Who… should you be talking about after the race?
He had to work for it at the end, and his teammate Joey Logano won the pole and led the most laps, but it was Ryan Blaney who was there when it counted, winning the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to kick off the Round of 12 in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on Sunday (Sept. 21).
Josh Berry might have had a faster car at the end, but Blaney knew Berry would race him fairly and in the end, Berry’s just slightly older tires gave up the ghost and Blaney held on to win handily by nearly a second over Berry, William Byron, Logano and Chase Elliott.
It’s Blaney’s third win of 2025, and in the last 10 races, the 2023 Cup champion has nine top-10 finishes, including a pair of wins. That’s easily his best stretch of the year as he races for a second title.
Blaney said afterwards that he’s had a New Hampshire win circled on his wish list for a long time for another reason.
“I really wanted that f*cking lobster,” he said after the race, referring to the huge crustacean that the track gifts to the winner.
On the other hand…
Tyler Reddick started the weekend with an excellent qualifying effort, starting fourth, but from the drop of the green flag, Reddick was fighting his No. 45 Toyota.
Reddick wasn’t involved in any incident, but both he and teammate Bubba Wallace missed their setups for the race and stumbled as the day went on.
Reddick finished ninth in the first stage but faded to 21st. Wallace also struggled, starting 14th and finishing 26th. The day leaves both drivers in jeopardy of a playoff exit after the Round of 12.
Reddick has just two top 10s in his last 10 races, with four finishes of 21st or worse in that span.
What… does this mean for the points standings?
Blaney leaves with the lead after his decisive win, his ticket to the round of eight punched. Third-place Byron also used his solid day to move into second, just two points behind Blaney with Kyle Larson eight points out of the lead in third after his best run in recent weeks. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin round out the top five, a significant drop for Hamlin, who entered with the lead but finished outside the top 10 Sunday.
Currently above the cut line are Logano, Elliott and Chase Briscoe, who holds a 12-point gap over ninth-place Ross Chastain.
Austin Cindric (-19), Reddick (-23) and Wallace (-27) also leave Loudon on the wrong side of the elimination line. Chastain, Reddick and Wallace all have wins at Kansas Speedway, and Cindric is solid on road courses, so things could change drastically before this round is out.
Where… did he come from?
Who gained the most spots on the day? Elliott struggled in qualifying, starting 27th and working his way up to finish with a top five, leading three laps and giving himself that cushion over the cut line in the playoffs.
But when it came to passing cars, Berry put on a show. After qualifying third, Berry was strong early, running just off the leaders and looking for redemption after three straight last-place finishes to open the playoffs.
But a lap 82 collision with Shane van Gisbergen and subsequent spin left Berry at the back of the pack. However, Berry wasn’t done. He didn’t hit anything when he spun, and the No. 21 had no major damage from the incident.
Berry began to work his way back through the field, passing multiple cars and climbing into the top 10 by the end of the second stage.
From there, Berry charged back to the front. He led a total of 10 laps and battled Blaney hard for the win before falling just short on older tires. It was exactly the boost the No. 21 team needed after their early playoff exit.
When… was the moment of truth?
Shots were fired on lap 110 when Hamlin got frustrated with teammate Ty Gibbs for holding him up for multiple laps and gave him a nudge, sending the No. 54 around and ultimately to the garage for repairs.
It highlights the question of whether drivers out of the playoffs should be lenient to others—especially teammates—in the title hunt.
There are still races to be won, and Gibbs had every right to race for that win. So does Hamlin, but it was only the second stage, and Hamlin also almost took out teammate Bell.
Gibbs’ response to the incident?
“Game on.”
Will he make it more difficult for Hamlin down the stretch? At the very least, he’ll have it filed away that Hamlin will race him that way for a midpack spot early in a race. And he might return the favor.
It’s unlikely that team owner Joe Gibbs will allow anything to fester with three drivers in the title hunt, but the incident highlights the disparity between the playoff drivers and those not in the postseason — the playoff drivers should not expect special treatment or to be raced any differently than during the regular season, and it’s up to them to race others the way they want to be raced.
Neither driver would comment on the incident afterward, with Hamlin just stating that it was “super unfortunate,” while Gibbs focused his attention on next week’s race at Kansas Speedway.
Why… should you be paying attention this week?
The second race of the Round of 12 is the second race of the season at Kansas Speedway.
Seven of the 12 playoff hopefuls have at least one win at Kansas; Hamlin leads the pack with four, the most all-time. Larson and Logano have three apiece. Elliott, Wallace, Reddick and Chastain also have Kansas victories behind them.
The playoff contender who probably wishes the race was somewhere else? Cindric, who has just a 23.6 average finish and has yet to score a top 10 in eight starts.
If you’re looking for a spoiler from outside the playoff ranks, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch each have a pair of wins, and Keselowski’s 13.3 average is sixth among current drivers. Alex Bowman also has a respectable 14.2 average and 11 top 10s, though a win has eluded him so far.
How… did this race stack up?
Loudon is a driver’s track and passing is possible, but it takes patience to complete. Clean air still mattered up front, but there was plenty of racing in the field on Sunday.
The tire for this race was a new one, designed for moderate wear, and that’s what was on display. Teams could make up track position with a two-tire stop but long-term it was a gamble.
Polesitter Logano said on Saturday (Sept. 20) that the test had also included a tire that dropped off more quickly, closer to what was run at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, but the tire they went with was one that will last a fuel run with some falloff.
Was that the right choice? Yes. There was passing but not the chaos that the Bristol tire created. The track had multiple grooves and drivers could race side-by-side.
Loudon is the type of track that fans will like if they want to watch drivers drive and let strategies play out. This one featured some very good racing through the field where clean air wasn’t a factor, and Berry and Blaney had a solid battle for the win that was closer than the margin of victory shows.
Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.