RACE RESULTS: Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire

Using an average of rankings between Racing America On SI’s Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, here’s where all 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stand heading into this weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

1. Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney has been hot for a while now, and he only continued that by winning on Sunday at New Hampshire, entrenching himself atop the Power Rankings. The results may not “matter” for the next two weeks, but rest assured, the 12 bunch will look to keep this momentum rolling into the Round of 8. (Previously: 1st)

2. Christopher Bell

Having won two of the last three NASCAR Cup Series events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the expectations for Christopher Bell were to win Sunday’s 301-lap contest… and while a sixth isn’t bad, it also isn’t that good. (Previously: 3rd)

3. Joey Logano

It wasn’t a win, but it was a strong showing and a fourth-place finish for Joey Logano. The Connecticut native led nearly half the laps in his “home race” in New Hampshire and pushed himself above the playoff cutline. (Previously: 4th)

4. Chase Briscoe

Whatever raw speed that Chase Briscoe and James Small have had in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for the last two months has just vanished, and heading into the stretch run of the Playoffs, the top-10 they salvaged on Sunday will not be enough. (Previously: 2nd)

5. William Byron

After a so-so Round of 16, regular-season champion William Byron got his Round of 12 off to the right start with a solid third-place result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track he had never recorded a top-10 at previously. Now, he’ll look to carry the momentum into Kansas Speedway, where he finished second last Fall. (Previously: 6th)

6. Denny Hamlin

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure what is going to be a bigger problem for Denny Hamlin over the next couple of weeks – whether it’s a disappointing 12th-place effort at New Hampshire, or the fact that he wrecked his teammate Ty Gibbs (who is also the team owner’s grandson). (Previously: 5th)

7. Chase Elliott

The bad? Chase Elliott put himself behind the eight ball with a subpar 27th-place qualifying effort at Loudon. The good? He methodically worked his way forward all race long, and by the time the checkered flag flew, he was scored in the fifth position. (Previously: 14th)

8. Carson Hocevar

He isn’t part of the Playoff grid, but Carson Hocevar has quietly put together a solid four-race stretch. He finished 11th on Sunday, narrowly missing out on his third top-10 finish in four races, and picked up stage points in both stages. (Previously: 15th)

9. Kyle Larson

Not a bad day for Kyle Larson, who continues to try to work himself into championship form. The driver finished seventh, but at points in the race, he looked like he had a top five car. For whatever reason, the No. 5 car seemingly hits its worst point at the end of races in recent months. (Previously: 12th)

10. Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher’s four-race stretch of finishing 11th or better came to an end Sunday at New Hampshire with an 18th-place result. The No. 17 team just didn’t have their best stuff this weekend, but they got out of it all they could. (Previously: 7th)

11. Ross Chastain

Ross Chastain continues to be a stealthy driver throughout these Playoffs, collecting another top-10 result for Trackhouse Racing on Sunday at New Hampshire. He leaves the first race of the round below the cutline, but finishes like this from now on could help the No. 1 advance even further. (Previously: 16th)

12. Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick picked up a couple of extra points with a ninth-place finish in stage one, but finished 21st after qualifying fourth in New Hampshire. He’ll look to turn his playoff run around at Kansas, where he has won in the past, and end a top-10 drought in his last three races. (Previously: 10th)

13. Brad Keselowski

A week after coming heartbreakingly close to his first win of the season, Brad Keselowski made an unforced error in a four-wide move on Lap 118, which triggered a multi-car melee. Despite sustaining damage, Keselowski would soldier on to finish 23rd. (Previously: 11th)

14. Ryan Preece

14th this week at New Hampshire, and 14th it’s a 14th-place ranking for Ryan Preece in the weekly power rankings. It’s not sexy, but there was a time in his career that Preece would have done anything for top 15s. (Previously: 19th)

15. Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace simply struggled to find pace all day at New Hampshire, finishing 26th. The lowest finisher among the Round of 12 drivers, he’ll now look to get back above the cutline (or win) at Kansas before heading to the ROVAL. (Previously: 9th)

16. Alex Bowman

Alex Bowman was never really in contention for a race win on Sunday, but he churned out another somewhat decent day with a 15th-place finish at New Hampshire. He’ll try to register a win at Kansas. (Previously: 18th)

17. Michael McDowell

For the first time since Sonoma, Michael McDowell finished in the top 10 at New Hampshire on Sunday. After starting 11th, McDowell finished eighth. He has now finished in the top 15 in his last three Loudon appearances. McDowell finished 10th in the spring 2024 race at Kansas, the next stop on the schedule. (Previously: 23rd)

18. John Hunter Nemechek

Just as we were starting to believe that perhaps John Hunter Nemechek could win a race, the No. 42 team showed up to New Hampshire lacking speed, and in the race, his car looped around on its own, and he slammed the outside wall very hard on Lap 147. (Previously: 8th)

