Author Archives: PressBox

Tyler Reddick earned the pole for Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, giving 23XI Racing its fifth pole of the season after he rebounded from a difficult practice session. Reddick said the team made a strong adjustment in qualifying after a poor practice, and he hopes to turn the top starting spot into a race win after starting 2026 with three straight victories before a summer slump dropped him to fourth in the standings. He said he plans to lean on his teammates to better understand what they are doing well.

Reddick’s teammate Bubba Wallace had speed in practice but qualified 23rd, and he said he was frustrated as he worked to secure his postseason spot. Wallace also said Michael Jordan’s recent visit to the team’s Airspeed facility and shop helped reinforce self-belief and trust within the group. Denny Hamlin said Jordan’s message supported the team and pushed it to improve as it headed toward the playoffs.

Josh Berry qualified second and was set to start on the front row behind Reddick. Berry said uncertainty about his 2027 ride had eased his mind a little after being told in June he would not return to Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 Ford next season. Crew chief Rodney Childers said Berry had been unfairly judged because he had not had competitive equipment, and pointed to Berry’s recent improvement, including a fourth-place finish at Iowa. Shane van Gisbergen kept his fifth-place starting spot after a concern about an unapproved adjustment was cleared up, and NASCAR confirmed no starter change was made to the No. 97 Chevrolet.

Ryan Preece’s bid to reach the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs took a hit at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he entered Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 needing a strong result to close a 50-point gap to Shane van Gisbergen for the final transfer spot. Preece qualified sixth, but he was trapped a lap down during a green-flag pit cycle and finished 17th, dropping 21 more points and leaving him 50 points back with two regular-season races left. Preece said his team needed a “home run” to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The New Hampshire stop carried extra meaning for Preece, who is from Berlin, Connecticut, and said racing at his home track gave him optimism. He spent the week racing around New England with his family-owned team, leaned on longtime local crew members for motivation and planned to run Friday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at the track to get more laps on familiar pavement. Preece had 40 Cup starts at New Hampshire, won a Modified Series race there in 2021 and earned his best Cup finish at the track, 11th, in 2024.

Preece arrived after a mixed stretch that included losing ground at Richmond because of a strategy miscue and tire wear. He drives for RFK Racing and said he would stop playing it safe in the final two regular-season races, adding that if he is within 10 or even five points of van Gisbergen heading to Daytona, he would chase every stage point and try to win. New Hampshire has recently produced surprise winners, and contenders such as Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney remained part of the playoff picture as the regular season moved toward its finish.

Layne Riggs won the Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday in double overtime, beating Front Row Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith by 0.293 seconds. Starting from the pole in the No. 34 Ford F-150, Riggs led a race-high 106 of 189 laps, including the final 71 laps after the overtime restarts. He said late handling problems nearly cost him before his crew made changes that helped him control the final restart. The victory was Riggs’ sixth of the 2026 Truck Series season and the 11th of his career, and it became official after post-race inspection.

The win closed the regular season and set the 10-driver championship field. Riggs will enter the postseason as the top seed, with Kaden Honeycutt second after finishing third and rebounding from a flat tire. Chandler Smith was seeded third, followed by Christian Eckes, Gio Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Ankrum. The postseason is scheduled to open Sept. 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Tyler Ankrum secured the final berth despite mechanical problems that left him nearly a lap down, finishing 16th and holding off Stewart Friesen and Jake Garcia on points. Friesen finished fourth and Garcia missed the cut. Connor Zilisch swept both stages and finished fifth. Post-race inspection found Riggs’ truck clear, while Grant Enfinger’s No. 9 had one lug nut not safe and secure, which will cost him pit selection at the next event. Four trucks were sent to the R&D center for teardown.

Tyler Reddick overcame a rough practice session to win the pole for Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, putting his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota at the front of the field for the 301-lap NASCAR Cup Series race. Reddick, who said he was “really unhappy” with the car in Saturday practice and ranked 31st in single-lap speed, turned in a lap of 29.054 seconds at 131.094 mph to edge Josh Berry by 0.015 seconds. It was Reddick’s fifth pole of the season.

Berry will start alongside Reddick on the front row after a 29.069-second lap in the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford. William Byron qualified third, Denny Hamlin fourth and Shane van Gisbergen fifth, with Christopher Bell sixth and Ty Gibbs seventh. The top five qualifiers were separated by just 0.052 seconds, and Toyota claimed three of the top six starting spots.

Reddick said his team found what it needed to work on before qualifying after the difficult practice run, and he said he wanted to avoid another poor starting position like Richmond, where he lined up in the 30s. The race was moved up to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday because rain is in the forecast. Chase Elliott will start 29th in the 36-car field.