Dollar Tree 301 Driver Grades: How Every Driver Scored at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

August 23, 2026

Every driver from the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, graded on what the scoring loops actually recorded: where they started, where they finished, how many laps they led, and whether they were still running at the end. Ryan Blaney grades out best with a A+.

How the grades are calculated

The grade is a formula, not an opinion. Each driver starts from their finishing position, gains credit for passing cars and for leading laps, and loses credit for not finishing:

Finish: the single biggest factor, scaled from the win down through the field.
Positions gained: starting position minus finishing position, capped so a deep starting spot cannot buy a top grade on its own.
Laps led: share of the race led, worth up to a full letter grade.
Did not finish: a fixed penalty if they were not running at the checkered flag.

Driver grades

Grade	Driver	Car	Start	Finish	Laps led	Points
A+	Ryan Blaney	12	8	1	115	70
A+	Bubba Wallace	23	23	2	22	43
A+	Josh Berry	21	2	3	73	49
A	Christopher Bell	20	6	4		43
A	Kyle Larson	5	9	5	18	48
A	Ryan Preece	60	18	9	17	38
A	Ty Gibbs	54	7	6		38
A	Brad Keselowski	6	25	11		31
A-	Noah Gragson	4	19	10		27
A-	Austin Cindric	2	26	12		25
A-	Denny Hamlin	11	4	7		32
B+	Tyler Reddick	45	1	8		29
B+	Joey Logano	22	21	14		23
B+	Daniel Suárez	7	35	17		20
B	Zane Smith	38	14	13		24
B-	Michael McDowell	71	15	16		21
B-	Alex Bowman	48	10	15		22
B-	Carson Hocevar	77	22	19		27
B-	Cole Custer	41	32	22		15
C+	Chris Buescher	17	16	18		23
C	Austin Hill	33	28	24		0
C	AJ Allmendinger	16	24	23		14
C	Chase Elliott	9	29	25		12
C	Todd Gilliland	34	13	21		16
C	Ty Dillon	10	33	27		10
C	Shane Van Gisbergen	97	5	20	30	19
C-	Cody Ware	51	36	29		8
C-	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	47	30	28		9
D	Chase Briscoe	19	17	26		12
D	John H. Nemechek	40	31	31		6
D	Austin Dillon	3	34	32		5
D	William Byron	24	3	30	26	14
F	Riley Herbst (Accident)	35	27	34		3
F	Erik Jones (Transaxle)	43	11	33		4
F	Connor Zilisch (Accident)	88	20	35		2
F	Ross Chastain (Engine)	1	12	36		1