NASCAR Cup, Truck Orders Released for New Hampshire Race Weekend
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 20, 2026
Cup qualifying order
NASCAR put the Cup Series in motion for a New England doubleheader at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the qualifying order gives the weekend an immediate storyline. Cody Ware leads the list, with Ty Dillon and Zane Smith next, while Chase Briscoe sits at the back of the order. The setup comes from metric scores that NASCAR used to set the qualifying lineup, which gives teams a clear starting point before practice and qualifying arrive. The Cup race also carries added weight because it is the penultimate event before the Chase field is finalized, so every lap and every position in the order matters as the series heads through one of the final stops before the postseason picture is locked in.
The order itself is a snapshot of where the field stands before cars turn a wheel on track. Ware, Dillon and Smith hold the top three spots, which puts those teams in the early part of the run when Cup qualifying begins. Briscoe is listed last, a spot that leaves him at the opposite end of the queue and sets up a longer wait before his car takes time on the track. That structure is part of the day-to-day rhythm of NASCAR weekend preparation, where the order can shape when a driver gets on track and when teams start to make their final adjustments. With the Cup race set as the Sunday feature, the order serves as the first competitive marker of the weekend.
Truck qualifying order
The Craftsman Truck Series enters the weekend with a larger field and a different kind of pressure. NASCAR’s qualifying order includes 41 trucks, and Dawson Cram and Michael Christopher Jr. hold the top two spots. Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt and Christian Eckes are listed at the end of the order, which frames the front and back of the Truck Series lineup before Friday qualifying. The order, like the Cup list, comes from metric scores that determined the qualifying lineup, so the starting point for each team is already set before the first timed laps begin.
The Truck Series weekend carries its own postseason stakes. NASCAR will decide the Truck Series postseason field after the race, which gives the Saturday event a direct role in shaping the championship picture. That makes the qualifying order more than a formality. It sets the sequence for a field that still has one more race to settle its playoff lineup, and it gives the early and late qualifiers different kinds of preparation around practice and time trials. With Cram and Christopher at the top and Mosack, Honeycutt and Eckes at the bottom, the order maps out the first step in a weekend that will end with the field set for the next stage of the season.
New Hampshire schedule
New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the full NASCAR slate across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series sharing the weekend. Truck Series practice is set for Friday at 4 p.m. ET, followed by Truck qualifying at 5:05 p.m. ET. The Truck race, the Team EJP 175, is scheduled for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and FOX One. Cup Series activity follows a similar pattern, with practice on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET on truTV and qualifying at 11:35 a.m. ET on truTV. The Cup race, the Dollar Tree 301, is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network and HBO Max.
The weekend gives fans a compact race schedule and gives both series important on-track moments in quick succession. Trucks will open the action with practice and qualifying on Friday, then move into the race on Saturday. Cup teams get their first official track time on Saturday morning, then return for qualifying before the Sunday feature. The schedule leaves little downtime between sessions, which fits a doubleheader weekend built around the same venue and a short turnaround from one series to the next. NASCAR’s visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway is set to run as a full New England stop, with both series on the track and both broadcasts spread across television and streaming platforms.
