A look at the winners and losers from New Hampshire:
WINNERS
Tyler Reddick — The winner at Circuit of the Americas in March, Reddick hasn’t finished better than 27th in the past five races. He went to New Hampshire and scored points in the first two stages before crossing the finish line sixth. Reddick is 13th in the standings with six races remaining before the playoffs.
Chase Briscoe — Has not delivered a top-10 finish since Talladega on April 23. Entered the New Hampshire weekend with six straight finishes outside of the top 20. He finished 10th after a much-needed clean day.
Bubba Wallace — Entered the Monday race below the playoff cutline after five straight races outside of the top 15. He had a brake issue early at New Hampshire, but he recovered and finished eighth. This put him ahead of both Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez in the hunt for a playoff spot. Wallace is 15th in the standings.
Michael McDowell — Entered the weekend trying to focus on points after several struggles at New Hampshire. Scored a bonus point in stage 1 and kept the car clean throughout the race. Finished a career-best 13th at New Hampshire and kept his spot above the playoff cutline. Mission accomplished for him and crew chief Travis Peterson.
Somewhere in the middle
Brad Keselowski — The driver-owner at RFK Racing was fairly pleased leaving New Hampshire. He had a “maybe (an) 11th-place car” and he finished fifth after a solid day on track and on pit road. He also expressed frustration after he and Chris Buescher failed to contend for the win. They just aren’t where he wants them to be from an owner’s perspective.
#NASCAR … Brad Keselowski finished fifth. How he viewed today’s performance at New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/vDVbhCpi1O
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) July 17, 2023
LOSERS
Kyle Busch — Started the 301-lap race from the rear of the field after hitting the wall in practice and qualifying. He struggled to move through the field before the caution flew on Lap 29 for AJ Allmendinger’s spin. Busch ended the day in the garage after spinning and hitting the outside wall on the final lap of stage 1. This was his third DNF in the past four races at New Hampshire.
Ryan Blaney — Started fifth and scored points in the first two stages. He was in a position to battle for the win during the final stage with a fast Team Penske Ford, but he received a penalty for running over his air hose on his final pit stop. Ended the day 22nd overall.
Christopher Bell — Started from the pole and secured points in the first two stages. Had to pit to fix a loose wheel before the stage 2 restart. He then spun and hit the wall with 13 laps remaining in the race. Bell finished 29th.
Aric Almirola — Almirola started the race on the second row, and he remained inside the top five for the majority of the first two stages. He was in a position to contend for the win after using a two-tire strategy to take the lead, but an issue on pit road led to his wheel disconnecting. Almirola hit the wall and ended the day 34th.