19. Ty Gibbs

Ty Gibbs went into Sunday’s event at New Hampshire trying to continue the string of different winners for Joe Gibbs Racing. Instead, he got wrecked by his teammate Denny Hamlin while running solidly inside the top-10. It’s led to a bit of a feud heading into the rest of the post-season between a driver in the Playoffs and one with nothing to lose. (Previously: 13th)

20. Josh Berry

Josh Berry turned his luck around on Sunday. After an indescribably bad Round of 16, Berry rebounded from an early spin with Shane van Gisbergen to contend for the win and finish second. It may be too late for his title hopes, but it’s something for Berry and the No. 21 team to build on for next season. (Previously: 36th)

21. Austin Cindric

While his Team Penske teammates shone, Austin Cindric struggled to a 17th-place finish on Sunday at New Hampshire. It’s not the start to the Round of 12 Cindric hoped for, as he now goes to Kansas 19 points below the cutoff. (Previously: 21st)

22. Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon was able to avoid a payback attempt by Cody Ware for an early-race incident in Sunday’s Mobil 1 301, and in the end, he was able to walk out of the 1.058-mile speedway with a solid 13th-place result. Not bad. (Previously: 25th)

23. Erik Jones

Much like his teammate, Nemechek, Erik Jones just didn’t have raw speed this weekend at New Hampshire. However, unlike Nemechek, Jones was able to keep his car intact until the finish. (Previously: 17th)

24. Zane Smith

Usually the quickest of the Front Row Motorsports drivers, Zane Smith and the No. 38 Ford Mustang team didn’t really have much for the NASCAR Cup Series field at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, finishing a disappointing 27th, one lap off the pace, while his teammates both finished inside the top-20. (Previously: 20th)

25. AJ Allmendinger

Bouncing back from a disappointing showing at Bristol, A.J. Allmendinger got back into the top 20 with a 20th-place finish at New Hampshire after qualifying 12th. Things also can’t go worse for ‘Dinger than they did last time at Kansas, when an engine issue ended his race after just six laps. (Previously: 26th)

26. Noah Gragson

Nothing super flashy, but a nice 16th-place run by Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports is exactly what this No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team needs to get back on track, from what has been an extremely difficult Summer. Gragson spent time in and around the top-10, so all-in-all a good performance. (Previously: 29th)

27. Kyle Busch

If it can go wrong, it seemingly does for Kyle Busch these days. Busch suffered a big amount of damage to the front end of his No. 8 car in an eight car pileup on Lap 118 after contact from Brad Keselowski on Shane van Gisbergen triggered things. Busch finished 30th. (Previously: 22nd)

28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

It seems like Sunday was the first race in quite a while where nothing crazy happened to Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports, coming home a solid 25th-place. Not a bad run for the No. 47, heading to Kansas Speedway. (Previously: 27th)

29. Todd Gilliland

The speed was not there for Todd Gilliland on Saturday, qualifying in last. However, when the race started and the runs progressed, the No. 34 Ford Mustang had some great long-run speed, which resulted in a top-20 result for the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina-native. (Previously: 31st)

30. Justin Haley

There seems to be some unwritten rule that all three of Spire’s cars aren’t allowed to have nice things on the same day. Thus, with Michael McDowell finishing in the top 10 and Carson Hocevar nearly joining him, Haley languished to a 33rd-place finish after being collected in the turn two pile-up on lap 119. (Previously: 24th)

31. Shane van Gisbergen

The finish does not AT ALL reflect the major step forward that Shane Van Gisbergent took this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – after qualifying inside the top-10, and running inside the top-five in the opening portion of the event. Unfortunately, all of that went up in smoke after an out-of-character mistake by Brad Keselowski. (Previously: 28th)

32. Riley Herbst

After last week’s 18th-place finish, Riley Herbst finished 22nd at New Hampshire. It’s not eye-catching, but it’s the kind of steady improvement Herbst and his team can try to build on before embarking on his sophomore Cup season in 2026. (Previously: 33rd)

33. Cole Custer

A top-25. A lead-lap finish. It’s not the best result for Haas Factory Team, but for being a first-year team with a rather inexperienced driver, that result isn’t terrible. It’s something to build off of going forward, as the team looks to get their program in shape for 2026. (Previously: 32nd)

34. Daniel Suarez

The bad luck continues for Daniel Suarez and the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team. After struggling in the early portion of the afternoon, and hovering outside the top-20, Suarez got caught up in a multi-car accident that happened ahead of him – and also took out his teammate. (Previously: 30th)

35. Ty Dillon

A sour fall continues for Ty Dillon with a 29th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He hasn’t finished in the top 20 since Richmond, and the magic has long since worn off his In-Season Tournament charge. (Previously: 34th)

36. Cody Ware

Rule No. 1 of stock car auto racing, if you’re going to try to wreck someone, don’t wreck yourself. Unfortunately, Cody Ware attempted to payback Austin Dillon for a Lap 63 incident, but instead wrecked himself on Lap 254. This brought out a late-race caution, which potentially influenced the outcome of the race as well. (Previously: 35th)

Recommended Articles