Blaney Wins the Magic Mile Again
Ryan Blaney won the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. He beat Bubba Wallace to the line by 0.586 seconds. It was his second straight Cup win at the Magic Mile, his third win of 2026, and the 20th of his career.
The day did not look like it was headed there. Rain moved the start up, then rain showed up anyway during the pace laps. The field rolled off on Goodyear wet weather tires and stayed on them for the first 40 laps. Tyler Reddick started on the pole and spun out of Turn 4 on the opening lap. Later, Blaney's own pit crew handed the lead away. He got it back with two tires and 73 laps to go, and once he was clear he never looked back.
Wallace finished second in the No. 23 Toyota. Josh Berry was third in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford after leading 73 laps. Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
Key Moments and Turning Points
Lap 1. Reddick qualified fastest at 29.054 seconds and led the field to green. He spun in Turn 4 before the lap was over. Wet tires on a damp Loudon surface bit some cars and not others, and the first yellow was out before anybody had a rhythm.
Lap 41. The competition caution came out and the field switched off the wets and onto slicks. Ross Chastain never came back. He took the No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet to the garage with a drivetrain problem, finished 36th, and lost whatever slim shot he had left at the Chase.
Lap 52. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found the wall. Another yellow, another restart, and the strategy math reset again.
Lap 70. Kyle Larson took the Stage 1 win. He was fast in the dry all day and never really left the top five.
Lap 185. Blaney won Stage 2. That looked like the story of the race until the stage break stop went sideways.
77 to go. Riley Herbst went hard into the wall with help from Michael McDowell. Connor Zilisch arrived with the tires locked up and hit him. Both cars were done at 222 laps. That caution is the one that decided the race.
5 to go. Wallace had four fresh tires and was closing. He locked up going into Turn 3 and gave the ground back. That was the last real threat.
Granite State Glory.
NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 23, 2026
Pit Strategy and How the Race Was Won
Nine cautions for 51 laps meant nine chances to change your day on pit road. Blaney used one of them to fix a mess his own team made.
He led at the end of Stage 2 on lap 185. The stage break stop cost him, and he came back out 14th. The next cycle put him 17th. That is a long way back on a flat one mile track where clean air matters and passing is work. He spent the next 35 laps grinding it back to seventh.
Then the Herbst wreck brought out the yellow with 77 to go. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler called for two right-side tires instead of four. Blaney gained six spots on pit road and came off first. Blaney said afterward it was "a good call after our issue on pit road," per NBC Sports.
That is the whole race in one call. Wallace had four tires and better grip. Blaney had track position and the lane he wanted. On a one mile flat track, track position wins that argument more often than not. Blaney managed lapped traffic, managed the right front, and did not make a mistake.
Berry had the other side of it. He led 73 laps in the No. 21, more than anybody except Blaney, and lost the race on pit road. He slid long on the last stop and the stop itself was slower than he needed. Third is a good day for the Wood Brothers. It was also a win that got away.
Stats and Fun Facts
- Blaney led 115 of 301 laps. Berry led 73. Wallace led 22.
- 15 lead changes among eight different drivers.
- Nine cautions for 51 laps. Two of them were stage breaks.
- Carson Hocevar turned the fastest lap of the day at 29.812 seconds.
- Race time was 3 hours, 22 minutes, 59 seconds at an average speed of 94.133 mph.
- Blaney is now one of 45 drivers in Cup history with 20 or more wins.
- The first 40 laps ran on wet weather tires. That is still a strange sentence to write about Loudon.
Who Is Hot and Who Is Not
Hot: Ryan Blaney. Three wins, back to back at New Hampshire, and second in points heading into the last race before the Chase. He is 77 points behind Denny Hamlin and carrying the most momentum in the garage.
Hot: Bubba Wallace. Second place and his 11th top ten of the year. He sits 14th with about 75 points of cushion on the cut line, which is close enough to safe with one race to go.
Hot: Josh Berry. Fastest car for long stretches in a single car Wood Brothers Ford. He is not in the Chase picture, but the No. 21 has been a real threat lately.
Not: Ross Chastain. A drivetrain failure at lap 41, a 36th place finish, and he is officially out of Chase contention.
Not: Connor Zilisch and Riley Herbst. Wrong place, wrong time, both parked at 222 laps.
Not: William Byron. He led 26 laps early and finished 30th, five laps down.
Denny Hamlin finished seventh and clinched the No. 1 seed in the Chase with 1,001 points. Ty Gibbs is third, 121 back. Reddick is fourth, 141 back. Shane van Gisbergen is the one sitting on the bubble, with Ryan Preece 31 points behind him and Brad Keselowski also still alive. It all comes down to Daytona on Saturday night, which is the least predictable place on the calendar to settle anything. You can see the full picture on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule and standings.
After a hard-fought day, @BubbaWallace brings the No. 23 Toyota home in second.
NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 23, 2026
Fan Pick of the Week: How It Played Out
This week's matchup was fan favorite Ryan Blaney against underdog Austin Cindric, Penske teammates going head to head. The vote was not close. Every ballot that came in went to Blaney, 100 percent to 0 percent for Cindric.
The fans got it right. Blaney won the race. Cindric brought the No. 2 Ford home 12th, one lap down. Blaney finished 11 spots higher, so the favorite took it and the room called it correctly.
Fans who enter their email and pick the winner get a 5 dollar code good all week. This week's new matchup is already up, so go make your pick at the Rivalries page.
Your Take
Two tires beat four tires at a flat one mile track, and the guy with fresher rubber locked up with five to go. So who really won that race, Hassler's call or Wallace's mistake? Tell us in the comments.
Gear Up
- Ryan Blaney #12 2026 Quaker 400 Atlanta Winner T-Shirt
- Ryan Blaney #12 Menards Vintage Patch Stressed Brim Black Hat
- Ryan Blaney #12 Uniform Pit Sublimated Black Adjustable Hat
- Ryan Blaney #12 2026 Phoenix Winner T-Shirt
- Josh Berry #21 First Cup Win T-Shirt
- Christopher Bell #20 Magic Mile Master New Hampshire Win T-Shirt
- Denny Hamlin #11 Etched Slate Coaster Set of 4
Every win shirt we carry is a limited run. When a driver wins, the shirt shows up, and when it is gone it is gone. You can also let us send you one automatically through the win shirt subscription.
