33. #43 Erik Jones
34. #35 Riley Herbst
35. #88 Connor Zilisch
36. #1 Ross Chastain
