The hard-driving Ryan Blaney overcame many hurdles to win Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. First, a rain delay kept the cars off the 1-mile speedway, then NASCAR officials ordered the field to take to the slippery NH “Magic Mile” on rain tires for the first 40 tense laps of competition.
When the track dried out, NASCAR called all the competitors into the pits to switch back to regular tires. Numerous accidents created nine caution flags slowing the field and creating a great variety of pit stop strategies among the competitors for tires and fuel.
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The sun finally emerged over the racetrack which saw several different drivers leading the event during the early stages with a chance to win. But as the final green flag waved after the ninth caution period, it was last year’s winner Ryan Blaney who had survived all the race-long chaos and emerged in the front of the field determined to repeat last year’s thrilling victory.
Blaney’s crew chief gambled on a 2-tire stop to get him into the lead as the majority to the drivers took on four fresh Goodyear tires for the final run to the checkered flag. Blaney got a good jump at the drop of the green.
The popular Ohio native used all his driving talent and skillfully battled through lapped traffic to hold off a rapidly closing Bubba Wallace by about five car lengths to capture his second straight NH win, his 20th NASCAR Cup career win and third victory of the 2026 Season.
After an impressive victory burnout, the elated Blaney emerged and jumped on the roof of his winning No. 12 Menards Team Penske Ford Mustang to celebrate before the large and enthusiastic crowd of fans.
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When asked about his late two tire gamble that resulted in his second straight NH victory, an elated Blaney commented, “It was a good call. We did two at the end to hopefully get the lead and we did. It was a long run to the end there, it was the longest run we had. I just tried to manage my stuff and knew those four tire guys would probably pressure me eventually. Bubba (Wallace) came on pretty hard there and just tried to manage lapped traffic and manage tires and not make a mistake.
“But what a cool race, what a fun day, starting in the rain. It ended up being a beautiful day. I really appreciate all the fans who came out. I hope you enjoyed a great race. You always want to continue momentum. Team Penske has been on a heck of a tear the last couple of months, so props to everyone at Team Penske who are keeping their head down working so hard. It’s cool to win here-two in a row, and I look forward to getting another lobster.” (A large, live New Hampshire lobster is the traditional winner’s “trophy” at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.)
Finishing behind winner Blaney and second-place Wallace was Josh Berry and Christopher Bell, with Kyle Larson rounding out the top five finishers.
The NASCAR Cup teams head to Daytona International Speedway next weekend for the regular season finale Coke Zero 400. The 10-race Chase Playoffs to determine the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series champion begins the following weekend at Darlington.
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