NASCAR at New Hampshire schedule: How to watch, odds, favorites originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The time has come for NASCAR’s annual visit to New England.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway will play host to the Cup Series this weekend for a 301-lap shootout. “The Magic Mile” is, appropriately, one mile in length with limited banking in the corners. As is tradition, the winner will earn a date with a live lobster in victory lane, which Aric Almirola claimed in 2021.
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Will Almirola repeat, or will another driver raise a victory lobster? Here’s everything you need to know about the Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire:
New Hampshire entry list
Thirty-six drivers are on the New Hampshire entry list. Up to 40 cars can qualify for a race, so all 36 entrants will race on Sunday. Here's the full list:
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When is the NASCAR New Hampshire race?
This race weekend features a practice and qualifying session before the race on Sunday.
The 36-car field will be split into two groups, and each group will get a 15-minute practice session on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET. Qualifying will begin immediately after practice, around 12:20 p.m. ET. Each car from the two practice groups will make a single lap, with the five fastest times in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the 10 drivers each make a single lap and the pole is awarded to the fastest time.
The 2022 Ambetter 301 begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 17.
How to watch NASCAR this weekend
All NASCAR action this weekend will be on USA Network.
Practice and qualifying coverage on Saturday is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. Sunday’s coverage will begin at 2 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green, followed by the Ambetter 301 at 3 p.m. ET.
Coverage before, during and after Sunday’s race can be streamed online here and through the NBC Sports app.
NASCAR standings entering New Hampshire
New Hampshire is the 20th of 26 regular season races, so the postseason is near. Only 16 drivers make the playoffs, and drivers secure a berth by winning a race or scoring the most points among non-winners. Here’s a look at the current playoff standings, where winners are locked in and non-winners are fighting for every point:
- Chase Elliott, 684 points, 3 wins
- Ross Chastain, 634 points, 2 wins
- Joey Logano, 562 points, 2 wins
- William Byron, 505 points, 2 wins
- Denny Hamlin, 409 points, 2 wins
- Kyle Larson, 579 points, 1 win
- Kyle Busch, 569 points, 1 win
- Alex Bowman, 508 points, 1 win
- Austin Cindric, 465 points, 1 win
- Tyler Reddick, 458 points, 1 win
- Daniel Suarez, 451 points, 1 win
- Kurt Busch, 449 points, 1 win
- Chase Briscoe, 443 points, 1 win
- Ryan Blaney, 637 points
- Martin Truex Jr., 566 points
- Christopher Bell, 523 points
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- Kevin Harvick, 504 points
- Aric Almirola, 481 points
- Erik Jones, 447 points
- Austin Dillon, 407 points
Which active drivers have won at New Hampshire?
Seven drivers racing this weekend have won a Cup race at New Hampshire: Harvick, Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch.
Harvick’s four NHMS wins are tied with Jeff Burton for the most all-time, while Hamlin and the Busch brothers all have three victories. Logano and Keselowski have both won there twice, while Almirola is the defending winner.
