LOUDON, N.H. — So it occurs that Christopher Bell’s thrilling late-race go for the win final week within the NASCAR Cup Collection’ first Playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway units up this week’s opening race within the Spherical of 12 fairly completely.
Bell has taught a grasp class at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, successful two of the final three NASCAR Cup Collection races on the historic one-mile oval and technically getting into the weekend because the defending race winner in all three of NASCAR’s nationwide collection with a victory in final Fall’s NASCAR Xfinity Collection race and hoisting the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection race trophy in its final go to to the monitor in 2017.
Little doubt he comes into Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 feeling assured in himself and his Joe Gibbs Racing workforce that swept all three of the primary spherical Playoff races with Toyota teammates Chase Briscoe (Darlington, S.C.) and Denny Hamlin (Gateway, In poor health.) successful on the earlier two races in that opening collection – marking the primary time one workforce has ever swept a spherical.
Final yr it was additionally Briscoe – then in a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford – that Bell needed to beat for the well-known New Hampshire successful lobster. Within the three-race Subsequent Gen automobile period, Toyota has swept all of the races on the monitor, received all six levels and led 83% of the laps.
Within the three Playoff races this yr, Toyota has led 78 p.c of all laps.
“I’m clearly enthusiastic about Loudon,” Bell mentioned following his Bristol win – his fourth victory of the season. “It’s an excellent monitor for us. Tremendous essential race kicking off the Spherical of 12. So, we have to go there and most significantly get quite a lot of factors, rating quite a lot of factors, obtained to qualify nicely, obtained to qualify higher than we’ve been qualifying, and have an excellent race.
“I feel we’re each bit as succesful as any of the opposite 12 on the market. It’s an excellent racetrack for us as a gaggle and we all know what it takes to be good there, and it looks like our vehicles are actually good. I’m wanting ahead to the problem forward.”
This weekend marks the primary time since 2017 that New Hampshire has hosted a Playoff race and there’s actually a forged of motivated groups prepared to start out this Spherical of 12 off positively.
With the factors re-set for this three-race spherical, Hamlin sits atop the standings by two factors over Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byon (the Common Season Champion) and Kyle Larson. Bell is fourth, solely six factors off his teammate Hamlin. Workforce Penske’s Ryan Blaney is fifth, six factors again, adopted by JGR’s Briscoe, Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, who goes into the Spherical of 12 with a single-point edge within the cutoff place over Penske’s Austin Cindric.
Reigning collection champion, Workforce Penske’s Joey Logano and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain are two factors off Wallace and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is three factors again from the cutline.
Amongst these 12, solely Hamlin (three wins), Logano (two wins) and Bell (two wins) have hoisted trophies on the monitor. Solely two different energetic drivers, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (three wins) and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing owner-driver Brad Keselowski (two wins) have received beforehand at New Hampshire.
“I really feel like New Hampshire has been a type of tracks to the place now we have run nicely and simply not likely completed the place we deserved,” mentioned Workforce Penske’s Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Collection champion. “I felt actually good there final yr. We have been operating up entrance earlier than the rain. We have been operating second throughout the rain and obtained rotated there on one of many final restarts, however I feel simply making an attempt to remain within the combine. The primary a part of it’s making an attempt to have a automobile that runs up in direction of the entrance. I’m joyful that New Hampshire has gotten a Playoff race.”
The important thing for now appears to be stopping the Toyotas. The motive force who has led probably the most laps has received 5 of the final seven races this season. Surprisingly, Chevrolet solely has a pair of top-five runs within the Playoff races.
“It’s simply all of the Toyotas are super-fast proper now,” Bell mentioned. “I feel I mentioned it final week in my post-race interview that that is the most effective race automobile I’ve needed to drive within the Cup Collection in comparison with the competitors in my profession.
“I feel it goes from Joe Gibbs Racing to 23XI (Racing); they’ve been actually good; even the Legacy {Motor Membership] vehicles have had an incredible efficiency the final couple weeks. That’s the excellent news.
“The dangerous information is we’re not operating [the championship finale] Phoenix subsequent week and there’s nonetheless an extended solution to go to get there. … We’re in a extremely great place proper now, we as within the Toyota group, and particularly Joe Gibbs Racing.
“However we’ve obtained an extended solution to go to get to Phoenix and it’s going to be a tough highway, and everyone is aware of that.”
