Points leader Chase Elliott will lead the Cup Series field to green Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Elliott was given the top spot for the USA TODAY 301 at after wet conditions forced NASCAR to call off Cup Series qualifying in favor of running a short practice. The lineup was set using NASCAR’s qualifying metric.
Last week’s winner at Iowa Speedway, Ryan Blaney, will join Elliott on the front row with Elliott. It’s Blaney’s best starting position at The Magic Mile. Blaney locked himself into the playoffs with Sunday’s Iowa victory and is in prime position to add to his playoff point total in New Hampshire.
Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell make up row two, with Alex Bowman completing the top five.
Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Josh Berry round out the top 10.
Only the 36 chartered entries are competing this weekend – a fact that made it easy for NASCAR to call off qualifying and focus on practice.
Cup New Hampshire Starting Lineup
Coverage of the USA TODAY 301 will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
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